Crossrope Jump Ropes Review: An Easy Way to Bring Fun, Efficiency, and Intensity to Your Workouts

I work out entirely from home, so I have quite a collection of assorted items for strength and cardio. Often, friends ask me what I recommend to get them started, and I’ll usually quiz them on their goals, space constraints, budget, etc. It’s rare for me to say that every home gym needs a specific piece of equipment, but every home gym needs Crossrope Jump Ropes!

Before we even get into Crossrope, let’s talk briefly about why everyone should be incorporating jumping rope into their workouts. Sure, jumping rope might make you think of little kids or the swish of plastic strings in gym class, but it’s a phenomenal way to work explosive strength and cardio.

Jumping rope is a full-body workout that hits a little of everything: balance, heart health, bone density, strength, and coordination can all be worked in an efficient 10-minute session.

I’m in decent shape and can easily use a rowing machine for 30 minutes or bike for over an hour. Likewise, I’m pretty good with kettlebell squats and swings. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has left my legs feeling as rubbery the next day as a 10-minute Crossrope Jump Rope session; it’s simple but extraordinarily savage.

Jump rope is an amazing and efficient cardio workout, but people don’t always have the space to do it or the discipline to do it regularly. Crossrope Jump Ropes neatly solves both those issues.

If you have the room to use a more traditional jump rope, Crossrope makes high-quality weighted jump ropes that not only help you burn fat, but you can also use them to build muscle. But sometimes space can be an issue when you can’t get outside, and you don’t have a suitable area to swing a weighted jump rope weighing up to two pounds.

So Crossrope has a solution: the ropeless jump rope.

Crossrope offers handles in either their AMP (Bluetooth connected) or Classic lines, along with a secure metal latching system. All you do is latch in a short length of rope with a weight on the end, and you can jump rope to your heart’s content without taking out your favorite artwork.

Crossrope offers a few options: 1/4lb, 1/2lb, 1lb, 2lb, or the pack with all of them. If you’re a lucky duck with coordination AND space, you can get the same weighted options with full jump ropes.

Either way, this is a huge step up from a regular jump rope and gives you many strength and cardio options. Note that no matter what shape you think your forearms are in, they’re not prepared for 2 pounds swinging off handles, so start lower than you expect!

Now, on to the actual exercising. Sure, jump rope was fun when you were a kid, but you hit adulthood, and suddenly, your knees and hips are a lot grumpier than they used to be. If you jump (pun intended) into jumping rope, you run the risk of hurting your calves, knees, hips…

Luckily, Crossrope has a plan for that. If you opt for their AMP handles, you can pair them with their app and gain access to a slew of workout plans. They lay out everything from HIIT jump rope workouts to regular bodyweight ones, as well as free tracking when you just want to jump.

Connecting is dead simple; you just press a button on the handle, and you’re all set. The battery is in one handle unscrews and can be charged via micro-USB. You do need to sign up for the service to connect and use the app; it’s $79 for the first year and $99 after that, or $9.99 a month.

Yes, it’s an added cost on top of what you’ll lay out for the Crossrope kit, but you get videos, different workout programs, and adaptable tracking that will adjust the goals as you progress.

I haven’t used the app very much so far in my testing, but only because I have incorporated the hardware into existing workouts that I do under the supervision of a personal trainer. When I did test the app out, though, it absolutely destroyed my calves and legs (in a good way)!

There’s a stretch of about six weeks coming up soon where I will be unable to work out at all, and I’m counting on using Crossrope and the app quite a bit in my return to fitness post-surgery. The plans are organized, and the way they lay out the progression is ideal for easing back into higher-intensity work, and it will be key to my (hopefully fast) recovery!

The bottom half of the clip system

Here’s the main downside to Crossrope: it’s not the cheapest setup I’ve ever reviewed, but it is a significant amount of bang for your buck.

The full ropeless set or the weighted rope set plus the AMP handles is $199, while the unconnected weighted ropes are $298 for all the rope weights, $129 for the 1/4 and 1/2lb rope weights, or $169 for the 1lb/2lb rope weights. You can also buy the ropeless weights separately. Basically, you’re looking at at least $200 all-in, plus the monthly cost of the app.

The top half of the clip system

On the other hand, you can look at it this way: if you break down the cost of the app for one year, it works out to around $23.16 per month. If you continue with the app after the first year, your monthly cost at a yearly $99 rate is $8.25 per month. That’s super cheap compared to a gym, and the maintenance on the ropes is almost nothing.

And if you’re not sure which is a good fit for you, Crossrope has a quiz on their website to help determine your needs; on top of that, they’ll let you try it for 60 days to ensure it’s a fit!

Several ropeless weights, plus the weighted ropes, plus the handles, all in one corner of my fitness rack! Super efficient for space!

What really drove home the utility of the Crossrope Jump Ropes was when I explained them to my girlfriend. Her whole face lit up, and she explained that she would have loved these when she had to travel a lot for work. The entire setup packs into one little drawstring, and the ropeless setup is so compact you can use it in a hotel room.

She pointed out that she’d been at tons of conferences where she was working all day, and her only opening to go for a run was at night, but she didn’t want to run in the dark in a strange place. Having a compact, high-intensity cardio option would have been ideal in those scenarios.

We all have our version of the business trip dilemma; maybe it’s not a nighttime run but wanting to cram in a short workout after a long day. Or planning for a hike only to be foiled by buckets of rain. No matter the issue, it’s super handy to have a tool like a Crossrope Jump Rope setup that can go anywhere, anytime!

Crossrope Jump Ropes start at $129 for the Classic Get Lean Set, $199 for the AMP Jump Rope Set, and $199 for the Ropeless AMP Set; all are available directly from the manufacturer.

Source: Manufacturer provided review sample

What I Liked: The latch system on the handles is incredibly secure; The ropeless option is shockingly fun and intense; The ropes are high quality; The handles are comfortable to hold; The app has a slew of workouts and options; The whole system is very portable and easy to pack down

What Needs Improvement: Expensive if you opt to get the whole kit; The extra cost for the app needs to be included in budgeting