This is not a comprehensive list of everything we’ve tested; some models from previous iterations of this guide are no longer available.
Interchangeable tube resistance bands
The quality of the Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set was lacking, from its foam-covered handles to its typo-ridden overly photocopied manual. This kit comes with only one ankle strap, and the carabiners on the ends of the bands need to be rotated into place every time you clip them onto the handles—very annoying.
The Centr Resistance Bands with Handles come in a set of five bands, two handles, two ankle straps, and a door anchor. The tubes are mostly made of latex, and in our experience they seemed durable but lacking the strong resistance of our top tube-and-handle pick, which costs just $10 more. The set comes with a three-month membership to Centr’s training app.
The Fit Simplify Resistance Band Set hovers near the top of Amazon’s best-seller list, but it suffers from the same meh quality and annoying carabiner design as the similarly priced Black Mountain Products set. Its manual is slightly better, however, and includes advice on properly loading your exercises.
Formerly a runner-up pick in this guide, the GoFit ProGym Extreme Set has four interchangeable tube bands claiming up to 140 pounds of resistance. The set also comes with two door anchors (one more than our top tube-and-handle pick), but it doesn’t have tube-reinforcing cords. The tube bands are easy to travel with.
Hyperwear’s Resistance Tube Bands come in a color-coded set of five bands with listed ranges of 10 to 50 pounds of resistance. Also included are a door anchor, two handles, and two ankle straps, and Hyperwear covers the set with a one-year warranty. The bands felt solid and offered good resistance, but the handles were not as comfortable as those on our top tube-and-handle pick.
The Lifeline Variable Resistance Training Kit has favorable reviews on Amazon, but it disappointed us. The unpadded, hard-plastic handles were uncomfortable to grip, and our set didn’t come with ankle straps or a manual, just a flyer prompting us to visit Lifeline’s website and view its training videos. The tubes—which are made of layered latex and feel fairly sturdy—slip in and out of the base of the handles instead of being permanently connected to carabiners, as our picks are. We found that switching them out between exercises took too long.
The SPRI Total Body Resistance Kit comes with five tubes, a door attachment, and two handles, but only one ankle strap. The set costs $10 less than our tube-and-handle pick, but the handles didn’t feel as stable in our tests, and we wish the set included another ankle strap. These tubes also seemed to offer less resistance than other sets.
The Stroops Slastix bands are fabric-covered stackable tubes that are designed to be more durable. They are much more expensive and don’t come in sets, so we opted not to test them.
The Tribe Lifting Long Resistance Band Set includes five superbands, two door handles, and a door anchor. The bands don’t list their weights—like the company’s mini-bands, these are marked from “x-light” to “x-heavy”—but they are easy enough to attach to the handles, thanks to two attachment hooks that also come in the set. We found the handles to be a bit small for larger hands, though, and adding bands for extra weight was a bit more tedious in comparison with the system on our top tube-and-handle pick.
The Whatafit Resistance Bands set consists of five tubes ranging from 10 to 50 pounds of listed resistance accompanied by a door anchor, two handles, and two ankle straps. But we found that the resistances felt much lower in comparison with other sets.
Superbands
The Clench Fitness Loop Resistance Bands are similar to our superband pick but have only a one-year warranty. Some of our testers said they felt greasier than other sets and pinched the inside of their hands more frequently.
The Fitness Solutions Pull Up Bands are cheaper than many other superbands. We couldn’t find the telltale ridge or seam that sets overlayered bands apart. The bands also felt different—stiffer and slicker—than others we evaluated that we knew were layered rather than molded.
The Hyperwear Super Bands come in a set of four and have a one-year warranty. Our paid testers said they were the slipperiest of the superbands we tested, and some testers said they couldn’t get as strong a grip on these bands without hand discomfort.
Rogue’s Monster Bands come in a variety of sets where you can mix and match resistances from 9 to 225 pounds. The heavier bands are great for people interested in serious strength-training exercises, and overall the bands felt strong and durable. But some of our testers didn’t like the overly powdery feel. You can purchase a door strap to assist with exercises, but it costs $45.
