XMark Black Diamond Plates, One-Year Warranty, Patented Design, Olympic Weight Plates, Pairs and Sets

In the gym equipment apocalypse, XMark is the sawed-off-shotgun-wielding, attractive female lead, blasting away the "zombies" of weird, generic off-brand equipment and "Temporarily Out of Stock" notices.Ordered the 205lb set - as with the bench I ordered from XMark, the set shipped and arrived faster than the estimate. I consider that a win these days. 45 lb plates came in one package and the rest in another via FedEx. Although they were shipped simultaneously, I received the 45lb plates a day after the rest of the set.Pros:- Plates that were not out of stock and seem to be in-stock more often than not...get them while you can- Build quality feels solid, rubber coating is even and forgiving on your floor- Diamond design is unique and actually quite ergonomic- Randomly weighed a few plates - most were accurate, one of the 45s was off by 0.2. I believe this is quite good for non-calibrated competition-style plates- Handles allow for usage like kettle bells...kettle pancakes? I find myself reaching for these over dumbbells for certain exercises where I want the weight to stay perpendicular to the ground.- Packaging - plates were well packed in their own boxes. Some hero at XMark even taped on cardboard tube handles so that the smaller boxes would be easier to pull out and wouldn't rattle around. Next level stuff.- No 35lb plates - who uses 35lb plates?Cons:- Some may not enjoy the rubber smell; personally don't mind it and it has already faded substantially

I really like the plates, but be warned the smell is overpowering. I put these weights in a room in my house, and it has taken about 2 months to calm down on the odor. I can still smell it when I first walk into the room. I even took them outside and washed them and let them sit in the sun for awhile. That seemed to help a bit. But still the odor persists. I would recommend keeping them in a garage or outside area. In the house is def a little risky. Hoping the smell goes away completely over time.

Not sure why everyone complains about the smell... they do smell like rubber, but it's not a super strong smell, and it does dissipate pretty quickly. Somehow they forgot the 2.5lb plates, but after I emailed the company they sent some out and I had them within a couple days. I fully intend on purchasing more from xmark

First of all, I like the smell. It is just a normal smell of rubber, it smells like a gym with quality equipment. The plates are very well made and easy to handle. I'm happy I was able to buy a 275 lb set for actually less than I'm seeing used offerings of rusty plates in the local market.They do have a slight problem. It seems some people like that the 12 sided weights don't move on the floor. However when you deadlift the bar shifts a couple degrees (just like the other reviewer mentioned). Even setting up a pull I found I couldn't get the bar square. Then every landing it shifts one way or the other. Considering deadlifting is a heavy lift of hundreds of pounds these shifts are significant. Sure, it doesn't roll, but it does move/shift when put down? I'd rather be able to get my setup and roll the bar into optimal position.I had to order since there were no other 275 pound sets anywhere to be found world wide. My preference would have been for the xMark Texas Star plates. The Black Diamond do appear to be a little better quality than my friend's Texas Star plates but at least they don't shift.I have ordered a second pair of 45s. I hope that two pairs of 45 plates (225+ lift) will even out the shifting. I still have to warm up between 135 to 225 but stability becomes more important at 315 and over.I'm considering getting a pair of bumper plates since these are slightly smaller in diameter than regulation. I may also try rotating one side of the plates into alignment, but there is no guarantee the sleeves would spin evenly.Despite this one issue, I do like the plates.

Ordered on Apr 29th, arrived on May 3rd. I ordered the 95 pound set and I am very happy with these plates. There's no odor like others have said. There is a slight grease substance on the plates but a rag will wipe that off. These plates are a little pricey (about $3 per pound) but that's okay because they're good quality and will last me decades. They have a rubber coating that will minimize plate noise and they have convenient grab handles. Overall, I have to give this 5 stars. I'm very happy with this purchase. Thank you.

At 3 bucks a pound they better be nice ... and they are. Well engineered, bars don’t roll around when loaded with these which was my hot button. The smell some complain about is not bad and dissipates quickly. These are beautiful weights, probably way nicer than you actually need ... but if you got the loot and like nice stuff ...

Great looking weights! My husband is really enjoying them!

Nothing wrong except that they arrived greasy, like all other exercise peripherals I've purchased in the past. What gives?Black stuff flakes off of them, they just need a good wash and I'm sure they'll be fine. If they continue to flake I'll amend my review.