HapBear Adjustable Dumbbell Review (25lb per dumbbell)

A decent 25lb dumbbell is hard to find. I’ve been reviewing adjustable dumbbells for over a decade, and it’s only lately that we are finally seeing a couple of lightweight dumbbells hit the market that are the same quality as the heavier 50lb dumbbells sets. And that’s what I like most about the Hapbear Adjustable Dumbbell it doesn’t feel cheap. It’s solid in hand; there’s no plate movement or rattle, the adjustment system is smooth and super easy to use.

In today’s review, I’ll take a close look at everything the Hapbear dumbbell has to offer including those minor drawbacks I mentioned, also at the end of the review, I’ll compare the Hapbear dumbbell with the best selling 25lb dumbbell out there the Flybird Adjustable Dumbbells.

First a quick look at the Hapbear Dumbbell product specs!

Why Do We Like The Hapbear Adjustable Dumbbell?

There’s a lot to like about the Hapbear dumbbell, but its standout feature has to be its adjustment system. The Hapbear dumbbell uses a twist-lock adjustment system; it’s the fastest adjustment system on the market and adjusts in just one second.

All you need to do to adjust the Hapbear dumbbell is twist your wrist, and the adjustment system will lock into the desired weight you want to lift. It’s that easy. Still, it’s a good idea to make sure the dumbbell is fully pushed down into the storage tray before adjusting it; ensuring the dumbbell is fully in the tray will make things much smoother.

The twist lock 1 second adjustment time is extremely fast for an adjustable dumbbell, there’s no advanced or basic bodybuilding technique you can’t perform with the Hapbear dumbells, even drop sets that require the fastest of weight changes can be performed with the Hapbear dumbbells.

No Plastic Casing Surrounds the weight plates.

Something else I was impressed with was the Hapbear weight plates. Why? There’s no plastic casing surrounding them. So many of the selectable sets of dumbbells, including the Bowflex sets, use weight plates with plastic casings.

The big problem with plastic casings is that they crack when dropped. It’s the first thing to break if you drop a dumbbell, making them unusable. And drops are never covered in the warranty. Thankfully Hapbear did their research and didn’t use plastic casing; instead, they powder-coated their weight plates to protect from rust, etc.

Click here to check price of the Hapbeaar Dumbbell on Amazon

Small Weight Increases Are Best For Progress

Small weight increases are one of the keys to progress no matter what exercises you are performing or the piece of gym equipment you are using. You’ll see many adjustable dumbbell sets that adjust in increments of 10lb this is too big a jump even for seasoned bodybuilders. Ideally, we want 2.5lb increments or 5lb increments for dumbbells.

We’re not going to find 2.5lb increments on cheaper 25lb dumbbells like the Hapbears. You’ll need to spend a little more if you want 2.5lb increments, the Powerblock Sports are the best 25lb dumbbells that offer the 2.5lb increments.

Still, 5lb increments are okay; they won’t slow your progress as much as 10lb increments. Think of it this way if you can curl a 15lb Hapbear adjustable dumbbell for ten reps and want to continue adapting, curing a 20lb dumbbell represents a 33% increase in load that’s a large jump in weight but not as large as the 75% increase if you chose a dumbbell that has 10lb increments.

So while 5lb increments still aren’t ideal for beginners or isolation exercises, they are much better than some of the cheap, heavy sets that only offer large weight increases.

Few Minor Drawbacks

The Hapbear 25lb dumbbell is impressive for the price point. We already know it’s superfast to adjust, you also have the steel plates with no plastic. And the weight increments are small enough not to slow your progress, but sadly no fast-to-adjust dumbbells, cheap or high-end, come without a few problems.

The first drawback of a twist lock 25lb dumbbell such as the Hapbear is that the handle is a fixed length. So no matter how much weight you lift. Whether it’s 5lb or 25lb, the length of the handle stays the same.

Fixed-length handles are long. The Hapbear dumbbell doesn’t use a compact design. Compact adjustable dumbbells use a handle that only increases in length the more weight you add. But you’ll have to pay more if you want that natural feeling compact handle design, expensive sets like the Corefitness PowerBlocks and  Ironmasters all have compact handles.

Still, fixed-length handles are not a deal killer. They can take a few weeks to get used, especially when setting up for presses and curing. However, the Hapbear dumbbell is light. It’s a 25lb dumbbell which means its fixed length is much less than a fixed length handle of a 50lb dumbbell. So even though you have to deal with fixed-length handles, they are not too long. (14.9″)

Plastic In The Handle

The Hapbear Adjustable Dumbbells don’t have as much plastic in the build as some selectable sets because you don’t have the plastic casing surrounding the weight plates, so there is less to break, which is a good thing! Still, you have some plastic in the adjustment system and the handle itself.

