Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. The stands are of very good quality, and simple to assemble, even though there were no directions and only an exploded view diagram. That being said, they don't have very many parts, so it shouldn't be terribly difficult for the average person to figure out. For the price, I would say that these are fantastic and a very economic and space-saving alternative to a full power rack, which I maintain that for serious lifters is still the only way to go (if you have space and the money).
I only have two issues: 1. even with plates loaded onto the pegs (thus weighing them down) they are still not the most stable things in the world. But if you aren't throwing your weights around, they should be fine. and 2. the safety catches are fairly small so you really have to make sure your form is spot on so that you stay over them and don't drift on squats and bench presses. This is actually a good thing for me, as like I said it forces perfect form on the most important lifts.
I'd also like to note that although they are marketed as "squat stands," I use them quite successfully for bench presses too. They are a little bit of a pain to adjust, but I simply use my adjustment time as my rest between lifts.
- Please tell us about the quality of the product. The quality is very good
- Was the product free of any manufacturer defects? Yes, there were no defects