⭐️ Best for Fighter Jet Lifting: 88/100
The MAJOR FITNESS Raptor F22 (simply referred to as the Raptor F22) combines “essential” lifting capabilities (squatting and bench pressing) with a multitude of included accessory lifting items.
What the rack makes loses in its “simplicity” it makes up for in its overall stability and functionality.
In a niche (home power racks) where there are a lot of available options, the F22 is a functional and safe pick for those outfitting (or upgrading) their first garage gyms.
Pros
Incredibly stable; an abundance of bolts translates to an incredibly secure lifting experience
Accessories, J-cups, and safety bars are “one-turn” adjustable, saving time and hassle when switching out hardware components adding degrees of stability
Smooth cable pulley system. Weights move up and down very easily and without catching
Cons
Included assembly equipment is adequate, but a socket wrench is almost mandatory
Pull-up and dip bar plastic coating might end up eroding over time
Safety bars are shorter than ideal length for squatting
MAJOR FITNESS…if I’m being honest, the company names sounds a bit…not like a company name to me.
To be fair, I guess it doesn’t really try to mince words with what the company is all about.
Not being familiar with the company, I was equal parts excited and, to be honest, sceptical when the shipment finally made it’s way to my house. Thankfully, I found the Raptor F22 to be pretty legit…even if one of my family’s cars will likely never experience the warmth and comfort of my garage again.
(The things we do for the gainz!)
The F22 has just about everything you could reasonably ask for in a home power rack…and even steps a little bit into “commercial ‘bro gym’” territory with its build quality and accessories. If you’re tired of the classic “complete home gym” which actually turns out to be a glorified pull-up bar with a semi-functioning pulley system, this could be one to check out.
Table of Contents
Shipping/Delivery
The F22 arrived in three cardboard boxes of different sizes, tightly sealed in plastic, with the company logo and imprint of the power rack displayed on the exterior (just in case you might be concerned about neighbors knowing what’s in your packages).
Unlike your typical big-box-store delivery, the cardboard boxes are composed of two separate (top and bottom) pieces, so you can easily reuse the boxes in the future without necessarily having to re-tape everything. The packages were shipped via FedEx, and I was able to track them on their website prior to arrival.
Each box weighed around 80 pounds, so you may want to consider using a dolly/hand truck or the something similar for transport (or not…because….ya know, you did want to get a workout in, right?)
Everything was carefully packaged in either cardboard or plastic (sometimes both) in order to ensure nothing was damaged prior to arrival. Aside from some minor scuff marks on one or two pieces, everything was in perfect condition – rather impressive given how many metal pieces were included and just how roughly packages like these are likely handled during transit.
Items enclosed within smaller cardboard boxes all had pictures or labels of their contents on the front, which was helpful and saved a bit of time once assembly time came. The instructions kindly reminded me to check for missing pieces and to contact them if anything was missing. Thankfully, the shipment was complete!
Shipping/Delivery Score: 95
Assembly
When fully assembled, the Raptor F22 doesn’t take up that much space; it measures almost 5 feet deep by nearly 6 feet in length (roughly a quarter of my standard American two-car garage), and almost 7 feet tall. However, I found it quite helpful to completely unbox everything before I started putting it together. This required me to essentially allocate double or triple the F22’s total area as “assembly space” (which, in my case, ended up basically being the entire empty garage).
The instruction manual contains no written instructions (just pictures of the equipment in their various stages of construction), which was a bit concerning at first (I had brief flashbacks of disastrous assembly projects at the hands of a certain Scandanavian furniture giant…if you know, you know!) However, my worries were almost instantly alleviated as it quickly became clear that the F22 is designed in such a way that it’s straightforward to put together.
There were a couple places where I needed to pay especially close attention (ex. the front red metal posts, only have numbering on one side, whereas many other pieces are symmetrical), but for the most part it was easy to move from one step to the next.
The instructions were printed in black-and-white, and there were a few times where I couldn’t quite tell where one part began and another ended (or exactly where something needed to be inserted, etc.). Fortunately, the cover of the booklet has a full-color photo of the assembled rack. Regular glances at it helped to clarify what the instructions were trying to tell me. At no point did I need to consult Google or YouTube for help, which is really saying something as I’m not a particularly “handy” guy.
The rack came with 3 wrenches (an Allen wrench and two double-ended metric wrenches for tightening the bolts). While technically this is all you need to assemble everything, if you really want to speed up the assembly process, I recommend having a socket wrench on hand. Probably 90 percent of the process is tightening bolts.
