Pepin HD Series Adjustable Dumbbells 

Extremely underrated option for adjustable dumbells. Space efficient, compact size, and can be reasonably priced if you buy your own plates. Best of all it still feels like an actual dumbell you would want to use.

I have these and they’re awesome. Yes, doing a lot of DB exercises in a row can be a bit finicky changing weights back and forth, but the space saving over a full set of DBs is totally worth it for a home gym, and it’s still a pretty fast change.

Have used these for a year. 10/10 Also, truly the best customer service in the game.

As always, nice review Brandon. I do appreciate how transparent and honest you are doing your reviews ! Looking forward to send you my new 180lbs Fast series 👌

Great review Brandon. I have the original Pepin handles and I’ve got no complaints. I have several hundred pounds of old standard plates so this was just what I was looking for when I purchased them back in 2021. I would definitely buy again.

This looks like a great set of adjustable dumbbells. Went with IM for going heavy but still use my fixed set for the smaller increments so those work good for my purpose.

Another great review, B! I especially like your dedication---putting on knee sleeves for your dumbbell work! 😁

Awesome review! Literally answered all my questions I had about this, just ordered mine. Now to wait what I imagine is a long time til delivery hahaha

Thanks for sharing a bit about the company! That helps with managing my expectations.

Your gym is second to none! It's a museum!

Very interested in these!!!

Great video.. I purchased his 1st design of these which had a problem with the ends snapping off. I sent David pics and he confirmed that there were the original design but he never agreed to replace them with the safer and newer design. They are great dumbbells and the craftsmanship is excellent but everytime I use them I'm concerned for my safety. The screws are the same so only the handles need to be replaced. Keep up the good reviews..

As someone with a lot of standard plates, buying just the handles seems like an exciting option. Thanks for sharing Brandon!

I have had these for a few weeks now and love them. I found used standard plates easy to find and cheap. Space is tight in my basement and being able to just buy the handles to go on the plates I have ended being cost effective. The big deal is the compact narly handle with great knurling that you can bump off your knee comfortably. I am about to order longer screws that will let me add more weight than I can ever lift. lol.

Oh boy, I have the very first version of these. Pépin started and 1-2 months after he had my order. He’s from the same province as me as well. I bought the fat handle second hand not so long after. I kinda knew at the time this thing would go berserk so I committed early. Never been disappointed even if it was the first iteration. It’s so funny, at first all the competitors were bashing his stuff like hell, I even remember coop doing the same stating stuff ‘’he heard’’ that the quality was not good etc…and in the end he had to do a drop test when the community was not very happy as that was something to get more commission from ironmaster and bow flex… I don’t know for your version, but the knurling is VERY sharp on mine. I mean TPB sharp. Not a bad thing, it just put all other DB handle to shame… That thing stays in my gym until the end of the word for sure.

Looks dope

I had the originals they were pretty sweet and bought 1in plates from Walmart back when they were like .50-.60 cents a pound. Now the same plates are over $2 a pound

Thanks for reviewing these! Been looking into these as a premium option to use w/ my current plates. @ 2:46 do you think that these would survive a similar drop at an ~40° angle? and if not, is it more likely to snap or bend? One of my adjustable dumbells snapped at the peg at around those conditions so i'd want to make sure the pepins could survive general wear and tear (not throwing or slamming the weights).

Nice review Brandon Haviland? These handlss look like a great option for a second set of adjustables that you can keep pre-loaded for heavy pressing once you outgrow your usual ones, especially with cheap standard plates.

I’ve had mine for a couple years now and I love the knurling and handle on them. I would’ve gotten the Fast Ones had they been released before these. One thing I don’t love is the changing the plates especially at the heavy weights. It’s nothing against Pepin, it’s just the style of them. I use them less than I did 12-18 months ago due to that. Now I just have them at a set weight that I use for shoulder shrugs once a week 🤦🏻‍♂️

I have the Olympic version of these, the screw is actually the same, theres just a plastic centering ring added to both ends of the handle and under the cap of the screw. This means if you have more than two plates per side the middle ones arent centered. I fixed that with some 1"ID 2"OD aluminum spacers from McMaster I drop into the plates.

If the stand isn't purchased/used, are there any rack-mounted storage options for these 1" plates instead of keeping them on the ground? I know some 5/8" and 1" band pegs are used for a lot of racks, but those generally are loose and likely not safe for storage. All I seem to find are Olympic-sized plate storage from some of the big name brands

I thought about getting these to compliment my Iron Master. I would use these for light movements (i.e curls, lateral raises). But I think I am going to get the REP Quick Draws. The Peppins look really mice though.

It would be nice if more of these came in KGs. I've only seen the Trulap offer KGs. They are on my shortlist for adjustable dbs.

