It's just a kettlebell right? What's the difference.

A kettlebell is a kettlebell, is a kettlebell right? All the same thing?

Yes, but a the same time no.  If you look at any anything closely the details tell a lot. A Toyota Corrolla, Ford GT40, and a Formula 1 Ferrari are all cars, but they are VERY different things. 

Kettlebells are broken down into essentially three groups for me:

Traditional/Cast Iron bells

Sport Bells

Everything else

Cast Iron bells are the OG form of the kettlebell. Look on the web for old time strong men and you'll see guys with kettlebells like these. And very similar to the idea that they came from cannonballs with handles. 

These are the preferred bells for Hardstyle systems like RKC, StrongFirst, and DV8. The main thing with these bells is the size of the bell increases with weight. So and 8kg bell is the size of a large grapefruit or small melon, and a 48kg bell is a bit bigger than a basketball. The handle thickness also increases, so bigger bells become a grip challenge as well, especially for people with smaller hands. 

Most traditional bells of decent quality are powdercoated, or painted and polyurethaned for a 'boot polish' look.  

As I final point, I will say buy these from a specialist kettlebell or strength equipment retailer, a supplements store/super market/big box store, are going to carry cheap and likely nasty ones.  You can also find excellent bells for good prices second hand.

Sports Bells:

The main thing with these bells is they are intended for kettlebell sport (yes that's a thing) and to a lesser extent kettlebell juggling (yup, it's awesome have a look in Instagram), and therefore need some standardisation as weight distribution is super important. All sports bells are the same diameter in the body, and the handle shape and thickness is also the same. This means an 8kg bell, and a 48kg bell are all the exact same dimensions, except for paint colour and weight.  These bells a usually a bit more expensive than a regular traditional bell. This is because they have to be made with a more complicated process, and the handles are polished/brished steel vs iron that is painted, again you get what you pay for, so shoot for quality.  You  are looking for a bell with its centre of gravity to be higher up, and closer to the handle.   

The rest....

Apologies if you love these, or if they are all you have access to. Work with what you have and then upgrade to something better. You won't regret the investment. I would avoid these completely, they don't last or provide a poor workout experience. 

Vinyl dipped bells. A cheaper cast iron bell, these are dipped in vinyl to give the body a colourful coating. These can be ok, but I've seen ones with jagged bits of metal in handle, lumpy handles etc. They are cheap, and for a reason. Super common in sports shops, big box retailers etc. Also pretty common in smaller gyms or ones that just want a bell or two. 

Plastic bells: These plastic cases with a lump of concrete in the middle are just terrible.  I own one, and its 2kg and we bought it for my kid when he was 3, it was about $2 on clearance. It got dropped, it split open.  Don't get these, they are rubbish. 

Which Kettlebell should you get? Check out my guide here.