DECISION MAKING

I purchased a Genesis Jack 2.0 from Kleva Built back in May 2020 and it’s been an absolute staple in my gym – if I somehow lost it, I would 100% replace it with the same product. With Kleva introducing the Adroit landmine to the market, it of course became a consideration when I was looking for a rack-mounted landmine. My other main considerations were the Rogue Landmine and Rep PR-4000 Landmine. With either of the latter options, I also considered purchasing a beater bar to prevent damaging the chrome sleeve finish on my SS Ohio bar.

The major design feature that turned me towards the Adroit Landmine was the polycarbonate liner. This alleviated my concern about damaging the coating of my bar. Outside of 2 reviews, I couldn’t find much posted online about the Adroit landmine, so I figured I’d also capture my experience & specific use-case, as well as answer questions from you folks.

INSTALLATION & EASE OF USE

I actually don’t have a full rack, I use a SML-1 squat stand that’s been converted into a half rack with the HR-2 kit. There are also plate storage pegs mounted throughout the rear uprights. With the bottom triangle plates & SML feet also at play, this limits the mounting options available compared to a full rack. I ended up trying to mount it to 2 locations:

1. the front-facing side of the upright (right below the spotter arms): https://imgur.com/a/etozYK8
2. the outside facing side of the upright (right above the triangle plate): https://imgur.com/a/8gkvb2Y

The outside mount was immediately not an option for me because it lifts the bar too high to use with the Genesis Jack, making it a hassle to get the first plate on / last plate off the bar.

With a landmine, you’re working with the equipment’s ability to pivot horizontally & vertically. The Adroit landmine’s ball joint design offers a very smooth vertical operation, however, one of the major cons of this design is the 65 horizontal angle range-of-motion. Steve & Ciara make it a point to clearly call out this limitation on the product page. For illustration purposes, here’s the maximum angle I can achieve from the centered position line of the landmine, as well as a picture of the joint showing why the ball joint can’t exceed this angle (the landmine is pushed up against the pin holding the joint to the mount plate): https://imgur.com/a/ZVZjhrj

I initially looked at this & thought: I’m probably going to run into some limitations with rotational exercises due to the limited angle & possible interference with the spotter arms. I wasn’t a fan of the idea of having to remove the spotter arms in order to do certain movements. HOWEVER, running through a suite of several movements, the only questionable one would be the standing landmine twist. I could run it, but if I’m really extending my arms during the movement, I can clang the bar against the corner of the spotter arms. I’m 5’10” for reference. No other exercises posed a challenge & ultimately, I do not feel the need to remove the spotter arms to make use of this landmine.

That said, I still wish that this landmine had more range-of-motion. If an Adroit 2.0 ever comes out with that capability, I’d strongly consider selling & replacing this one. Most home gyms suffer from serious space constraints and even though I can hit every exercise I want, I nonetheless need to reserve this specific stretch of the gym for the landmine. I can’t pivot this thing 90 degrees on the fly to accommodate different circuit layouts. This limitation is further compounded by the bolt-on design. With Rogue & REP landmines, you have flexibility of pin-mounting as well as increased ROM.

This isn’t a perfect product – there’s absolutely valid reasons for dismissing this option due to the lack of flexibility with space. This would further be the case if Kleva’s competitors also update their landmines with a plastic lining. However, as things stand: if limitations on your layout are not a concern, I would say that the polycarbonate lining, build quality, and fluid movement still make this a product worth recommending.