I spent hours browsing Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and Amazon trying to figure out what power cage to purchase for my home gym. Based on my lifting history, I was looking for a cage that offered the following:
- a maximum weight capacity of a 600 lbs or greater
- a chin/pull-up bar that would work with the ceiling height of my basement
- height that would allow me to overhead press (OHP) inside the cage
In general, my search was really frustrating for several reasons:
- most of the used cages I found were quite old and I was unable to find weight capacity info on them. The good ones also went very quickly and I missed out on several deals.
- I found lots of cages that were too tall for my basement
- many ‘short’ versions of full-size cages would fit in my basement, but weren’t tall enough for me to OHP.
- cages that were tall enough to allow OHPing had pull-up bars that would be too close to my ceiling, not allowing me to really use them.
Eventually, I found the Fringe Sport Deluxe Power Squat Cage, which sounded too good to be true:
- weight capacity of 1,000 lb
- the pullup bar can be mounted at different heights
- looking at the design of the cage, I realized that I could mount the pull-up bars low and directly to the uprights and leave the other cross braces at the top. This would allow me to OHP and chin
- bonuses:
- the uprights are 2″ x 3,” which will work with add on cable systems
- the ‘bench zone’ has Westside Spacing
- includes two different diameter pullup bars, including a 2″ fat bar
Here are some of the other features of Deluxe Power Squat Cage:
- Dimensions: 29 7/8″ L x 46 1/2″ W x 90″ H
- Upright dimensions: 2″ x 3″ – 5/8″ diameter holes with Westside Spacing in bench zone
- Pullup bar width: 41 1/2″ W
- Pullup bar diameter: Standard = 1 1/4″, Fat/Axle = 2″
- Pullup bar capacity: 400 lb
- Weight capacity: 1,000 lb
- Bumper plate storage rod weight capacity: 250 lb
- Material: 11-gauge steel with black matte powder coat
source: https://www.fringesport.com/collections/squat-racks/products/floor-mounted-kip-cage
After exchanging emails with Fringe Sport to verify that I could configure the cage the way I wanted, I soon had a Deluxe Power Squat Cage, an EZ Curl Axle Bar, a pair of Mini Farmer’s Walk Handles and a set of SuperStrap Barbell Collars headed my way.
First Impressions
I was very excited about the equipment I had ordered.* On the day that everything arrived though, my sense of excitement was soon replaced with dread. Based on my time working at a shipping center, I was sure that what I saw was no fault of Fringe Sport, but knew the packages, due to their weight, were handled very roughly in transit. The first thing I did after opening the boxes is check the packing lists to make sure everything was there. Unfortunately, I was missing a few pieces, but nothing that would keep me from putting the cage together while I waited for the missing parts to arrive. Upon learning about the mishandled boxes, Fringe Sport was eager to get the missing items to me.
Assembly was fairly straight-forward, with the exception of one mistake I made. Before modifying the the design of the cage, I wanted to assemble the cage how it was meant to be assembled, to see if I was losing any stability. I initially assembled the cage incorrectly due to the lack of instructions or a larger diagram showing how the top of the cage should be assembled. In the video, I assemble the top of the cage incorrectly then fix it. After checking out the stability, I re-assembled to fit the constraints of my situation better. Overall, the cage was easy to assembly … easy enough that I unknowingly assembled it with a complete distal biceps tendon rupture. In the later half of the video, a few weeks after my surgery, you’ll see me securing the cage to the wall while wearing a splint.
The cage seems to be well made from quality materials – all of the welds are complete without any gaps or blow-throughs. Everything went together easily. The finish on the cage is nice. With my injury, I won’t be able to really use the cage until late summer, but in the meantime I plan to have some friends test it and provide some feedback.
Future Testing
Once I am able to use the cage, I will be interested in observing:
- if just securing the cage to the wall is sufficient – Fringe Sport recommends that the cage is secured to the floor. The cage is mounted in a temporary location, but if this method works to sufficiently secure the cage, I will use it in the new location.
- how well the finish of the cage holds up to use
- how useful the Weston Spacing is over traditional spacing
- the use of the fat bar for chin-ups and how it affects my training
*Disclaimer: The product reviewed in this entry was purchased at a discounted price from Fringe Sport
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