The Serious Steel Assisted Pull-Up, Resistance, and Stretch Bands, formerly a pick in this guide, are sold in a set of four bands and claim to offer up to 150 pounds of resistance. They seemed to be quite durable, but some testers disliked the chalky residue left on their hands after use, and these bands are generally more expensive than competitors.
Theraband’s High Resistance Bands are sold in a set of four bands ranging from 15 to 50 pounds of resistance. Our paid testers said they were overly powdery and slippery and had the strongest smell, with impressions ranging from “a balloon” to “a pencil eraser.”
Mini-bands
The 10-inch DynaPro Mini Precision Loop Bands come in five resistances, from light to “extra-extra heavy.” Oddly, the medium resistance felt lighter than the light resistance, and the extra heavy, which didn’t feel that way, also seemed mislabeled.
The Fit Simplify Resistance Loop Exercise Bands are a popular and inexpensive five-loop set with a longer length (12 inches) and lighter resistances than most mini-bands offer.
We found the Perform Better Exercise Mini Bands more likely to roll or scrunch up on our legs than our mini-band pick.
The Rogue Loop Bands come in 9-inch and 12-inch sets, with six bands included. They are differentiated by color but don’t have markings indicating their resistance levels, as our mini-band pick does. Although these bands did just as well staying in place and not scrunching up, they had a strong odor that one tester compared to “dried fish food.”
The measurements on the five latex Sports Research Sweet Sweat Mini Loop Resistance Bands didn’t always add up: The extra heavy band was a bit longer than the heavy one but roughly the same thickness—and it didn’t feel much more difficult to use.
The TRX Exercise Bands are sold in packs of four, with stated resistances up to 25 pounds. Several of our testers said that these bands scrunched around their legs and felt thinner than our mini-band pick. “It was just a tourniquet,” one tester said. “They just rolled up. It becomes very annoying.”
Fabric resistance bands
Bala Bands are sold in sets of three. They are comfortable and good for yoga, pilates, and stretching. Measuring 15 inches, they are longer than most mini-bands, and as a result getting a good, snug feel on some exercises can be difficult. Although these bands are very soft (a company spokesperson said they are made of 30% Terylene, 30% Nylon, and 40% Rubber), we found that other fabric mini-bands were better for all-around use.
The DynaPro Fabric Mini Bands set includes three bands of seemingly similar density with the length dictating the resistance: 15.25 inches (light), 12 inches (medium), and 10.25 inches (heavy). The light resistance band was too long for lateral steps or bridges (we couldn’t get the right amount of tension) but was workable when we tried hip extensions on our hands and knees. The other two lengths were okay, but we thought they could be stronger.
We tried a five-band set of Limm Resistance Loop Exercise Bands, which range in resistance from extra light to extra heavy. Their 12-inch length didn’t deliver quite the same level of tension as other sets, but if you’d prefer a few extra inches, these bands—like the Fit Simplify mini-band set we tested—will do fine, though we can’t vouch for their long-term durability.
The Mark Bell Sling Shot Hip Circle comes in three sizes based on body weight—medium (less than 150 pounds), large (151 to 260 pounds), and extra large (more than 260 pounds)—and has a tightly woven construction with secure stitching that feels sturdy. We tried the medium size, which is 13 inches long and 3 inches wide. This band, which according to the company offers a Level 2 resistance, provided plenty of resistance during our tests in exercises such as lateral steps, glute bridges, and squats. A tougher model, the Level 3 Hip Circle Max, is also available.
The Shelter Fitness Fabric Glute Bands, which come in a set of three, are some of the longer bands we tried, at 15 inches. We found them slightly too long to stay securely above our knees during lateral steps—we had difficulty keeping the appropriate tension throughout the exercise.
At 14.25 inches to 14.5 inches long and 3 inches wide, the Walito Fabric Resistance Bands have a nice feel, with rubbery threads woven in at slightly different densities for each of the three bands’ resistances. There is a distinct difference across the trio, and despite being on the long side, they stay put. We didn’t struggle to keep them in place while doing standing exercises. At around $13, this trio was one of the cheaper fabric sets we tried; the medium resistance band began to warp a bit after a few uses.
Amy Roberts contributed reporting. This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.
