Like everyone else, my New Year’s resolution was to exercise more. After moving to a new city, I felt disconnected from my exercise routine, and it didn’t help that the gym chain I belonged to was a 30-minute drive through Los Angeles traffic.
So I started researching exercises I could do at home. Jumping rope is a great full-body aerobic exercise that improves agility and coordination as well as being fun. So I was intrigued when I heard that the $199 CrossRope AMP jump rope set could help quantify this experience and incorporate strength training with weighted ropes into my routine.
After testing the set for a month, I can confirm that there are very few jump ropes as well made as the CrossRope jump ropes. However, at $199 and a monthly subscription fee of $12 per month, it’s aimed more at regular jumpers than casual users.
The CrossRope system, which has been around since 2013, consists of interchangeable handles, ropes, and jump ropes in weights ranging from 3 oz to 5 lbs. The AMP set I tested includes a Bluetooth-connected handle and 1/4 lb, 1/2 lb and 1 lb ropes.
The ropes and handles are made of durable materials and fastened with steel buckles. They are built to last, but unlike most jump ropes, the length of each rope is fixed and not adjustable. There are six different lengths, but I stumbled a few times despite using a cross rope that was the right size for my height. As I progressed as a jumper, I stumbled less, but when I asked the cross ropes community for help, several members admitted to having the same problem.
A black skipping rope handle and a green rope connecting it.
The AMP grips turn this from an expensive modular jump rope system into an expensive modular smart jump rope system. The Bluetooth-enabled grips can connect to iOS and Android devices, and the companion app allows for jumps, streaks, power output, speed and consumption. It can track calories; if connected to an Apple Watch, it can also capture heart rate data. It’s hard to judge how accurate these stats are, but Crossrope counted my jumps almost exactly, and the other numbers didn’t seem exaggerated.
But this information comes with a price tag of $11.99 per month. Yes, that’s $199 for the set ($99 for the handle if you already have a Crossrope rope), and you have to pay a monthly fee to get the value of the smart handle. The jump counter is paid for. This fact was and still is shocking to me and is the biggest drawback of the set.
