The BEST Rack Attachment For Your Home Gym - Mutant Metals Snap Back Rollers Review

[@GrayMatterLifting]

If I missed anything you'd like answered, drop me a note. Here to help!

[@babygiantbarbell1014]

I really like these. I grabbed the updated titan monos a little over a year ago after my pec injury to avoid unracking heavy benches alone from my normal rollers. They work magically for bench. I do find myself squatting from my rollers though because I find it easier to get locked into the bar with them and because of the ease of centering the heavier loads. Mutant metals has made some incredible stuff, and these sit with the UDA as exhibit a and b. Great Review Joe.

[@1999TransAmWS6]

Great review. I use Rogue monos for squats and totally agree with the racking problem. The way I fixed it is I made 1ft square mirrors that attach to my uprights so I can see both monolifts hooks. I have the hooks swing behind me, not forward. It works perfectly. I'm considering the mutant metals for benching.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Very interesting and creative solution on the monos.

[@1999TransAmWS6]

@@GrayMatterLifting I had to use the monos behind me because with the Kabuki transformer bar, the handles like to hang downwards. As I would rotate them up to get under the bar, it would push the monos into the open position before I unracked it yet. That sort of defeated the point of monolifts. Having the hooks behind me was great to unrack but scary to rack so I did the mirrors. I can see both hooks in my peripheral vision without even moving my head.

[@joecowan3719]

Nice review of these Joe. Chris is s GREAT guy and was great at answering a few questions once I started to use them. I actually use the Irwin monos for bench and these for squats, love them both equally.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

If I had a slightly bigger rack, I'd 100% use these for BOTH squats and bench. Do you use these for squats in the locked position? Walk out your squat? What does that look like?

[@joecowan3719]

@@GrayMatterLifting I squat out of the front of my rack using the spotter arms for safeties. My question to Chris was exactly that, how to maximize the swing so I don't have to shuffle my feet back before I low bar squat. Chris gave the great suggestion of setting your feet back a bit, under where you will pull the arm of mono back and then stand up with the weight and it will maximize the swing. Since I have done this I have zero issues with rising up too close to the front of the mono and clipping it. I have only had them since Mid- May squatting 1-2x per week with them, but will be running Squatober in a few weeks so I will def be dialing in my usage of them on a daily basis and hope to PR again. I wish I could participate in your GGC but I only have KZbin. Maybe one day in the future it will be an option...good luck with an awesome idea!

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@joecowan3719 id like to add KZbin for 2023. Reddit is pretty easy BTW, you could upload to KZbin and then post that link onto the Reddit sub and be good to go!

[@joecowan3719]

@@GrayMatterLifting Thanks for the suggestion, but due to my job Reddit and other socials are off the table for me. Very cool to hear it is coming in 2023!

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@joecowan3719 no problem man.

[@HighValueBum]

i really hope these come back in stock they are exactly what i was looking for

[@GrayMatterLifting]

He was taking a quick break to get caught up on orders. Almost positive you'll have a chance in the near future.

[@DeepVoicedOne]

Good review, I like the improved features on these monos. I own a pair of Mech's monos and also find them more useful to bench with than squat with...my only gripe which is common and like you mentioned is that most monos take up too much space inside the rack. I squat, bench, deadlift and OHP inside the rack so unless I use them on the outside of the rack they're more of a work around inside my 36" rack space to mess with.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Yep! Mechs were looked at in this design (I sent the old Mech 6 thread to Chris for some ideas). Yeah I've been tempted to say, if I went with a R4 sized rack, would that address the space concerns?

[@GavinBrown]

Really good and thorough review. Cheers.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Thanks Gavin!

[@carps_gym]

Solid review Joe I love mine as well the one thing I would change is that your UHMW on the front of the cups as you mentioned

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Yep, he mentioned there is someone who makes some for it as an aftermarket option. I haven't dug into that yet.