The nyloc nuts provided are great for ensuring that the tightened bolts stay tight, but you do need to apply a decent amount of elbow grease to fully tighten them. There were a couple of tight spaces (like tightening the nuts under the base along the bottom of the structure) where again, it would be much easier to simply use one wrench to hold the nut steady and use a socket wrench to tighten from the bolt side.
There was only one part of the assembly where I thought I might need a second pair of hands, however, I still managed to complete the entire installation by myself without too much trouble, in roughly six hours. If you can convince a friend to help you (or, really, just to tighten the bolts as you go), you could probably do it in 3 hours.
Assembly Score: 90
Construction/Steel
The Raptor F22 is made of 14-guage steel where a lower score (ex. 11 vs. 14) translates to thinner and less robust steel. However, this level of steel is in line with many other home gym racks (as opposed to the thicker and oftentimes heavier steel found in commercial gym racks and machines).
The rack’s uprights are 2×3-inch in circumference which again is in line with what you would expect to find from many racks in the home gym rack space. They aren’t as thick as the also rather common 3×3-inch uprights and aren’t compatible with accessories that fit the 3×3 configuration.
Construction/Steel Score: 75
Stability
Fully assembled, the Raptor F22 looks and feels like a solid, professional piece of equipment, akin to something you would expect to use at a big commercial gym.
The J-hooks claim to have a 1,000-pound capacity. and each cable can be loaded with up to 300 lbs worth of plates. Even experienced lifters will find the rack accommodating for their most intense workouts. Additionally, the dip handles stay firmly in place when in use and the rack barely makes any noise when I perform a set of pull-ups.
I should emphasize how handy the last point will be for most people, especially if your rack will be located in a spot at home close to (ignorant!) family member who can’t appreciate the beautiful sound of metal crashing or squeaking.
Stability Score: 95
Functionality
Now that we’re passed the boring stuff, it’s time to get to the fun stuff…actually using the F22!
Once I had everything put together, I was actually rather impressed with how the rack looked. Between it’s solid/stable-looking frame, the pulley system and J-cups themselves look almost commercial grade. Given it’s marketing as an “all-in-one home gym,” I wondered if I really could perform the same array of exercises I knock out at the local bro gym.
Assuming you have a bench, barbell. and plates (whether from one of MAJOR FITNESS’ upgraded packages or elsewhere), there’s little can’t do with the F22: squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, chin-ups/pull-ups, rows, dips (i.e. all of the lifts and movements you should be doing) are all in the cards.
Accessory pieces like the landmine and footplate provide additional movement options (ex. standing or seated rows) as well as single-arm or isolation exercises. MAJOR FITNESS generously includes two handles, a shorter straight bar, and a longer lat-pulldown bar for use with the cables (which are easily adjusted along their columns and can be used separately or together) as well as a T-bar attachment for use with the landmine.
While a truly complete home gym setup would likely include a set of dumbbells and/or kettlebells, the Raptor F22 really does have the hardware to help you hit all of your muscle groups and, therefore, does enable you to cancel your monthly gym membership without forgoing any significant workout optionality.
There are a handful of minor touches which I appreciated, including:
- Plastic “brakes” below the cable’s weight stacks (to prevent damaging the rack if you were to suddenly drop the cables and send the weight crashing down)
- Cylindrical weight holders on the back of rack allow weights to be stored on the rack itself, eliminating the need for additional weight storage equipment (or plates piling up all over the floor!)
- Simple, single-piece metal butterfly clamps are included for all four weight-bearing cylinders
- J-cups, dip bars, and safety bars are all solid, single metal pieces inserted into the front columns and secured simply by twisting 90 degrees – there are no moving parts, pins, or springs in them (this makes adding or removing them a breeze and reduces the chance of additional parts breaking over time)
I only have two complaints. Both are fairly minor:
- The pull-up handles and dip handles are both coated in some sort of plastic (the former being a squishy foam and the latter a more rugged, textured polymer). While they both seem to be of a high-quality build, I have a feeling that after a couple of years and hundreds of workouts’ worth of sweaty palms there’s a chance the material could start to peel or wear away (based off of my experience with similar pieces of equipment).
- The safety bars extend out roughly one foot less than they should. Due to their shorter length, you have a very narrow range of space to squat once you’ve moved back far enough to avoid hitting the J-cups on your way up. This creates a bit of a “no man’s land” where your bar can safely be caught on a failed rep.
