Duffalo bar vs Rogue Froning bar

This is a comparison of the Duffalo bar and the Rogue Froning bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

Overview and review Rogue Ohio Bar Froning Edition

This overview of the Froning bar was originally published in my comprehensive guide on which Rogue barbell to buy. If you are currently considering to buy a Rogue barbell it is worth a read to get input on the latest models. I update the guide on a yearly basis depending on Rogue's new releases.

Price 375$

Overview of Rogue Ohio bar Froning edition

The Rogue Ohio bar Froning edition pays tribute to all-time Crossfit legend Rich Froning. Rich Froning managed to claim the title of "Fittest man on earth" four times. This makes him the most successful CrossFit athlete to date. The Froning bar carries his logo. The logo is silver while the rest of bar has been kept black. Rogue uses its Cerakote finish combined with the base of the Ohio bar to create another design dedicated to a Rogue athlete.

The Froning bar comes at 20kg and a diameter of 28.5mm. The sleeves are connected via bushing to the shaft. It can withstand 190K PSI Tensile strength with a good whip. The knurling is standard. This multi-purpose bar has a loadable sleeve length of 16.40.

The Froning bar is a great option if you like the colour back and want to connect to one of your favourite CrossFit athletes. Other options you might want to consider are the Fraser bar and Matt Chan bar which is also multi-purpose bars with Rogue athlete branding. This is a great bar for any fitness enthusiast who wants to combine or contrast black with other colours in their home gym.

Pros of the Froning bar

The Froning bar is a single colour bar in black which makes it less popping than the other athlete designs from Rogue. If you like simple designs which do not make bold statements this is a good bar to get. The Ohio bar builds the base and delivers a solid base for multi-purpose barbell training. Connecting to the legend Rich Froning might also give your athletes a psychological boost while training. The low key design also makes it a more feasible option for gym outfits.

Cons of the Froning bar

As with the other Ohio bars with cerakote finish make sure that it is mainly used with bumper plates instead of steel plates. Otherwise, wait until these bars become available with chrome sleeves. It should only be a matter of time until Rogue makes this available. A black shaft can be more prone to show scratches of the underlying material. If you go heavy duty and don't care for the design you might want to go for the Ohio bar, Castro bar or Operator bar instead.

Conclusion

The Rogue Froning bar will set your mind to the greatest of all times in the realm of CrossFit. If you are building a new CrossFit box with class get a set of the Rogue name branded barbells. Your customers will notice that extra bit of attention to detail.

Learn more about the specs of the Rogue Froning barbell and purchase on the Rogue website

Overview and review of the duffalo bar

The duffalo bar is probably the best bar in the market with a curve to make it easier on your shoulder and lower back for the bench and squat. Here are the pros and cons.

The duffalo barbell has been designed by renowned strength coach and powerlifter Chris Duffin. The single idea was too reduce strain for lifters on their shoulders and back for the squat and bench press by forcing the into better movement patterns. The duffalo is the best of this kind of barbell currently on the market and Rogue attests to that by not copying the original design but rather letting the manufacturer seeking it on their online shop. The specifications of the duffalo bar are:

Diameter: 32mm
Overall Length: 96”
Heat Treated and Cold Worked Alloy Steel – 195,000 KSI Tensile Strength
Unloaded Bar Weight: 55 LBS
Load Capacity: 1,500 LBS
Three Options: Clear Zinc, Black Oxide, Bright Nickel
Attachment point included for optional Band & Chain Handle Attachment*

Pros of the duffalo bar

The pros of the duffalo bar are:

Innovative, functional design
High-quality manufacturing from the US
Different colors

Kabuki strength is a real American dream come true. This is a well-executed piece of engineering that gets the highest marks in most reviews. It has been designed by a pro for pros to protect them from injury and bring up their exercise volume. If you are serious about strength, look into this bar.

Cons of the duffalo bar

The cons of the duffalo bar are:

Price
high specialization
Not relevant to competition

The price of the Duffalo bar is relatively high for a specialty barbell. It ranges in the realms of Eleiko and the top-line Rogue barbells. It is a good use piece of equipment but has fewer uses than these options in the gym.

The high specialization makes it almost exclusively interesting to powerlifters and strongman. It is definitely not the first buy for your home gym. Members of commercial gyms might even feel a little intimidated by this massive piece of steel.

Keep in mind that this bar will help to build volume in your training while doing less damage to yo ur body. You will still need to practice on a straight bar in your cycle to perform on stage.

Alternatives to the Duffalo bar

The camber bar has no curvage and places the weight for the squat closer to the center of your body. It also has a tendency to make the plates swing. If you want more activation in your squats this is a good bar but it is not for bench pressing like the duffalo bar.

The safety bar is the classic bar to have less strain on the spine for heavy lifting. The Duffalo bar is basically a combination of the ideas of safety and Olympic barbell. Compared to the duffalo bar you will save money. This is the better bar for a commercial gym. As an am I Tinnef home gym owner I would still go for the duffalo bar.

The earthquake bar is partly made of bamboo and okays with the idea of weights which shake uncontrollably when moved. While it can not take as much weight as the other bars and needs bands and kettlebells to function, this can be an interesting squat variation based on lovers of the west side method.

Summary of the duffalo bar

The duffalo bar is a very interesting second purchase of a barbell for very ambitious home gym owners who start to feel the pains of age but still lift very heavy.