Did Ironmaster Copy The Eisenlink Dumbbells Design?

No! The Eisenlink Dumbbell Design is based on the old Ironmaster Quick Change design, that was sold to Hoist. Ironmaster developed the current Ironmaster Quick Lock Dumbbells as an upgrade of the old design. The plates are smaller and the dumbbell is better balanced in the current design.

The main difference between the Eisenlink Dumbbell and the old Ironmaster/Hoist Quick Change design is the weight plates. Eisenlink’s use a screw that is held in place by a threaded section on the weight plate to lock the plates together. Whereas the old Quick Change design used raised nipples to secure the plates.

In the video below, Ironmaster CEO Matt Dawson explains that casting the nipples into the plate is both complicated and expensive. By using the screw instead, the Eisenlink’s can be manufactured at a lower price point. The downside is that if the thread is destroyed the plates won’t lock in correctly.

In the image below you can see in greater detail how the plates mate together. It is also worth noting that the Eisenlink design only has two locking points. Whereas on the old Ironmaster Quick Change dumbbell there were four knobs locking the plates in place.

Current Quick Lock Plate Design

The current Ironmaster Quick Lock Dumbbell plate has evolved even further. The indented section mates with the back of the other plates. To get this precise fit each plate is precision cast and then machined by hand. This process is not cheap, but as time has proven, this results in an extremely robust design.

This Eisenlink design is now being sold under many names in Australia. It is a generic design that is being offered by several factories in China. The difficulty and expense of manufacturing the current Ironmaster Quick Lock plates is the reason why you don’t see copies floating around. As a matter of fact, even Ironmaster has difficulty keeping with supply because they do not want to rush the process and sacrifice quality.