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Kettlebell Quality cast iron kbs for europeans?

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Marius_Lefter

Marius_Lefter

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Hi,

I live in Bucharest, Romania (european country, member of European Union). I look to purchase 2 good quality cast iron kettlebells (24 and 32 kilo each) to use in my training.

What options do I have regarding available brands? US brands such as Kettlebells USA, Kettlebell Kings, Vulcan etc. are out of the question because shipping expenses make these products extremely expensive.

So, what options do I have as a european trainee? What do you, my fellow europeans, use and are happy with?

Thank you for your help.

I also posted this question in the forum section dedicated to equipment.
 
Kalle Videnoja said:
I have bought my 40 kg kettlebell from Rogue Europe and I am very satisfied with both the bell quality and the delivery.
Click to expand...

So far I have used comp bells from Eleiko. They have a quality beyond relief. I was lucky enough to find an Eleiko distributor in my country that essentially brought the 8, 12 and 16 kilo bells to my doorstep without charging shipping. I would have purchased Eleiko cast iron, is the most convenient, but they are so odly shaped, especially the handle, and I do not think I would like them.

Give me a little more detail on Rogue. I see they have a european branch. Where do you live and how much die you paid for shipment?
 
Rogue Europe - Belgium
Wolverson - UK
Primal strength - UK
UK SUPREME fitness - UK/France
Bulldog Gear - UK
strength shop - UK
 
I've found the cheap Bodymax cast iron kettlebells from Amazon to be as good as anything to be honest, occasionally I have had to sand the handle but that's all. I don't know if you can get them in Romania though.
 
“Bad Company” bells from amazon (yes that is the brand name) are quite good
Strengthshop.de are also really good quality and they deliver in the EU also
 
I have Dragondoors RKC bells and a couple of Rogue from Rogue Fitness Europe - Strength & Conditioning Equipment. Rogue with their powder coating is my favourite because same shape as RKC but half the price. And nicer grip when sweaty.
Agree on Eleiko iron bells having very uncomfortable shape.

Delivery to Sweden was appr 25-40€ for 32-40 kg. For 48 kg bell they wanted almost 100€ shipping so that one I bought from Swedish dealer for RKC with pick-up possibility.
 
Marius_Lefter said:
So far I have used comp bells from Eleiko. They have a quality beyond relief. I was lucky enough to find an Eleiko distributor in my country that essentially brought the 8, 12 and 16 kilo bells to my doorstep without charging shipping. I would have purchased Eleiko cast iron, is the most convenient, but they are so odly shaped, especially the handle, and I do not think I would like them.

Give me a little more detail on Rogue. I see they have a european branch. Where do you live and how much die you paid for shipment?
Click to expand...

I had to look into this, having never seen an Eleiko fitness KB. I wouldn't think twice if the quality and price were good. If the price is right they look like they'd work very well, especially for lifts where you are grabbing the bell by the horns.

An improvement over a competition KB in that regard and otherwise very similar handle geometry. It looks like that is what they were shooting for - uniform handle size with competition shape on variable size cast iron body.

NTB19XISCY_standard.jpg
 
I have a couple of colour cast iron Kbs from Wolverson. Shipping is a bit expensive but otherwise they are great - at least for people with large hands :) The simple cast iron look nice, too.

Kettlebells
 
Marius_Lefter said:
So far I have used comp bells from Eleiko. They have a quality beyond relief. I was lucky enough to find an Eleiko distributor in my country that essentially brought the 8, 12 and 16 kilo bells to my doorstep without charging shipping. I would have purchased Eleiko cast iron, is the most convenient, but they are so odly shaped, especially the handle, and I do not think I would like them.

Give me a little more detail on Rogue. I see they have a european branch. Where do you live and how much die you paid for shipment?
Click to expand...
I have tried both shapes, and personally, I find that the traditional handle is more comfortable. The square design causes KB stability issues as it does not rest on the forearm in the same way as other KBs.

One thing to watch out for is handle thickness, especially for the heavier weights. Strength Shop KBs have a thicker handle than Rogue KBs.
 
Marius_Lefter said:
Give me a little more detail on Rogue. I see they have a european branch. Where do you live and how much die you paid for shipment?
Click to expand...

Shipping was quite expensive - about 75€, to Finland that is. All local distributors would sell competition bells only and I prefer the hardstyle bell to competition bells, especially in tgu's. Also, the prices for comp. kettlebells in Finnish stores were closer to 200 € anyhow.
 
Glen said:
Rogue Europe - Belgium
Wolverson - UK
Primal strength - UK
UK SUPREME fitness - UK/France
Bulldog Gear - UK
strength shop - UK
Click to expand...

In all honesty I believe Primal strength to be almost the exact same bell as Rogue. I can't recommend Primal gear enough. Speak to the owner (Steve Rinaldi) who might be able to do you a deal - typically they use a code like FITNESS15 for 15% off (think that might have ended now) but shows they are willing to wiggle some if shipping costs will be high
 
I took action on all your recommendations. I engaged in talks with almost all companies mentioned above and hope by the end of this month to have the needed kettlebells. In my research I also discovered that Mr. Peter Lakatos, a high ranking Strong First instructor and leader, sells very high quality kbs from Hungary.

Now, I mostly want to use cast iron ones because I want to get SFG certified at some point, and I want to get used to the implement that is used at examination. How did you spread the acquisitions so as not to ruin your budget but also to make sure that kettlebells purchased at some time apart from one another were the same? What weights did you get, and when?
 
So this may be a dumb question, but are there Russian kettlebells on the market? I am mostly just curious if the motherland of the kettlebell is making any that are worthwhile.
 
Yes, one year ago I have found some russian companies that made kbs very well seen: Titan was one company, another one by Valery Fedorenko (a star of girevoy sport) named VF Precision I think. And if you look at the many videos on youtube of Ivan Denisov or Fedor Fuglev and other russian and ukrainean stars of girevoy sport, I bet that many of those kbs are Russian made.
 
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