The Best Agility Ladders – Top Models for 2020 & Buyer’s Guide

If you’ve decided to take your speed, agility, and reactions to a new level, then getting an agility ladder is definitely something you should consider. They are a relatively cheap addition to your workout gear and can improve almost all parts of your training process. Even better, they are great warm-up tools that will keep your body healthy and strong. The best agility ladders, however, are hard to find in the sea of models on today’s market.

This is why I’ve compiled this guide where we will go through some of the top models for this year, compare their features, and learn more about their pros and cons…

Agility Ladders Comparison Table

Model	Rungs	Length	Adjustable	Rating
Yes4All Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	12	20 ft	Yes
Mantra Sports Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	12	15 ft	Yes
GHB Pro Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	12	20 ft	Yes
SKLZ Speed Ladder Shop On Amazon!	11	15 ft	No
Ohuhu 20ft Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	12	20 ft	Yes
Invincible Fitness Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	11	15 ft	No
YISSVIC Agility Ladder Shop On Amazon!	12	20 ft	Yes

Yes4All Agility Ladder

Our Rating: (5/5)

The Yes4All agility ladder is one of the most well-rounded models out there that is suitable for all sorts of sports and also has a level of quality slightly higher than the rest of its competitors. With quality, however, comes a higher price tag which is one of the biggest disadvantages of this ladder when you compare it to other models. Still, let’s go through some of its main points of interest.

The rungs here are made out of heavy-duty plastics that are strapped together with nylon straps that will stand a lot of stomping and bad weather. You can adjust the rungs along the length of the straps, making it fit your needs.

The ladder comes in two color options and three sizes. There are 8, 12, and 20 rung options which can be either blue or bright yellow. For more advanced workouts or team sessions, I suggest getting the yellow one with 20 rungs. Even though it is quite long, it is still fairly lightweight compared to other 20-rung models.

In terms of additional accessories, you aren’t getting a lot here which is a pity considering the price. You get the standard carrying bag and that is pretty much it. There are no additional cones like you get in most other agility ladder packages. Fortunately, there is a 60-day return policy in case you don’t like any aspect of this model.

Mantra Sports 20ft Agility Ladder Set

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

There aren’t many agility ladders that offer a good amount of functionality paired with a decent price and a lot of handy accessories. The Mantra Sports 20ft Agility ladder, however, is giving you everything you need for a proper speed workout.

There are a total of 12 rungs on this ladder that are 1.4 ft wide each and can be adjusted in terms of the distance between them. The two parallel nylon straps are almost 20 ft long and end with hooks. These hooks act as an insertion point for the 4 pegs that come with the package. By having the pegs into the ground you ensure that the ladder will stay stable even if you touch it with your legs when working out. The pegs are rust-resistant and won’t deteriorate even if you use them in damp grass or soil all the time.

In terms of added accessories, this package is quite generous. You get a comfortable carrying bag, 4 support pegs,  the ladder, and 8 sports cones that can add an extra layer of agility training to your workout. You also get a double-sided poster that has speed ladder exercises on one side and cone drills on the other. All that comes at a price significantly lower than some other models such as the Yes4All agility ladder that lacks most of these accessories.

GHB Pro Agility Training Ladder

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

The GHB Pro Agility ladder is a good addition to your training gear and works well for teams thanks to its adjustability. While it is fairly lacking in terms of additional features, it does offer excellent functionality and decent quality at a fair price.

The ladder is 20 ft long and houses 12 rungs in that distance. All of the rungs are adjustable up to 15 inches in both directions. The ladder is 16.5 inches wide which is good enough for most adults. It is also really lightweight which makes it very easy to be put in its carrying bag and then moved around with the rest of your gear.

The ladder doesn’t offer a lot in terms of accessories apart from the standard carrying bag. It also comes in two colors. Frankly, that is one of its biggest disadvantages compared to other models in this price class. As a whole, this doesn’t make it the best deal out there but it still is a solid choice that is built well and offers plenty of adjustability and length.

SKLZ Speed and Agility Ladder

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

SKLZ is a well-known brand in the sports community and you can trust them with making quality products that fit all of your training needs. Apart from the lack of adjustability, this speed ladder has one of the best build qualities from all of its competitors.

The SKLZ Quick Ladder has 11 rungs made out of heavy-duty plastic that are spread across a distance of 15 ft. Each rung is 17 inches wide and spaced at around 15 inches from the other ones. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, none of the rungs are adjustable, so you will have to work with their fixed positions and distances.

