Off-Topic survey for the next generation kettlebell features

[Kettlebelephant]

Would make sense to keep balance of the bell to have four sides which had a bolt hole/thread so you could keep the balance of it. Bell would be flat base curved sides with flat segment on four sides and the weights are curved slightly with inset section so bolt doesnt protrude - keeps a standard bell shape

I own one of those open aperture competition bells. They are hollow and have a hole in the bottom.
Some kind of device that lets you insert a weight into that hole would be nice. For example a steel/iron cyclinder that fits in there, so the weight is inside the KB. That way the balance would still be the same or almost the same.


The only problem would be to fixate the cyclinder so it doesn't fly around inside the KB. That's where the device would come in.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Cast the bell with a full size hollow cylinder shape in the center, a very coarse thread at the bottom lip. Insert cylinders of varying weight from a thin shell to a solid slug, secured with 360° twist, maybe a slight taper fit.

By completely containing the slug/loading cylinder, you could use material such as lead or DU (just kidding, but according to DOE it IS perfectly safe!) and not have to worry about it escaping the bell. The slugs might set in a base that prevents them from rotating, the upper edge chamfered for an easy line-up. You lower the bell on it and twist using the handle - no tools needed.

The load variety might wind up very encompassing, but shipping would be brutal! A handful of hollow ones would allow you to load whatever you want and still swap out pretty quickly, shipping would be a dream compared to most.

And...you could drop the insert into the oven at 200° or so for an hour, screw it in with your oven mitts, jump outside in the snow for a quick no-gloves workout - everybody is happy!

 

[Olivier]

• Progressing past a 32kg for upper body movements takes a large increase in the forearms ability to handle the weight of the bell. A bell that allowed for adjustable width would allow me to put more stress on the forearm with a lighter weight and work through that difficulty.

Hope something in there is helpful!

Hi TravisDirks
Thank you so much for your post. I love your suggestions. Just to be sure: what exactly do you mean with adjustable width... the width of the handle or the width of the bell?

 

[TravisDirks]

Hi TravisDirks
Thank you so much for your post. I love your suggestions. Just to be sure: what exactly do you mean with adjustable width... the width of the handle or the width of the bell?

Thanks Olivier!

To your question - Width of the bell. When you hold a bell with your arm or vertical, or near vertical, as in a Getup, or when pressing, the force going into your forearm and the torque arm wrestling you in the rack comes from the displacement of the center of mass outside the fore arm. Essentially the bell wants to swing true to gravity, but your arm is in the way. I'm curious what could be done is the offset in the center of mass was adjustable.

 

[Olivier]

Thanks Olivier!

To your question - Width of the bell. When you hold a bell with your arm or vertical, or near vertical, as in a Getup, or when pressing, the force going into your forearm and the torque arm wrestling you in the rack comes from the displacement of the center of mass outside the fore arm. Essentially the bell wants to swing true to gravity, but your arm is in the way. I'm curious what could be done is the offset in the center of mass was adjustable.

thanks, now I got the idea

 

[Oscar]

Adjustable/replaceable handle - For grip training purposes it would be nice to have a set of thicker handle, perhaps working in 1/2 inch steps up to 2.5 or 3 inches. I throw fatgrips on mine at times. It would be nice to have something that felt like a solid part of the bell that could be swapped out.

Out of the topic but curious: How does the kettlebell feel with the fatgripz? I thought that would be a good idea to add to a light kettlebell to challenge the grip

 

[TravisDirks]

Out of the topic but curious: How does the kettlebell feel with the fatgripz? I thought that would be a good idea to add to a light kettlebell to challenge the grip

It feels solid, but the opening is so large, due to the already thick handle that it worries me a bit. I try to turn it so that my hand spans the opening when swinging/snatching so that I'm pressing on the closed side when it moves to the rack or the top of the snatch.

 

[Oscar]

It feels solid, but the opening is so large, due to the already thick handle that it worries me a bit. I try to turn it so that my hand spans the opening when swinging/snatching so that I'm pressing on the closed side when it moves to the rack or the top of the snatch.

So maybe it works fine for swings, that the handle doesnt rotate inside the hand, but no so well for snatches or cleans?

 

[TravisDirks]

So maybe it works fine for swings, that the handle doesnt rotate inside the hand, but no so well for snatches or cleans?

Good point. The sticky ness of the rubber is a bit of a pain, so you really have to open the hand more. I'm generally using lighter weights, so it's controlable. Overall not a great expereince, a solid thick handle would be much better.

An interchangeable handle along the lines of something Ryan pitts might make would be great: Modular Grip System

 

[Hasbro]

What about plumbing insulation as a cheap alternative to Fatgripz? You can get 6 feet of it at Lowes for about $3.50 and if you get the inch and one half size it should fit around a typical kb handle without having a large opening on one side. Might even allow the handle to rotate inside for snatches. I may give it a try.

 

[Smile-n-Nod]

The only feature I would like is the ability to add a 4-kg weight easily to a kettlebell and have the slightly heavier kettlebell still feel right. In other words, if I add 4 kg to a 24-kg kettlebell, it should feel basically the same as a 28-kg kettlebell. This would help to transition from, say, 24 kg to 32 kg without having to make the 8 kg jump all at once.

Probably the best way is to add rigidly attach a 4-kg disk to the bottom of the 24-kg kettlebell so that it doesn't wobble or move during use. That way, we can still do swings, cleans, presses, etc. with the augmented bell.

 

[Hasbro]

The only feature I would like is the ability to add a 4-kg weight easily to a kettlebell and have the slightly heavier kettlebell still feel right. In other words, if I add 4 kg to a 24-kg kettlebell, it should feel basically the same as a 28-kg kettlebell. This would help to transition from, say, 24 kg to 32 kg without having to make the 8 kg jump all at once.

I had the same idea possibly using rare earth magnets and small barbell plates but looks like there's a couple of companies already doing that. One type is made by PlateMates and the other is produced by TrueGrit. The main problem is they only come in 1kg or 2 kg weights and they are too expensive. I think I could make my own for a lot less. Here's a video where the girl reviews both types.

 

[Matt Piercy]

Wider handles, I don't think the handles are wide enough on most traditional kettlebells. I understand this on comp bells, but an extra inch of grip space would go along way for me.

 

[Michael Scott]

I second wider handles. I can barely grip my 32 kg kettlebell with both hands, without having my hands go down the horns of the handle. I would love to be able to have my hands next to each other at the top of the kettlebell.