Powerblock Pro 100 EXP Adjustable Dumbbells: Quick, Expandable, and Battle Tested

PowerBlock has been perfecting their adjustable dumbbell design for nearly 30 years, but I think their Pro 100 EXP might be their best one yet that combines all the best features into pretty much everything you want in a home gym adjustable dumbbell. The Pro 100 EXP features PowerBlock's signature expandable cage system that goes from 5 to 100 pounds in 2.5 pound increments, urethane coated plates that are quieter and more durable than the steel versions, a magnetic selector pin for quick weight changes, a beefy, knurled handle and the ability to convert the weights into a kettlebell or even a barbell with their accessory ecosystem. There's definitely some serious appeal here with the tried and true square design of these dumbbells and again the fact you can start with a 40 pound version and expand up to 100 pounds over time as you get stronger. But the square design and weight distribution might not be for everyone, so let's check it out. Alright, so PowerBlock dumbbells, these are one thing we haven't yet reviewed on the channel. PowerBlock has been around for nearly 30 years and they have had this cage style design.

The nice thing about the square and why they do this is a couple reasons, one probably structural integrity, two the fact that it doesn't roll around on the floor, which is really nice. Again, this is the Pro 100 EXP 100 meaning the weight capacity. You can actually see the weights listed on the end here, which is one nice touch they add EXP means expandable. They have two different expandable versions. They have the Elite 90 USA or Elite USA 90, one way or the other. It's a up to 90 pound set looks very similar to this. The major differences are going to be it only goes to 90.

It does not have the urethane coating that this EXP 100 has. That is one of the benefits here. It is super quiet, super durable. If you like to, you know, set your dumbbells down, it has that urethane coating all around the outside.

So it's not going to get damaged. And this one goes again up to 100 from five to 100 and two and a half pound increments. Just the base handle here. This is five pounds. You'll actually see on the bottom here, there's these little circular cylindrical slots and we have two and a half pound atter weights.

There's a little mechanism here to where these can get dropped in. You add two of them. That's a five pound increment, two and a half and two and a half. In addition to the handle, you can have a 10 pound handle. Just know that depending on the combination of two and a half plus your five pound handle is how you go from five all the way up to 100 and two and a half pound increments. The one thing about these is because they lock into the bottom here, they inherently are a little, let's say lopsided when it comes to the weight distribution. This is me trying to rotate it left and right. It'll just fall down to the heaviest point where those weights are. As you can imagine, if you take one out, then it kind of wants to pull gravitationally towards that one side. I would just be aware when you buy power blocks, the weight distribution is going to be one of the things you need to keep in mind.

But I do like at least having the option to go into a half pound increments, because if I didn't have that option and I had to go just in five or 10 pound increments, I probably wouldn't like it as much. This is not to knock them. This is just kind of the outcome of the design. There's a little actual red tab switch on the top, which is how you lock and unlock these. You can take them out. I usually leave them out strictly because then this base handle at five pounds is the most evenly distributed. Again, since there's no cradle, all the weight increments from the handle at five, you know, all the way up to a hundred pounds are just sitting here on these little brackets and braces. So each weight is its own just 10 pound little bracket thing that slides into the greater grouping of brackets on the handle itself to it shows you what the weight increments are. I know this might be a little bit difficult to see, but it tells you what colors correspond to what weight increments. So it makes it pretty easy to figure out, okay, 40 pounds is orange.

Let's slide both sides into the orange. And now 40 is engaged. There we go. 40 pounds.

Same thing. You want to adjust it very quickly from 40 to 90 at the pink or magenta or whatever that is. Now 90 is locked in like that. And if anything ever breaks, it's going to be this thing.

And this we're talking about like a super cheap, easy, simple repair, not a whole new set of dumb best. The other things about this pro 100 exp is their expandable lines actually start in different increments. This one starts at 40 pounds, meaning you could just buy the 40 pound version. And the 40 pound version is $539. So that means you could start with just this. This is exactly what you would receive.

$539. You have the handle, two and a half pound increments up to 40 pounds. And as you get stronger and or determined, you want to keep adding more, they have 20 pound increments, you can buy them in so you can buy a 40 pound version, you can add on to the 40 to get to the 60, you can add on to the 60 to 80, maybe 100.

So it's really nice that you can kind of customize this to your strength levels and or training needs. The other main feature I would say of this is the knurled handle. It is a big, beefy knurled handle 38 millimeters. This is quite a bit bigger than most dumbbells that you're used to.

I would say the knurling is about medium knurling. Overall, a very durable dumbbell. Why you would want this versus others or why you wouldn't want this is going to be up to your training style. You want these specifically for those quick changing long term durability and a product that's been tried and true over time. Why you wouldn't want these is because potentially you want a dumbbell that feels more like a actual dumbbell in your hands, meaning that the weight distribution is more even, a little more centrifugal force feels normal, especially when you're doing dynamic movements, things like flies, things like curls, maybe even overhead or dumbbell pressing potentially, but anything where the weight is really weight or wrist or elbows or really moving is where you kind of notice it more with these dumbbells versus I would say a more round adjustable dumbbell. The other thing people don't potentially like about this is the cage design.

This has not bothered me at all because it doesn't hit my wrists whatsoever. There's plenty of room on some of their other dumbbells though. They do have an additional two supporting bars here, kind of like these bars at the bottom and probably spaced very evenly. They have them at the top here, which if you're doing something like I'm showing, I would actually be hitting the inside.

So that is some other complaints when it comes to power blocks. Now, the last thing I want to mention is comparison to other options quickly. You basically kind of have to pick three of four things being price, durability, speed of change, and feels like a normal dumbbell.

So with these, the pick three is durability, price, and speed of change. Doesn't really feel like a normal dumbbell, but all things considered, the price is on par with other quality 100 pound-ish versions. The RepnPepin Fast Series dumbbells have a similar price range. You can actually go a lot cheaper by doing things like Iron Master adjustable dumbbells, but then you lose on the speed of change for those, although it feels like a normal dumbbell. It's super durable and the price is great. And then we've actually reviewed something recently, like the Bolt Fitness Revolver adjustable dumbbells, which probably don't have the greatest durability, but price is there, speed of change is there, normal traditional mortade dumbbell feel is there as well. So it kind of just depends on your preference and your options depending on which way you want to go.

So guys, that's it for today's review of the Power Block Pro 100 EXP adjustable dumbbells. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below. I'll be happy to answer at least try. Thanks for tuning in to the General Gym Reviews. We'll see you next time. Take it easy. Peace.