For different combinations, you can choose from the other variations of SKLZ ladders such as their Agility Ladder, their Elevation Ladder, and Quick Ladder Pro. All of these vary in terms of lengths, widths, and even shapes. The Elevation ladder offers slightly elevated hurdles, while the Quick Ladder pro has a zig-zag orientation to improve your dexterity.

While the SKLZ Quick Ladder is well-built, it is quite expensive for having no adjustability nor any type of accessories apart from the carrying bag.

Ohuhu 20ft Agility Ladder

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

The Ohuhu Agility ladder offers plenty of adjustability and decent quality at a fairly low price compared to other ladders on the market. It is ideal for all sorts of athletes ranging from football players to people that look to up their conditioning game and dexterity.

It is a 20 feet long ladder that has 12 rungs spaced in between. Each rung is 17 inches wide making the ladder on the wider side of the market spectrum. There are also two more length variations with a 16 ft (8 rung) and a 30 ft (21 rung) options. The 30 ft variation is actually one of the longest on the market and is surprisingly well-built and cheap compared to other 25-30ft ladders. Each of the rungs can be adjusted relative to the rest 15 inches in each direction.

The ladder is also quite durable but unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a lot of accessories. There is also a carrying bag that you’re getting with no cones or pegs to keep it secure in place when you’re training.

Invincible Fitness Agility Ladder

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

One of the models that flies under the radar for most of the time is the Invincible Fitness Agility Ladder. Not only it is super useful but it also comes packed full of handy accessories!

Let’s start with the ladder itself first – it is a 15 feet model that has 11 rungs. Unfortunately, they aren’t adjustable but are spaced relatively well between each other. There are 4 metal hooks that allow you to set the ladder stable in soil or grass.

The best thing about this whole package is the number of accessories and goodies you will be getting. On top of the ladder, you get a comfortable carrying bag, 3 resistant bands (loops), 10 high-speed training cones, 4 metal hooks to anchor the ladder, and 2 eBooks. The eBooks have a ton of agility and speed-training drills inside them making them ideal for beginners and people looking to improve their game. The resistant loops offer low, medium, and high resistances for lateral foot movements.

YISSVIC Agility Ladder

Our Rating: (4/5)

Last but not least is the YISSVIC Agility ladder that comes in a well-rounded package that has a lot of accessories allowing complex workouts. This is a 20-feet long ladder which has 12 rungs spaced around 17-18 inches between each other. They are all fully adjustable, unlike some other models which can only be moved 15 inches in either direction. The rungs do tangle easily, though, especially if you’ve moved them from their default intervals. One thing I do not like is the slightly narrow width of 15.7 inches making this ladder more suitable for younger people and kids rather than adult athletes.

One of the major complaints people have with this model is its build quality. The rungs and nylon straps aren’t very durable and if you’re training with cleats you can quickly damage the ladder. Still, apart from being slightly expensive, you get a lot of accessories with it which makes up for the high price tag. There are 4 hooks to secure the ladder to the ground, 1 carry bag, and 10 training cones. The ladder is also somewhat hard to disassemble and assemble every time you want to train with it.

Agility Ladders Buyer’s Guide

Agility ladders have made their way into the modern athlete’s workout routine quite fast in the last decade. Nowadays, they are used to improve one’s speed, dexterity, and performance under different conditions. Before we dive into their features and what you should be looking for when buying one, let’s go through some of the benefits that agility ladders offer…

Benefits Of Using Agility Ladders

There are countless advantages that you get from putting agility ladders in your workout routine. Some of the most notable ones are:

• Improves the connections between your brain and body – Normal workouts don’t do much for your eye-hand or other types of mental-physical connections. Agility ladders help your brain act fast according to the changing nature of the various drills. This helps you become more fluid with fast-changing motions and improves your reaction times.
• Increases acceleration – It has been proven that faster drills on the agility ladder improve acceleration as good as (or better) than normal sprints and/or shuttles. It also helps you improve the speed with which you suddenly change directions during workouts.
• Improves your form – Most of the time, your form will worsen as you get tired. Agility ladders, on the other hand, won’t allow for that as your feet will have to stay at their 100% in order to not trip or touch the ladder.
• Improves coordination and balance – Agility ladders are built to improve your coordination between all the parts of your body and help you stay balanced during complex drills.
• Reduces recovery times – These types of workouts are famous for improving the overall mental state of athletes allowing them to recover faster from strenuous workouts.
• Helps prevent injuries – With improved flexibility, your body gets more accustomed to awkward motions and will, therefore, be more resistant to directional changes that would otherwise injure your ligaments and muscles.

If you want to learn how to properly warm-up for various types of workouts, click here!

