Vulcan Talos Power Rack Dual-Stack Multi-Function Cable Trainer ++ Review

When I first laid eyes on the Vulcan Talos Power Rack & Multi-Function Cable Station, it made quite the impression. This beefy, 6-upright monstrosity has a footprint that commands attention. It’s not just a power rack; it’s a functional trainer with dual weight stacks, built to handle everything from heavy squats to cable-based lat pulldowns and rows. Straight out of the gate the Talos felt like a serious contender for the centerpiece of any home/garage gym, especially for those who value versatility, but its size and scope raise many questions about whether it can deliver without compromises.

The Talos is designed to be an all-in-one solution  –  a robust power rack for classic barbell lifts, and a cable system for functional training; with both systems integrated in a way that’s supposed to work seamlessly. But can it truly excel at both without the cables getting in the way of your squats, or the rack limiting your cable work? Is it worth spending several grand on a multi-function monster like this when a basic power rack can be had for a third of the cost? Does this thing even fit comfortably in a garage gym?

In this review, I’ll share my take on the Talos’s design, performance, build quality, optional attachments (like adjustable jammer arms, belt squat, and drop-in safeties), and assembly process. Let’s see if this heavyweight lives up to its potential as the heart of your gym.

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Vulcan Talos Review – Table of Contents

• Talos Specifications & Dimension
• Chapter 1: Review Intro
  • Part 1: the Power Rack
  • Part 2: the Functional Trainer
  • Part 3: the Lat Tower
• Talos Rack Accessories & Attachments
  • Vulcan Jammer Arms
  • Safety System Options
  • Belt Squat Attachment
• Vulcan Talos Pros and Cons
• Talos Review Summary & Notes

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Talos Power Rack Specifications (6-post variant) *

Vulcan has very detailed, illustrated spec sheets on the Talos product page that you should check out if you are considering this rack for your gym, but a summary of the basic specs & dimensions is included here for your convenience.

• • Vulcan Talos Dimensions
    • rack width: 42.5″ inner upright to upright; 53″ true width (includes feet)
    • rack depth: 69.5″ front to rear upright; 79″ true depth (includes feet)
    • rack inside working area depth (inner upright distance): 42.5″
    • rear section upright depth distance: 18″
    • upright height/absolute rack height: 92″/94.5″

• • Uprights and Crossmembers
    • manufactured with 75mm x 75mm (~3″ x 3″), 11-gauge (3.1mm) steel
      • rack components are robot welded and of a very high quality
    • 25mm (~1″) diameter holes with 50mm (~2″) hole spacing
      • upright hole numbers are laser cut front and back
    • assembly hardware varies from M16 to M24 bolts (~5/8 – 1″ hardware)
    • (4) finish options currently offered: matte black, metallic gloss black, gloss red, and gloss blue (my variant)

• • Weight Stacks Specifications
    • Both a 200lb and 300lb stack variant is offered
    • weight stacks are on a 2:1 resistance ratio
    • stack plates have weights given in pounds and kilograms
    • cable carriages adjust vertically and can lock into any of the 2″ holes up and down the front uprights.
    • cable pulleys can swivel 180″ just like a standalone functional trainer
    • two additional dual cable outputs exist at the back of the rack for lat pulldowns and low cable rows

• • Accessories
    • (2) J-cup options: standard and sandwich stye (basic cups included with rack)
    • (4) safety options: safety spotter arms; flip-down spotters; pipe safety rods; and nylon safety straps
    • chest/triceps dip station
    • plate storage horns (12″)
    • landmine (single or pair)
    • multi-grip pull-up bar
    • half rack conversion feet
    • leg roller for lat pulldowns
    • wide lat pulldown attachment (included with Talos)
    • straight lat pulldown attachment (included with Talos)

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Vulcan Talos Review – Quick Intro

I’ve been MIA for a while so just to get everyone caught up, I’ve been training on Rogue’s Collegiate Monster Half Rack for over half a decade now. I love half racks, and I especially love this particular half rack. It doesn’t take up an excessive amount of floor space, it has the beefiest, most confidence-inspiring spotter arms that I’ve ever seen, and it can hold all of my weight plates, eliminating the need for another piece of equipment for storing plates. Half racks are truly amazing when working with limited floor space.

