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If you're looking for a unique alternative to one of the best dumbbells, consider the kettlebell. Though these bell-shaped weights may look odd, learning how to use one can benefit those who work out at home. Plus, a kettlebell's shape allows for a more dynamic range of movement than a dumbbell. Weight Plate
Our top pick is the Everlast Vinyl Dipped Kettlebells; their vinyl coating makes them safer for use in a home gym, and they're available at a modest price point. For an adjustable option, we recommend the Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell; this single adjustable kettlebell is like owning six different weights, giving it great value and versatility.
Below are the seven best kettlebells we've tested, perfect for various users. Each model was judged based on their design, versatility, and comfort, and then ranked across seven categories. You'll also find insight into how I test kettlebells, as well as answers to FAQs, at the end of this guide.
Best overall: Everlast Vinyl Dipped Kettlebell - See at Everlast Everlast's Vinyl Dipped Kettlebells are coated with a thick, colorful layer of vinyl, making them safer to use and allowing for quick weight identification.
Best versatile: GoRuck Sand Kettlebell - See at GoRuck The Sand Kettlebell from GoRuck features a durable yet comfortable design and although you need to fill them with sand yourself, it's an easy process that their portability makes up for.
Best adjustable: Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell - See at Amazon With the Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell, you get six kettlebells in one, which is ultimately one of the best values around.
Best budget: AmazonBasics Vinyl Kettlebell - See at Amazon AmazonBasics Vinyl Kettlebell has many features of other brands like a gentler vinyl coating and a range of weight choices, but you'll pay a few bucks less.
Best for beginners: Bionic Body Soft Kettlebell - See at Amazon The Bionic Body Soft Kettlebell is plenty heavy but soft to the touch, so you won't break a toe or crack a tile if you accidentally drop one.
Best for interval training: TRX Training Kettlebell - See at TRX TRX Training Kettlebells have lightly textured handles that allow for a secure grip and easy transitions, ideal for use during high-intensity exercise.
Best iron kettlebell: Eleiko Competition Kettlebells - See at Eleiko Eleiko offers premium, iron-made kettlebells that look just as good as they perform.
Pros: Protective vinyl coating, easy-to-use color coding for different weights, decent price point
Cons: Maximum weight too low for some athletes
It only takes smashing a cast-iron kettlebell into the side of your knee one time to help you understand that features like a softer vinyl coating are nice to have on your kettlebell.
"I've used Everlast kettlebells for years," says personal trainer, R.J. Cincotta. "When the bell itself is coated like this, as opposed to metal-based, you're able to do much more with the bell without accidentally tearing up your body."
If you're buying more than one, it's nice that the Everlast's Vinyl Dipped Kettlebells have bright colorings to mark different weights, so you're at less risk of grabbing the wrong weight for a given exercise. The kettlebells are also available in increments between five and 35 pounds.
Whether used for suitcase squats, lunges, presses, or core training, these are reliable kettlebells from a company with more than 110 years of history in the fitness gear arena.
Pros: Durable design, portable, easily storable
Cons: Needs access to enough sand to fill it with
The idea of a portable kettlebell may seem like a misnomer; traditional kettlebells just aren't designed to be transported around very much. This is exactly why the Sand Kettlebells from GoRuck deserve some recognition.
When empty, these kettlebells are nothing more than an easily packable Cordura sack. But when you're ready to use them, just fill them up with a bit of weight (i.e. sand) and you have yourself a usable kettlebell.
Now, the fact you do have to fill these up with something does require a bit of planning, especially if you're on the road, but it's a simple trade-off for convenience.
Once filled, the Sand Kettlebells feature a comfortable handle that makes them easy to hold over the course of a long workout. They're also durably designed and able to be used on gym flooring but also on cement or blacktop without worry of any damage.
Although they do feel different than a traditional kettlebell, I got used to them quite quickly. They're certainly a change of pace but not so much so that they ever felt like a step down or a worse alternative. Rather, they're one of my favorite pieces of fitness equipment to travel with and function like legit kettlebells.
