Some equipment opinions.

Posted By: Jesse Jobe
Date: Thursday, 17 April 2003, at 2:31 a.m.

I am bored and sitting at the computer and decided to give my opinion of some equipment. Lets start off with crains gear.

I love the suits, the material is strong and give lots of rebound plus it last for a long time. The knee wraps are real nice for wrapping real tight their not so dang thick that you can't get them wrapped under. The shirt is quite impressive, I have not got a chance to actually use one myself yet but my training partner did and had no problems fighting the shirt to get low on his chest. Very good shirt for benching low and elbows in benchers. The crain DL suit is simply awesome also, alot of people told me that it only worked well for people that pull sumo but I know it helped with at least another 30lbs when I pull conventional. Overall I give crains a 9 out of 10. Their stuff is priced perfect and their service is excellent.

Inzer gear. I have used the champion suit and the hardcore suit for their squat suits. The champion suit was my first squat suit ever. This suit works well and is priced quite nice for starting out. The only complaint I have about the champion suit is they seem to loosen up fairly quick. The hardcore suit, I don't really care for this suit I think it is really expensive and you have to wear the hardcores so tight in order to really get the full advantage of them. Inzer shirts, I have worn all of inzer shirts including the denims. I like the the ehphd it is a good shirt and gives good rebound. I think you want to wear these shirts a size too small if you want to really get the best out these shirts also though. The dbl denim is really a solid shirt, but I have yet to be able to figure out the groove of denim shirt to get its full potential. The inzer Zwraps are one of my favorite knee wraps, they give excellent rebound but are a pain to get the wrap under in the end if you have your knees wrapped tight. Overall I will give Inzer 7 out of 10. Their customer support is helpful but most of the people you talk to are not really powerlifters and are not always sure what to tell you. Also I don't really care for their return policy.

Titan gear. The only titan gear I have used is the new fury shirt. It is quite an impressive shirt, you don't have to wear it super tight to get a good rebound. But titans shipping is terrible right now. I have friends you have their new suits and they are impressive. I hope to get a boss suit one of these days. I will not give titan a ranking as I have not used them enough.

Frantz gear. I have used the frantz dbl denim, the dbl canvas, and their dbl poly breifs. The dbl denims I have had from frantz have all blown all on my first attempts and meets. I have a bad opinion on frantz shirts so i will leave it at that. The dbl canvas is so far going good for me I had to send in for alterations and have been waiting 3 weeks so far even when it was loose it still gave awesome rebound, this is suit I will use in my next meet. The dbl poly breifs are ok I like to use them to train in. I haven't really used frantz that often so and I am not that impressed with their turnaround time right now. I am impressed with dbl canvas though so I am happy with that. No ranking though.

In closing I would like to say that crains is probably my favorite company to deal with. Whenever I call there I get someone who is knoweldgeable and will put up my constant questions. They also have never given me a lie about how long it will take for anything I order to get to me. I hope I did not offend anybody or cause any problems.

Thanks,
jesse

An additional word on Titan...I have used their Centurian double quad suits (back in the day) and was very satisfied with their performance. Pricing has put them out of my range for now.

: An additional word on Titan...I have used their
: Centurian double quad suits (back in the
: day) and was very satisfied with their
: performance. Pricing has put them out of my
: range for now.

I may break the norm here but I have tried much equipment through the years. My first choices for customer service has to be Karins stuff. THe gear is the best made I have ever seen bar NONE! And the customer service is awsome. Each item I have got is measured to the tee and fits like a glove. SHe knows how to do it and do it right. And the service has been unreal. I have ordered shirts and suits and get them in 1-2 weeks and usually the first week. Now the only problem is two feds I like to lift in APA and USAPL you can not wear all her gear. With that in mind Titan gear is my second choice. THe stuff is built to last and will not wear out. The NXG FURY is the closest groove I have found in single ply to being like a double denium. The only draw back with them is you have to wait and wait. If you are not in a hurry you will not go wrong with them. Inzer has good stuff and good customer service. I just ordered a champ to train in and ordered on Monday it was on my doorstep on Fri. They have okay gear I personally do not think it is as good as Titan or Karin but it is nice to get stuff quick. I have used Crains wraps and they are the best wraps and wrist wraps I have used but as Eric Stone pointed out for some reason they wear out too quick. I have used the Crain groove briefs to lif in and when training in them I feel no support at all. I assume they are mad out of the same cloth as the suits are. I did feel some support from Frantz and Inzer briefs. I guess if you wanted to wear a double layer suit and double layer briefs crains would feel good but I do not want to wear four layers of stuff. If I was going to do that I would just wear the double denium. SO my first choice is Karins followed closely by Titan. Again just my opinion thats all. Ken

Jesse Great Review

I like you have used a lot of equipment and can add a few things to your great list here.

