I love to see companies that I’ve done reviews for make it big. Relatively unknown when I did my first review on the Pro barbell collars, OSO is basically the standard when it comes to reliable, multi-sport barbell collars. How do I know this? When you make it to the main stage, the CrossFit Games, you’ve made it. For good reason, they’re simply the sturdiest and best designed collars on the market. Sure, they’re probably not going to take over the calibrated Olympic style collars anytime soon, but in OSO’s defense, the collars they make are a ton easier to use and way more convenient.
Stemming from the success of the original Pro model collar, OSO now produces a weighted Elite collar, Axel collar and smallest, most economical of the bunch, the Mighty collar. You would think a collar that costs almost half the price of the Pro model would have some serious performance cuts, but you can’t really take quality away from OSO’s brand. The OSO Mighty is basically a much more slimmed down and sleek version of the original, in every way. The chassis, which only comes in the blue color for now, is made from the same CNC’ed aircraft grade aluminum and only weighs in at .3lb’s per set. Although it sports a different look, and loses the “open” action, the lever mechanism still works in the same way; open, slide the clamp on, and close until it clicks. It won’t actually stay “locked” unless it’s on a barbell. The fit on a 50mm sleeve is tight, it actually takes a bit of elbow grease to get this thing on and off.
Despite the Mighty’s smaller stature, the holding power is almost the same. I loaded four 45lb plates on a sleeve and tipped it until it was completely vertical, shook it around, and the collars didn’t budge a centimeter. This is as extreme as any weightlifting condition could get. After the repeated drops of a WOD I did that had multiple heavy shoulder to overheads, the Mighty’s had barely budged, definitely not anything that would have me stopping to reset my weights.
Negatives? You’re also going to want to replace all your spring clips and lock-jaws with them or you spent money on Pro’s and they Mighty’s are damn near just as good. Just kidding, sort of. Sometimes after you’re fried after a WOD, the Mighty’s are hard to get on and off due to the lack of the “open” action and for now, they only come in the anodized blue color. At some point you might have to also replace the rubber lining, but on all of my OSO’s, I haven’t yet and it doesn’t seem like they’ll let up soon.
At $25 a pair, you should just buy a pair to keep around in your gym bag so that you won’t get stuck mid-WOD adjusting your weights. This is hands down the best deal for collars. You can spend triple the price and get the same performance the Mighty’s provide. Affiliate owners looking to stock up on reliable collars should also definitely check out the Mighty. Tyler and Sara are great people and have always been a pleasure to work with, so that’s a plus. Their product is made in the United States, and I know they put a great deal of care into their business.
Whether its the Pro, Elite, or Mighty, you really can’t go wrong.