Having said that, I also have a separate lat tower, a belt squat machine, and a second wall-mounted power rack on the opposite wall of the Rogue rack so that I can superset barbell exercises and do pull-ups while I’ve got a barbell loaded in the half rack (I know, first world problems.) My point in mentioning all of this isn’t to brag but to say that yes, a half rack may be great in terms of how much it provides while having such a compact footprint, I still have to own a lot of extra equipment to have access to all of the exercises I want access to.

The Talos is a way to get the setup that I had previously without taking up nearly as much floor space overall and without costing anywhere near as much money. That’s the goal anyway. Let’s talk about the performance and functionality of each of the Talos’ individual sections.

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Part 1: The Power Rack

So how does the Talos compare to a normal power rack in terms of functionality? Does the inclusion of a functional trainer and a lat tower force you make any compromises when it comes time use the Talos as an actual power rack? Can you squat and bench without cable components being in the way? Can you attach all of the same accessories that you could attach to a rack that doesn’t have all this extra stuff built in? Can you have plate storage with those two weight stacks and all those pulleys being present on the rack?

Fortunately, I have only good news when it comes to answering the above questions. The presence of the weight stacks, the cables, and even all the pulleys attached to the rack do not get in the way of a loaded barbell, the safeties, or any accessories. You will not have to work around any of the the parts or components of the cable system when doing your usual barbell work. You can attach j-cups and safeties in all of the same places on the uprights as you could if none of that additional stuff was there. There’s no interference from a functional standpoint.

The only thing that is different because of the inclusion of a cable system is that there will be times that you’ll need to to take extra steps to set up for something by moving the cable carriages prior to setting up j-cups, spotters, and some other accessories like jammer arms.

For instance, if you happen to have the cable carriages at the exact same height as your jammer arms, it’s possible for the arms to make contact with the cable assembly when the arms are perpendicular with the uprights (a position they are almost never in by the way.) Also, and I’m really reaching here to find a downside, is that you’ll obviously have to strip the uprights of any accessories installed in order to adjust the cable carriages to a different height. I think the bulk of us have a position that are j-cups and spotters spend 95% of their time in. Well, you have to be a little inconvenienced sometimes in order to adjust your cable height. Another first-world problem, right?

I therefore give the power rack portion of the Talos an easy score of 10/10.

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Part II: The Functional Trainer

We’ve all used the fancy Precor or Life Fitness functional trainer in the global gym. They are big, expensive machines with pulleys galore, a fancy combo-grip pull-up bar, and carriages that adjust up and down a long track while also being able to swivel 180 degrees around the front of that track. So what sort of sacrifices do we have to make with the Talos by trying to add all of these bells and whistles to a standard 3″x3″ power rack?

None. That’s right. Again, nothing. The cable trolleys go from the floor to top of the rack just like a standard functional trainer. The pulleys on the trolley carriages have a large, double pulleys allow the cable to be pulled upward from a low position, down from a high position, or straight out at a 90 degree angle of the rack’s uprights. The carriages also swivel 180 degrees just like with a standard functional trainer, allowing you to position yourself where ever you want within 180 degrees of the front of the rack. There’s literally no difference in function between a standalone trainer and the Talos. It doesn’t even feel different in use.

Now, you won’t have the same style of fancy pull-up bar that many commercial functional trainers have, but if you replace the standard pull-up bar of the Talos with a multi-grip pull-up bar then you’ll have effectively solved that problem. It’ll cost you a little more to add the optional pull-up bar, but the feature does exist if that’s a feature you want on your Talos.

There is the aforementioned extra step of having to remove rack accessories like the j-cups and safeties to adjust the cable carriages, but this minor inconvenience doesn’t change the function or performance of the cable system, and really, it’s such a small price to pay to get all this variety in exercises into your compact garage gym.

I give the functional trainer another 10/10. Even if the lat tower is mid, I think we’re looking at a winner so far with the Talos, but let’s continue…

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Part III: The Lat/Row Tower

As far as the ability to do all of the same rows and pulls that you could do on a commercial lat tower, and with more the enough weight at your disposal that you’ll never bitch about not having enough weight, the lat tower portion of the Talos is almost just as good as the power rack and functional trainer portion of the Talos.  Vulcan even remembered to include a foot plate for low rows at the base of the rack. That said, there is a compromise that had to be made in order to add the high and low cable feature to the Talos. Lets talk about that.

