RitFit Buffalo – Our Review

Over the last few years, we’ve looked at a number of RitFit items. From smaller, more monofunctional pieces to larger, multifunctional racks, the company continues to develop a diverse array of practical, and generally affordable, home fitness gear.

The Buffalo Multifunctional Smith Machine (henceforth referred to simply as “the Buffalo”) is one of their newest releases and may be their most functional item yet.

While I think we’ve all grown accustomed to the power rack/Smith Machine combination, the Buffalo’s vertical leg press functionality is what really caught my eye and got me excited about it in ways that most other racks haven’t. I’m not a huge leg press or even a machine guy, but who doesn’t want to be able to knock out some heavy sets from the comfort of their garage every once in a while?

I’ve been messing around with the Buffalo for the last couple of months; now let me tell you all about it.

Shipping/Delivery

Tom let me know that RitFit had shipped the rack and he was keeping track of the tracking information from FedEx. The items must have gotten separated or taken different routes because 2 boxes (out of the 3 that would ultimately show up at my house) were left on my doorstep.

The next day, the FedEx guy very unceremoniously dumped the last box off the side of his truck and onto the end of my driveway. I obviously don’t hold this against RitFit and to be honest, this is just one of those “chalk it up to the game” situations.

During assembly, I found discovered that a few end pieces for the Smith Machine’s tubing were missing and that the “RitFit” branding sign was slightly damaged, but none of these were major problems with the transit/logistics process that ultimately affected the Buffalo’s functionality.

Shipping/Delivery: 90

Assembly

For being a larger home gym rack, especially when you consider that it also includes a Smith Machine, the Buffalo wasn’t overly difficult to put together, nor did it take too much time to assemble.

I wouldn’t say that the hardware comes as well organized as some of other RitFit products (particularly the BLP-01 with its individually packaged and labeled parts groupings that correspond to each step in the assembly process. However, everything comes organized well enough to quickly and seamlessly move from one step to the next.

Like most of these power rack/Smith Machine builds, the written instructions are not overly detailed and have very little written content, but are clear enough to follow. If you’ve ever put together a rack or larger, similar piece of equipment, you should be able to follow along just fine.

Overall assembly only took about 3 hours from start to finish (2 people working together with a power drill to help with bolt tightening) without any major hiccups or frustrating sticking points along the way.

Assembly: 95

Construction/Steel

The good news with the Buffalo is that it’s 2×3-inch upright tubes are slightly thicker than many comparable/competitor racks that opt for 2×2-inch uprights. Neither of these arrangements are the most compatible with third-party accessory items, but the 2×3 is at least a little more robust.

The…not excellent news is that the Buffalo is mainly crafted out of 14-guage steel. While this isn’t out of line with what you can expect from RitFit’s power cages and other competitor racks, Smith Machines, etc., it isn’t the thickest steel out there.

With that being said, I the Buffalo is still a very stable rack, in my opinion which I think is mainly due to it being heavier, yet more compact than other racks of its kind. We will discuss this in more detail in the next section, but I don’t think that its relatively thinner steel is a major problem at all.

Construction/Steel: 75

Stability

As we just mentioned, the Buffalo isn’t made of the thickest steel and its uprights, while not being the thinnest, aren’t quite as robust as the 3×3-inch varieties you can find in other racks of its kind.

With that being said, I have found that when it comes to stability, none of this matters; this thing ain’t moving.

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that despite being more compact than many other racks of this kind (the Buffalo is shorter and has a slightly smaller footprint than many competitors), it is actually pretty heavy. Tipping the scales at just under 500 pounds, it is roughly 100 pounds heavier than many comparable racks, most notably the RitFit M1.

Everyone wants a stable rack when they’re squatting, but as a CrossFitter, I especially need one due to my programming which regularly includes kipping pull-ups and other movements that put a lot of strain on racks, rigs, etc. For a free-standing rack that is not bolted into the floor or wall, it holds up pretty well for this type of activity.

For those who don’ think the Buffalo is quite stable enough, the storage horns have the added benefit of providing additional resistance, further weighing down/”stabilizing” the rack with every plate you stack on…but I don’t think you’ll really need to add all that many.

Stability: 100

Functionality

I can attest that the RitFit Buffalo truly lives up to its full namesake, being a legit multifunctional Smith Machine.

