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Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 Review

Rogue Fitness Monster Utility Bench 2.0 - Full Review

The newly redesigned Rogue Monster Utility Bench is finally here. That’s right; the beefiest, coolest looking utility bench to ever exist is no longer the most unwieldy bench around. The new 2.0 Monster Frame now has wheels and a handle, a tripod frame that makes setting of your feet less of an ordeal, and yes, it’s still available in the same six custom configurations.

In this review I will discuss the features, pros, and cons of the Monster Utility Bench 2.0 just as I normally would in a bench review. I will also give extra attention to how the Monster 2.0 compares to the Rep Fitness FB-5000; that ever-so-popular, extremely affordable, Fat Pad-compatible utility bench that beat the Monster 2.0 to market by over a year – the bench that has hundreds of 5-star reviews and no doubt finds a home in thousands of garage gyms.


Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 Specifications

  • construction: 3″ x 3″, 11-gauge steel with 3/16″ gussets
  • single column front foot design (tripod)
  • 2 different frame heights and 3 different pads available (6 configurations)
  • frame weight (standard frame, no pad): 57-lbs
    • standard pad weight: 11-lbs
    • competition pad weight: 24.5-lbs
    • Thompson fat pad weight: 30-lbs
  • frame footprint (no pad): 47.375″ x 26.25″
  • length with standard pad: 47.375″
  • length with Fat Pads: 50″
  • pad height: 15.25″, 17.5″, 19.75″ depending on configuration
    • 17.5″ is the ideal height, and that height is possible with all pads
  • massive rear rubber feet for stability
  • high-quality wheels with front handle for mobility (new)
  • uhmw rear cap for storing bench upright (new)
  • price: $275-$295 pre-shipping
See my review of the Thompson Fat Pad.


Rogue Monster Utility Bench Review – Then & Now

Rogue Monster Utility Bench - Original vs the 2.0

Then

I bought the original Monster Utility Bench long before you could order the Shorty version of the frame; back when,  if you wanted the Monster frame with a Thompson Fat Pad, you had to give Rogue some extra cash and some extra time to chop down the legs down to a more reasonable height. That is unless you were fine with benching from a pad that sat about 20″ off the ground (vs the normal 17″ or 17.5″.)

It was expensive; especially since I had already purchased the Thompson Fat Pad by itself; but I was pretty stoked about having a Monster Bench with Fat Pad. At the time there were no regrets. It was hard to do much better in terms of a flat, garage gym bench.

I loved that bench, but it became obvious early on that it was not a very user-friendly bench. At over 80-lb, 50″ in length, 24″ wide, and having no wheels or handle for rolling it around, it was a total pain in the ass to move around the gym. Even dragging it was an ordeal. Those giant rubber feet are fantastic from a stability point of view, but they made dragging the unit across rubber flooring a workout of its own.

I’ll get into this more later in the review, but when Rep Fitness starting offering the FB-5000 for half of what the Monster frame cost (less than half at first), I switched frames. I can’t say I was happy about that switch considering how deeply invested I was in the Rogue, but the idea of a lighter, Thompson-compatible frame with wheels and a handle was just too sweet to ignore. My Monster Utility Bench frame went into storage and the Thompson Fat Pad got installed on the Rep frame.

Now

Enter the 2.0 Monster Frame. Rogue has removed the 24″ wide front feet and replaced that with a single-column foot. The weight of the bench is actually up a couple pounds, but they added wheels and a nice handle to the frame, which makes the weight of the bench mostly irrelevant (if not completely irrelevant.)

Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 versus the Original Monster Bench - wheels, handle, wider rear stance, and more

The 2.0 is also easier to store, as it is designed to be stood on its end when not in use. The original Monster Bench could also be stored upright, but not only would it sit and an obvious angle, but the weight of the bench was on the end of your $155 Thompson Fat Pad; squish-ing it over time.

All of the amazing things about the original Monster Bench remain the same.  The frame is still made from 11-gauge, 3″x3″ steel, the hardware is still beefier than it needs to be, and it still looks as cool as it ever did. All six of the bench / pad configurations are still available as well. You have your choice of a basic flat pad, Thompson Fat Pad, and Rogue’s Comp Pad.

