Barwing Adjustable Weight Bench Review: versitile, sturdy bench for dumbbell workouts

When you first unbox the Barwing Adjustable Weight Bench, you might be surprised by its size. It’s a small, lightweight bench. This thing only weighs 31lb. There isn’t much to it.

I’m not saying you’ll be disappointed, but just don’t go expecting a heavy-duty weight bench because the Barwing Bench is far from it.

This is a bench designed for dumbbell workouts. I wouldn’t recommend it for rack work. If you’re considering using this bench with your power rack, spend a few more bucks and go for a more heavy-duty folding bench like the 2000 SuperMax Bench from Fitness Reality 2000. (still under $200)

The Barwing Bench is perfect for beginners and even some intermediates who are tight on space and looking for a dumbbell bench. It folds in 5 seconds and is lightweight, making it easy to wheel from room to room for storage, etc.

In this price bracket, you just have to be careful. There’s so many weight benches competing for the top spots that I’ve started to lose count, and the quality on offer between the benches can be huge from one to the next, even though they share similar price tags.

Some are even dangerous, and I’ve trained on a few when the back support adjustment pin has snapped.

And I have heard many other complaints from friends who have bought the wrong cheap weight bench.

Still, there are a few good ones out there, and the Barwing Bench looks to be one of them. And today, we’ll take a close look at everything this bench has to offer, including all of it’s pros and drawbacks.

Also, at the end of the review, I’ll compare the Barwing bench to a fav of mine in this price range, as it will be interesting to see how it matches up.

First a quick look at the Barwing Adjustable Weight Bench product specs!

Why Do We Like The Barwing Adjustable Weight Bench?

I already mentioned in the intro that the reason many are going to like this bench is for its easy to use folding feature, lightweight design, and ease of assembly.

But the reason I really like this bench is its versatility, it’s a Full FID (flat, Incline, decline) bench for under $150.

I remember the days when you had to spend over $300 for a decent FID bench. Now, you can get hold of one for $150, which is excellent news for people training at home on a budget.

Adjustable Seat For Incline Pressing

And it’s the adjustable seat that’s most important and a feature I always recommend anyone new to training to look for when choosing a weight bench for home.

What an adjustable seat does is give you support when incline pressing. Without an adjustable seat, you start to slip down the seat, which is not only off-putting but it will take a way a lot of your pressing power. You need to be able to press from a stable base.

Thankfully the Barwing Weight Bench includes a 7 position adjustable seat, 7 is a little overkill maybe, 3 positions is enough, but heck just to have an adjustable seat is a big bonus.

Click here to check price of Barwing Weight Bench on Amazon

11 Position Back Pad – Decline & Incline Pressing

It really is the versatility that sells this bench to me. You have 11 positions for the back pad, which is more than enough for all your pressing needs.

Ranging from the full 90 degrees to -30 for decline presses and sit-ups. Again, 11 is slightly over the top. You only really need 6 or 7 for the back pad. And it worries me that so many holes are drilled into the back pad support bar. That many holes can only weaken its rigidity.

Still, it’s great to have such a choice. The only drawback of this back pad is that you can only use a full 90-degree for seated shoulder presses or a 73-degree angle.

The problem is that a full 90 degrees doesn’t allow you to press with a slightly arched back, which is important when shoulder pressing as it allows you to fully engage your glutes and lower back muscles, creating a more stable base for pressing.

The other alternative for this bench for shoulder presses is the 73-degree angle, but 73 degrees is a bit too low to engage the shoulder muscles fully.

When doing a seated shoulder press, you need a back pad angle of between 80-85 degrees. This allows for full shoulder muscle engagement and for you to slightly arch your back.

Still, it’s not a deal killer. Not many low-cost benches get the back support angles right for shoulder press, but 90 degrees is better than a bench that only adjusts to 70 degrees like so many cheap benches. 

So, although it’s not ideal for seated shoulder pressing, it’s better than most low-cost benches.

Great For Bench Pressing

On the positive there’s a ton of positions for bench pressing, incline and decline. So you’ll be able to really work those upper and lower pecs.

Also, if you really want to work your lower pecs, combine decline pressing with dips or even weighted dips when you’re strong enough. Try to get ahold of a cheap dip station. They only cost about $45 and will do wonders for your lower pecs, which are notoriously hard to add mass to.

High-Density Foam Padding

Another thing I was impressed with is that the Barwing Weight Bench uses high-density foam for its padding.

This stuff is the gold standard for weight benches. It’s not too soft to cause stability issues or too hard to be off-putting. It’s just about right, and it’s great to see on a low-cost bench.

Pad Warranty

Still, the padding covering wears the quickest on weight benches, and in this price bracket, you need to be careful, as the quality is always quite low. The best way to tell the quality of the upholstery is to check the warranty for the padding and covering.