Pros: Six weights in one, affordable compared to buying all six weights, easy to adjust
Cons: Expensive, handle is less ergonomic than others, bulky, especially for use at a lighter weight
Yes, $149 is a lot to pay for a kettlebell. But with the Bowflex SelectTech 840, you're getting six kettlebells in one, which turns this into quite the deal.
The 840 gets its name from its lowest and highest weights, which are eight pounds and 40 pounds, respectively. In between those low and high options, you get 12-, 20-, 25-, and 35-pound increments, which is a good spread for people of varying strength.
Switching between weights is quick and easy, too. You simply turn a dial and lift on the handle, and the extra weight is left sitting there on the ground. Beyond the ease of use during active exercise, you'll also appreciate what is effectively six kettlebells only occupying the space of one.
The benefits of this design are clear, but there are a few drawbacks — the largest of which is that the kettlebell is less ergonomic than a standard option. The handle is slimmer and doesn't have the flared shape of most kettlebells, and the overall unit is larger than solid options, which might make some exercises harder to execute properly.
With a few reps, you should get used to the shape, though, and the value far outweighs the cons.
Pros: Great price point, good spread of weight increments, colorful, vinyl coatings
Cons: Grips often have minor imperfections
There are plenty of positive things to say about the kettlebells from AmazonBasics. They're coated in a thick vinyl that protects your skin and helps minimize the chance of scuffing the floor or scratching a piece of furniture; they come in a wide range of weights, starting at 10 pounds and reaching up to 60, with 11 increments along the way; and their colorful coatings make it easy to tell one weight from another.
That description fits just about any decent set of kettlebells. What sets these apart from the pack is that they cost on average 15% less than their competitors — and you can use your free Prime shipping for delivery.
For that reduced price, you can expect a slight reduction in quality. Many of the kettlebells sold under the AmazonBasics banner have minor imperfections in the handles such as irregular bumps or little holes.
These flaws shouldn't be deal-breakers unless you have sensitive hands, for which you can also work out with gloves on.
Pros: Safer for flooring and injury, decent price point for a unique product
Cons: Leather exterior damages more easily than standard kettlebell
If you work out often enough, at some point you are going to have an accident. Dropping weights is a fact of life, and it's why gyms have padded floors. If you're working out on the hardwood or tile floors of your own home, that dropped weight might lead to an unexpected and unpleasant home repair project — or, potentially, an ER trip to fix a broken toe.
Working out with a soft-sided kettlebell solves this. Bionic Body's Soft Kettlebells come in a decent range of weights, spanning 10 to 35 pounds, and they're durable and solid-feeling in your hands.
There's no sacrifice of function in the name of making them soft-sided, and you won't even pay that much more for these kettlebells than you would for standard iron or vinyl-coated weights.
The leather wraps around the weights won't chafe or irritate your skin, so these kettlebells make for more comfort. But with them being leather, the exterior can get scuffed and torn in a way a solid kettlebell can't, so you do need to treat these with a bit more care than with other options.
Pros: Textured handles for secure grip, multiple weights offered, broad, flat base adds stability
If you're a fan of HIIT exercise (high-intensity interval training), you'll love these kettlebells that are perfectly suited to fast, highly specific motions. Their textured grips ensure you keep a steady grasp even when you're sweaty, moving fast, and rapidly switching between various exercises.
TRX offers kettlebells from four kilograms (8.8 pounds) up to 40 kg (88 pounds) with moderate increases between each option. That means you can choose the exact amount of weight to suit your body for any given exercise.
These bells also have a broader, more flat base compared to competitors. That extra flattened surface area makes these kettlebells more stable when you set them down fast, like during HIIT workouts.
One significant drawback is the price, however — these aren't cheap.
