REP Excalibur barbell vs EZ barbell

This is a comparison between the REP fitness Excalibur bar and the REP fitness EZ barbell. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Rackabale EZ Curl barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Rackable EZ curl barbell including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which barbell to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell $169

The REP rackable EZ barbell is an EZ bar designed to be racked and is, therefore, longer than the usual EZ barbells you would find in most gyms. The EZ design is specially tailored to bicep curls and skull crushers. The wavy design makes these exercises easier on the wrist than a straight barbell. These are nice to have but not necessities for your home gym setup. I personally do curls and skull crushers with my Rogue Ohio barbell with a narrow grip and that works just fine. The full specifications of this barbell are:

Diameter: 30mm
Weight: 35lbs
Finish: Stainless Steel or Hard Chrome Coating
Knurl: 4x70mm sections of medium depth knurl
Length: 6'2"
Loadable length: 10"
Distance between sleeves: 4'3"

It does what it says on the tin if you fancy one.

Pros of the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

Pros of the EZ rackable Curl barbell are:

Rackable
Length
Easy on the wrists

The design and purpose of this barbell are fulfilled with this model. The quality is good and it is not that expensive that you would regret your purchase. Just be aware that the use you will get out of this barbell is quite limited, unless you want to curl like a berserker on a daily basis to make your bicep grow. I had phases like that in my teenage years, I have to admit.

Cons of the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

The cons of the rackable EZ Curl barbell are:

Hard to store
Limited use cases

While this barbell is easier to handle in the rack than a normal short EZ bar, it takes up quite a bit of space when it is not in use. If you don't want it on the floor you will need to get a gun rack mount or some other barbell storing device. These cost usual as much if not more than this barbell. So if you do not have the infrastructure in your gym yet to store a second full-sized barbell I would get a short EZ barbell or none at all.

Alternatives to the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

Rogue EZ bar
TITAN EZ barbell

Rogue as well as TITAN stock variations in short and long of the EZ barbell. The differences are minimal so it is really more about which vendor you like most and who can deliver the fastest depending on your needs.

Conclusion for the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

The REP fitness rackable barbell does what it says on the tin. Do you really ned it? Probably not, but it is nice to have if your barbell gun rack is not full yet. Better specialty bars to get are a safety bar or duffalo bar if your budget allows.

Overview and review of the REP Excalibur barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Excalibur barbell including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which barbell to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Rep Excalibur $289

The rep Excalibur barbell is a middle-of-the-road barbell from REP fitness with average knurling, bushing on the sleeves, and 215K tensile strength. The main distinguishing feature of this barbell is its lifetime warranty which makes it a good commercial buy. Home gym warriors might opt for a REP fitness barbell with a 5-year warranty but get some better features like aggressive knurling, a center knurl, or bearing on the sleeves.

28.5mm diameter (25mm for 15 kg bar)
20kg Length: 87.4"
15kg Length: 79.13"
20 kg (45lb) or 15kg (35lb) option
1500 lb static rating
215k tensile, 205k yield
Bushing sleeve construction
Very mild ribbing on sleeves to keep plates in place
No Center Knurl or Center Knurl Option
Medium/Deep Knurl
Dual Knurl Markings - Powerlifting and Weightlifting
Lifetime Warranty

This is a good choice if a lifetime warranty seems like an attractive feature for you. Otherwise, I would steer clear of this barbell and go for the Gladiator WL or MX in the same price range or the sabre barbells if you want to save some money.

Pros of the Rep Excalibur

The pros of the REP Excalibur barbell are:

Warranty
Well balanced design

The lifetime warranty and the well-balanced design make the REP fitness Excalibur barbell a good option for anyone who wants to buy in stockpiles for commercial use. This barbell can be used for anything by anyone and if they break you have a warranty to cover it. If that is what you think makes a great purchase for your use case go ahead and know yourself out. For a home gym warrior, this might not be the best way to spend their money on a barbell.

Cons of the Rep Excalibur

The cons of the REP Excalibur barbell are:

No center knurl
No aggressive knurling
No bearing
Imported
No color options

Sorry for the long list of negatives but while I think that the Gladiator WL and MX are good design ideas for a home gym user, I personally think that the REP Excalibur is a bit of a bad choice. You are mainly paying about $100 more compared to sabre barbell for a lifetime warranty on a piece of equipment that is fairly hard to break. In return you get no cool stuff like a center knurl, bearing sleeves, or extra color options. Unless you work with big beginner classes for CrossFit that are likely to be all over the shop with their barbells, I would not recommend this. Either go for the sabre bar for yourself if cost savings are what you have in mind or look for a more specialized barbell like the Gladiator MX or WL when you have the budget, but want to treat yourself.

Alternatives to the Rep Excalibur

Alternatives to the REP Excalibur barbell are:

The black sabre and REP sabre barbells are in my opinion better all-purpose barbells for someone on a tight budget or who want to buy in bulk. Of course, the quality of the barbell and the warranty significantly drop when you look at the specification side by side, but they still are good barbells for the occasional user or for a gym that doesn't blow them out on a regular basis. If you are mainly using your barbell for powerlifting movements and do not drop it often from overhead go with the sabres. If you intend to drop from overhead and can conveniently assume that a lot of beginners will get their hands on them, go with the Excalibur.

The Rogue Ohio bar is the bread and butter barbell from Rogue. Based on its design there also power bars and deadlift bars available. For a workhorse barbell, go with the basic model that sits around $200. You can spice it up in terms of colors and material for the sleeves if you wish so at a slightly higher price. The biggest pro of this barbell is that it is sourced and manufactured in the US.

The TITAN ATlas bar is the bread and butter model from TITAN fitness and comes in at a lower price than the competition. TITAN fitness also imports its barbells just like REP fitness does. The big difference is that this distributor also has sideshows to the fitness line in agriculture and therefore their resources are spread thinner. With REP fitness you will get a better service due to a higher focus on the fitness community which also comes at a slightly higher price.

Conclusion for the Rep Excalibur

The REP Excalibur only really makes sense if you buy into the lifetime warranty and see an added value to you. If that is not the case go for one of the MIxed or weightlifting specific barbells with a 5-year warranty to get better features for yourself. A commercial buyer might consider the Excalibur, a home gym buyer should maximize their features.