REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell

Adjustable Dumbbells have been a mainstay in the home gym market for YEARS. The original offerings seemed to always struggle to find a balance between being robust enough for drops and being quick to adjust. Then the PEPIN adjustable dumbbells released out of Canada and changed a lot of peoples perceptions of what was possible.

They were robust, quick to adjust, and were BADASS. The problem was that it took them upwards of 6 months to deliver a pair after ordering. In came REP Fitness with their partnership, to make this awesome offering something that could be kept in stock regularly. Now we’ll get a chance to see if after a couple years, these are still the best, or if others have crept into their territory.

The REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell is now on the Review Pipeline.

Transparency Note

The REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell were sent to me for free for sake of review. I also have an affiliate relationship with REP Fitness, and they sponsor my Garage Gym Competition.

Using the link gives me a small kick-back and costs you nothing. The funds help manage this website, my YouTube, and the various things I do in the home gym community. I appreciate your support.

REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell Overview

The REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbells come in a handful of sizes, ranging from 65lb pairs up to 125lb pairs. We snagged the 125s, because in my gym, we need the biggest tools we can get. The REPINs as they are affectionately named, are one of the few all metal construction adjustable dumbbells. From the plates to the handles to the adjustment mechanisms, we are looking at metal through and through. This means they are ready for drops, bumps, and whatever you can throw at them.

I’m not a super heavy dumbbell dropper, in fact I can’t remember the last time I dropped my dumbbells beyond a few inches after a heavy set of rows. But the knowledge that if I needed to bail on a set, that I can do just that, without ruining my $1000 set of dumbbells, is a nice feeling.

These are part of the REP Inventory Series, where they partner with a team making awesome stuff, to potentially make it a little better, more affordable, more in stock. The original PEPINs were made in Canada, but had a 6+ month lead time. REP partnered with them and currently I see an In Stock Notice, which is fairly common. REP made some minor adjustments, they moved production overseas, and the price mostly stayed the same. That is because REP and PEPIN now need to get their share.

So, from a customer perspective, you are paying the same, for a Chinese produced product opposed to a Canadian one, but with much more reliable in-stock opportunities. Some pros, some cons. Overall, these are targeted at a premium home gym set-up, as the 125lb pair clocks in at $1500 WITHOUT a stand.

REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell Specs

• Brand: REP Fitness and PEPIN
• Made In USA: No
• Dimensions of Dumbbells: 18.9″ Long, 5.3″ Wide. 7.3″ Tall (these change based on size of dumbbell you order)
• Dimensions of Cart: 31″ Wide, 22.3″ Long, 21″ Tall – 69lbs weight and 300lbs weight capacity
• Recommended Weight Capacity:
• Weight: Up to 125lbs per handle
• Weight Tolerance: Within 3%
• Frame Materials: 11 Gauge Steel
• Assembly: Dumbbells took about 30 minutes, cart took about 45 minutes

Shipping & Assembly

The REPINs were delivered in a slightly different packaging style than some of the other REP products I have received. The good news is, these were done well. The foam was all solid pieces, not brittle that makes a mess. Everything was firmly inserted inside the box with no movement, and essentially no way of getting damaged. Each weight increase comes in its own kit, which keeps the total weight down for the individual packages, which is a good thing. Overall, no complaints on the shipping side.

Assembly was also fairly straight forward. The only hiccup I ran into, was in the assembly of the dumbbell rack itself. Not the REP Adjustable Dumbbell Stand, but the stand that holds the dumbbells together. Because they use the same one for all sizes of dumbbells, you have to attach the outer plate rack in the right position. There is some give here, that ended up lending itself to the dumbbells fitting too tightly. Basically, the bolt went in, locked in place, but was a few millimeters too lose on one end, and too tight on the other. A few of the plates already got a little scratched because of it. Tighter tolerances here would probably solve for that.

REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbell Features

The REPINs are, as mentioned, fully metal. They accomplish this through their unique adjustment mechanism. You slide the pin pictured above into the appropriate spot, repeat on the other side, and you are ready to rock. This adjustment pin slides a full metal piece into the side cut-outs of the plates, locking them into place for use.

The audible noise of the sliding mechanism is actually pretty awesome. Something about it feels very “home gym”, like sliding a metal plate onto a bar. It is a noise that only lifters can appreciate.

