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REP fitness Deep Knurl power bar vs stainless steel power bar

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Jun 2, 2021 4:00:00 PM

REP fitness Deep Knurl power bar vs stainless steel power bar

This is a comparison between the REP fitness deep knurl power bar and the REP fitness steel power bar. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the REP stainless steel Power bar

This is an overview of the REP fitness stainless steel power bar 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.

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REP Stainless steel power bar $379

 
The stainless steel power bar comes with 29mm in diameter, a medium Knurl and bushing to attach to the sleeves to the barbell. This is a powerlifting focused barbell which saves you a little money compared to the deep Knurl top dog from REP fitness. The full specifications are:
 
  • 200k tensile, 1500 lb rated
  • 29mm for extra stiffness
  • Length: 87.4"
  • Medium depth knurl
  • 810mm between outside edges of knurling rings
  • Stainless steel shaft and smooth stainless sleeves
  • Bushing sleeves for smooth spin
  • Snap-ring design.
 
This is a solid choice, although I would pay the $20 extra for the deep Knurl any day if I am already looking into a powerlifting specific bar.
 

Pros of the REP Stainless steel power bar

 
The pros of the REP stainless steel power bar:
 
  • Stainless steel
  • 200l tensile
 
The biggest plus is the powerlifting Knurl marks and the stainless steel itself. Stainless steel means that this barbell is a lot less likely to rust than regular steel barbells. It is also the main driver of the price of the bar as REP chooses to cover the sleeves and the barbell itself with stainless steel.
 
Tensile refers to the strength of the steel and how much pressure it needs to bend. The higher the number the more power is needed to permanently bend the bar. High-quality barbells hover around 200.000 tensile strength so the stainless steel power bar is spot on.
 

Cons of the REP Stainless steel power bar

 
The cons of the REP stainless steel power bar:
 
  • Medium Knurl
  • Price
  • No color options
  • Imported
 
To me personally, this bar makes little sense, unless the federation you lift on works with medium Knurl instead of aggressive Knurl bars. If you are already looking into a powerlifting specific bar you might as well pay the little extra and get the deep Knurl instead. For a compromise, this bar would be quite dear.
 
Compared to other vendors REP fitness has no color options (yet) on their barbell portfolio. Rogue fitness offers a wide array of sleeves made out of different materials and cerakote coatings. TITAN fitness copied this approach with their blues city barbell line. Currently, there is only the black Sabre bar in the REP fitness portfolio that offers a different color from steel.
 
The biggest con for REP fitness barbells might be for some that they are imported from overseas. If you want your hard-earned money to go into manufacturing jobs in the US you have to purchase from Rogue or Sorinex.
 

Alternatives to the REP Stainless steel power bar

 
Alternatives to the REP stainless steel power bar are:
 
 
The Rogue Ohio power bar in stainless steel is the current Creme de la Creme in powerlifting bars. There are some other models from kabuki strength and elitefts that are strong contestants for being higher quality, but they are by far not as known as the Rogue Ohio power bar.
 
The REP fitness deep Knurl bar is in my opinion the right choice from REP for a serious powerlifter to get the deep Knurl. Why stop $20 short on a $400 item that you will probably use for the next 10 years.
 
The TITAN blues city power bar is the direct competitor of the Ohio power bar and the REP stainless steel power bar. Here some serious savings can be made at the cost of higher risk of a bad user experience through quality issues on the bar or the with the service provided.
 

