Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I don't normally leave reviews, but I saw that nobody has reviewed these yet so I thought I'd put in my opinion for those of you who are curious or interested in this product and how it compares to similar products out there. I bought the Selecttech 552 from Bowflex before I saw this product being announced in blogs. I didn't like how relatively ugly and cumbersome they were. Here's how this iSelect compares to the Selecttech. Aesthetics / Looks: I like things that look understated and the Selecttech is definitely not that. Lots of curves and red accents really stand out in a normal living space and look out of place. I don't have a big apartment so I don't have a dedicated workout room, and the Selecttech really stuck out in the living room where I work out. In comparison, the iSelect looks much more subtle. They aren't works of art, but the all black with metal accent is much less noticeable than the Selecttechs with the red accents and curved look. They do take up a bit more room than the Selecttechs though. The base is both wider and deeper than the Bowflex, and you can arrange those separately. With the iSelect, the base has to be wide enough to house both dumbells so it's much wider. Adjustment Method: What I really found cumbersome with the Bowflex is the manual dial. When you're adjusting the weights, you have to turn 4 dials in total to make the adjustments. I like to come down with the weights to squeeze out one more rep and so this can get old really fast. This might be a small thing, but since the dials on the Bowflex are on both sides, you end up adjusting two of them clockwise and the other two anti-clockwise, which can get confusing. Even more confusing is that the lettering on the opposite side is upside down, making them harder to read. iSelect is a much simpler operation. there's only one dial you have to turn to adjust the weights on both dumbbells. 1 dial vs 4 dials doesn't seem like much but it can add up really quickly over each session, let alone for the entire ownership of the product. I like that I don't have to read the numbers upside down and that it happens all at once. You do have the option to connect the iSelect to an Amazon Alexa and ask her to change the weights by voice, but I think that would actually take longer than just doing it yourself. I didn't bother testing that out, but if that sounds appealing, then it's an option you have that you don't with the Bowflex. Weight Increments: One thing that the Bowflex have that the iSelect doesn't is the weight increments are more granular. iSelect weights go up by 5lbs, while the Bowflex can be adjusted in increments of 2.5lbs from 5lbs to 25lbs. So iSelect can do (5, 10, 15, 20, 25) while Bowflex can do (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25). So the Bowflex gives you a lot more weight increment which could be really crucial for people who need more range. I personally found the 5lbs increment on the iSelect to be sufficient for my needs. More increments are nice, but the also made the manual adjustment more cumbersome because it was more clicks on the dial. For example, to go from 20lbs to 10lbs on the Bowflex is 4 clicks x 4 dials = 16 clicks in total. On the iSelect, the same adjustment only takes 2 clicks. Another thing is that iSelect goes up to 50lbs but the Selecttech 552 goes up higher, up to 52.5lbs. Balance, Size: Something I found to be inconvenient with the Bowflex is how wide the dumbbells are, regardless of how much weight you put on them. I wasn't used to their width and ended up clanking them during some exercises. Bowflex claims that the width helps with some exercises like curls, but I didn't find it to be convenient. I like that the iSelect dumbbells are narrow when you don't have that much weight on them and get progressively wider as you add more and more weights. This is much more convenient for me when the weights are low. I'll add that their other dumbbells with the manual dial also have this feature too so it's not exclusive to the iSelect. Grip: Bowflex has a rubberized grip that's slightly convex and bulges in the middle. This is very nice to hold without gloves and much easier on your hands. iSelect has a knurled metal grip that's a bit more coarse to the skin. I ended up wearing workout gloves since the knurling is rather coarse. They are also cool to the touch vs the rubber grips on the iSelect. I think both have their pros and cons, but I didn't mind the metal grip on the iSelect but thought I would point out this difference. Other considerations: iSelect base needs to be plugged into the wall at all times for them to adjust the weights. This would mean that you might need an extension cord depending on where your nearest wall outlet is. Also, they might not be suitable if you want to workout outdoors. The Bowflex are manually adjustable so they don't need to be positioned near the wall outlet. Also, if you have a power loss, you might not be able to change the weights on your dumbbells, although I donno if you might need to workout with the electricity out. iSelect also offers Alexa integration and a subscription service component, but I don't plan on using either features so I won't be commenting on their quality. Conclusion: I decided to return the Bowflex and keep the iSelect because they suit my needs better and didn't mind their drawbacks. I got the Bowflex on sale for 299, but they go for 399 regularly which is only slightly less than the iSelects. So I ended up paying 130 or so more for these, but I'm happier overall for the reasons I outlined above. I think you'll be happy with either pair since they are both quality products, but they are quite different and it might be worth weighing your options (pun intended) to get the most out of your purchase. Thanks for reading :)