Features To Look For

Even though agility ladders are fairly simple, there are still a few features that you need to keep your eyes open for when picking the right one for your workout. Those features are:

Length

The length of the ladder is one of the most important factors. If you want long sequences in your workout, look for ladders than are 20-30 ft long. The longer a ladder is, the more space you will be able to put between the rungs. Some 25 ft ladders can have more than 20 inches between each rung, making it easy for you to figure out different exercises inside each interval.

The longer the ladder, however, the harder it will be to deploy and put back into your carrying bag. Look for ladders with nylon straps that don’t tangle easily.

Rungs

There are four things that you need to look for when it comes to the ladder’s rungs – how many there are, what’s the distance between them, whether they are adjustable, and how wide they are.

Firstly, the number of rungs is most-often related to the ladder’s length. 20ft ladders typically get around 12 rungs. That is typically the maximum rungs most ladders get, even though there are models that have 14 or more runs on them. These are mostly meant for teamwork or group exercises. If you want something that is highly portable, look for ladders with 8 rungs.

A typical distance between two rungs is around 15 inches. The more space you have between any two rungs, the easier the exercise will be and the less precise you will have to be. Some models have 16-18 inch intervals set from the factory. These are great for beginners, as they give you a lot of room to work with. Normally, rungs will be around 16 inches wide, making them fairly comfortable for most workouts. Ladders that are narrower than 15 inches aren’t great unless you have small feet or are getting it for your kids.

Adjustability is another important factor with ladders and some models might confuse you for one simple reason. This is because there are semi-adjustable models and fully-adjustable ones. Semi-adjustable agility ladders have a set distance in which you can move the rung. Most ladders have adjustability of up to 15 inches in each direction. Fully-adjustable ladders allow you to move the rungs as much as you want along the length of the straps. Fully-adjustable models are great but also have in mind that they can easily get super tangled if you don’t keep them in their proper order or have all of their intervals evenly spaced out.

Materials used & Durability

The materials used in your agility ladder will determine how well it will handle the test of time, especially if you use it on damp grass or soil frequently. Most straps are made out of nylon, with some more durable than others. Rungs are typically plastic but some expensive models have heavy-duty hardened plastic which is much more resilient. To get a good idea of how well a model performs in the long run, look at the reviews about it, and see whether things break or tear over time.

Adjustability

As we already discussed, adjustability is essential if you want to use the ladder for various exercises that all require different sorts of intervals between the rungs. Some ladders will have fixed adjustability (within a range of inches) and others will allow you to freely move the rungs around, making your own patterns.

If you want to use the ladder for the common exercises and warming up only, I strongly suggest non-adjustable ladders. They are built better and will be much easier to move around and deploy as they don’t tangle as often.

Portability

Most modern agility ladders have slim rungs in order to be easily stored away or transported. There are still some models with large and round rungs which become quite bulky when put into a single bundle. They are also much heavier than the ladders with slim rungs. If you train at different places and want to bring your ladder with you, look for models that come with a comfortable carry bag.

Additional features

There aren’t a lot of additional features or accessories that are important for speed ladders. Perhaps the ones that matter the most are adjustable rungs, pins for securing them to the ground, different easily-visible colors, and carrying bags. Other things you can look for are adjustable rungs and extra cones to enhance your workout. Some agility ladder bundles will also come with a resistance parachute for additional speed training.

Let’s go through some common questions regarding agility ladders now…

Frequently Asked Questions

Are speed ladders and agility ladders the same thing?

Yes, those two things are the same and are often confused with each other. Agility ladders work mainly towards the speed of the athlete, hence their alternative name – “speed” ladders.

Are agility ladders effective?

Depending on the scenario, agility ladders can be extremely effective or somewhat ineffective. They are excellent for allowing you to work your way around them and gather agility and coordination but don’t forget that they are just static elements and might struggle to prepare you for a real-life scenario well.

What does the agility ladder improve?

Apart from the obvious, agility ladders really work towards improving your footwork, speed, and reaction times. They are also great for body coordination.

Can you do ladder drills every day?

Agility ladders are the perfect workout routine and are an even better warm-up for athletes who train every day. In a typical warm-up session, you will need to increase your heart rate, sharpen your reaction time, and warm up the muscles, joints, and ligaments. The agility ladder is good for all three of these things.

Conclusion

The best agility ladders are the ones that will help you warm up properly without you worrying too much about their durability and build quality. Don’t shy away from spending a little extra for a model that is well-built and will last you quite a lot of time. Look for models that are compact, easy to carry around, and have more than 20 rungs to work with.