[@carps_gym]

Yeah I am guessing koala barbell or Aperture Engineering

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@carps_gym it was Aperture, because I asked Greg and he hadn't done it yet. Wanted someone to send him one of the mono arms to make it. Chris said he had some dude doing it already (on Discord maybe?) So didn't move forward there.

[@vintageweightspgh]

Pricey, but especially if you lift alone like me, they look like they're worth it. There are plenty of cheaper options, but I really like the snap back design - no hockey stick and easy to move. I also love the roller. Great point about the front lip not having UMHW. Overall, a really smooth review!

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Definitely pricey. I'm excited to see what he comes up with for a V2 option.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Got asked specifically about the clearance, so I went back and did some more measurements... Bar loaded at 135lbs... no tension nothing, the center of the bar sits 8.5 inches from the backside of the housing. From back side of housing to front lip of the mono arm, with no bar... looks to be about 7.25 inches. So somewhere around 1 to 1.5 inches of clearance. Did some measurements on bench and squats for sake of argument. When I bench, to get some tension in my lats, I pull the bar forward a little, especially since I tend to touch at the upper part of my abs. It measured to 9.75 inches, so there's actually another 1.25 inches of clearance on bench in what I might call a "real world" measurement vs simply a testing measurement. For squats... measured to center of bar at 9.75 inches, so again, another 1.25. When I had talked to Chris about this at one point, he mentioned this concept in the design. That you'd be pulling the bar out a bit against the springs, thus some "extra" clearance. Hope that helps.

[@Clownlife432]

Thanks for the review

[@GrayMatterLifting]

You bet, thanks for watching!

[@jamestonbellajo]

I see you use a Kadillac Bar with these. Given the thickness of the rackable portion, is there a risk of the Kadillac Bar falling off? Do you have to rerack more delicately after a set? I want these but I want to make sure they work well with my Kadillac Bar.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

I sold my Kadillac Bar, and your thinking is correct, it is VERY tight. I scuffed my Snap Backs a few times using it, and left some scars. They aren't friends.

[@pramodreddy3870]

I got myself a pair of these for benching and seem to be hitting the underside of the monos at full extension. Can you describe how you setup to have vertical clearance? To give some background, my rack is Rep PR5000. I played around moving the monos one hole higher, then the unracking takes my shoulder blades out of their position. You mentioned pulling against spring tension, does that somehow help? Trying to understand how to setup and take the bar out with these

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@pramodreddy3870 hey! Yeah there is a small learning curve here for sure. I'll find a link to a bench video for you, but here is the basics. I line up my eyes pretty much right underneath the bar. Get set, do whatever you are going to do to get tight, etc. Grab the bar and pull it down and out. Out meaning further down your body. So it should probably be closer to chin or chest level at this point. Everything is tight and ready to rock. You give it a slight bump UP, the arms should slide out of the way, and good to go.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@pramodreddy3870 instagram.com/reel/C_UJXnXgoe5/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng== Chris reposted one of my videos recently on Instagram. And he gives some good descriptions too.

[@TonyNovation]

Good review! The only thing I'd like to see (other than the UHMW on the lip) is some sort of nice storage option for the floor or wall. Like a lot of garage gym owners, I'm just running out of space and every square inch of floor and wall real estate matters. They don't look like they'd stay upright (like an L) if I tried to store them on the floor. Plus, I see you have metal shelves and I can't imagine you want to slide those on and off those shelves.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Interesting thought. For me, storage didn't really factor in because they are so easy to move and they get used most days. Even when I squat, I can easily just move them to the top of my rack and they dissappear. But I do see what you are saying. Any ideas specifically? A simple solution for storage racks would be a piece of rubber flooring. They'd easily sit upside down, like some encyclopedias kind of thing.

