I’m a crossfitter, I’m a blogger, I’m a techie, I’m a geek. I like to think I can do a lot of things, many fairly well, few pretty good, not very many bad. Late last year I found out something that I was not, after I tried to put together my own plyobox.
I am not a carpenter or a woodworker.
Then again, I could argue that the people cutting the (wrong) wood that I picked out failed at their job. I found some dimensions and directions online for constructing a DIY plyobox and like any other man’s man, went to Lowes to grab everything necessary for me to create my masterpiece. I should have known from the first cut of the wood they made that it was going to turn out awry. By then, I was already pot committed, so I continued on. Piece by ill-fitting piece, I trudged on to create a “plyobox” that I would go on to name “Death-Trap”. From the looks of it, it was actually okay, until I jumped on it a few times and damn near fell through one of the sides. Not only were there large gaps all over the box, the only wood that I could find to match the thickness of the box I found online was particleboard. You dummy, Joel.
Lesson learned. Leave the box making to the box makers.
When Scott of Brute Strength Supply Co. approached me to do a review of his plyobox, let’s just say I was more than willing. What started as him cutting and building all of his boxes for his gym turned into him creating his brand, Brute Strength Supply Co. Now all the boxes are CNC cut for precision, you might actually have some at your affiliate as he used to sell them to brick and mortar stores to be re-branded and re-sold. Hell, I would put my name on these boxes too, they’re quality stuff. From the cuts to the pre-drilled holes, everything just fits. Even a novice like me had absolutely no trouble putting this box together. All you really need to do is piece all the sides together and drill the supplied screws into the holes. Although not necessary, I went the extra mile and used wood glue to secure the pieces seeing as how I had some left over from “Death-Trap”. Assembly of the box took me all of thirty minutes. The wood is an exo-friendly exterior grade plywood that is planted and harvested in Chile to be strictly used as plywood. Otherwise, all the cutting and assembling of their other products is done right here in SoCal. He uses the same grade wood for his jerk boxes and platforms. Fancy.
It’s a just box right? You have 6 sides, 20x24x30″. You jump on it, it doesn’t break. I’ve jumped on a few boxes in my time, some more or less confidence inspiring than others. This box seems to be around the upper echelon of boxes that have had the honor of receiving my box jump. It’s solid, it doesn’t rock around, and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to cave in when you land on it. At 5’9″ 170lbs, box jumping might be one of my specialties and I’m pretty good with ninja soft landings. So I had my not-as-ninja-like brother test it out; he’s not a little guy by any means. The box is still perfectly intact, no cracks, no breakage anywhere. Good enough for me. I would have no question that this box would do well in an affiliate setting where it would see action from many different body types. The only gripe that I have with the box is that the holes on the sides to carry the box are slightly small. My box also had the logo sprayed on, but from here on out the logos will be burned into the wood akin to the Rogue Games box. Also, while my box has straight edges(don’t miss), from here on out the next batches will include rounded edges also like the Rogue Games box.
I received the large box that retails for $89, before shipping fees. They also sell a smaller box that goes for $69 if you’re less inclined to jump on the 30″ side. For SoCal natives, you also have the option to pick up or have the boxes delivered to save on those shipping costs. This ends up being one of the cheaper, high quality boxes you can find if you live in SoCal. For those not native to SoCal, you’ll have to contact Brute Strength for shipping quotes. Granted, if I were to go and do another DIY plyobox, I would probably end up with a much better product the next time around. Even still, buying the nice wood and all the pieces necessary will still probably run you the same amount that Brute Strength Supply Co. is charging for their box. Then you’ll still have to deal with imprecise cuts and the effort of having to put it all together. You’re probably better off leaving the woodworking to the pros. Trust me, I’m a pro.
Check out Brute Strength Supply Co. on Facebook and go get your plyobox on!
Where to purchase? That Facebook link is a little old 🙂