Choosing the Best Resistance Bands!

What to look for in a band and what to avoid...

Today I will be talking about resistance tubes, also referred to as

resistance bands, fitness bands and exercise bands, and why it is VERY

important that you do NOT just buy the cheapest set or the set that looks

like a good deal because it has a lot of bands, because there can be a

huge difference in what is advertised and what you actually get!

At the end of this, you will know more than most about resistance bands,

and will never be tricked or conned in to buying cheap tat from auction sites or Amazon or buy what you THINK are high resistance heavy duty

resistance bands, when really they are just thin and flimsy tubes!

Let's get started!

What are the bands made of?

Often people do not realise that there are different types of latex, made

from different methods. The cheapest and most common type used for

resistance bands/tubes is extruded dry stock latex, but this is also the

weakest, easiest to tear, loses elasticity over time and is also the most

boring to look at, as it is quite dull, even when coloured.

The best type of latex is liquid latex, it has a greater tear resistance,

superior physical properties and a very attractive, ultra smooth, vibrant

and glossy surface, which is much harder to scratch or scuff than the

cheaper alternatives. There is no stronger or more durable latex tubing in

existence at this time that we are aware of.

How are the bands made?

The second factor to consider is how the tubes are made. There are a few

ways to make resistance tubes, the strongest and most durable method is

called Multi-Layering, but unfortunately most bands out there are just

molded or double dipped. There are a rare few (only 3 that we know of)

brands however that do use this innovative Multi-Layering technique.

Bands that are constructed using the Multiple Layering Technique

contain many bonded layers within each band. These layers make the

bands many times stronger than the single layered molded bands offered

by most of the competition, and also a lot stronger than the "double dipped" bands you may have seen on 3rd party websites like Amazon.

The thicker a band is the more layers it will have. These layers can be

seen in the form of concentric circles, just like the rings in a target, as can

be seen in the image below of an ElastiTone resistance band.

As you can see from the image, even this thin Green band has many

layers! Unfortunately the process of creating these layers is very

expensive and time consuming, which is why most manufacturers do not

use this method and instead produce bands which are just molded one piece tubes. The process for making molded bands is known as

"extruded" technology, which is now very outdated.

Because extruded bands are essentially just one single piece of latex, it

makes them very weak and if the band has a slight nick or tear in the

surface it will soon begin to spread through the band causing it to break

during use, which could cause you an injury.

Multiple layered bands are much harder to tear or snap, and slight surface

abrasions, scuffs and nicks do not affect the band as they would an

extruded one, as the tear will stop when it reaches the next layer.

How Is The Bands Resistance/Tension Rated?

Most people wrongly presume that all bands are rated in the same way,

this could not be further from the truth! What one seller states as being a 50 Lb band could be far thicker or thinner than another sellers 50 Lb

band, depending on how it was rated and how honest the retailer is.

The thicker a band is, the more resistance (tensile force) it will produce,

however there is no easy or exact way for a person to rate a bands

resistance without using equipment such as a tensile force meter.

Most brands when producing ratings for their bands tend to use the peak

tension rating of the band just before it breaks, which is very misleading

to customers as it makes thin low tension bands sound far better than

they really are, and gives the potential buyer a very false impression.

For a visual example of this, below is a side by side comparison of an

ElastiTone "PRO Ultra" black band which has an average rating of 49.5

Lbs, shown on the left, and a regular competitor band rated as being 50

Lbs, on the right.

As you can clearly see, the ElastiTone black band is much wider than the

competitor band and has a smaller inner hole. The ElastiTone band

reached a resistance of almost 50 Lbs when stretched just halfway, but

the competitor band could only manage a reading of 50 Lbs when

stretched up to the point were it would likely have broken if stretched any

further!

ElastiTone Vs Other Big Brands

For another more interesting comparison, below is a photo of the PRO

Ultra Orange band alongside a well known competitor "Black Sniper"

band, which is rated as being 62 Lbs (the same as the average rating for

our Orange band). The band was purchased from the official store so is

not a fake.

As you can clearly see, the Orange band is at least 3mm thicker with a

central hole that is 1-2mm smaller than the "Black Sniper", meaning that

the Orange band has far more resistance. The "Black Sniper" did not

reach 62 Lbs until during the overhead press, but the Orange band

reached 62 Lbs during just a bicep curl, and during the overhead press

the Orange band reached over 105 Lbs!

The "Black Sniper" band is made from what appears to be a standard

masticated dry or sheet stock rubber, and it has no visible layers at all,

even under a 60X magnification lens none could be seen. The layers in the Orange band however are easily visible where the flash has reflected

off of the latex, but the Black band looks, feels and even smells like a

pretty standard rubber.

So now you know the most important factors when it comes to

choosing a band, lest look at the many more advantages

ElastiTone have over other competitors.......

Introducing The "Black Mamba" - The Worlds Thickest Super

Heavy Resistance band!

The "Black Mamba" is the Thickest and Heaviest resistance band

in the world, with a very high average resistance rating of 35 Kg and an

Overhead Press rating of 56 Kg (more if you are taller than 5 ft 7") this band has no rival! It is perfect for performing bicep curls, squats, forward

rows, pull downs etc and is aimed at strong individuals who find that most

bands don't offer them enough of a challenge. This is a very thick and

strong band and makes all other competitor so called "heavy resistance

bands" feel like a piece of string in comparison!

This band gives ElastiTone the right to claim a higher resistance than any

other brand!

