REP Excalibur barbell vs Sabre barbell

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

Overview and review of the REP fitness Sabre barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Sabre 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 Sabre Bar $179

The REP sabre bar is what I would recommend to someone who walks up to me and says "I want a decent barbell, but it shouldn't cost much" and does not provide me with any extra information about what they want to use it for. The price point is good and you get a decent barbell that you can use for several lifts. It is not for the professional powerlifter and weightlifter, but this population is smaller than the industry wants you to believe. The full specifications of this barbell are:

150k tensile strength
1000 lb rating
28.5mm (25 mm women's) diameter
20kg length 87.4"
15kg length 79.13"
Zinc coating
High-performance ball-bearing sleeve design.
Dual knurl markings.
No center knurl on women's barbell. Men's barbell has an option with center knurl or without.
1-year warranty

This is a good bar if you want to build your home gym for $500 to $1000 including plates rack and everything else. It still functions as a proper barbell, without being fancy on any of the specific features. Also a good buy in bulk for a commercial gym that does not specialize in powerlifting or weightlifting.

Pros of the Rep Sabre Bar

The pros of the REP fitness Sabre bar are:

Price point
All-around design
No extra features
Warranty

This barbell is simple and to the point. Noting fancy but still better than an axle bar or the basic barbell model from REP fitness. This barbell has a zinc coating against rust and is 28.5mm in diameter which is right between weightlifting and powerlifting standards. Compared to the basic barbell from REP fitness it also comes with a warranty

Cons of the Rep Sabre Bar

The cons of the REP Sabre bar are:

Imported
No bearing
No aggressive knurl
No center knurl

As you are getting one of the lower range models of REP fitness with this barbell you will also get nothing fancy on the extras. Each feature has been stripped down to the bare minimum will you still get a warranty. Good for your purse and decent for your experience.

Alternatives to the Rep Sabre Bar

Alternatives to the REP Sabre bar are:

The black sabre bar is the same barbell with the exception that a black coat has been applied. If you want to spice things up a little with black color, then this is the bar to get instead of the sabre basic model.

The Rogue Ohio bar would be the equivalent in the Rogue portfolio to the REP fitness sabre bar. This is the basic barbell that Rogue started their vast portfolio. This leaves you with more options for individualizing your barbell than with REP fitness, but the base model comes at a higher price than the sabre bar.

The Rogue Echo bar is Rogue's approach to making a barbell as cheap as possible. This is the bar they advertise to be taken into the field by the military as it won't hurt that much if it gets abused based on the price per item. If you want to go as low as possible on the sticker price.

The TITAN Atlas bar is TITAN fitness's take on a full barbell at the lowest possible price. If you want to build your entire home gym as cheap as possible with new equipment, then they are probably the best address to get in touch with in the US. The only downside is that they need to cut some corners on service to make these low prices possible.

Conclusion for the Rep Sabre Bar

The REP Sabre bar is a solid barbell for anyone who wants to optimize their budget and still wants a minimal warranty with the barbell. If i owned a gym that had a lot of average strength clients, then this would be the barbell I would buy in bulk.

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.