Lock-Jaw HEX 50mm / 2" Olympic Barbell Collar (Orange)

The first thing I do before purchasing a product is to read the negative reviews. I want to know what I may not like about the product. For this product, I do not understand the negative reviews. I have been using this product 3 days/week for the past year and have had no trouble with them. They slide on a 2 inch Olympic bar (although I do have to hold them open to get them to slide easily) and they lock securely every time. I am lifting fairly heavy weight (up to 500 pounds on a dead lift) but I am not dropping my weights on the floor from chest height like other people who submit negative reviews. I keep them in the trunk of my car. I have noticed that on warm days, they close more easily than on cold days. This is likely because of the expansion or contraction of the plastic based on temperature. I am 100% happy I bought these. I no longer have to search at the gym for functional collars. They stay securely on the bar and hold my weight in place. For less than $20, this is an excellent collar. If and when mine ever need replaced, I will be buying these again.Update July 2020: Someone saw my collars the other day at the gym and asked where I got them. I tell everyone to look on Amazon but I gave him my collars and I bought these again for myself. I'll keep buying these until they don't make them anymore. That's how much I love them!

Of the types of collars to be used to hold the plates on the bar, this style is my favorite. I don't like the spring clips that usually come with most Olympic sets, although they work well - just harder to use. I've used this clamp style at my local gym and it was my favorite over any type they had. If you've decided on this style then read on for my thoughts on this brand. If you are not sure which style, I'd suggest this one over the others.I looked at many versions of the this type in all price ranges. Almost bought the Rogue version for more than twice the price so I was looking for quality. I wanted to be sure it locked tight and stayed on. I was intrigued by the ones in the 10 to 15 dollar price range but skeptical of quality. This brand has a higher end version and many have reviewed them to be similar to each other, some even preferred the less priced one for function. This one feels solid, easy and quick to use. I was very happy with how tight it gripped the bar. No hesitation in recommending this for use in a home gym. I also like the fact that you can choose a wide range of colors. If I go for a second set of collars for the curl bar I just ordered, I'll be getting these again...maybe even in a different color.

When covid hit I put together a home gym. All of my equipment is Rogue. Not because I am a snob that believes equipment made in Ohio is the best, but because their supply chain seemed the most stable. I have 2 sets of HG collars.We moved in August into a rental and my gym was packed away so back to the public gym I went. I was really irritated with the spring collars the gym supplied coming loose. I didn’t want to take my “good” collars to the gym because I would surely lose them. So I picked up a pair of these collars because at half the price, if they were half as good as my HG collars I would be satisfied and if I lost them, who cares?These are better at clamping than my HG collars. There I said it. They hold plates against the shaft better. Do they slip? Yes. But every clamp is going to slip a little if dropping a loaded bar from over head or lifting a lot of weight. Do these slip as much as Rogue HG collars? Nope! When I get out my “good” equipment, these are going on my bars instead of the HG’s.

I bought these in the hopes of having some collars that don't budge during a Crossfit workout. I got tired of readjusting the cheap collars at the box mid workout. I have only used them twice now. Once was in high volume dead lifts at 225 lbs. They didn't budge for the entire workout. The second workout included a bunch of clean & jerks at 135 and I dropped all 32 of them from overhead. One collar slipped maybe 1/4" mid-workout. For most people, this is good enough but I was looking for something to not slip, ever. I took off one star for that fact only. In general these are great collars and much better than anything I have used to date.

Locking mechanism is straightforward an smooth. It slides on and off easily when unlocked, and holds tight when locked.Probably not the collar you want if you're trying to hold 5 plates onto a barbell held vertically, but why are you doing that?

I've used many types of collars and none come close to Lockjaw. Now that there are plenty of knockoffs, I gave them a try and ended up returning it within a couple minutes of opening the package. They may LOOK the same as Lockjaws, but they aren't (took more force to open / close than the old metal spring collars).That being said, I like these Hex collars just as much as the higher end Lockjaw collars. The only differences to be aware of in terms of function are (1) they require very pressure force to lock in place, but are just as secure and (2) if you don't lightly hold them open when taking on/off they have enough natural tension that they stay fastened to the bar and don't slide on/off. After 2-3 uses you get used to it and it's really a non-issue. Overall, great collars and a better price than Lockjaw pro or elite.EDIT: After more time using these, I can now say that I even prefer these over the more expensive Lockjaw collars (ie Pro / Elite), and obviously over any non-Lockjaw collars. These are the quickest on/off of any of them and the more I used the whole array of collars I have the more I began to reach for these first.