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After seeing the fancy prices local suppliers want for collars, I bought these off eBay for $10 / pair.
This seems like an area where prices are wildly different depending on brand and store.
Spring collars apparently lose their grip after a while, and screw collars mar the barbell sleeve, so one has to go with a locking or "lock jaw" collar in my opinion. I wonder what others think?
Will keep this thread updated on how these super-cheap collars perform.
I took a pair from gym direct. Still working well enough, but not as tight as they once were. (There is a filthy pun in there somewhere for which i am not sorry for ha).
I'm fully expecting to be disappointed with the "cheap Chinese chit" when it arrives, but what the hey, sometimes you get lucky with junk from China and it actually works. I looked at the ones in the Aussie Fitness store, and they looked identical, but cost $24 (2.4x as much). I bet they're the same, or close to.
Timeah, how long you had them? Have they scratched the bar?
They're normally lined with rubber so shouldn't scratch anything even if they slip slightly when tightened.
My gym got a heap of cheap ones in a while ago, the rubber liner falls out or dislodges and makes it very tight getting it on/off so people rip them out...then they get lost and they don't grip at all without the liner. Nothing a few drops of superglue wouldn't fix to keep it seated in its groove
I'm fully expecting to be disappointed with the "cheap Chinese chit" when it arrives, but what the hey, sometimes you get lucky with junk from China and it actually works. I looked at the ones in the Aussie Fitness store, and they looked identical, but cost $24 (2.4x as much). I bet they're the same, or close to.
Guess where all these gear companies get their stuff? Right. China. Or, as Trump would say, Gina.
They might fall apart after a while but then that goes for any collar.
I find the spring collars are really cheap but as noted before, they loosen over time and they can also hurt your dainty fingers if they aren't offset enough. When they are tight enough they take far more time and energy than is necessary to get on than they are worth. The old school wing nut collars are the worst.
The plastic clamps you show are really quick and easy so you should do well with those.
I have owned and/or used all types of collars and even the expensive calibrated comp collars can fail. At the end of the day, you just want something that's fast to put on and secure to keep your plates in place. I currently use calibrated Eleiko collars but also the same type of cheap plastic clamps that you show, depending on how much weight I want on the bar. Both are fast and easy. The plastic ones obviously are far cheaper.
I've got these collars and they're great for ten bucks. I've used them on olympic dbs with 30kg+ being held by the plates overhead confidently on Triceps presses.
They hold as well or better than the spring or screw on ones i reckon