Plastic in the handle and adjustment system is almost impossible to avoid if you want a fast-to-adjust selectable dumbbell. Even the most expensive sets like the CoreFitness, Powerblocks Bowflex 552 all have plastic in their designs.

The plastic won’t affect the feel of the dumbbell or how it works, but it will prevent you from training to failure and dropping the dumbbell on that last killer rep.

There are no drops from height with a dumbbell like the Hapbear. They’ll survive drops of 6″ or so but i wouldn’t risk any high. Remember, drops are not covered in the warranty.

No Weight Expansion Packs Available

When you first start lifting, your gains in strength come quickly, which means many of you may outgrow this dumbbell in a year or so. There are no weight expansion packs available for this dumbbell 25lb is the max. Once you outgrow the 25lb, you’ll have to buy another dumbbell or set of dumbells to continue your progress.

25lb is a good weight for a beginner or anyone who wants to train light and isn’t that serious about lifting, but if you’re serious about lifting? It’s always better to start with a heavier set of dumbbells like the 50lb sets. This gives a lot more room for growth and saves money in the long run. There are some excellent 50lb dumbbell sets out there that adjust in 2.5lb and 5lb increments. (Avoid the heavy sets that adjust in 10lb increments)

Anything Else Worth Mentioning?

It’s worth mentioning again to make sure the dumbbell sits fully in its storage cradle before you adjust. Some people have had problems adjusting their dumbbells smoothly, but that is only because they didn’t sit the dumbbell fully in its cradle before adjusting.

Space Saving Design

Another positive of the Hapbear dumbbells is their space-saving design, a dumbbell set like this replaces five sets of fixed-weight dumbbells, which is a heck of a lot of space to save, especially in a home gym where space is always tight.

Should I buy One or Two Dumbbells?

How many dumbbells you buy depends on your training schedule and your budget. I would always recommend buying two dumbells. Otherwise, you will miss out on compound movements such as bench presses, etc. Compound movements allow for faster gains in muscle mass and strength than any other exercise. They also shed fat quicker too. They should be the backbone of any proper bodybuilding routine.

Hapbear Also make 12.5lb Dumbbells.

And finally, there is a 12.5lb dumbbell available from Hapbear. It comes with the same design and quality as the 25lb dumbbell, except it adjusts in 2.5lb increments and only has a max per dumbbell of 12.5lb. The 12.5lb dumbbell also boasts the desirable 2.5lb increments, so you’ll be able to progress properly. If you are a complete beginner or money is tight, you might want to start here. (12.5lb sell as a pair)

Alternative

Flybird 25lb Adjustable Dumbbell

Flybird makes some impressive gym gear. I reviewed a couple of their benches last year, and bang for your buck, these guys are unbeatable, and their dumbbells are just as impressive by the looks of it.

Their 25lb dumbbells are currently the best sellers in this price bracket, and there’s a good reason why, they’re solid with no plate movement, they use the twist-lock adjustment system, so take just a second to adjust, and they adjust in increments of 5lb, so no large weight increases to deal with. There really isn’t much difference between the Hapbears and the Flybird 25lb dumbbells.

The Flybirds are slightly shorter, which is always a good thing. And they have less plastic in the handle. But nothing really that makes them stand out against the Hapbears.

I like the Flybird dumbbell because I know the company has a great rep and they are well known for building decent quality gym gear with low price tags, so you’ll have peace of mind with these guys.

Overall the Flybird dumbbell is another well-made 25lb dumbbell, solid-feeling, smooth weight changes, and affordable. Better than a Hapbear dumbbell? Maybe, but not by much, the Flybird only edges it because the handle is slightly shorter with less plastic. Otherwise, both the Hapbear and the Flybird are equally impressive.

To Sum Up

I was happy to see another well-made 25lb dumbbell on the market because the choice is slim, especially if you want quality and an affordable price tag.

Hapbear got most of the essentials right with their 25lb adjustable dumbbell. The adjustment system is the fastest you’ll find, the weight increases are not too big for beginners, and it feels solid with no plate movement, so nothing to put you off while you’re lifting.

You do need to be careful because of the plastic parts, so no drops, but that’s something that plagues all the fast-to-adjust sets, and the fixed-length handle will take some getting used to. Still, there is nothing major here that should put off any potential buyers. The Hapbear Adjustable Dumbbell is one of the best affordable 25lb dumbbells I’ve reviewed and well worth the money.