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Looking to upgrade your home gym set-up but don’t know where to start? These are the best dumbbells for every training need…
If you could only own one item of fitness kit for the rest of your life, you’d do well to pick the humble dumbbell. Even the heaviest are small enough to fit in the corner of a room, and you can perform virtually every strength training exercise – and just about every workout protocol – with dumbbells.
RELATED: Best dumbbell exercises and workouts for every body part
Dumbbells can elevate the calorie burn of high-intensity workouts, and help you develop the functional strength and power required for numerous sports.
However, while the dumbbell is one of the easiest bits of home gym kit to snap up, they weren’t all created equal. Generally speaking, for most people’s home workout needs rubber-coated ‘fixed dumbbells’ are going to be the best bet: they tend to be the most durable and forgiving to fragile floors.
More on that here: How to know which type of dumbbells to buy
That said, beginners might favour the plate-loaded ‘spinlock’ variety, which tend to be lighter in weight but adjustable – with additional weight plates tending to sit in the 1.25kg-5kg range.
As with any exercise equipment, the options are endless and choosing the right type for you can be bewildering. Which is why we’ve pulled this list together: to help you find the best dumbbells for your workout needs.
MF BEST BUY
Eleiko Vulcano dumbbell
£27-£349 / eleiko.com
Eleiko’s Vulcano dumbbells don’t come cheap, especially as they’re sold individually. You do get what you pay for though: a well-constructed dumbbell that will work for whatever workout you throw at it.
The dumbbells feature chrome steel handles that are sloped and knurled to make sure you can get a good grip even with sweaty hands, while handle length and diameter are accommodating for both smaller and bigger gripping styles.
The weight plates aren’t removable and are coated in polyurethane, which means they’ll make less noise compared to metal plates when you drop them to the ground. That obviously makes them better suited to home workouts, particularly if you’ve got hard floors and are worried about potential scuffing. It’s a nice bonus that the polyurethane outer shouldn’t give off any bad smells when sweat comes into play.
From curls to squats to bent-over rows, you have something well equipped to cover the key dumbbell exercise bases, and with weight options ranging from 1kg to 40kg, you have the scope to go light or lift heavy.
It’s going to be pricey to assemble a set, but if you just need a single or pair for home use, Eleiko’s Vulcano stands out for all the right reasons.
PROS:
- High-grade appearance
- Floor-friendly design
CONS:
- Expensive for a set
Grip: 5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 4.5
OVERALL: 5
MF RECOMMENDED
Blk Box Rubber Hex Dumbbells
£12-£150 / blkboxfitness.com
These heavy-duty fixed hex dumbbells go all the way up to 60kg, making them strong options for anyone that wants serious weight to hand. The cast iron frame is covered in rubber to protect floors, and there’s chrome-plated knurled handles to get a good hold of.
That hex-style design means they’re not going to roll around and make them well suited for press-up style exercises. The lighter weights won’t break the bank, although the dumbbells are sold individually, so a pair of the heavier options is going to set you pack several hundred pounds (£300 for two 60kg weights). However, compared to other options in this list that is surprisingly good value.
PROS:
- Huge weight range
- Sturdy hex design
- High-quality build
CONS:
- Sold individually
- Pairs of heavier weights can be expensive
Grip: 5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 5
OVERALL: 5
Jordan Fitness Premium Urethane Dumbbells
£42-£1,260 / jordanfitness.com
Another option that will reduce the risk of scuffs and damage to your floor, these durable urethane dumbbells can be picked up in pairs all the way up to a monstrous 75kg (if you have £1,260 to spare), or sets ranging from 2.5kg-25kg to 65kg-75kg.
There’s steel underneath that urethane, which has been heat treated with a handle that offers plenty of metal to grab onto. These are going to appeal to experienced gym-goers who want to lift big, but there’s also a good range of weight options for less seasoned lifters.
PROS:
- Excellent weight range
- Floor-friendly design
CONS:
Grip: 5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 5
OVERALL: 5
DOMYOS Corength Hex Dumbbell
£10-£155 / decathlon.co.uk
Ideal if you hate the idea of dumbbells rolling around your floor, this fixed dumbbell from Decathlon wraps its iron frame up in rubber for a more stable design compared to round plates. It works well for dedicated weight training and functional workouts.