The Talos has a double weight stack. Because of this, there have to be two cable outputs for the lat tower in order for both the functional trainer and the lat tower to share the same weight stacks. How this impacts you and your back workout is that the cable accessories used for these movements has to attach to both stacks rather than than a single stack like is typical on a commercial lat tower.

This doesn’t really change anything from a functional standpoint but it does mean any cable attachments meant for both hands that you may already own will need to be replaced if what you prefer to use for your pulls is something different than the two lat attachments that come with the Talos (pictured below.)

Additionally, using attachments like the narrow row attachment requires the use of a special piece that attaches to both low cables, then allows you to attach your smaller handle to that. Yes, this little converter piece (imaged below) is included with the Talos.

One other thing is that if you can do lat pulldowns that get close to your own body weight, you’ll need to buy an optional accessory that provides leg rollers to keep you pinned to the seat, otherwise you’ll basically just end up doing pull-ups rather than pulldowns. Again, not a drawback in the sense that you can’t do something with the Talos, only a drawback in that you have to spend more money on an extra accessory to do it safely and correctly.

There’s a bit more to deal with when it comes to using the lat tower. Even though you do have access to all the same cable exercises as you would with a standalone lat tower, I’m gonna give this portion of the rack an 8/10 simply because of the extra steps and potential extra money needed to be spent.

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So Far, So Good, Huh?

I think most of you will agree that there are no major drawbacks or compromises made by combining a power rack, functional trainer, and lat tower in one piece of equipment. The Talos is truly a one-and-done, multi-function machine; about as close to a perfect garage gym centerpiece as there ever was. The only real considerations are whether or not you can afford to have something this expensive in your home (versus a simpler, compact, four-post power rack like the Vulcan Slim Fit or the Rogue R-3), and if you even have the space for a unit of this size in your garage gym. You’ll absolutely get the same variety of exercises that it would normally take several pieces of equipment to have access to, but it’ll cost you.

Now that I’ve sufficiently glazed the core rack itself and given it my seal of approval, I do have a couple of minor complaints when it comes to some of the attachments. I will discuss these individually below, but I can tell you right now that none of these grievances are deal breakers in any way. Overall the Talos is well worth serious consideration if a multi-function rack like this is what you want in your garage gym. This rack is amazing, even before any optional accessories or attachments are added. It only gets better as you add things like a pair of jammer arms, an extra pair of j-cups for supersets, and even the belt squat if that’s a squat variation you liked to perform in your public gym. The Talos is badass.

Ok then, let’s talk about the accessories…

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Vulcan Talos Jammer Arms

The Talos is one of those racks that; depending on your training goals and programming; could very much benefit from the addition of jammer arms. With two different jammer arm variants to choose from for the Talos, and multiple locations on the rack that you can install those jammer arms (assuming you’re doing the full-sized, 6-post variant of the Talos), you can add a ton of useful supplemental exercises to your arsenal that would otherwise be impossible to have access to in a garage gym. I’m talking multiple, Hammer Strength-style chest and shoulder press movements, various back rows, shrugs, rack pulls, and more.

There are so many ways to put a pair of jammer arms to use if you know what you’re doing, especially when used in conjunction with an adjustable bench.

In any case, like I said Vulcan offers two kinds of jammer arms. Both variants are the same in terms of function and usefulness. That is, both variants can be installed at any chosen height on the uprights, and the arms of both variants are able to be locked into several positions/angles and pinned to different starting heights (which is amazing for lifts in which the natural, hanging position of the arms isn’t suitable.) The only difference in these variants is how they install onto the Talos (and your preferred rack configuration will largely dictate which arms you need to go with – that is the number of uprights you choose and the desired depth of the power rack section of your Talos.)

I want to talk about these two variants in plenty of detail so there is no confusion on how to pick which is best for you. Feel free to skip this lengthy section if you’re savvy on this topic!

Option I – Adjustable Jammer Arms

The first jammer arm variant is a carriage-style rack attachment; one that can slide up and down the upright without needing to be removed to be adjusted (much like Rogue’s LT-1 50 CAL Trolley; for those of you who are familiar with that product.) This design makes it quick and easy to alter the height of the arms without needing any hand tools; whether you simply want to adjust the arms for a movement that requires that they be at some other height, or because you need to get the arms out of the way entirely so you can perform some lift that the arms would interfere with at their normal position on the uprights.

