First off, I briefly had the Strength Shop Original Squat Stands and so can compare them with these. In short: most definitely go with these Heavy Duty Stands if you can afford it. They are better stands in every way, and are more than worth twice the price. You cannot bench press with the standard stands or do anything other than use them as squat stands. These heavy duty stands allow you to safely do most of the exercises you would do in a power cage, in a much more compact setup that can also be easily broken down and stowed away. They can also be used with a bench (even if using a 5 ft bar). The stands are definitely not as stable as a power cage or half-rack, even when they are weighed down using the storage rack at the base. But this is still a very strong set of stands, and I feel confident it would take the rated weight. Just with a little jiggle when racking and unracking the bar. The big advantage of these stands compared to a half rack is 1) they are very compact if space is at a premium, 2) they are easily broken down for storage and 3) they can be used with a 5 ft bar and standard weights. A half-rack or power cage is just not an option if you are using standard weights and a 5 ft bar. With these stands though you can adjust the width for a 5 ft bar, and if you progress to olympic weights and a 7 ft bar, they will work just as well. The storage rack at the bottom of the stands can take both standard weights, and olympic weights with the included sleeve. The safety bars are perfectly adequate for doing squats and all the other basic exercises. They are a little short, but work well. You can buy normal length safety spotters for this 60mm rack, but the danger is if you rest a fully loaded bar on it, the stands might tip over as they will overhang the base. The only issue with the stands that I can see is that the storage rack at the base of the stands is only welded on by half a tab. You can definitely feel it flexing when loading and unloading weights. They could have easily welded it on both sides with a full tab, which would make it a lot stronger. In all, I strongly recommend these if space is at a premium but you need to do the exercises you would normally do in a power cage. I’ve done squats flat/incline/decline bench, push presses and dips with this setup and an adjustable bench up to 250kg with both a 5 ft and 7ft bar with no problems at all.