As long as you’re aware of this before going for some max attempt (preferably, you’d actually practice failing onto the safety bars), you should be fine. Also, this shouldn’t be an issue for any other exercise; the bars work just fine for rack pulls, rows, barbell shrugs, etc.)
While slightly annoying, neither of these issues are by any means deal-breakers.
Functionality Score: 95
Accessory Compatibility
The F22 comes with a lot of accessories, helping it to live up to its “all-in-one home gym” moniker and I would argue that for many lifters, the included accessories might just be sufficient for all training needs. Those concerned with lower body work may be inclined to seek out additional accessories to feet these priorities, though.
For those who are seeking additional accessory pieces, MAJOR FITNESS produces and offers many items, making it easy to go directly to the source. This ensures accessory compatibility and appropriate fit, adding a lot of peace of mind.
The F22’s 2×3-inch upright specs aren’t uncommon, but accessories of this size are slightly less common than items that fit the 3×3-inch configuration. However, the most popular accessory item categories should not be at all difficult to find (especially if you end up sticking with the company’s offerings).
Accessory Compatibility Score: 85
Price
Truth be told, the F22 isn’t the most affordable home gym power rack on the market. If you take a quick look at what’s available on Amazon, you can easily come across a number of racks that look pretty functional for under $500. In most cases, these racks don’t come with quite as many features as the F22. but they are likely good options for a decently robust and varied selection of movements and exercises.
As with many home gym manufacturers, MAJOR FITNESS offers a number of different packages to make the “all-in-one home gym” truly live up to its name. With these, you can add a bench, a bench and a bar, or a bench, bar, and weight plate set.
Ultimately, the base package will set you back about $930 while the all-inclusive packages clocks in at just under $2030.
As previously stated, the F22 isn’t the least expensive power rack out there, but it isn’t by any means outside of the expected range for such products.
Price Score: 75
Customer Reviews
Unlike some of MAJOR FITNESS’ products, the Raptor F22 is available on the company’s website and on Amazon. Because of this, we get to check out the reviews from a more diverse group of sources.
Reviews on both sites are overwhelmingly positive with the composite scores coming in at 4.9/5 on the main site and 4.6/5 on Amazon. Additionally, the sample size for both sets of reviews are high, totalling over 500 reviews in total.
Most users seem to appreciate the versatility of movements that can be performed with the rack and praise the overall “sturdiness” of the rack. Many also note that the rack, while being capable of accommodating a number of different exercises and movements, still fits nicely into somewhat compact spaces (“it leaves room for my toys”).
Of the negative reviews, (a total of 10, 1,2, or 3-star reviews out of over 500!) the most common complaint is missing items or trouble with the instructions. Thankfully, the company’s customer support (which I’ll discuss in the next section), is pretty capable of addressing these types of concerns.
Overall, the customer Raptor F22’s customer reviews aren’t quite as high as some of MAJOR FITNESS’ other racks and products, but the social proof is still there. Also, I actually find it more impressive that reviews on both the company site as well as Amazon are both as high as they are.
Customer Reviews Score: 97
Customer Service
Like anybody else, I don’t go out of my way to get in contact with company customer service representatives. I’d prefer if my stuff just worked. Thankfully, this has been the case with Raptor F22 so far and I have not had to contact MAJOR FITNESS’ customer service department about anything related to this specific piece of equipment.
I have contacted the company’s support team before in relation to a minor issue I had with their Spirit B52 Smith Machine and they were very quick to solve the issue while also being easy to deal with and understanding of the situation.
Customer Service Score: 100
Who is the Raptor F22 really for?
The home power rack market has always been pretty big and in the last few years (after…ya know…Covid) it has grown even more. So which specific audience would pick this specific rack?
Those looking to do many “Basic” Exercises on an “Advanced” Rack
For those only looking for a place to squat, bench, and perform rack pulls (or other exercises directly off of the safety bars), there are other, more basic options that can accommodate your needs.
On the other hand, for those looking to perform the above-mentioned movements as well as a number of more general, non-specialty accessory movements, the F22 is one to keep an eye on.
Lifters who don’t mind Loading and Unloading Weights
Just about all lifters have likely grown accustomed to using pulley, cable-crossover, etc. machines in commercial gyms where with they have easily changed resistance by simply moving a peg a few rungs higher or lower. The F22 does not employ a weight stack, making it necessary to manually add or remove the weight.
