REP fitness Excalibur stainless steel bar vs Trap bar
This is a comparison between the REP fitness stainless steel Excalibur bar and the REP fitness trap bar. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the REP fitness Trap bar
This is an overview of the REP fitness Trap 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 Trap Bar $125
The
REP fitness trap bar goes along with the designs of
trap bars that you would find in most gyms.
Trap bar deadlifts are a good alternative to regular deadlifts. They are less taxing on the lower back and easier to learn as the barpath is more restricted and standing inside the frame provides more stability. A
trap bar is also a good alternative to
farmer's carry handles, as it gives you more uses while also being good for carrying exercises. The full specifications of this
trap bar are:
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Raised handles with knurled grip
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Solid steel construction
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500lb Weight Capacity
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16” loadable sleeve space
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Length: 71”, Width: 25.5”, Height: 6”
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Product Weight: 55 lbs (unloaded)
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Handle Diameter - 25mm
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Medium depth knurling
A solid addition to an existing gym that wants to switch things up or for someone that has enough space on their first purchase to throw some specialty bars in. A duffalo bar or Safety squat bar would still be my preferred option as I use heavy kettlebells for deadlift variations and farmer's walks.
Pros of the Rep Trap Bar
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Price compared to the competition
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Lower injury risk compared to straight bar deadlifts
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Can also be used as a carrying frame
Compared to the Rogue fitness trap bars REP fitness offers almost the same thing at a lower price. They achieve this by importing the barbell from China rather than producing it themselves in the US.
If you just want to do deadlifts and not compete in powerlifting, then a
trap bar is a good option to protect your back as long as you have the space to store it. A straight bar deadlift can put a big strain on your back, especially if you are doing the movement incorrectly.
Trap bars bear a lower risk to do so.
Another nice bonus is that a
trap bar can also be used as a carrying frame. If you are looking to incorporate carry exercises into your regime and go really heavy, then a
trap bar is in my opinion the more versatile option than
farmer's handles.
Cons of the Rep Trap Bar
A
trap bar is usually better suited for a commercial gym than a home gym as they are pretty hard to store. While they are more versatile than
farmer walk handles they are still less useful than an actual barbell. Keep these things in mind when making your decision as I personally think that a duffalo bar, safety squat bar, or heavy kettlebells are a better investment in your home gym than a
trap bar.
Alternatives to the Rep Trap Bar
The Rogue trap bar is produced in the US and comes in two variations. Especially version 2 is great as Rogue really thought about the shortcomings of the traditional Trap bar design which are the weight of the bar itself and the handles and optimized on those.
The TITAN trap bar is another low-cost option that imports from China. Overall your bill will be lower with TITAN fitness when outfitting a home gym at the cost of laxer quality controls compared to REP fitness based on what I am reading and seeing. This is more of a choice between the two for the overall cost of your gym when you throw in a
trap bar to the line of items rather than a question of which one has the better or cheaper
trap bar per se.
I personally use heavy kettlebells combined with the Rogue Dinnie rings for heavy carries and all kinds of variations of deadlifts. This takes up less space in my gym and is very versatile. The only downside of this approach is that you can not scale in increments as you can with a
trap bar with the weight plates you already have in-house.
Conclusion for the Rep Trap Bar
This is a solid
trap bar if you want one and have the space to store it. I personally prefer kettlebells with different handles for carrying work, but I also do not do 200kg carries which would only be possible with a proper frame,
trap bar or
farmer's walk handles as the kettlebells would get too big and expensive.
Overview and review of the REP fitness Excalibur stainless steel bar
This is an overview of the REP fitness stainless steel Excalibur 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 Excalibur Stainless steel $349
The
Excalibur stainless steel barbell from REP takes one of their simpler designs and beefs it up with the stainless steel treatment. It is a solid barbell, but not my favorite option in the line up as I think it takes too many compromises at too high a price tag. The full specifications of this barbell are:
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28.5mm diameter
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Length: 87.4"
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20 kg (45lb) or 15kg (35lb) option
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1500 lb static rating
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215k tensile, 205k yield
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Bushing sleeve construction
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Very mild ribbing on sleeves to keep plates in place
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No Center Knurl
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Stainless Steel
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Medium/Deep Knurl
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Dual Knurl Markings - Powerlifting and Weightlifting
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5 year warranty
This bar neither has an aggressive knurl or bearing sleeve construction for a better spin. More than $300 in the REP barbell portfolio is a good bit of money for a bar that does not really know what it wants to be. To top it off there is also no center knurl. You pay a premium for the stainless steel without actually addressing any specific Oly lift or powerlifting needs.