This carriage-style variant is obviously intended to be a permanent fixture on your rack. The nylon rollers that make these quick vertical adjustments possible wrap around all four sides of the upright; affixed to the assembly with nuts & bolts. What holds these carriages in place are a couple of 1″ pins – one rotating pop-pin and one detent pin. A couple of stainless steel, knurled handles (one on the carriage the other on the arm itself)  make raising and lowering the entire assembly a breeze. Well, certainly much easier than if the handles were not there at all. These things are pretty heavy after all.

Before I give you my thoughts and the pros and cons of this variant, let me tell you about your other option first.

Option II – Drop-in (Removable) Jammer Arms

The other variant is a drop-in style that works much like a j-cup; which is pretty cool in that it only takes seconds to attach or detach each arm to/from the uprights. I really dig this style – it takes just as little time to remove these arms from the rack entirely as it does to adjust the carriage-style variant. Both styles allow you to adjust for height without the use of any hand tools. The difference is that drop-in, removable variant can not possibly ever get in the way of any other exercises you want to do in the rack because they can’t be in the way if they’re not there.

The downside to the drop-in style jammer arms is that the full jammer arm assembly (the pivoting attachment portion of the arms, the arms themselves, and handles) is quite heavy. The seemingly simple process of pulling a pin and removing the assembly from the rack is actually a rather cumbersome process if you lack the strength to safely and confidently do so. Couple how heavy these are with the reality of them almost always being installed as high as possible on the upright and you’ll likely find this process an even bigger struggle to do without help – and possibly even dangerous – if you are also fairly short individual.

So you’re thinking just get the carriage style so that this can’t ever be a problem, right? Well that may not be an option. If you want your jammer arms outside of the rack (that is, on the front pair of uprights where the cable carriages are already located), then you’re out of luck. You need the drop-ins because you can’t have two carriages installed on the same upright. Well not if you intend to ever adjust either of them. You need to be able to remove the arms when you want to use the functional trainer. You may need to buy a step stool.

Now ff you do want your jammer arms for work inside the rack; which I find to be ideal as it allows access to a greater variety of exercises when combined with spotters that span both uprights, then yes, go with the carriage style jammer arms. These are simple to adjust and there should never be a reason that these jammer arms need to be removed from the rack.

A quick clarification: while jammer arms inside the rack offer more options while just being easier to work with, you do lose the ability to perform overhead lifts like the shoulder press. Just something to keep in mind.

As far as how Vulcan’s jammer arms are aside from how they attach to the rack – function, features, aesthetics, durability, etc. – they’re solid! Vulcan made sure to include the ability to lock and pin the arms into dozens of positions other than their natural resting place. This is a feature not found on all jammer arms out there, and I personally wouldn’t buy a version of this attachment that didn’t have this feature.

Both variants of Vulcan’s jammer arms are also made with thick steel components that are going to stand up to a lot of weight and abuse. The welds are professional, the hardware is beefy, the parts of the attachment that make contact with the rack are lined with UHMW so your rack is protected from damage to its finish, and while Vulcan’s arms may not look as fancy as the aforementioned Rogue LT-1 Trolley with all it’s stainless steel and machine gun style adjustment trigger, they certainly aren’t ugly or anything (not to mention Vulcan’s cost half as much as Rogue’s).

That said, there is one feature missing from Vulcan’s jammer arms that I’d like to see added to future iterations, and that’s quick-release handles. Why? Because sometimes it’s just the handles that are going to be in the way of some other exercise you want to perform, not the actual arms, and in the case of the heavy, sometimes complicated to remove drop-in style, it would be pretty convenient to be able to just shed the rack of the handles rather than the entire assembly.

Rogue’s handles are quick-release. I had their arms installed on my Rogue half rack all the time, but I was only able to do this because I could remove their handles easily. If I had to adjust the arms up and down the uprights every single time I was gonna squat or bench or do some pull-ups I’d have gone crazy. Of course, Vulcan’s handles don’t necessarily need to be removable because the arms can be pinned literally anywhere from 0 to 180 degrees (a feature the Rogue Trolley lacks), I think it would still be a nice feature to add. Not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning.

Ok this section is too long – Let’s wrap this up

If you can afford to, add jammer arms. Especially if you buy a six-post Talos. Jammer arms open the door to so many things. For instance, on days that I bench, I end with a unilateral lever bench because its a super safe way to overload the pecs. I also love jammer arms for shrugs, and rack pulls that don’t risk jacking up one of my barbells. Jammer arms are great. Sure they don’t replace the big three. Never use these as a replacement for the squat and bench outside of when needing to work around an injury, but it’s definitely nice to have the iso-lateral exercises they allow as an option.

