Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been using a jump rope for a couple years as part of some boxing training. I used a buddy lee speed and would say I'm pretty decent. Now that I'm getting into crossfit workouts and double unders I am looking for a cable speed rope. It is just physics that a thin wire rope will be faster than a PVC cord. I can do double unders and even triple unders with the Buddy Lee PVC rope but this thin wire rope makes it easier. Now as far as these wire coated speed ropes go there seem to be 3 tiers to buy on amazon 1- the plastic swivel ones that go for 7-12 dollars. They use a plastic tip bushing and don't have that 360 ball head that the next tier do 2nd tier- start around 12 and for 15-16 dollars come with a second wire rope. They tend to have a metal swivel bearing that attaches to the plastic handle and a 360 ball swivel that the actual rope cord goes through. For the couple of extra dollars people should get this over the basic one. Tier 3- 30 dollars and up. Alum handles, double bearings (one above and one below the cord) for smother action. The WOD Nation speed rope is in the Tier 2 area. There are similar ropes for the same price, that look the same, have the same options, come with and extra rope , extra cable locks, a bag , etc. I can't say if another brand that looks the same functions the same, but from the looks it seems they are all made in the same factory in China. What I like about this rope is its fast, or at least faster than my buddy lee, and also faster than some tier 1 plastic swivel ropes at my gym. Another plus is the wire coated cable is not that rigid. Some other reviews mentioned this, I don't think it will kink as easy as some other wire ropes I've used. For the price it seems like the best deal. Dislike-. One handle has better/smoother bearings than the other. If I hold the metal tip and give the plastic handle a good spin it spins for 3 seconds with a lot of turns (50 ish). When I try it with the other handle it spins for .5 seconds and only rotates maybe 3-5 complete turns. I find quality control lacking when items are made for cheaply overseas. I have contacted this company and I'm confident they will send me handles that work as they were meant to. If not I can always return to amazon in 30 days. If both handles spun smoothly and freely this would get 4 stars. I'm sure the majority that get made do and this is just one of a small percentage that were manufactured poorly. If and when the situation is rectified I'll be sure to update my review *Edit- Wrote this review and sent the company a message. Got a reply a day later, on Christmas, that a new rope would be sent to me. I'll have to wait for the rope to get here to see how the bearings work on this one before I update to 4 stars. But that is excellent customer service. **WOD Nation sent me a whole new speed rope. I received it in a couple days. Customer service is great. The new rope's handles however did not spin that well. They were good but not fluid. So I decided to take the handles apart and see what I could do. There are 2 ball bearing units in each handle. On of the ball bearings in the slow original handle was broken, so thats why it was slow. I used some silicone sewing oil to lubricate the rest of the ball bearing units and handles turn so much smoother. I asked WOD Nation if that could just send me 1 ball bearing unit to replace the broken one, however they do not have any parts. Only complete units are sent directly from overseas. I can't really complain about that as I was sent a whole extra rope. I've up my rating to 4 stars as the rope is very decent for the price. And the customer service is very good. I had to use my time to take them apart and add lubrication but to me that was not a big deal I've included a pic of the disassembled handle. It has 2 ball bearing units, a black spacer, the tip piece with the 360 ball swivel in it, and a screw.