The 2.0 has slightly more pad support, but the assembly is mostly unchanged. They did cut some washers on the 2.0 for some reason. No idea why

The price is up $10 and shipping still adds a pretty penny to the total cost of this beast, but it is definitely a better buy than it was previously.

Does that sound like a short and sweet review? Don’t worry, it’s not over. Keep reading for a comparison with the FB-5000 that will go into many more details about the new Monster 2.0. Following that is a TL;DR pros and cons list and summary.


Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 vs Rep FB-5000

Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 versus the Rep Fitness FB-5000

Where to even begin!  Let’s just start with a comparison chart, then I’ll get into more detail where necessary.

Monster (Std) Monster (TFP) FB-5000 (RWP) FB-5000 (TFP)
 Pad Height 17.5″ 17.5″ 17″ 17.5″
 Pad Dimensions 47″ x 12″ 50″ x 14.5″ 48″ x 14″ 50″ x 14.5″
 Rear Stance 26″ 26″ 21″ 21″
 Bench Weight 68-lbs 89-lbs 62-lbs 89-lbs
 Capacity 1000+ lbs 1000+ lbs 1000+ lbs 1000+ lbs
 Color Options one one five five
 Price $275 $295 $169 $149 + $155


“Std” = standard pad; “TFP” = Thompson Fat Pad; “RWP” =  Rep Wide Pad. Each Rogue configuration is the 17.5″ high variant (short frame with Fat Pad, standard frame for standard pad.) 


 

Many things are the same, and are not listed in the above chart. This includes the use of an 11-gauge, 3″x3″ steel on a tripod frame, non-slip rubber feet, wheels and handle for mobility around the gym, and the use of grippy vinyl on the bench pad. These two benches are quite similar. Extremely similar.

So how are they different?

Rogue has a more elaborate and over-engineered frame. It’s the same basic frame design; a horizontal beam supported by a single-column foot in the front and a standard set of legs in the rear. What’s different is that Rogue uses 3/8″ thick gussets with four massive bolts on each leg post, while Rep uses backing plates with two large bolts per post. Does it matter? I dare say it won’t ever matter, but the Rogue is technically a beefier design, and it does kind of look cooler.

Large 3/8" gussets are used to attach the three major components of the Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0

That said, The Rep FB-5000 has more pad support. It offers support not only on both ends of the pad, but in the middle as well. The Rogue covers more surface area on the ends but has no support in the middle. This too probably won’t ever impact anything, but if I’m going to nitpick the frame at all, I might as well be thorough about it.

The Rep FB-5000 offers support for the entire pad, not just the ends.

The Rogue Monster 2.0 has a significantly wider stance in the rear, which you’d think would make the bench more stable, but the difference is negligible.  Any instability you experience on either of these benches is going to come from the front foot, not the rear. They are tripod benches after all.

The Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 has a much wider stance than the Rep FB-5000 (26" vs 21")

There are slight differences in the pad dimensions from one manufacturer to the other.  Rep has a 48.5″ x 14″ x 4″ Fat Pad (I guess I should be saying ‘Wide Pad’), while the Thompson is 50″ x 14.5″ x 4.5″. It’s a subtle difference, obviously, but when interchanged on these two frames you can alter the height by half an inch (though this really only tends to happen on a Rep FB-5000, as buying a Wide Pad for a Rogue frame probably hasn’t been done much.)

Finally, and probably most importantly, let’s talk about pricing. You can own a Rep FB-5000 with a normal, 12″ wide pad for $149 before shipping. You can own the FB-5000 with Rep’s Wide Pad for only $169 before shipping. It will cost you a minimum of $275 before shipping to purchase the Rogue Monster Bench 2.0 ($295 if you want either of the Fat Pads.)

Rogue Fitness Monster Utility Bench 2.0 pricing versus the FB-5000 with Wide Pad

For frames this similar it is hard to ignore this discrepancy in price. It’s huge. Is the Rogue a nicer bench? Yes. Is the Thompson Fat Pad superior to the Rep Wide Pad? Slightly. Should you pay $126 more before shipping for the Rogue Monster with a Thompson Fat Pad?

