AquaBells Dumbbells Water Weights - AquaBells Dumbbells - AB2AB2

I ordered this and almost expected to have to return it immediately based on the reviews. Here's what you need to know: After determining the logistics of the things and filling the first "bladder" (plate), each subsequent bladder took about one minute to fill up; they get wet so best to fill them in the sink and not on your bed; imagine filling up blow-up toys except you're using water; don't expect to replace your gym membership with these; don't expect years of use. I bought these to get me through the Covid-19 crisis and hopefully they will last a month or two, if they do I will be happy with the price and it will have been worth it. Here's my process for filling them:1. Gather the various parts together near a sink.2. Get three or four hand towels or wash cloths.3. Lay one towel inside the sink to protect from ickiness.4. Remove one bladder (dumbbell plate) and insert the funnel (inlcuded) firmly into the "air" hole opening. Give it a little shove, not enough to break it but to make it feel securely in place.5. Lay this bladder under your faucet with the funnel directly under your faucet head.6. Turn on your faucet at more than a trickle but not too much. Just less than pencil width seemed to be sufficient. This way the water goes in but does not backup. Adjust as necessary.7. As the bladder is filling and reaches about half way, you need to give the bladder a firm press to expel air that has been trapped inside of it. This will push water and air back out through the fill hole. Once you have removed excess air continue.8. Allow the bladder to fill until no more water is going in on its own. Lift the funnel by grasping the fill hole to try to expand a little further.9. Turn off the faucet water.10. Pull the funnel from the fill hole and close the hole quickly (like filling an air toy and air starts to escape, water will start to escape), the quicker the better. Then give it a firm push to make sure it is secure and push the fill hole into the bladder to conceal it.11. Dry the bladder thoroughly with the other towels. You probably will get a little residual water but it will dry. Don't place them on expensive furniture at this or any other point.12. Assemble the dumbbells using the screw on collars.13. Lift weights again.There are eight (8) bladders (plates) which, when filled with water, weigh just over four (4) pounds each. Each dumbbell bar can hold four of the bladders for a total of between 16-17 pounds each dumbbell. You can fill less water for lighter weight, or only use two per dumbbell. I used a digital kitchen scale to weigh them.I will update if I experience any problems with leaks or anything else. I don't think they would be good for filling and emptying on a daily basis if you're traveling. I wouldn't want to repeat the process more than once a week just due to laziness. It's not difficult to fill them. Now it's time to pump, you up.

I have only used these on one trip so far but they worked great. Take a while to fill but none of them leaked. I admit I was cautious in terms of how I placed them on and removed them from the bar. Great solution when staying at a place without workout equipment.

It took me some time to use these as they were bulkier than I'd anticipated, so I didn't take them on short trips. When I opened them, the small funnel which is needed to fill them, had broken. It's rather brittle plastic and was completely unusable. Fortunately, I was able to use the water stream in the sink; it took longer and was messy but it worked. I had NO idea that a funnel with a very narrow spout would be needed so this is an FYI for other users. Also, the exact weight is hard to determine. The weights are difficult to fill all the way. I did use them and they were easy to put together and use, once I got the water in them!

Don't buy these. Protect your home from water damage. I assembled these today. closed the valves tucked them in attached them to the bars and put them aside. This afternoon I found that 4 of the 8 AquaBells burst open while sitting idle at the valves. I spent the next few hours trying to dry my carpet. I hope to God I don't get mold or permanent damage to my floor. So very disappointed, they looked promising although very flimsy. The concept is a great one: travel dumbbells. But too much of a risk with the potential of water damage. I'm now waiting to hear from VirVentures the vendor who sold them to me via Amazon. I hope they can make this right.UPDATE: It’s now two months later and VirVentures and Amazon have not resolved this. I’m very upset they have not refunded my money for the product or for the shipping costs. USPS tracking show they received the package back 6 weeks ago. I would take this company to small claims court but the amount is too low. I have spent so much time on this it’s so frustrating. I don’t know who to report this too or where to go. This is just awful and has rattled my foundation of trust in buying online.

I had injured my shoulder and was ongoing physical therapy when my wife and I went on a 10 day cruise. So I purchase these as way to continue my PT during the cruise. I found the enclosed funnel to be useless. I could more easily fill the weights by holding them directly under the faucet and working the air out at the same time. I only used 4 of the weights and the bar. I had read about the valve leaking during use but did not experience that problem. Although they felt bulky in use, they did the trick. They hardly took up any space in my luggage.Ron

I've been using this for over a couple of months now. It works as advertised.I haven't had any problems with leaking, and the smell that another review mentioned doesn't bother me at all. I've come across products with far worse smell than this.I like the fact that if you drop this accidentally, you won't be hurting anyone or damaging anything. I also like that you can fill it to the exact weight you want, without having a bunch of weights you need to put on or take off.

After you fill up each of the "pods" with water, they really aren't that different from traditional weights, like adding and taking away pods to meet a certain weight on each of the dumbbells. There is a weight limit of around 18 pounds per handle, but if you drop one, the pods won't break your toes. Totally worth buying.

Just what I expected from this product. Can't tell more at the moment, because i have to try it out a couple of times. I suppose it will be handy for my travelling needs and not giving me any problems with water dripping out from them.I have read they are easy to fill but a pain to empty again. I guess the sun can dry the last drop of water out of them.Cheers