The irony is that the Smith Machine is probably the piece I use the least…at least for non-vertical leg press ventures.

Of course, I think just about anybody who is seriously interested in the Buffalo probably prioritizes the leg press attachment. It is a particularly unique accessory item since it allows you to perform a heavy compound lift (as opposed to something more niche or, for the lack of a better term, less “useful”) that would otherwise more difficult to safely do without the attachment.

The leg press attachment alone added 5 points to this category’s score, but it should be noted that the overall smoothness of the Smith Machine’s “track” is what really makes this exercise possible. The bar doesn’t catch anywhere and is easy to re-rack in any of the 9 different setting areas.

I should mention that setting up for each set of leg press can be a little difficult since you have to make sure the Smith Bar is in the correct setting in order to get the most benefit/full range of motion from each set. Thankfully, this process gets a lot easier as you get used to the machine.

Something else to note is that there is a significant amount of space between the Smith Bar and track and the front free weight uprights. This makes it easy to have a loaded barbell in the J-cups without worrying about running into the permanently affixed Smith Bar. This may sound like a minor advantage, but having dealt with racks where these two items are way too close to one another, it is quite the relief.

Generally, I would prefer a 1:1 pulley ratio for exercises like lat pulldowns, but the Buffalo’s 2:1 pulley ratio works well for exercises like cable crossovers and unilateral cable raises, cable curls, and movements that most people will generally use lighter weights for. If your low lat pulls feel too easy when you’re using 100 pounds, just add another couple of plates and it’ll feel just as hard as it does at the globo gym!

I already mentioned that the rack is plenty stable for bodyweight movements. Even for people bigger than me (I’m just under 200 pounds), I don’t think even kipping pull-ups will cause any type of swaying or other potentially bothersome issue. I would have preferred a completely horizontal pull-up bar as opposed to the multiple handle angles, but I can make these work.

Finally, I’m not a huge fan of landmine work and don’t find these attachments to be all that novel (since just about all of these racks have one these days), but I do appreciate how smooth the Buffalo’s attachment rotates in all directions. If this kind of work is a cornerstone for you, you’re in good hands.

Overall, the Buffalo has enough going for it to make just about all home gym lifters very happy. Short of very niche, sport-specific movements and exercises (most of which require more specialized equipment) I don’t think there is that much more you could ask for in a rack like this.

Functionality: 95

Accessory Compatibility

The Buffalo actually comes with a decent number of accessory items, even if you only opt for its base package. Common accessories like a lat pulldown bar, low lat bar, landmine attachment are included. Less common items like a T-bar frame as well as the rack’s premier item, the leg press attachment, are also included.

RitFit offers a number of pretty affordable attachments that are designed to fit the Buffalo’s 2×3-inch uprights perfectly. These include hack squat and belt squat attachments among others.

The 2×3-inch uprights somewhat limit the Buffalo when it comes to hooking up further accessory items. This size isn’t as obscure and difficult to fit as 2×2-inch uprights (or the more obscure 2.5×2.5-inch uprights), but you’ll find nowhere near as many available accessories as you would with a 3×3-inch upright.

If you think this might be a concern for you, be sure to check out the included accessories as well as the accessories that RitFit offers for purchase to determine whether or not it’ll be able to accommodate your future add-on needs.

Accessory Compatibility: 80

Price

Although a lot of larger machines and fitness equipment has gotten a little more expensive in the last few months, the Buffalo still stands out among most of the racks in its cohort. It can currently be had for a little under $1700 while many others (albeit, most of these do not have a leg press attachment) are somewhere in the $800-1200 price range.

You can make the argument that given its functionality, the value is there for the Buffalo, but in absolute price terms, there are certainly less expensive (and definitely more expensive) options out there.

Price: 75

Customer Reviews

As of this writing, there aren’t a ton of reviews online for the RitFit Buffalo, but there are enough to make some conclusions about the general consensus among the rack’s verified users.

With 9 reviews on the official RitFit website and 30 on Amazon, the Buffalo currently holds a collective 4.6-out-of-5 rating.

With over 90 percent of the Buffalo’s review scores being either 4 (~17 percent) or 5 (~75 percent) stars, the vast majority of customers appear to be pretty satisfied with their purchase.

