Hydra Squat Stand – Bells of Steel

This is an amazing piece of kit and is fantastic quality.

I was debating (agonising) over all the various brands and types of racks/power racks available for months. I eventually found bells of steel and their customer service at answering questions was from someone who actually knew their equipment and did weightlifting themselves rather than a generic response.

I was expecting this to shake more but it is rock solid. I'm using it for both barbell and calisthenics, for calisthenics I'm not doing any fast dynamic movements but if I was and if it felt unstable all I'd need to do is attach it to the ground.

But for pull-ups/ab raises/ring rows/ring dips and holds, for my weight, the rack is completely solid. This is with the adjustable pull-up bar too!

Love it! Easy to assemble, super solid and feels premium. Really like the company dynamic too with all the helpful videos and responses.

I have been pumping iron for more than 40 years. I know weight lifting equipment. This rack is solid. This rack is sturdy. It is a beast. I can do pull ups on it without it moving. I work out with gymnastic rings (beginner) hung from the pull up bar. The rack does not move or shake. I need that kind of confidence as I am a large individual (235 lbs). I buy quality and I seek value. I got both with this purchase.

Wanted to buy this solely for calisthenics. Was worried about the stability of the thing, so I went directly to the showroom to try it out (highly recommend this). Purchased it yesterday, and I'm very satisfied with the purchase. The metal seems strong / heavy-duty and the stand does not shake whatsoever for me (I'm 5'8", around 65-70kg, and using this for regular calisthenics- i.e. no momentum / kipping- for context). I like the texture and thickness of the pullup bar. 10/10 would buy again.

Overall super happy with the purchase.
What I like:
Space saver without compromising the functionality and build quality. Exactly what I was looking for. Tried bench press so far and pleased and yet to try Squat workout.
Really really FLEXIBLE that lets you attach any sort of attachment.
Definitely recommend this product especially for a home gym.
What I dis-like or needs improvement:
Bought this from Toronto stores directly & shocked to see that main spare part/Plate with bolts missing in the box and had to drive again all the way 70+ kms. Really request BOS to please ensure sufficient quality control so all needed HW/accessories are inside the box.
Otherwise very much pleased with it.

Overall super happy with the rack I ordered it with the sliding lever arms . I bolted this rack to the floor and it doesn’t move at all when lifting with the arms. Absolutely love all the customization you can get for it and will be making all future purchases from bells of steel.

Price, quality, customizable to fit perfect in your space, attachment, shipping and great service!

Great shipping and solid product. Using it as a pullup bar for now and for dips with the attachment.

I'm 215lb, and sometimes the rack shifts just a bit, which I expected, I can bolt it to the floor if this bothers me.

I purchased the stand with a 56 inch base, 84 inch height and added on an adjustable pull up bar, dip attachment, spotter arms, and 2 weight storage pegs. I'll break out my review for each part.

-The stand - exceeded expectations. I was a little concerned for its stability despite its weight limit but happy to report its incredibly sturdy without being bolted down. It was easy to assemble, powder coat is flawless, and the welds are clean. All reservations went away as soon as it started coming together.
- Adjustable pull up bar - I don't really plan on moving it and only got the adjustable because the standard was out of stock. However, it is very secure and could be dropped down and used for a variety of exercises. My only gripe is that it is not knurled.
- Dip attachment - attaches easily but it's nice and stable. Next to no slop in the fit and feels sturdy in the rack.
- Spotter arms - I haven't had to dump a weight onto these yet but have no reservations in doing so. I have set 315 on the very edges of these and they nor the rack budged whatsoever.
-Storage pegs - I am using these on the sides of the rack at the bottom to store 45's which they do nicely. My only issue is when I am benching there is not enough distance between the weight on the pegs and the weight on the bar as it comes down and they bump together so I need to take off the 45s on the pegs. Not a big deal as I am planning on converting this to a half rack at some point, but just something to be aware of if you are buying a stand with storage pegs.

Finally made the transition from Gym to home gym, this is my first major equipment purchase.

Although this is my first rack I can say it is quite sturdy. I chose BoS because they have good service in Canada and their prices seemed very good.
I started with the squat stand and can do pretty much every existing lifts and with the barbell/pull up bar/pulley/etc I no longer need to go to the gym. My goal is to one day upgrade to a full power rack, and with the hydra, since it is 3x3 and seems pretty modular I think I will be able to upgrade without buying a completely new rack, this is the main reason I bought this one as I am in an apartment with very limited space. Detail I love the numbers etched as I can write down in my notes where to put my jcups and spotter arms for each lift.

TL;DR this rack is awesome highly recommend choosing BoS

I scoured all the options for racks on the market and eventually settled on the BoS Hydra because it seemed to be the best value 3x3 rack at the 90" height I needed it to be and the base width I needed it to be - not to mention I can easily expand it as my fitness journey progresses. I am mainly using it as a super-expensive pull-up bar for bodyweight and calisthenics exercises right now and it's plenty stable with the 62" flat foot attachments without being bolted down. I really appreciated that I could order the rack without the J-cups that I won't be using anytime soon and not have to pay for that part of the build. I'd have liked the pull-up bar to have a little more texture to it, but that's nothing I can't improve on my own inexpensively.

My one and only gripe is the packaging. A couple of the boxes containing the parts arrived in pretty rough shape, with the parts completely exposed and the powdercoating scuffed and chipped. I think the packaging could be improved by increasing the size of the box just a bit and adding a little extra padding around the corners of the uprights so that the sharp edges of them aren't right up against the cardboard and as likely to burst through the cardboard and become entirely exposed during transit.

I love this rack I got it during the presale with a couple of attachments and it’s one of the few squat stands I feel comfortable going heavy on instead of needing a full power rack. The spotter arms for it have already saved my life a few times. My only complaints are that because there’s no UHMW on the inside of the attachments they have scratched it a bit in some places and one of the roller cups didn’t have a bolt all the way in for the UHMW pad which scratched the coating on one of bars until I noticed and makes me a little concerned about corrosion in the future. It’s still the center of my gym though and my favorite piece of equipment already trying to decide which attachments to buy next

The squat stand works as advertised. The stand was easy to assemble and the stand itself is very strong. I am able to do everything including pull-ups with little to no movement from the squat stand.

I'm giving it 4 stars because the fit and finish of the product was about a b-.

There were several gouges in the steel as well as inconsistencies in the powder coat. The package arrived with some superficial damage to the feet of my squat stand.

None of this impacts the functionality of the stand itself. Overall it is a solid squat stand for your home gym.

A suggestion I have is to integrate basic plate storage into the feet of the squat stand. Having two vertical plate pegs would provide more versatility to the squat stand and increase the stability for individuals that don't want to bolt it to the floor.

Overall 4 stars