Body Solid GDIP59 Dip Station review

Body Solid GDIP59 Dip Station review and pics by Justin Gaede

I have tried out the Body Solid GDIP59 Dip Station and it is very comfortable with wide diameter bars and grip padding. The dip station is much more comfortable and bare handed dips are pain free!

I have to say that over the time I have owned it, I have thoroughly enjoyed the dip station. They are certainly the most comfortable bars I have ever used.

But there is one problem that I am curious if any of you, who own this station, have encountered. The caps on the ends the bars are made of hard plastic.

You are supposed to insert the caps snug into the pipes. The problem is the plastic is so hard that it doesn't compress or flex. I tried using a rubber mallet to hammer them in, but it just ended up cracking the plastic rings. Finally I soaked the plugs in very hot water (It will temporarily make the plastic softer) and then bang them in with a piece of wood.

Amazon review:

The sticker on the bottom of this thing says "American Designed - and very well made in China". Well, they aren't kidding. This is one hell of a nice piece of equipment. For starters, the shipping weight is 42 lbs. This thing is built like a truck. They use heavy steel box-sections for the frame, and the bolt flanges are welded all the way around, not just tacked. The bolts are beautifully plated, and they use nylon-collar lock nuts rather than a pile of split washers.

In case you are wondering from looking at the photo, yes, this thing is tall. The bars are at 53" off the floor. For me, it's great since I'm 6'3". However, there is also a cross bar at just the right height to use as a step when mounting. They include strips of no-slip tape to put on it, which is great.

Another thing I was trying to figure out from the photo was how wide the grips are spaced. If you're wondering, they have a center-to-center spacing of 21" at the front, and taper outward to 23.5" at the widest possible grip position. The bars themselves are nice and fat at 1.5" in diameter with tough rubber grips. This thing could definitely survive in a commercial gym environment.

The plastic end-caps on the feet are very well made, but are really for carpet. If you have wood floors like me, you will want to put a pad under them. I plan to just buy some adhesive rubber bumpers from the hardware store.

The company apparently does not make a chin up attachment for this unit, which is a shame since the base is definitely stable enough to support one. I plan to bolt extensions on to the vertical members and attach one. I was planning to do this all along, which is the main reason I bought this instead of a lighter model. Call me obsessive, but I really wanted a dip station with full length bars, and all the combo dip/chin stations I saw had only little stub handles for the dip.

Assembly involves tightening just eight bolts. You will need a couple of 3/4" wrenches, or an adjustable wrench and a pair of pliers. They also include a bottle of touch-up paint. If you're wondering, the paint color is sort of a dull metallic silver-gray.

Overall, these guys clearly take pride in their work. It's very well made with great attention to detail, and even though it's more expensive that some others here, I think it's a bargain for the price.

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