: I am bored and sitting at the computer and
: decided to give my opinion of some
: equipment. Lets start off with crains gear.

: I love the suits, the material is strong and
: give lots of rebound plus it last for a long
: time. The knee wraps are real nice for
: wrapping real tight their not so dang thick
: that you can't get them wrapped under. The
: shirt is quite impressive, I have not got a
: chance to actually use one myself yet but my
: training partner did and had no problems
: fighting the shirt to get low on his chest.
: Very good shirt for benching low and elbows
: in benchers. The crain DL suit is simply
: awesome also, alot of people told me that it
: only worked well for people that pull sumo
: but I know it helped with at least another
: 30lbs when I pull conventional. Overall I
: give crains a 9 out of 10. Their stuff is
: priced perfect and their service is
: excellent.

Crains everything said here is right on the money and customer service is #1. I have not used one of their shirts yet, but overall this is great stuff. I believe the Squat suit has the most pop out of the hole for all the suits I have tried. Their briefs in my opinion are incredible and I lift conventional as well and really like the DL suit. What is really nice is you get a fast turn around on alterations.

: Inzer gear. I have used the champion suit and
: the hardcore suit for their squat suits. The
: champion suit was my first squat suit ever.
: This suit works well and is priced quite
: nice for starting out. The only complaint I
: have about the champion suit is they seem to
: loosen up fairly quick. The hardcore suit, I
: don't really care for this suit I think it
: is really expensive and you have to wear the
: hardcores so tight in order to really get
: the full advantage of them. Inzer shirts, I
: have worn all of inzer shirts including the
: denims. I like the the ehphd it is a good
: shirt and gives good rebound. I think you
: want to wear these shirts a size too small
: if you want to really get the best out these
: shirts also though. The dbl denim is really
: a solid shirt, but I have yet to be able to
: figure out the groove of denim shirt to get
: its full potential. The inzer Zwraps are one
: of my favorite knee wraps, they give
: excellent rebound but are a pain to get the
: wrap under in the end if you have your knees
: wrapped tight. Overall I will give Inzer 7
: out of 10. Their customer support is helpful
: but most of the people you talk to are not
: really powerlifters and are not always sure
: what to tell you. Also I don't really care
: for their return policy.

Inzer is a good company if you deal with them direct and not some of the suppliers that I have had trouble with. The EHPHD needs to be 2 sizes smaller to get max rebound, but then again I like my shirt TIGHT and I mean TIGHT. I feel the only draw back is I feel their stuff is overpriced. Thier wraps are king of the hill.

: Titan gear. The only titan gear I have used is
: the new fury shirt. It is quite an
: impressive shirt, you don't have to wear it
: super tight to get a good rebound. But
: titans shipping is terrible right now. I
: have friends you have their new suits and
: they are impressive. I hope to get a boss
: suit one of these days. I will not give
: titan a ranking as I have not used them
: enough.

I wear and one a ton of Titan stuff and really like their gear. The Fury is one of the best shirts on the market and needs to be work 1 size smaller than they recommend to get max effect. Suits are Primo, but I would not recommend the top end suits to beginners or those that lack experience in really tight gear. As I have said in the past a tight Dual Quad is like a straight jacket on steriods, the thing is rigid and I can't imagine what the boss suit would be like. You need to wear a set of briefs under the dual quad to help add more rebound out of the hole. Their wraps are very marginal.

: Frantz gear. I have used the frantz dbl denim,
: the dbl canvas, and their dbl poly breifs.
: The dbl denims I have had from frantz have
: all blown all on my first attempts and
: meets. I have a bad opinion on frantz shirts
: so i will leave it at that. The dbl canvas
: is so far going good for me I had to send in
: for alterations and have been waiting 3
: weeks so far even when it was loose it still
: gave awesome rebound, this is suit I will
: use in my next meet. The dbl poly breifs are
: ok I like to use them to train in. I haven't
: really used frantz that often so and I am
: not that impressed with their turnaround
: time right now. I am impressed with dbl
: canvas though so I am happy with that. No
: ranking though.

No experience with Frantz gear.

If you are lucky enough to have a Marathon suit these are quality suits, unfortunatley mine fit me when I lifted in the 165s so it sits on the shelf. The other down side is they are no longer making suit or may be completely out of business. I believe Marathon suits were ahead of their time.

: In closing I would like to say that crains is
: probably my favorite company to deal with.
: Whenever I call there I get someone who is
: knoweldgeable and will put up my constant
: questions. They also have never given me a
: lie about how long it will take for anything
: I order to get to me. I hope I did not
: offend anybody or cause any problems.

Great stuff Jesse I hope I added a little to expand on your great post.

Rodney