[@raps7027]

Hey Man, great review I just wished I saw this review before I purchased my mono lifts. I bought a pair of mono lifts for my Power Rack from Irwin Fitness, and they make great quality products. I have an excellent pair of roller J-Cups that they custom made for me. I have a great relationship with the owner Garth from Irwin Fitness and I let him know I wanted a pair of custom Monolifts, it took over 3 months for him to make them as he had some issues with the Power Coat spray company so they had to redo them (sand/paint) before shipping them out to me in Seattle. And I am not trying to be negative by any means because these mono lifts are built like a brick tank/very hefty and well manufactured. But dude they are way too big for me they weigh over 35 pounds each and I can't attach them to my rack by myself as they are too big and awkward! They are meant for someone who is never going to move them around and just stay permanently on the rack in my opinion. I spent over $750 with shipping and everything and have only used them once. Nothing against Irwin Fitness and I should of done my research more throughly. I definitely would like to have the Mutant Metal Monolfit instead, and hopefully I will purchase a pair in the near future. In the meantime I have no idea what I am going to do with my 75 pound mono lifts? Sell them hopefully? This is my only gym attachment I purchased that I truly regret buying.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

I've talked to Irwin before. Good dude and solid stuff. You got pics of those? they sound crazy!

[@ironjunkies9945]

Great review!!

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Thanks dude!

[@medaillemaverick]

Another great review Joe. Does anyone run into problems with the weights on the bar bumping into the monos repping out on bench considering the width of the monos!!??

[@GrayMatterLifting]

I had issues with my Kabuki Kaddilac bar. I bumped them a couple times, and especially with the aggressive powder coat, it left some dings. With a traditional bar, even my plethora of random specialty bars, neutral bars, earthquake bar, whatever... all good on my end.

[@DeepVoicedOne]

I went ahead and purchased these bad boys, now comes the wait time lol. Quick question Joe, I can't tell, are the snap-back rollers on a 2x3, or 3x3 rack? And if it's 2x3 do they use extra UHMW to compensate the width difference?

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Yeah the wait time is rough. Worth it. But rough. Mine are on a 2x3 Rogue Rack. He will custom use the right pin, and then add UHMW to make it fit correctly. Good news is, it doesn't seem to be off center or anything crazy.

[@DeepVoicedOne]

@@GrayMatterLifting Wow the fit of those on the 2x3 is so clean that it looks like they were made for it...guess I know where my $$$ went on these and appears to be the right direction!

[@t-manballin2458]

Ordered mine months ago… hoping to get them soon

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Yeah his delivery times are pretty slow. He's working on that, but certainly something you should know ahead of time.

[@DregGayton777]

What mono lift is best for Squats? Thanks!

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Honestly I haven't seen any get recommended for squats on a rack. The hard part is that a traditional monolift meant for squats is HUGE and the arms are very long so they can get out of the way. Really hard to mimic in a power rack.

[@dalibadis]

How do you add the red colour in the MS logo ?

[@GrayMatterLifting]

Red vinyl. Check this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iavVqYOkqayGfrMfeature=shared

[@cyberbully3501]

Where did you get that pin from 3:39

[@GrayMatterLifting]

It is the magnetic pin that came with the Mutant Metals Snap Back Rollers.

[@cyberbully3501]

@@GrayMatterLifting Cool. I didnt know the pins came with it. I'm still waiting on my snap back rollers

[@TheGhu123]

this looks like it will have the bar higher than the Rogue Monolifts. Do you know how low the var will sit? 10 inch from the top of the monolif?

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@TheGhu123 I wish I could respond with a picture cause I just took one for ya. From the top of the mono (white part) to the center of the bar, is 8.5inches

[@TheGhu123]

@@GrayMatterLifting that is significantly less than the rogue which sits at 14+ inches. On the website its version 1.1 is there a version 2 coming out? Should I just wait for the version 2. My use case is to try to use it in a rack with a drop in rhino for regular squat inside the rack. Thanks.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@TheGhu123 he's had a version 2 he's been working on, but that's been for a couple years. So no idea on an actual ETA there. Personally I don't like monos for Squats, but I've just always been a walk out squatter. So it felt odd.

[@TheGhu123]

@@GrayMatterLifting Just place an oder. Thanks for all your help. Your reviews and response gave great insights.

[@GrayMatterLifting]

@@TheGhu123 fantastic. What color scheme did you go with?