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Vulcan Talos Safety Spotter Options

Four safety options exist for the Vulcan Talos; flip-down safeties, nylon straps, spotter arms, and simple safety rods. Which option you should choose for your rack is mostly a matter of personal preference (well that and budget.) Some of these are more versatile than others – and yes, owning more than one is an option as well.

If you just want to keep it cheap and simple and get only one kind of safety system, spotter arms are typically the best choice since they can be used both inside and outside the rack. Spotter arms are technically the weakest option of the four being that they attach to only one upright rather than two, but most people will live and die never having loaded so much weight on a barbell that this will be an issue. Don’t get me wrong – spotter arms can hold a ton of weight, but if you’re a true meathead doing heavy rack pulls, or prone to dumping the bar on squats even a few inches above the spotters, you’d probably want to go with the flip-down safeties or the nylon straps rather than spotter arms; just to be safe.

If you only need safeties for work inside the rack then I’d recommend the flip-down safeties. They’re your strongest, most versatile option. When I say versatile, I mean that in addition to being reliable and easy to adjust, they are a great accessory to have in combination with jammer arms and accessories that span the width of a rack. They’ll allow you to really dial in a good starting/resting position for many lever arm movements; most notably the various chest presses.

I have the safety rods as well. I’ve never cared for this outdated safety option for my racks. They work, and they’re the cheapest option by far, but I think it’s worth a few extra bucks to get the flip-down safeties when working inside the cage. I have more confidence in the flip-downs; especially over longer spans as is the case with 42″ deep racks; and also the flip-down safeties are better for the knurling of your bar when you actually do fail a rep, as the flip-downs have UHMW lining the safety while the rods are just raw steel. Skip the rods.

I like safety straps even less than I like the safety rods, and I did not order them to review. I literally never buy safety straps, so even if I had them for the Talos I’d be reluctant to have and share an opinion on their quality, durability, and ease of use when I have zero previous experience using these things and no other products to compare them to. I don’t have any reason at all to think these lack simply because they’re Vulcan rather than brand x, but still, you’re on your own with these. Sorry!

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Vulcan Talos Belt Squat Attachment

I’m a huge fan of belt squats. Belt squats are a great way to safely overload the legs without putting unnecessary stress on the lower back. If you deal with frequent or chronic low back issues, or you just like how closely belt squats mirror barbell squats when it comes to form and muscle activation while helping to prevent possible future back problems, then having a belt squat in your gym may be a good idea. Personally, I like belt squats so much that I had already invested the money and the floor space to a Rogue Rhino many years ago. I didn’t need the belt squat attachment since I already have access to belt squats, but I still needed to check the Vulcan attachment out for the review.

The belt squat attachment for the Talos works very well. Surprisingly well even. I’ve used other belt squat rack attachments before that did work, but that just didn’t compare to a true Rhino or Pit Shark. Rep has a belt squat that utilizes a cable system much the same way as the Rhino. As a rack accessory it worked well but it took some time and effort to set up, and required the use of pulling blocks to get full range of motion. Not ideal. The Vulcan belt squat attachment feels more like a true belt squat and it is definitely easier to set up and break back down than what I’ve used and tested previously.

Vulcan’s belt squat attachment is plate-loaded, and the design of it is essentially the same as one of their drop–in jammer arms. It’s quick and easy to attach to the rack (it’s heavy like a jammer arm; heavier even; but it attaches so low on the rack it doesn’t require the same struggle to get it attached), its adjustable and can be locked into specific positions, it allows for a full range of motion at any height, and it takes up way less space to store when not in use than having something like the Rhino in  your gym.

I think it’s a great attachment, and one worth considering if you like belt squats. I wouldn’t suggest it if you’ve never used a belt squat machine before or don’t have some reason to need access to this movement, but if you are a fan of belt squats and you don’t intend to drop a couple grand or more on a dedicated machine, this attachment works as advertised, and does about as good a job as one could hope for such an attachment. I’m probably not going to retire my Rhino for this attachment, but had I had this first there’s a good chance I never would have felt the need to buy the Rhino. But who knows!

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Talos Pros and Cons