If a company offers a year or more of warranty for the pads, then you know it’s high quality and will last. If they offer less, then be prepared for the covering to wear quickly. The Barwing Bench offers just 90 days for the pad, which is one of the shortest I’ve come across.

So, although I’m impressed that we get the high-density foam for the padding, the 90-day warranty on the covering is certainly not so impressive.

Can The Barwing Weight Bench Really Handle 1000lb?

Maybe it could be a few times, and then it collapses. Realistically, this is a low-cost, lightweight bench. It’s not made of heavy gauge steel. It doesn’t include commercial-grade professional welds.

This bench weighs 30lb, three times lighter than commercial-grade benches, and even a few commercial-grade benches don’t boast 1000lb capacities.

So, while these low-cost benches love to boast about their huge weight capacities, I doubt they could handle this amount of weight daily. In fact, I’d bet money on it.

You also have a pull-pin adjustment system for the back pad. These types of adjustment systems, especially on low-cost benches, are known to fail under high weight loads because the pins just snap as they are cheaply made.

Pull pin systems are okay on $300+ benches, but avoiding them on cheaper benches is best. I’d usually recommend the ladder adjustment system. It’s much faster to adjust and much more durable and sturdy.

So yes, be careful with cheap weight benches and their claim of high capacity, especially ones with pull-pin adjustment systems.

A more realistic weight capacity for a $150 adjustable weight bench is around 600lb. I’d never risk anything more than that on a 30lb bench.

Anything Else I liked?

Even though this bench weighs only 30 lbs, it’s pretty sturdy. Many users have mentioned how sturdy it is, which is what you want to hear. There’s no off-putting wobble, and the rotatable foot grips on the rear stabilizers are great for keeping the bench even on uneven floors.

The front and rear stabilizers are wide, which really helps keep with stability as well. For a lightweight bench, it’s surprisingly stable.

Also, I was surprised that the gap between the seat and the back pad was so small. Usually, the gap is wide on most cheap adjustable benches and can be very off-putting when pressing, but these guys have made sure to keep it as narrow as possible, which is a sign that this company knows what it’s doing.

Minimal Assembly (5 Minutes)

Once unboxed, all you need to do is tighten a few screws, there are clear instructions and tools, and it won’t take you longer than 5 minutes. This is a small, light bench, so you should be able to assemble the weight bench on your own.

Alternative

Fitness Reality 1000 SuperMax Weight Bench

Fitness Reality is a company I’ve liked for years. They excel at producing high-quality gym gear while keeping prices low. I’ve reviewed all their equipment, and they never fail to impress me. Bang for your buck, you won’t beat this company in the low-cost market.

As I mentioned, there are only a handful of low-cost weight benches worth taking seriously, and the Fitness Reality 1000 Supermax is one of them. It costs less than the Barwing Weight Bench, but I feel it’s just as impressive.

So, the 1000 SuperMax is another lightweight foldable bench. It’s a long way off from heavy duty, but for the price, it’s impressive. It feels sturdy, and the wide stabilizing feet and adjustable levelers keep it stable on uneven surfaces.

But what I like most about this bench is the ladder adjustment system. It is much easier to adjust than the pull pin system, and it is the best choice for low-cost benches because it is safer and more sturdy than the pull pin type adjustment system, which you find on many low-cost benches.

There’s nothing wrong with the pull pin adjustment systems on high-end benches as the quality is higher. Just try to avoid them on low-cost benches, as I’ve seen them snap, and they’re slow to adjust.

Excellent in Flat

Also, the SuperMax bench is excellent in flat, with a height of 17.5″. It’s the perfect height for bench pressing and foot positioning, the same height as commercial weight benches in gyms. 

Also, the back pad is a good length, with a max user height of 6’4″. On many benches in this price range, the back pad height suffers, and taller users don’t have enough support when pressing, so it’s great to see the right length back pad being used.

You have 12 back pad positions, including decline with the 1000 Supermax bench and two seat positions, easily enough for all pressing needs.

Overall, Fitness Reality got everything right with their Supermax bench. All the features are there, making it an excellent dumbbell bench. You won’t be disappointed.

To Sum Up

There’s a lot I liked about the Barwing Adjustable Weight Bench. Finding a bench with extra seat positions for support when pressing at an incline was great. Also, the padding is spot on. 2″ is the perfect thickness for a weight bench, and because it uses high-density foam, it’s not too soft, which is important. When benches have too soft padding, stability becomes an issue, especially when pressing heavy weights.

Also, if you’re tight on space, the Barwang bench excels because it can be folded in 5 seconds and is light, making it fairly easy to move from room to room for storage.

Yes, there are a few drawbacks. The pull-pin system for the back pad and the short warranty on the upholstery make me worry it won’t last long. Also, this company hasn’t been around long, so they don’t have much experience, which tells a bit. Putting a 1000-lb weight capacity on a 30-lb bench is a little crazy.

Still, for the money, the Barwing Weight Bench is worth it. It is a decent, versatile, adjustable dumbbell bench.