Vulcan Alpha Bumper Plates

Vulcan Strength Alpha Bumper Plates

Vulcan Alpha Bumper Plates are a very unique plate option with an awesome fleck pattern and a design that makes them low bounce and usable both indoors and outdoors. This is made possible with a patented rubber compound.

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Features & Highlights

• Low Bounce – Vulcan Alpha Bumper Plates don’t have a stated durometer rating, but they’re known for being very low bounce, which means you won’t be chasing the bar around after drops.
• Patented Rubber Compound – The most unique thing about these plates isn’t the fleck pattern – it’s the patented rubber that’s unique only to Vulcan Alphas. This allows for the plates to be used indoors or outdoors. Where traditional rubber bumpers will degrade if dropped on non flat surfaces, the Alphas can be dropped on pavement, concrete, etc… with minimal concern over durability.
• Center Ring – These plates use a center ring insert with a 50.4mm diameter. This is consistent with similar plates and it accommodates Olympic-sized barbells nicely.
• Raised Flanges– The outer edges of the plates are raised to help when picking the plates up from a flat position or otherwise carrying them.
• Weight Offerings – Vulcan Strength Alpha Bumper Plates can be purchased from 10LB up to 55LB and they’re sold in pairs. They’re also available in a variety of sets ranging from 160LB up to 1,000LB, which is one of the most comprehensive set offerings on the market. These plates ship free to most states within the US.
• Plate Width – These bumpers offer a respectable plate width. They’re not the narrowest plates by any stretch, but they’re thin enough to be able to load over 500lbs. Plate widths are as follows:
  • 10LB – 1.17″
  • 15LB – 1.38″
  • 25LB – 1.81″
  • 35LB – 2.55″
  • 45LB – 2.95″
  • 55LB – 3.34″
• Durability – These plates have a very strong reputation when it comes to durability, namely due to the construction and the rubber compound. With this style of plate, the most common durability concerns center around the insert loosening over time and the rubber chipping, although concerns over chipping are minimized with this plate. User feedback has been excellent overall – these should last years, especially in a home gym setting.
• Weight Tolerance – The Alpha Bumpers from Vulcan have a weight tolerance of +/- 1%, which is very competitive on this style of plate.
• Aesthetics – If you like a pattern, you’ll likely love these plates. These are some of the OG fleck plates, and they just look awesome.
• Warranty – Vulcan Strength offers a 1-year warranty on the 10LB and 15LB plates and an impressive 4-year warranty on 25LB+ plates.

What They’re Saying at vulcanstrength.com

Vulcan Alpha Bumper Plates have received very positive, but limited feedback from users. With an average rating of 5/5, here are some of the things people have said at vulcanstrength.com.

Positive

• “I love the Alpha Bumpers. I got the full 15-55 set in lbs. They look fantastic, I get lots of compliments when I WOD with friends on Zoom. I felt like I won the lottery when I got these about a month into the start of quarantine. I’ve been CF’ing for 11 years and these are definitely some of the very best plates I’ve lifted with across 50 boxes I’ve visited, and way better than what’s at my local box. They are very low bounce, drop “quietly” compared to lots of plates I’ve worked out with, and they load easily. I find the colored plates to be a lot easier to do the math on when things get heavy. The smooth feel is nice for things like plate-ground-to-overhead with a good amount of “stickiness” to hold onto with bare hands on a warm day. The 55’s are about the same width as the 45 lb crumb rubber plates at my regular box. My garage is always filling up with leaves and dust and they repel dirt and debris better than I expected. I highly recommend the Alpha’s, if I was starting from scratch these would be my first choice.”
• “These bumpers are far superior than any other similar name brand or generic bumper plates and when considering shipping is included, only makes these bumpers that much more superior.”
• “The Alpha plates are precisely as advertised. They are perfect for a garage gym. The customer service is also great. Read the reviews and comparisons out there. This type of plate is quite unique, and if it meets your needs the price is hard to beat.”
• “Best bumper weight set I have ever used. 25lbs and up very slight to no bounce. The 10lbs have a little bit of bounce, but bar tends stay within the same vicinity of where you dropped the weight. All weights were dropped from overhead.”
• “Great Product!! Plates look great, smell is very minimal and should be gone soon. They fit both bars I have very snugly, are still easier to remove than the iron plates I have and exhibit very low bounce and sound when dropped. Highly recommend.”
• “Ordered 250# of alpha bumpers, and they were at my door 2 days after estimated ship date! Plates are great, and considering current events Vulcan was very accurate with ETA which is appreciated. Couldn’t be more pleased.”

Critical

• None noted

Garage Gym Lab Review

The Vulcan Alpha Bumpers were a winner in the Garage Gym Lab Best Weight Plate Awards and the Best Bumper Plate Awards.

Other Options

The below plates were picked as alternatives to the Vulcan Alpha Bumper Plates.