If you are on a budget of any kind, then no, because honestly there is not a $125 difference between these two tripod benches no matter how you mix and match frames and pads. I’ve been using the Rep FB-5000 for a long time now without a single issue, and I am not alone on that. I have never thought to myself, “boy if only someone else would improve upon this bench ever-so-slightly and charge more for it,” and I’ll bet the majority of you would agree.

Having said all that, I know how it is. Many of us just have to have the nicest option, even if that option costs more cash. I mean really, at the end of the day, a $125 price difference on a bench that’ll probably be the last bench you buy is nothing compared to the premiums we pay on a power rack, power bars, our specialty bars, and so forth. Many of you have $2000 mega racks and $700 bars when you could be getting the same quality training sessions on a rack that cost a grand and a $300 Ohio Power Bar.

In other words, if you have no budgetary concerns and you just want the best (even if “best” is only a marginal improvement), buy yourself a Rogue Monster Bench 2.0 with the Donnie Thompson Fat Pad and be done with it, probably forever.


Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 – Pros and Cons

Pros

  • The frame is beefy as hell.  3″x3″, 11-gauge steel tubing is more than strong enough for a bench frame, and the thick gussets and large hardware help make the bench stronger yet. Simply put, the Monster Utility Bench 2.0 is a tank.
  • The Monster Bench 2.0 is just as stable as the original. The rear stance is still over 26″ wide, and the rubber feet still do their job of preventing you from sliding around.
  • Adding a handle and wheels to the Monster 2.0 makes it far, far more appealing that its predecessor. The original Monster Bench was incredibly cumbersome to move around.
  • Converting the Monster to a tripod frame was another excellent move by Rogue, as the super wide front stance of the original made setting the feet difficult for many people.
  • Most utility benches can be stood on their end when not in use, but the Monster 2.0 has a UHMW cap at the end of the frame used to prop the bench up on rather than standing the bench up on the pad.  It basically just prevents you from squishing your pad from an angle that it wasn’t meant to be squished from. I don’t know if this is supposed to matter though, as I’ve been leaning a Thompson mounted to the FB-5000 on its end for quite a while now with no pad deformation.
  • There are six possible bench configurations; three pad options and two height options. I think that there are really only three configurations that matter (shorty frame + either Fat Pad, and standard frame + standard pad), but three options is still two more than one.
  • I’m going to say it: This bench just looks cool as shit; almost as cool as the original one.

Cons

  • This bench requires you to own not one, but two 3/8″ Allen Wrenches in order to attach the handle to the frame. If you own a standard, Imperial Allen Key set, you will find that 3/8″ is not part of that set. I suggest a driver bit (like this) with a 3″ extension rod for the bolt that’s inside the frame, and a standard Allen wrench for the exposed bolt under the foot (like this). Feel free to buy these at Harbor Freight – you’ll probably never use them again.
  • The handle used to move the bench around is buried so far under the front of the bench pad that you have to squat down low enough so that your forearm is nearly parallel with the floor before you can grab at that handle.  It’s almost as though the frame is too short for the 50″ long pads, which it is! because the extra 2″ of pad found on the fat pads is all hanging over the front of the frame, not centered on the frame.
The handle of the FB-5000 is in a typical position, while the Rogue Monster 2.0 has its handle buried way under the pad making it pretty difficult to get to
  • This bench is just expensive. For those of us who already own Thompson Fat Pads, the price feels even more frustrating. You can buy the frame with no pad by emailing Rogue but that ends up being only $50 less than buying it with a Thompson Fat Pad. Obviously it makes more sense to buy it with the Fat Pad, as it’s worth way more than $50. Maybe it would be a better idea to order it with a Competition Pad for the weeks leading up to a meet if you already own the Fat Pad? Also, I guess you’ll want a pad for your old bench if and when you go to sell that. So yeah, don’t order this without a pad to save $50.

Rogue Monster Utility Bench Review – Summary

The Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 is overbuilt, completely functional, and absolutely bad ass looking. It is clearly an improvement over its predecessor. There’s a nice variety in build options, all of the pads are super high-quality, the dimensions are perfect, and I’d wager the frame is indestructible. This is a great utility bench.

I docked a half a star from features because the handle is in an awful position when one of the 50″ pads is installed. It is very hard to reach because you have to get your arm not only down, but under the bench in order to pick it up. See the image above.

