REP fitness Gladiator WL barbell vs Trap bar

This is a comparison between the REP fitness Gladiator WL 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:

Raised handles with knurled grip
Solid steel construction
500lb Weight Capacity
16” loadable sleeve space
Length: 71”, Width: 25.5”, Height: 6”
Product Weight: 55 lbs (unloaded)
Handle Diameter - 25mm
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

The pros of the REP fitness trap bar are:

Price compared to the competition
Lower injury risk compared to straight bar deadlifts
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

The cons of the REP fitness trap bar are:

Bulky
Limited use cases

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

Rogue Trap bar
TITAN Trap bar
Dinnie rings and kettlebells

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 Gladiator WL barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Gladiator WL 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 Gladiator WL $289

The REP Gladiator WL is a variation on the Gladiator design from REP fitness that provides a center knurl, good tensile strength, and bearing on the sleeves for under $300. If you are looking for a solid weightlifting barbell that does not break the bank, you have probably found your perfect match. The full specifications of this barbell run as following:

28mm diameter (25mm for 15kg bar)
20 kg (45lb) or 15kg (35lb) option
1500 lb static rating
3 Needle bearings and 2 bushings per sleeve
Ribbed sleeves to keep weights from sliding while training.
Hard Chrome coating - rust-resistant coating
Center Knurl on WL and SS barbell
No Center Knurl on MX Gladiator and 15kg
Medium Depth Knurl
230k tensile, 210k yield
5 year warranty

A great barbell maximizes the important ingredients that make a good weightlifting barbell like the tensile strength and center knurl while compromising on some components like the sleeves to keep the cost as low as possible. I love the thought process that went into this to make a good weightlifting barbell affordable for the average Joe.

Pros of the Rep Gladiator WL

The pros of the Gladiator WL:

Price
Design

If you want a weightlifting barbell, but do not want to spend $700 to $1000 just on one piece of equipment for your home gym, then this is a great choice. I love what REP fitness has done her to put the best of the weightlifting world into a piece of steel, without making it too expensive. Yes, you will compromise with this barbell, but you can not have it all when you buy new and want to save money at the same time.

Cons of the Rep Gladiator WL

The cons of the REP Gladiator WL barbell are:

Not IWF approved
No full bearing on the sleeves
Imported
Color options

Currently, this barbell is not IWF approved. If you want to train as close to competition standards as possible you either need to opt for the Rogue weightlifting barbell series or the Eleiko barbells. Most Olympic lifting events on the international stage still use Eleiko equipment, while Rogue fitness is catching up in market share in the United States and international Invitation events. It will be interesting to see whether we will see Rogue equipment on one of the next Olympic events for lifting.

This bar will not spin as smoothly as the fully breed Olympic barbells from Rogue, Eleiko, or REP fitness as the sleeves are a bushing and bearing hybrid. This is a choice for this barbell to keep costs down as bearing is a specialized material that comes at a higher cost.

This barbell is imported and therefore manufactured and packaged in China. If this rubs your patriotic streak up the wring way you will have to opt for Sorinex or Rogue fitness who through lengths to keep their production and supply chain as local to the United States as possible.

There are no color options on this barbell as REP fitness does not provide a wide range of sleeves or Cerakote coating for their barbells. This might change in the future when sales volumes go up and REP fitness gets the chance to invest in the production lines of their overseas vendors.

Alternatives to the Rep Gladiator WL

Alternatives to the REP Gladiator WL bar are:

The REP Gladiator MX barbell is very similar to the Gladiator WL. The main differences are the full bearing sleeves and no center knurl which makes it more of an all-round barbell than the WL. Weigh up between these two barbells what you will actually use it most for and make a decision on what to get.

The REP Excalibur is the better choice if you want a Lifetime warranty instead of a 5-year warranty on your barbell. In return, you make some considerable sacrifices on the features of the barbell which I personally would not be willing to make. But I have never filed a warranty case in my entire life, so I am probably not the best person to advise on this perk.

The Rogue Pyrros bar is the top-of-the-line weightlifting barbell from Rogue. If you want a barbell that is IWF approved and connects you to one of the greatest talents in Olympic weightlifting to date then this is the right piece of metal for you. The only downside is that the price is considerably higher than anything you would find in the REP fitness range.

The TITAN Blues city weightlifting barbell is TITAN's approach to weightlifting barbells with bearing sleeves. If you want to bring the low-cost idea to its final conclusion TITAN is a safe bet. What you get in money saved you might regret shipping and quality control wise by purchasing through TITAN as they have to cut some corners to make the low prices across their entire portfolio feasible.

Conclusion for the Rep Gladiator WL

The REP Gladiator WL barbell is a solid choice for someone who wants to save some money on ha high-quality weightlifting barbell. Thi bar makes some compromises in the design to bring the cost down, but these make sense. Especially if you see oly lifts as a more dynamic alternative to powerlifting for training at home, rather than chasing Olympic medals, then this is the perfect fit of a barbell for you.