FEIERDUN DS2 vs Bowflex SelectTech: $60 vs $400 Adjustable Dumbbells Compared

Here is the short answer: if you are setting up a home gym on a real-world budget and you train in the 5 to 50 lb range most of the time, the FEIERDUN DS2 does the job at a price that is hard to argue with. If you train professionally, you have the space for the included tray, and you want a selector that feels premium every single rep, the Bowflex SelectTech 552 earns its price. Most people reading this will do just fine with the FEIERDUN.

I spent several months rotating between both sets. The FEIERDUN DS2 was my everyday dumbbell for home training. The SelectTech 552 got put through its paces at a friend's garage gym where he keeps a fuller setup. What follows is everything I noticed, including the things that surprised me in both directions.

FEIERDUN DS2 vs Bowflex SelectTech 552 at a glance

Feature	FEIERDUN DS2	Bowflex SelectTech 552
Price	~$60	~$400
Weight Range	Up to 70 lbs per dumbbell (pair, combined up to 90 lbs)	5 to 52.5 lbs per dumbbell
Increments	Dial with fixed preset positions	2.5 lb increments (lower range), 5 lb increments above 25 lbs
Selector Type	Twist-dial	Slide-and-click dial
Handle Feel	Solid, slightly textured rubber grip	Molded contoured grip, smooth plastic sections
Tray Included	Yes, two trays	Yes, one tray per dumbbell
Storage Footprint	Compact, side-by-side trays	Longer trays, needs dedicated shelf or stand
Max Single Dumbbell Weight	45 lbs (pair config up to 90 lbs)	52.5 lbs
Connecting Rod Option	Yes, converts to barbell	No
Warranty	Not specified by manufacturer	2 years
Amazon Rating	4.4 stars (4,770 reviews)	4.6 stars (27,000+ reviews)
Best For	Budget home gym, beginners to intermediate lifters	Serious home athletes who want a long-term investment

Where the FEIERDUN DS2 Wins

The obvious win is price. At around $60, the FEIERDUN DS2 costs less than a single session with a personal trainer at most commercial gyms. For someone building their first home gym, or someone who is not yet sure how serious they will get about lifting, paying $340 more for a selector that feels silkier is a tough sell. The FEIERDUN gets you from 5 lbs to 70 lbs of resistance for a price that leaves room in the budget for a bench, a mat, and a few months of good food.

The connecting rod feature is a genuine bonus that most people overlook. When both dumbbells are connected via the included rod, they function as a barbell. It is not a perfect barbell replacement, but for exercises like Romanian deadlifts, bent-over rows, and overhead press, it opens up movement patterns you simply cannot do with the SelectTech. That versatility for $60 total is a real argument, not marketing fluff. I used it regularly for Romanian deadlifts and it held up without any wobble or looseness over months of use.

The footprint is also smaller. If your home gym is a corner of a bedroom or a section of a garage, the FEIERDUN trays sit more compactly than the SelectTech's long cradles. When floor space is genuinely limited, that matters more than it sounds.

Where the Bowflex SelectTech 552 Wins

The Bowflex SelectTech 552 wins on feel, finish, and reliability of the selector mechanism over thousands of adjustments. The slide-and-click dial on the SelectTech is satisfying in a way the FEIERDUN's twist-dial is not. Each increment locks in cleanly. You know the weight is set before you pick it up. After heavy use, the FEIERDUN selector can develop a slight imprecision, where you are not 100 percent sure you are at 25 lbs and not 20 lbs until you feel it in your hand. That never happened with the SelectTech.

The 2.5 lb increments in the lower weight range are a meaningful advantage for anyone working on isolation movements or rehabbing an injury. If you are doing lateral raises or external rotations, jumping from 10 lbs to 15 lbs can be too big a step. The SelectTech's finer increments let you progress more gradually, which matters more than most people realize until they need it. The two-year manufacturer warranty also provides peace of mind that the FEIERDUN simply does not offer in writing.

After six months of weekly use, the FEIERDUN DS2 still clicks through its weight settings without any rattling. For $60, that is a lot harder to complain about than it sounds on paper.

Build Quality: Closer Than You Would Expect

I expected the FEIERDUN to feel noticeably cheaper the moment I picked it up. It does not. The handle diameter is comfortable, the grip surface gives enough texture for dry or chalked hands, and the weight plates do not rattle when you are mid-rep. The SelectTech has a more refined feel, with its molded housing and smooth transitions, but the FEIERDUN is genuinely solid for what it is. Neither dumbbell wobbles or shifts at the end of the selector range, which was my biggest concern with a budget adjustable set before I tested it.

Where the quality gap shows up is in long-term wear. After several months of daily use, the FEIERDUN's plastic selector housing showed minor surface scratches and one small scuff on the tray locking edge. Nothing structural, nothing that affects function, but the SelectTech looked essentially the same as day one. If you are the kind of person who cares about your gear looking good in five years, the SelectTech is the better long-term investment. If you care about function and budget, the FEIERDUN ages fine.

Weight Range and Who It Covers

The FEIERDUN DS2 tops out at 45 lbs per dumbbell in standard configuration, with the connecting rod mode pushing the combined load higher. For the majority of home gym users doing chest press, rows, curls, shoulder work, and lunges, 45 lbs per hand covers most of what they need. If you are already pressing 100 lbs on a barbell and doing dumbbell presses with 60 lb dumbbells at the commercial gym, the FEIERDUN will run out of headroom for some movements. The SelectTech's 52.5 lb ceiling is only marginally higher, and it matters at the edge of intermediate to advanced training.

For beginners to intermediate lifters, which covers the vast majority of home gym athletes, neither dumbbell becomes the limiting factor in their training for at least the first 18 to 24 months of consistent lifting. The real ceiling question only comes up for people already training with heavy loads, and those people usually know who they are before they buy.

Selector Speed and Workout Flow

One underrated factor in adjustable dumbbells is how fast you can change weight between sets. The FEIERDUN's twist-dial takes about three to four seconds to rotate through a full weight change. The SelectTech's slide mechanism is comparable, maybe two to three seconds. Neither is the instant snap of a traditional dumbbell rack, but both are fast enough that they do not kill momentum in a circuit or superset. I never found myself waiting on the FEIERDUN during a time-based workout. That was a pleasant surprise.

Who Should Buy Which

Buy the FEIERDUN DS2 if: you are building a first home gym and every dollar counts, you train in the 10 to 50 lb range for most of your work, you want the barbell conversion option, or you are not yet sure how committed you are to home training and want to test the waters without a $400 commitment. The FEIERDUN does 90 percent of what the SelectTech does for 15 percent of the price. That math is hard to beat for most people.

Buy the Bowflex SelectTech 552 if: you are a serious intermediate or advanced lifter who trains daily and needs selector precision for every rep, you want a two-year warranty and manufacturer support, you care about long-term aesthetic durability, or you are buying for a home gym you have already committed to and want the best-in-class adjustable experience without going to a commercial set. The SelectTech is genuinely excellent, it just needs to earn its price tag relative to your actual training needs.