Atlas Stone - Custom/DIY

Name: Atlas Stone - Custom/DIY
Brand: Custom/DIY
Rating: 4.87 (21 reviews)

An atlas stone is a round, weighted sphere lifted from the ground to a platform or over a bar for strongman-style training, and building your own is a well-documented alternative to buying a finished one. The cheapest route pours concrete into a papier-mache or plaster-of-Paris shell molded around an inflated ball, running roughly $35-40 in materials for a single stone. The more polished route uses a purchased rotomolded mold (Slater’s Hardware or Hybrid Athletics are the two most-referenced brands) plus lead ballast to hit a precise target weight, which produces a smoother, seam-free stone but can run $450-600+ once accessories and ballast are included.

Either way the process is the same shape: prep the mold with a release agent, mix and pour concrete (roughly matching the poundage of concrete to the target stone weight), tamp out air bubbles every few inches as you pour, cure for 24-48+ hours, then remove the mold and sand down any rough edges. A recurring tip across builders is to keep the mold elevated off the ground (stacked tires work well) while it cures, since a mold resting flat on the ground leaves a flat spot on the finished stone.

Build method	Concrete poured into a mold (purchased rotomolded mold, or a DIY papier-mache/plaster-of-Paris shell)
Typical cure time	24-48+ hours for the concrete; a papier-mache shell can take 2+ weeks to build up before pouring
Common mold brands	Slater's Hardware, Hybrid Athletics
Material cost range	~$35-40 for a budget papier-mache build; $450-600+ for a purchased mold with lead ballast for precise weight targeting
Typical target weight	Builder-specified, commonly 100-300+ lbs depending on mold size and ballast used

What is a Strongman?

Strongman equipment trains raw, functional strength through odd-object lifting, carrying, and loading — atlas stones, yokes, farmer’s handles, sleds, logs, and tires — rather than the fixed, balanced resistance of a barbell. It’s a fit for lifters who’ve plateaued on conventional strength training and want to build the grip, bracing, and full-body coordination that competition strongman and functional fitness demand, or who simply want the most direct training carryover to real-world lifting and carrying tasks. Most pieces are bulky and some (tires, natural stones) are sourced or repurposed rather than bought outright, so plan for storage space and, in a few cases, DIY sourcing as part of owning this equipment.

How it compares

	Atlas Stone - Custom/DIY	Cerberus Strongman Throwing Sandbag	Stone Sandbags 2.0	12” Strongman PItbull Log
GymRadar rating	4.87/5	4.87/5	4.84/5	4.83/5
Price
Build method	Concrete poured into a mold (purchased rotomolded mold, or a DIY papier-mache/plaster-of-Paris shell)
Typical cure time	24-48+ hours for the concrete; a papier-mache shell can take 2+ weeks to build up before pouring
Common mold brands	Slater's Hardware, Hybrid Athletics
Material cost range	~$35-40 for a budget papier-mache build; $450-600+ for a purchased mold with lead ballast for precise weight targeting
Typical target weight	Builder-specified, commonly 100-300+ lbs depending on mold size and ballast used

4.9/5 · 21 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.87/5	21 reviews
Youtube	4.3/5	3 reviews
Reddit	4.0/5	1 reviews

Building your own atlas stone is a well-documented, genuinely viable alternative to a manufactured one — independent builders report real training results whether they use a $35 papier-mache shell or a purchased rotomolded mold. Value and build quality swing the widest here: a budget papier-mache-and-concrete build runs about $35-40 in materials, while a purchased-mold build with lead ballast for precise weight targeting can run $450-600+. The molded route also produces a noticeably smoother, seam-free stone than the cheaper cardboard/papier-mache and plaster-of-Paris methods, which are prone to flat spots and rough finishes unless the mold is elevated off the ground while curing. Because this catalog entry covers the whole DIY category rather than one fixed product, there’s no single build to hold to a consistent quality or durability bar.

+Functionality: multiple independent builders confirm a home-poured concrete stone trains stone-load lifts just as well as a bought one (OutlawOCR budget build, r/Strongman write-up)
+Value: a papier-mache-and-concrete build costs as little as $34-39 in materials (OutlawOCR)
+Versatility: weight and diameter are fully custom — builders dial in exact target weights with lead ballast or concrete volume rather than being stuck with a fixed commercial size (r/Strongman write-up, Slater Strength tutorial)
+Build quality: a purchased rotomolded mold (Slater's, Hybrid Athletics) produces a smooth, evenly round, seam-free stone (Alan Thrall comparison video)

−Build quality: budget papier-mache and plaster-of-Paris molds are prone to surface imperfections and flat spots if the mold isn't elevated off the ground while curing (Fitday, Hybrid Athletics guide)
−Value: the purchased-mold route is far pricier than the budget method — one builder spent roughly $590 on molds, an accessory kit, and lead ballast for two stones (r/Strongman write-up)
−Functionality: the process is slow regardless of method — 24-48+ hours of concrete curing, and a papier-mache shell alone can take 2+ weeks to build up before pouring (OutlawOCR)
−Durability: no long-term durability data exists for any single build, since every source describes a one-off personal project rather than a tracked product (across all sources)