Pros: Premium design, made of high-grade iron, eye-catching color coats, features a stable, wide base
Although these kettlebells from Eleiko are dubbed the "Competition Set," you don't need to be any sort of competing weightlifter to use them. They are designed and calibrated for competitive use but they're just as useful for the at-home lifter as they are for someone you might see on ESPN throwing weights around.
Each kettlebell is made of high-grade iron (aka they're indestructible) and features an easy-to-grip steel handle that's comfortable regardless of the exercises I'd use them for. And again, for the competitive crowd, this also means that they're great for using chalk with, too.
To test the various kettlebells featured in this guide, I spent at least two weeks with each pair (or set) to gauge how well they integrated into my existing fitness routine. This meant tailoring specific workouts around the kettlebells and judging what they were like to use based on these four categories: Design, versatility, comfort, and value.
Here's how I considered each category while testing:
Design: Even though kettlebells are immediately recognizable because of their unique shape, the design of different brands of kettlebells does differ. When testing, I looked at how large the handle area was, whether the round part of the weight was obtrusive during certain routines, and if they had a base that made them easy to pick up and set down.
Versatility: A sort-of offshoot of the category above, versatility as it relates to kettlebells comes down to whether its shape, handle, and base allow for more than just a conventional workout routine. I tested this by trying a variety of different handholds, lifts, and movements with each model. The kettlebells featured may excel in their specific categories but they each were versatile enough for a range of exercise types and users.
Comfort: If the kettlebell you use doesn't feel good to hold, you'll be less inclined to want to do a kettlebell routine — plain and simple. Testing for this category was a straightforward process, too: Does the kettlebell's handle feel comfortable in hand? If the answer was yes, even at the tail end of a grueling workout, then it aced this section.
Value: Quality at-home workout equipment often comes with a premium price, and kettlebells are no different. When judging value, I tended to consider not just a kettlebell's sticker price but also its longevity and durability. It's always better to spend a little more on something designed to last than to spend less money more often.
If you don't have a solid foundation of muscle mass already or experience using a kettlebell, aim for a 20- to 25-pound (12kg) kettlebell for a female, and a 30- to 35-pound (16kg) bell for a male. For those experienced with a kettlebell (i.e., have been using one 1-2 times a week already), females should opt for a 30- to 45-pound (16 or 20kg) bell, males for 40- to 50-pound (20 to 24kg) kettlebell.
"Kettlebells are best used for power movements," says Cincotta. "You're going to use them for squats and swings, and you'll use them for a lot of single-sided exercises often referred to as asymmetrical movements. You can even use kettlebells for stability work as well."
What makes a kettlebell harder to use than a dumbbell lies in its shape, which puts the weight several inches away from your hand. This means you'll need to activate more of your muscles as you stabilize the weight. With a kettlebell, every single-handed exercise like curls, shoulder presses, snatches, and so on is that much more productive.
The answer to this is both yes and no. Using a heavier kettlebell will lead to more results because you'll have to work harder to move it and therefore use more muscle. Keep in mind, however, that "heavier" is entirely relative. As Cincotta mentioned (and any trainer will tell you), a weight above your strength level is the fast track to injury.
"When you're using kettlebells, safety is the first thing," says Cincotta. "Many people just start swinging them around and don't focus on form. There's such a dynamic difference using them [compared to other weights] that you need to learn form first. And you don't want to go too heavy too quickly; that's a very easy way to get injured." With that advice in mind, we tested a variety of kettlebells from brands like Everlast, TRX, and Bowflex to find the best currently available. So, no matter if you're just looking for a set to round out your home gym or want to kick your weekly fitness routine up a few notches, there's a set of kettlebells perfect for you.
There are several different types. Some are made of iron while others feature a vinyl coating or are made of Cordura fabric. They also come in a variety of weight options, mostly listed as kilograms, as opposed to pounds.
This depends on what you want to use it for. Kettlebells are available in a variety of weight options from anywhere around 8 kg to up to 32 kg and above. Different weights are best used for different exercises and no one kettlebell is best for every kind of workout.
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