Best Budget Home Gym Combo Rack? Hansu HS Elite

Best Budget Home Gym Combo Rack? Hansu HS Elite — first impressions

Is this the budget king or a bust? We unboxed, assembled, and took first reps on the Hansu HS Elite combo rack in Tommy’s garage gym. Here’s the quick hit of what’s great, what’s rough, and whether it’s worth it.

TL;DR

  • Killer value on paper (sale ~$1,600; Tanner snagged a promo with a free Hansu IPF bar + code “basement,” netting ~$1,200 delivered).

  • Packs and looks great, assembles fast, squats feel solid.

  • Bench geometry is off by a few inches, and that’s a big deal.

What we liked

  • Price-to-feature ratio for a true combo is strong.

  • Packaging was A+ (palletized, every piece wrapped); almost no shipping rash.

  • Clean look; laser marks on the main uprights; hour-ish to build.

  • Moves reasonably tool-less once built (4 crossmember bolts to separate; ~10 minutes to break down/rebuild).

  • Bench attachment uses two big hand screws and rear rollers—quick in/out and stable.

  • Bench pad feel is good (grippy, right amount of give).

  • Squat mode feels sturdy; expected “combo clatter” but nothing alarming.

What needs work (and why)

  • Bench/spotter geometry: With your head where it normally lives, the bar sits too far down the pad and the uprights get in the way. Slide up so the bar is over the eyes and your glutes are at the pad edge. Spotter deck sits too far forward, forcing an awkward lean over the lifter. Brackets appear installed correctly; flipping orientations creates new interferences. This seems like a design dimension issue, not user error.

  • Face-saver arms: No laser numbering; travel is limited and the lowest position still sits high. They bind and scrape the uprights when adjusting; slide smoothly only off the post.

  • In/Out width: Non-indexed clamp system works but feels janky versus indexed designs. Fine at home, less confidence-inspiring for meet use.

  • Height pins: Wood guides inside the uprights help alignment, but the pin stop limits insertion depth more than we’d like.

  • Rollers feel light. UHMW is present on face-savers, but bar-contact spots elsewhere lack protection, so knurl can meet metal.

Who should consider it

  • Budget-focused home gym owners who mainly need a squat/bench station and can live with imperfect bench geometry (shorter lifters may notice it less, but it still feels wrong).

  • Not ideal for meet hosts, frequent width changes, or bench specialists chasing perfect rack position.

Our ask to Hansu

  • Move the bench carriage/spotter platform back relative to the j-hooks.

  • Index and number more adjustments (face-savers, in/out).

  • Smooth out tolerances so the face-savers glide on-post.

  • Add UHMW to common bar-contact faces.

Verdict

As a pure value play, it might still be the best budget combo we’ve seen—better than ultra-cheap options like Titan, but not in the same league as Ghost/TSS/ER. The bench geometry needs a redesign; fix that and this becomes a legit budget recommendation.

Tommy DeFeaComment