Pros of the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel
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Stainless steel
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Price
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Will not offend anyone
The main thing this barbell has going for itself is that it is stainless steel and therefore will not rust as quickly as other barbells which are not. Especially if you are training in a hot and humid climate you should look for stainless steel to get the most out of barbell's life span.
The price for this barbell is good considering that it is stainless steel. But this can also be said for the other stainless steel barbells out of the REP fitness portfolio which in my opinion provide a clearer profile of what needs they want to cover rather than not making a decision of whether they are going to be an all-round barbell, powerlifting, or weightlifting barbell.
A good thing about this barbell is that it will not offend anyone if you buy it in bulk for your gym. The knurling is mild, no center knurling means less rubbing off the back or shins and no bearing means that it won't spin too much for people who only use it for the squat, bench press, and deadlift.
Cons of the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel
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No aggressive knurling
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No bearing
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Imported
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No color options
For a barbell from a low price vendor for $300 i personally think you should not spend the money without deciding for a clear use profile of your bar. If you want an all-around barbell you can save yourself $100 to $150 by going for the
sabre bar or the REP basic bar. In the $300+ range I would make a clear decision for whether you will be using the barbell mainly for powerlifting or oly lifting and then get either an aggressive knurl bar or one that goes all out on bearing and whip. Why compromise at the upper end of the price spectrum of a vendor?
One big con for patriots will be that this barbell is not being sourced and produced in the United States. If you have problems with that and want to keep the money and the jobs as local as possible then Sorinex and Rogue fitness are better options to do so. These brands also have overseas products in their portfolio but take pains to keep as much of their production and supply chain local to the United States.
Another thing that REP fitness has not figured out yet are color options. While Rogue fitness and TITAN fitness have applied Cerakote coatings to their
Ohio bar and
Blues city barbell lineup, REP fitness is lagging behind and only offers the
Sabre bar in color for now. I am sure they will catch up, but if you want the most flexibility in terms of the material of the sleeves and which colors to go with then Rogue fitness is the better option. What REP fitness lacks in the color department for barbells they make up for in the rack department as here you have more options to choose and customize the color of each single upright.
Alternatives to the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel
If you like the middle of the road approach in the design of the
Excalibur bar I would also make the price middle of the road and opt for the
Excalibur bar as a non-stainless steel option. If you are outfitting a Crossfit gym in bulk, this is probably a good barbell to choose from as the design is reliable and works in many directions. For a home gym I would possibly not recommend it as ou can treat yourself for the only purchase you are possibly going to make for the next couple of years in the barbell department.
REP Gladiator MX barbell comes in at a similar price to the
Excalibur stainless steel but makes a decision to be a better all-around barbell by providing bearing instead of bushing sleeves. If you will be mainly lifting overhead in your home gym or you are trying to build an oly lifting section in your commercial gym, then this is the better option than the
Excalibur stainless steel.
The
Rogue Chan bar is in my opinion the best hybrid bar between powerlifting and weightlifting that Rogue has to offer. It beaks this up with high tensile strength and an interesting design to keep you motivated. The only downside is that it is rarely in stock and hard to grab. That is why I have a
Rogue Ohio power bar at home instead.
The
TITAN Atlas bar is the bread and butter barbell model from TITAN without any color options. If you are looking to optimize for the budget this is it. As it is a fairly simple bar you are less exposed to the risk of the looser quality controls which TITAN applies to their products to offer them at the lowest possible cost to you.
Conclusion for the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel
The
Excalibur stainless steel bar is a good idea, but too Vanilla for my personal tastes for a bar in this price range. Get something specific to your needs when you shell out more than $300 on a barbell or try to drive down cost as much as possible for an all-around compromise in my opinion. Spending a lot of money on a compromise is usually not a good road to take for being happy with your equipment.