Functional trainers and other machines or racks with weight stacks are usually a lot heavier and are a lot more expensive. If you don’t mind switching the weight out (consider it part of your workout!) for your tricep pushdowns, you won’t mind the F22’s system.
Not for those who need a Smith Machine
The home gym rack market has expanded to include rack/Smith Machine combinations. These are certainly impressive and really multi-functional pieces of gym equipment, but if you don’t want or need the Smith Machine’s capabilities, the F22 will work fine for you.
…but if the prospect of all of those Smith Machine-specific exercises is appealing to you, check out the Spirit B52. It ticks all the boxes.
How we tested the F22
I started using the F22 immediately after receiving it January 2024. Because my workouts generally include a combination of powerlifting and basic accessory work, it wasn’t difficult to immediately adapt the types of lifting I would do at my local neighborhood gym to the garage (with the help of the F22, of course).
I haven’t attempted to get too “creative” with exercises and movements on the rack, but have been generally satisfied with the “tests” I’ve run on its overall functionality and ease of use.
F22 Alternatives
As you can probably imagine, the F22 has a lot of competition. Here are some of our top picks for similar items with token differences.
Sportsroyals Power Cage
A robust and functional alternative that can be upgraded and accessorized to your heart’s content.
Pros
2×2-inch uprights very compatible with any desired accessories
Multiple accessory options to mold perfect workout
Basic model is very affordable
Cons
Lower-price models are not overly multi-functional
Not ideal for “advanced” (really heavy) lifting
Er Kang Power Cage
Ideal for basement and “low ceiling” lifting, Er Kang’s base power rack is incredibly affordable and consistently praised.
Pros
A number of height and accessory configurations
Compact enough to easily fit in standard-sized basements and garages
Hundreds of 4 & 5-star reviews
Cons
Could include more accessory pieces
Not the thickest steel
MAJOR FITNESS PLM03 Power Cage
The F22’s “little brother”, the PLM03 nevertheless shines in its squat-inducing capabilities and almost comparable functionality.
Pros
More affordable than the F22
Interior rack safety bars, ideal for squatting
Easily “upgradable” with a number of accessory options
Cons
Not as many included accessories
Need to order direct for most savings
Frequently Asked Questions
It can be tough to know exactly what to ask when inquiring about a power rack. We cover a couple of the top questions here:
Is it possible to squat INSIDE the rack?
No. The interior portion houses the pulleys for cable exercises. To squat, you need to be outside the rack and use the exterior J-cups and safety bars.
I already have a barbell and weights; will the F22 accomodate them?
In many cases, yes. The weight-yielding portions can accommodate both Olympic-sized plates (2-inch hole) as well as "Standard"-sized plates (1-inch).
Regarding the barbell, Olympic-sized bars work fine. Shorter bars might have trouble completely fitting into the J-cups.
The MAJOR FITNESS Raptor F22, Above-average Quality in a Saturated Niche
The trusty power rack should be the centerpiece of any good home gym. Everybody knows this and this is why there are so many of these pieces of equipment on the market.
The Raptor F22 isn’t some groundbreaking fitness phenomenon, but it is a solid power rack option amongst a plethora of “cross your fingers and ‘I hope this works out!'” options. For those who enjoy variety, but aren’t overly advanced or technical lifters, the F22 is a good, and more importantly, safe option. I don’t foresee too many people regretting this purpose, assuming they know exactly what they’re looking for and what they’re getting.
Overall Score
88
Shipping/Difficulty
95
Assembly
90
Construction/Steel
75
Stability
95
Functionality
95
Accessory Compatibility
80
Price
75
Customer Reviews
97
MAJOR FITNESS Raptor F22
The MAJOR FITNESS Raptor F22 (simply referred to as the Raptor F22) combines “essential” lifting capabilities (squatting and bench pressing) with a multitude of included accessory lifting items.
What the rack makes loses in its “simplicity” it makes up for in its overall stability and functionality.
In a niche (home power racks) where there are a lot of available options, the F22 is a functional and safe pick for those outfitting (or upgrading) their first garage gyms.
Pros
Incredibly stable; an abundance of bolts translates to an incredibly secure lifting experience
Accessories, J-cups, and safety bars are “one-turn” adjustable, saving time and hassle when switching out hardware
Smooth cable pulley system. Weights move up and down very easily and without catching
Cons
Included assembly equipment is adequate, but a socket wrench is almost mandatory
Pull-up and dip bar plastic coating might end up eroding over time
Safety bars are shorter than ideal length for squatting