Looking at the lower (1-3-star) scores, a few people have expressed dissatisfaction with the shipping/delivery process as well as with their experiences communicating with RitFit personnel.

There may be some merit to the shipping/delivery concerns (we’ll briefly discuss this further in the next section), but in our experience, communication with RitFit has generally been pretty good, when required.

Overall, the Buffalo scores pretty well with users, with a few negative experiences mixed in.

Customer Reviews: 92

Customer Service

I don’t deal with customer service inquiries, but Tom has had nothing but good things to say about his interactions with RitFit personnel. There have been some instances where some pieces were missing from something I was putting together and he was able to get in contact with them quickly with a solution forming almost immediately.

To that point, there has been something off with just about all of our shipments from RitFit (although all of these involved purely aesthetic pieces that didn’t affect item functionality), but in every situation, their customer service team was helpful.

Customer Service: 100

Who is the RitFit Buffalo really for?

It should come as no surprise that home gym lifters who want all the benefits of a leg press machine without having to purchase a standalone piece will likely find the Buffalo to be very attractive. Let’s take a look at who else might really like it…and who might prefer something else:

Home Gym Lifters who want to Leg Press

Nothing can legitimately replace a standalone leg press machine, whether it is angled or vertical. However, for home gym lifters who want to be able to perform vertical leg presses at home without having to buy a dedicated machine, the Buffalo does a pretty good job.

The vertical leg press attachment honestly doesn’t look that special, but it makes a big difference when you put it to use. It balances the Smith Bar more effectively and just feels more stable (and safe) than it does when attempting to leg press the bar directly. It’s definitely a welcome addition to the rack.

Lifters with Low Ceilings

The Buffalo isn’t quite 7 feet tall. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but most other all-in-one power cages are generally in the ~7-and-a-half-foot range. If you have tall ceilings, this probably isn’t an issue, but if you’re in a low-ceiling environment, shorter racks possess obvious advantages.

On a related note, as a shorter guy, I can appreciate how features like pull-up bars are positioned on shorter racks like the Buffalo. I can pretty much just reach (high) and grab the bar rather than having to jump up to it to start every set.

Not for “Budget Power Cage” Enthusiasts

I wouldn’t classify the Buffalo as an “expensive” all-in-one Smith Machine by any means since these items can easily run into the $4000-6000 range. However, it really isn’t an “inexpensive” or otherwise “budget-friendly” rack either.

At ~$1700, there are definitely less expensive alternatives (RitFit’s M1 power rack/Smith Machine can be had for about $600 less) so if you’re interested in the cheapest power rack/Smith Machine combination piece, this isn’t the item for you.

How we tested the RitFit Buffalo

Funnily enough, my garage was a little too crowded (“home gym problems”) for the Buffalo. Thankfully, my neighbor was really interested in it so we set it up in his garage (he’s probably used it as much as I have and could have easily written this review himself!)

I have put all of the core items through the paces (Smith Machine, pulley system, pull-up and dip bars, etc.), but I really have spent a disproportionate amount of time using the leg press attachment. I have access to a lot of different equipment at my gym/business, but one thing I don’t have is a leg press.

(For a couple of weeks, I was experiencing a pretty bum knee so it actually came in pretty handy on days I didn’t want to squat).

RitFit Buffalo Alternatives

The Buffalo has some unique features that set it apart from many of its closest competitors, but it’s reasonable to assume that you may not need everything it’s pitting out (or heck…you could want something that actually goes harder). With this in mind, take a look at our top choices for comparable, but alternative options:

Frequently Asked Questions

A new home gym rig is a big commitment. Let’s cover a few additional questions you may have about this one:

The RitFit Buffalo…a bit more than just a cool attachment…

Despite my friendly and patient demeanor, I’m actually pretty critical when it comes to fitness equipment. I mean, in my spare time I have a whole series of videos dedicated to asking a single question:

…and to be completely honest…no, the Buffalo does not suck…at all.

The main downside is that I have to ask my neighbor to use it since it now officially and permanently lives at his house. The way I look at it, when your neighbors commander a piece of fitness equipment, it’s doing something right.

If nothing else, the RitFit Buffalo has legit social proof in my neighborhood.