There’s a good-sized metal, knurled handle to wrap your hands around, although weight options range from 2.5kg-15kg, so it definitely sits at the lighter end of the weight spectrum. The hex plate design makes Decathlon’s range ideal for floor-based dumbbell exercises like renegade rows and dumbbell press-ups, because the flat sides of the weights will stay put as you work away.
The all-black design gives it an attractive, low-key look, they feel built to last and you’re safe in the knowledge that when you put them down and away after a session, they’re still going to be there when you need to go again.
PROS:
- Affordable
- Stable design perfect for floor exercises
CONS:
- Light weight range
Grip: 5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 3
OVERALL: 4.5
Bowflex SelectTech 552i Dumbbells
£385 / fitness-superstore.co.uk
Perfect if you want the option to move between weights but don’t have the space to accommodate an entire set, Bowflex’s adjustable dumbbells can move from 2kg up to 24kg – all with the twist of a dial.
The rubber and steel grip is well designed for more explosive – potentially hazardous – exercises and fast-paced HIIT-style workouts.
Bowflex offers on-demand strength classes via an app, so you can put the dumbbells to work with prescribed exercises. And there’s a tray to store the weights and drop them back when you need to add or lose some plates.
PROS:
- Space-saving design
- Accompanying app
CONS:
- Very expensive
Grip: 5
Durability: 4
Weight range: 3.5
OVERALL: 4
Mirafit Rubber Dumbbell Set
£34.95-£199.95 / mirafit.co.uk
These come in pairs, with the heaviest weighing in at 35kg per dumbbell. The rubber coating on the weights mean they’re kinder to hard floors and the knurled steel handle offers a strong and durable place to grip.
You can also pick them up in sets if you want a greater variety of weights (a set of 5kg-30kg at 2.5kg increments will set you back a cool £999.95) and Mirafit even makes racks to give you that proper gym feel at home.
PROS:
- Good grip
- Sturdy design
CONS:
- Expensive for heavier weights
- Weight range could be better
Grip: 5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 4
OVERALL: 4
DKN Rubber Hex Dumbbells
£22.99-£239.99 / dkn-uk.com
DKN’s hex dumbbells come in pairs up to 30kg per dumbbell. That hex design means they’ll stay put in-between sets and there’s solid steel handles with a knurled pattern to provide a reliable grip even when you start to sweat.
That rubber coating ensures a good amount of durability, too, and won’t do damage to your floor should accidentally drop them.
PROS:
- Stable design
- Look good
CONS:
- Limited weight range
Grip: 4.5
Durability: 5
Weight range: 4
OVERALL: 4
York 20kg Cast Iron Dumbbell Spinlock Set
£109.99 / yorkfitness.com
York’s iron pair are a good fit for beginners, with 0.5, 1.25 and 2kg weight plates to make those incremental changes when you feel more confident to lift a heavier load.
They use plastic metal spinlock collars to help stop the plates from rattling around (although explosive movements have the potential to affect that), with high-grip chrome bars designed to offer a strong grip.
You do have the capacity to purchase more plates to bolster the lifting weight and if you don’t mind spinning off those collars every now and then they make a very good first set of dumbbells.
PROS:
- Extra plates can be bought
- Good for beginners
CONS:
- Not as secure as hex dumbbells
- Plates can rattle around
- More faff than fixed-weight dumbbells
Grip: 4
Durability: 3.5
Weight range: 3
OVERALL: 3.5
Opti Cast Iron Dumbbell Set – 20kg
£30 / argos.co.uk
An option for those on a tight budget, this is a good beginner-friendly pair. They max out at 20kg with spinlock collars to add and remove plates, though they can have the tendency to still rattle around slightly.
The steel bar features rubber grips that are comfortable to hold, but sweaty hands reduce the grip slightly. That weight on offer makes them well suited to curls, raises and shoulder presses, though you won’t want to be dropping that metal exterior on hard floors too often. The pointed end of each dumbbell also puts paid to some floor exercises.
They’re cheap, but they’re solid for someone new to strength training who wants to dip their toes into the world of dumbbells.
PROS:
- Affordable
- Easy to add and remove plates
CONS:
- Not for hard floors
- Impractical for multi-weight workouts
Grip: 4
Durability: 3.5
Weight range: 3
OVERALL: 3.5
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