Conclusion for the REP Stainless steel power bar

 
I personally think that the REP stainless steel power bar does not make an awful lot of sense when you know about the deep Knurl bar from REP as they are only $20 apart. But that is just my thinking as I think the more aggressive the knurling the better for my purposes.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Deep Knurl power bar

This is an overview of the REP fitness Deep knurl power bar 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 Deep knurl power bar EX $399

 
The REP deep knurl power bar is the upper end of the spectrum in Olympic barbells which you can get from REP fitness. The main distinguishing features of this bar are its aggressive knurling and the full stainless steel construction covering the sleeves and the bar itself. The full specifications are:
 
  • 29mm diameter.
  • Knurl Markings: Powerlifting - 32" between markings.
  • Knurl Depth: 75% deeper than any standard offering
  • Tensile Strength: 200k
  • Bushing design with snap rings.
  • Shaft: Stainless Steel.
  • Sleeves: Stainless Steel.
  • Bushing design with snap rings for optimal Powerlifting performance.
  • Warranty: Lifetime*
 
This is a great barbell for the serious powerlifter who does not mind getting calluses on their hands. For most commercial gms this barbell might be a bit too much in price per item and the uncompromising design.
 

Pros of the Rep Deep knurl power bar EX

 
The pros of the REP deep knurl power bar are:
 
  • Deep knurling
  • Full stainless steel construction
  • 29mm shaft
 
This bar is great if you mainly train the squat, bench press, and deadlift and you know that you are serious about it. With this bar you go uncompromising for the next record on your total to provide maximum grip to your hands. Even at the cost of tearing the skin.
 

Cons of the Rep Deep knurl power bar EX

 
The cons of the REP deep knurl bar are:
 
  • Imported
  • Pricing
  • Color options
  • Knurling
  • No bearing
  • No Whip
 
This barbell comes imported from overseas to save costs. That being said I am personally surprised at the price point of $400 for this barbell. This is not enough of an advantage to make me want to switch from Rogue Fitness who on top of that produces locally in the US. If you are looking at a rack and plates also you can make some considerable savings, but if it is just between the Rogue Ohio power bar and the Deep Knurl from REP I am not convinced.
 
Stainless steel is not available from most vendors to be powder coated with some other color. Why ruin the high-quality steel with some kind of spray-on tan? Compared to other vendors REP fitness still has a noticeable lack of colored barbells, which they will probably fix once their overseas producer figures at how to get cerakote on the barbells. I think that is only a matter of time, but for now, the only colored option in the REP fitness lineup is the Black sabre bar.
 
The knurling on this bar is aggressive which rules it out for most commercial uses. If you have a cheap rack with cheap J Cups I would also recommend an upgrade as this bar will quickly eat into inferior metal and rubber.
 
If you are looking for a barbell for your home gym/garage gym or commercial establishment this is not the bar to get. It does not provide any whip and also has no bearing. This bar is high priced and only good for powerlifting, so buy it as such. Otherwise, opt for the all-round Sabre bar, or for the Gladiator series if your focus is on Olympic weightlifting.
 
 

Alternatives to the Rep Deep knurl power bar EX

 
Alternatives to the REP Deep knurl bar are:
 
 
The Rogue Ohio power bar in the stainless steel version is currently hailed as the Ferrari amongst the powerlifting barbells. There are some other barbells from Kabuki strength and EliteFTS that specifically pander to the powerlifting community, but these are more niche. As the price gap is not that noticeable I personally would go with the Ohio power bar instead of the deep knurl unless your entire gym is already REP fitness-themed.
 
The Blues city power bar is TITAN fitness's approach to the world of powerlifting bars with heavy knurling. TITAN is known for minor quality issues in return for the lowest prices amongst their competitors. As you are specifically buying this barbell for their knurling I would watch out for TITAN, as this is exactly the kind of detail that lower standard quality procedures would give a pass when they should not.
 
If you are into stainless steel but like Olympic weightlifting a lot better than powerlifting, then you should go for the REP fitness Gladiator stainless steel bar. This bar provides more whip, has a less aggressive knurl, ad the sleeves rotate on bearing. This makes this bar netter suited for Olympic weightlifting than powerlifting.
 

Conclusion for the Rep Deep knurl power bar EX

 
This is the top bar to get from REP fitness when you are into powerlifting. There is not a lot you can do wrong with this so be confident and move ahead if you have the money. The only reconsideration would be if you are planning on having one brand scheme rather than multiple brands in your gym. Then a decision between TITAN, Rep fitness, and Rogue fitness would need to be made before loading up the shopping cart.
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