Kettlebell Review: Apollo vs. Dragon Door

If you're riding your bike a couple of miles in to work every other day, you don't need to go out and drop ten grand on a time trial bike. Accordingly, when I first picked up a kettlebell about a year or so ago, although having several years of experience training others and myself, I didn't really know what I was doing. To be honest, I was mostly using them for two-handed swings during CrossFit WOD's (man those are some ugly-ass swings!). So any old kettlebell at that point did just fine. What I'm finding out - and as became apparent as I ramped up my high-rep snatch training in preparation for the RKC snatch test - is that the more advanced you get and the greater variety of kettlebell drills you are going to perform, the more that the quality of the tool you're using matters!

I used Apollo brand kb's almost exclusively to train for the RKC certification. The only training I really had with any other type of 'bells was at a gym where I took some training sessions from another RKC instructor in the area (very highly recommended when starting out, by the way).

The Apollos seemed fine, and honestly, because I was so used to training with them, I didn't really know any different. My experience with Dragon Door 'bells at the RKC weekend changed my mind. Leading up to the RKC weekend, I had been hitting my required 100 reps in the snatch test at just abouts five minutes on the dot during training. Amazingly, I hit 100 reps in four minutes flat during the official test! I think part of this was due to being fresh, having rested up a few days before the cert, and also could also have partially been attributed to plain old adrenaline, but I also believe it had something to do with the quality of the 'bells. The handles were much smoother and the kb's seemed better balanced. I also prefer the Dragon Door 'bell as it has a flat bottom instead of a rubber stopper on the bottom - but this is probably just personal preference.

I am in the process now of replacing all of my Apollos with Dragon Door brand kettlebells. I think they're worth the extra money for sure. I know there are also a lot of other brands out there as well - I'd love to hear about experiences any of you have had, good or bad. Hopefully, this review and my experience will help you with your kettlebell purchasing decision!

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Interested in learning more about training with a Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor? In the Sacramento, CA area? Take a look at my training page at www.forestvancetraining.com.