Use these as my heavy backups and my nuobell as my daily

I've been eyeing these for a long time and sadly they didn't have a Black Friday sale. I decided to go with Kensui AdjustaBell MAX which function the exact same way for 1/4 of the price LOL. Pepins are probably more durable but I never drop my dumbbells anyways so I think I should be fine. What's the handle diameter of your urethanes? Would 37mm be too thick? I think 35mm are most commercial dumbbells like Iron Grip. You didn't mention how these compare to their competitors like Baadass and Kensui. Kensui has been killing it with the sales since they are SO much cheaper than Pepins especially now they are made in metal as opposed to their initial release of the nylon fiberglass. Stay big!

I seriously considered these but ultimately went with IM because of price and I was able to stack discounts. These look really nice though!

They look nice and the like they’d last a lifetime! You may need to do a vid on your extensive sports jersey/shirt collection! 😂

Taking ease and speed of adjustment out the equation; how do these compare to the fast series feel wise and quality wise?

How nice are the pepin plates? The cost is really high. Is it worth getting those steel calibrated plates over the York cast iron he sells?

THEY SPIN SMOOTH AND FAST , GRIP IS GREAT

Debating if I want to get knurled handles for my pb elite exp or change out for these.

Which grip feels better? The HD handles at 37mm and 5.9 inches, or the fast handles which are 34.5mm and I presume longer than 5.9" but I've never seen anyone say how long the handle is on the fast. If you had to pick fast or HD, which would you choose? I value your opinion as outside of pepin, you're probably the only person that's handled both.

Nickel knurling looking nice

Wait you're a Commanders fan??? If so I love your channel even more 🏈🔥

Could you review the Kensui metal adjustable DB handles? (Also, I am seeing used standard plates at $1/lb, not 50 cts. 😢)

These look great. The pro series handles are great, but I am pushing them at 140lb loaded. These would be my pick if I had to start over and get a pair of adjustable dumbbells. High loadable capacity and super refined.

Does pepin do any sales throughout the year?

Would you be against making a video comparing the HD vs the pepin fast dumbells. Both are so nice, hard to decide between the 2

These look so much more durable than the Kensui AdjustaBELLs that I use but the price disparity seems so steep.

These or the Badass? Which is the higher end product?

Wow, that is nice. Machined standard plates! Are the Iron Masters machined as well? Given the price, though, there is a lot to be said for a big pile of standard plates and three or four sets of spinlock handles. There is not really any limit on the weight you can use. (You can put 25s on there for farmers carries, for example.) With several sets of handles, you can make up a couple sets ahead of time and you are good to go. And you can get 1.5 lb plates so you can do 3 lb. increases. (Of course, I bought a few hundred pounds of these plates in the 2000s when new they were under $1.00 a lb. More expensive now). For resting on the knee, get some washers from the hardware store to pad out the nut so it sits flush. And, if you are plebian like me and only have one Oly bar, you can use a 6' or 7' "standard" bar with the same plates. I had 295 on the "Cap" standard 7' bar I have and it did not break.

LoL.."No face..you're welcome" very funny

Only issue with them is sometimes they would get stuck and hard to unscrew just keep a rubber mallet near by works great

Big Pepin'

l use selfmade Dumbbells like this it is easy to made if you have machine for it)

There are versions of this that go the same amount of weight and are about 300 bucks and very similar, given that these are nicer quality if they would’ve sold for 600 it would’ve been on the pricey side, but still worth buying but at 1200 they are just going to rust on the shelf. I can’t believe they think that that would be a good price point even for those willing to blow a little more cash.

104 is plenty heavy, but these could hold 129#?

Holy crap 37mm in diameter for the handle, that's way to thick for me. Even your "crappy" STANDARD olympic bars, their thickest is about 32mm. 37mm for a dumbbell handle would suck doing normal curls with them since you're focusing all that energy to just holding onto them. Trying to work out my biceps not forearms. Bigger the forearms, the smaller my biceps will look LOL.

Still prefer the IMs over these, I think they’re a lot more affordable. $500 for handles alone

Purchase a set 5-50 in 5 pound increments hex set. From there get 10 pound increments as needed 60, 70, 80 etc. No coming apart, no changing plates, you will have them for life.. buy once cry once... multiple people can work out.. work out with girlfriend..

I miss the obvious comment regarding the sizes, I could only see xxs,xs and s😂

they look great but if I get some pepin it will be the fast series.

Didn’t these used to be called bad ass dumbbells or were those something else?

I have Pepins, they are the closest thing you are going to find to an adjustable "gym" dumbbell. I cannot stand adjustable "on the fly" dumbbells, they are too large for the weight, they feel cheap, the plates rattle, they drive me crazy. If you've spent a lot of time with real dumbbells in your hands, you will love Pepins. Not to be weird, but if you closed your eyes with them in your hands, you will 100% think you have a dumbbell in your hands from a gym, you cant say that with any other option out there right now. If you pick these up, get a nylon dead blow hammer to spin them down tighter.

Jesus Christ these are expensive!! D:

The threads look like shit for the price also the website is garbage and won’t scroll down lol