We can see that the REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbells go from 10lbs up to 120lbs on the dial. One downside here is that we have no 5lb dumbbell option. Good news there, is that 5lb is fairly easy to come bye, you could even use a 5lb plate in a lot of situations, but this could be a struggle for some home gyms. To get to that full 125lb mark, or any of the 5lb increments in between, we have to use the adder plates.

These store on the REP® Adjustable Dumbbell Stand very easily, front and center, and slide into place easily as well. There is a little play on them, they only make 5lb jumps (so no 2.5lb options), and they actually disappear so easily, I could see you forgetting you added them on. We’ll see how we feel about these as we go. I know my friends over at Micro Gainz have their own solution.

After owning several adjustable dumbbell sets, and a number of fixed dumbbells, there are a couple things that differ greatly between them. One of the most noticeable is the handles. The PowerBlock handles are THICK. So thick that my wife really hates them. And all the women who have come into our gym, have had some words for them.

The NuoBell-S handles are a MUCH more toned down offering, where we get a normal sized handle, but we also have powdercoat over the knurling. For my wife, this is great. For me, I really hate it. The REPINs fall somewhere in the middle. The handles seem to be a solid compromise of size, not too big, not too small. And the knurling is present without being aggressive. So far, I like them.

The PEPIN dumbbells also, due to their very thin profile plates, take up less space for the same size. The Powerblocks and NuoBell-S at 100lbs, are basically the same size as the 125lb REPINs. Considering how the biggest advantage for adjustable dumbbells in a home gym, is the largest offerings out there, this is a big win for those that need it. I’m currently pressing ~80lb dumbbells for sets of 15 reps, so I’m not quite entering the triple digit category, but for rows, I was hitting 100 x 25+ reps. So I’m excited to see what the 125s have in store for me.

Vertical Storage & Mobility

The REP Adjustable Dumbbell Stand is the 2nd iteration of what REP launched for storage for the REP x PEPIN dumbbells. Their first cart option was, meh. It was missing a lot of the basic NEEDS of a good cart. The second iteration takes some heavy influences from the Black Widow Training Gear Dumbbell Cart. REPs offering currently comes in at $300, and Dean’s comes in at $670, but Dean’s comes in custom colors, is American Made in a Small Shop, and is the originator of this design. So you feel free to spend your money as you see fit, just know that there are two valid options out there.

The REP cart has wheels, which is a HUGE win over the NuoBell-S stand, and comes in two different black options, and the white we chose. I REALLY like the white and black accents to match our color scheme. The logo placements throughout, the nuts and bolts, everything flows well aesthetically. And the REPINs looks fantastic on here.

You can easily slide a bench like the Nighthawk into the center section for storage, which means the cart and dumbbells end up taking up VERY little floor space. The cart has storage for the adder plates as well. This thing is pretty rock solid, I only have two pseudo knocks so far, both around the wheels.

Steering this guy around the gym isn’t the easiest thing to do. It isn’t terrible, but in a tight fitting space, you might struggle to not bump into stuff. Second, is that the wheels almost work TOO well when the cart is unloaded. Meaning, when you go to re-rack your dumbbells, the cart tends to shift on you. So the parking brakes included on the wheels are probably your best bet.

What I’m Looking For In The REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbells

I’ll be comparing these to every other adjustable dumbbell I can get my hands on. For me, the big win for an adjustable dumbbell isn’t necessarily the smaller weights, but the bigger ones. A set of 5-50s fits pretty well into most spaces and isn’t too expensive. But 55 to 100, or especially above that, are OUTRAGEOUS. A pair of Rogue’s Urethane 125lb Dumbbells, just the 125s, is over $1000. Plus when we talk about space commitments of these larger dumbbells, how often you might use them, what for, you name it, things get a little crazy.

So I need these to work for my wife, my daughter, and other athletes that come into the gym. But I REALLY need them to be my go-to for myself. I need to snag these before the options. I need to want to keep these, and let the rest go. Because my wife can keep the 5-50lb urethanes we have, I need the big boy dumbbells.

Other Options On The Market

I’m currently stacking up half a dozen adjustable dumbbells against each other for a showdown. PowerBlocks, Ironmaster, NuoBell-S, and a few others, to see which ones stand out, and which ones fall short. So stay tuned for that.

Sign Up For More

✅ I’ll have a full review on the REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbells here and over on my YouTube channel. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.

Want to snag a set of the REP x PEPIN FAST Series Adjustable Dumbbells?