Finally, value isn’t excellent at $350 shipped. This is an American-made product, and to this day nobody has made a fat pad as nice as the Thompson, but when similar benches sell for close to half as much price is definitely going to be a factor for most people.

If you already own a bench you’re happy with, like the FB-5000 or even the original Monster Bench, I’m not going to suggest you run out and drop $350 for a minor upgrade. If you’re in the market for your first bench then yes, definitely consider the Monster 2.0. It’ll certainly be the last bench you ever buy. I certainly plan to keep mine!

{ 11 comments… add one }
  • Pete October 19, 2019, 3:52 pm

    I just got a shorty monster bench 1.0 with the Thompson fat pad. I do not have a problem with the feet and the fat pad is great for my shoulders. I ordered the Rep fb-5000 but had to send it back. The box was destroyed and there was numerous scratches and chips on the frame. In one section there was a scratch down to the bare metal on the main cross member. The bench pad was also ripped by the plastic straps that cut through the outer and the bench box. The frame pieces were full of black sand. There was a gap between the main cross member and one of the pieces that attaches to the pad. There was more sand in the gap and there was rust as well. The fb-5000 was in such bad shape that I just asked for a refund and bought the monster bench instead.

    • jburgeson October 19, 2019, 4:20 pm

      Sounds like you really lost the lottery on that Rep bench. Sorry to hear that. Glad the Monster is working out though.

  • Mark November 7, 2019, 8:08 am

    Thanks for this review. I took advantage of the 5 for $5 shipping and snagged me a monster 2.0 shorty with TFP. Put it together (mostly) last night and used it this morning. It feels a little different for sure but I think I’m going to like it quite a bit. Question though: Did you have an impossibly hard time getting the UHMW cap on? It’s almost like the cap is a hair too big for the opening. I’m going to try to sand it down a little but I didn’t know if anyone else had a hard time too.

    • jburgeson November 7, 2019, 9:21 am

      yes it was a challenge. I used a rubber hammer to pound it into place. I didn’t have to take it down any but it definitely took some effort.

      • Mark January 3, 2020, 1:32 pm

        This response is way overdue, but I did go out and buy a rubber hammer shortly after your post and it got the job done. Thanks man!

  • Marc November 19, 2019, 6:52 pm

    Excellent review! I plan to sell my Rep FB-5000 and purchase the Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0. I wonder how long it’ll be before someone fabricates a better handle (that is more accessible) for the Rogue Monster Utility Bench 2.0 ?

    • jburgeson November 19, 2019, 9:14 pm

      I don’t know, but I moved my pad back to get the handle closer to the front of the bench. It doesn’t stand upright on the urethane cap anymore but it still stands upright on the pad.

      I also don’t know that I’d sell a 5000 to pay twice as much for the same bench unless Rogue creates some kind of options for it that make better. I kept my 2.0 over the 5000 but I also paid full price for it for the review and figured I may as well keep it. Do you have a FatPad already? The Thompson? or the Rep Wide? Cause I’d just keep the 5000 with a Fat Pad if you do. Bench is like $350 shipped!

  • MBV June 8, 2020, 1:02 pm

    Hey man!

    Thanks for the review. Do you happen to remember which bolt size and dimensions do the Thompson Fat Pad uses? Or if they are compatible with the standard pad threaded inserts? Got some pads, but can’t tell the bolt size just by looking at it.

    • jburgeson June 9, 2020, 12:33 am

      You’d probably want to ask Rogue. I could go find out the size of the head but I wouldn’t know how to tell you what kind of threading it is.

  • William Chau Jr April 19, 2021, 2:35 am

    Great review! This is super helpful. Thanks for that. I do have a question that I would appreciate your help with. I’m looking to buy a flat bench and am contemplating on getting one with a fat pad (either this Rogue bench + Thompson, the Rep FB-5000 + wide pad or Titan Hefty Bench V2).

    I’m about 5’6, 150 lbs and my shoulders measure 18 inches across my sternum. Do you think a fat pad would be too wide for me?

    Thanks again!

    • jburgeson April 21, 2021, 9:48 am

      Wide pads probably aren’t too wide for anyone over 5′. I’ve known guys shorter than 5’6″ who would never go back from a Thompson. I wouldn’t buy a Titan anything personally, but in terms of pad width you should love it.

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