The "Black Mamba" is available as an upgrade to the current "PRO

Ultra" set for just £12.99 + £2.60 postage, bargain!

3 Resistance / Tension Ratings!

ElastiTone are the first ever band retailer in the world to show 3

resistance ratings, which are...

The average rating, taken with the band stretched around midway

which gives you a rating that is easily achievable for most exercises,

although you can easily increase it with a wider foot spacing etc.

The overhead press rating, taken during the overhead press by a

person of average height.

The total rating, taken when the band starts to lose elasticity and

stretching it further makes little difference to the rating, which is the

rating cheaper bands and even some more expensive ones seem to use.

Using these 3 ratings gives you a better and more realistic idea of how

much resistance/tensile force each band will offer you and is not

misleading.

Used By Professional Sportsmen!

Check out some of the comments received via Twitter from Pro Rugby

League players below!

Paul Johnson, Former Great Britain, Wigan, Bradford & Warrington Pro

Rugby League player

Vince Mellars, Pro Rugby League player for the Wakefield Wildcats

Jordan James, Pro Rugby League player for the Salford Reds, DJ & former

Royal Marine

Must Have Essential Clip System!

ALL ElastiTone bands now come complete with extra large 80mm solid

Iron carabineer clips/hooks at each end of the band, the strongest and

largest in the industry! This enables users to create different resistance

combinations, just like you can with free weights or at a gym. The

included handles come with welded metal "O" rings, allowing you to

attach up to 7 bands to each handle at the same time!

Some other brands do not offer a clip system, instead they have handles

attached to the bands which you cannot remove. Bands designed in this

way have no resistance combinations at all and are very limited in

functionality, because once your body becomes used to the resistance

each band alone offers, which it will eventually do as you grow stronger,

such is the nature of the human body, you are forced to use the next band up. This may either be to much of a step up, or may not be enough,

meaning you are then stuck with a useless set of bands since you can not

use more than one band at a time!

Bands with attached handles are also pretty useless when it comes to

many lower body exercises, and you may have to buy another separate

set of bands for the legs.

Yet another problem with bands that come with attached handles and no

clip system, is that you only ever get half of the stated resistance rating!

For example the rival 62 Lb "Black Sniper" band we showed you earlier will only give you 31 Lb per side, because you are forced to use both

hands like with a barbell.

With a clip system however you can simply attach both ends of the band

to just one handle, which allows you to use the band exactly like you

would a dumbbell, giving you the full 62 Lb on one side!

Below is a comparison of the ElastiTone 80mm carabineers (far left),

against the more common smaller clips used by other competitors.

The excuse for not having a clip system, according to those that do not

have one, is that it takes to long to change a band??? It takes literally

just a few seconds to unclip one band from the handles and snap on

another, so we regard this as nonsense.

SAFETY FIRST!

You should avoid the cheaply made bands which have been attached

directly to the hook (shown on the left) instead of using the nylon strap,

grommet and bung insert method ElastiTone uses (shown on the right).

Bands which are directly attached to the hook are done so by threading

the band around the hook and then making a slit in the band and

threading the end of the band back in to itself. Bands made in this way

already have a weak point when you buy them (the slit), and this may

grow over time causing the hook to break away from the band. Also, if the hooks are attached in this way then the latex used is likely to be thin

and flimsy or have a large central hole, since it is harder to do this with a

thick or layered band.

Extra Large Deluxe Accessories

All of the ElastiTone accessories are built for comfort as well as

practicality and durability , hence why we call them "Deluxe". You will

receive all of the below with every set...

2 Super Strong, Large Handles

Our handles, which are made with extra strong plastic due to the amount

of resistance they have to take (we tried standard handles but they just

bent), are 15cm wide instead of the usual 11-12cm which prevents the

nylon straps from rubbing against your skin during many exercises, which

becomes very annoying and uncomfortable. They also have a wider diameter allowing for a much firmer and more natural grip.

A comparison between an ElastiTone handle (left) and an average handle

(right) is shown below. Handle colour may vary.

2 Padded Leg/Arm straps

Our leg/arm straps (commonly referred to as ankle straps) are not just

thin and flimsy like many others, they are padded with neoprene for extra

comfort and to avoid friction on the skin, and are also longer and wider so

that whether you are attaching them to your ankles, thighs or your arms,

they should fit nicely! They can also be slipped around a barbell so that

you can attach the bands to your free weights for more resistance, or to a

belt.

1 Extra Large Door Anchor

Even our door anchor has been revised and has a super thick layer of

foam on it 6 x thicker than most door anchors, and a layer of neoprene in

the loop part were the bands thread through, which stops the bands from

rubbing against the nylon causing friction and heat, which could damage

the bands. It also has a much longer strap!

Take a look at the side by side comparisons below, there is a huge

difference in quality!

1 Extra Thick Durable Travel bag

You wont be provided with some flimsy nylon or cotton bag that falls apart and frey's, our bags use high grade thick nylon, have a velcro seal

and bear the ElastiTone logo.

Note: We recently upgraded our logo however bags at the moment

still bear the older basic logo as shown below.

For more info on the various types of sets ElastiTone offer, to view the

ratings of each band, the bargain price, and even more reasons to buy,

checkout ElastiTone.com for the best Resistance bands available.

Of course it is your choice where and what to buy, but at least

now you have a better idea of what to look for, and what not to

fall for, and who offers the most resistance and quality for the

money!