REP stainless steel Power bar vs Black sabre barbell

This is a comparison between the REP fitness stainless steel power bar and the REP fitness black sabre barbell. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Black Sabre barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Black 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 Black Sabre Barbell $209

The black sabre barbell is the bread and butter barbell from REP fitness with the added pixie dust of being black. The sabre line manifests a considerable drop in barbell quality and warranty length in exchange for being about $100 apiece cheaper than the higher Gladiator and Excalibur line. The full specifications of this barbell are:

20 kg (45 lbs)
150k tensile strength
1000 lb rating
28.5mm diameter
87.4" length
Black Zinc coating
Bushing design with snap rings
Dual knurl markings for Olympic and Power lifting
1-year warranty

This is a solid barbell for anyone who really wants to optimize their budget for a home gym but still wants to get something else than steel color. A commercial buyer might get these as a "use and abuse" barbell to graduate from the technique bar for beginners or to have some visual distinction between different user groups.

Pros of the Rep Black Sabre Barbell

The pros of the Black sabre REP fitness barbell are:

Color option
Cheap and cheerful

This is the right barbell for someone on a budget or with a lot of money to spend but wants to get the most out of every dime invested. With the black color, it is a little more interesting than just a regular steel-colored barbell, if you are into that kind of stuff. Not a lot that can go wrong with $200 against a barbell.

Cons of the Rep Black Sabre Barbell

The cons of the Rep black Sabre barbell are:

No bearing
No aggressive knurl
1-year warranty
Imported
150k tensile strength
Doesn't go all the way

For $100 less REP fitness makes a considerable drop in what you are getting for your money. This barbell has no bearing, no aggressive knurling and the metal being used also takes lesser tensile strength. Top this of a 1-year warranty compared to a 5 year or lifetime warranty you are able to get around $300 and you are leaving a lot of value on the table just to save $100. If the bottom line is all you care about, e my guest, but then buy the Sabre or even the basic barbell from REP fitness instead.

This barbell is also imported, so if you want to source all your gear from the US from a vendor that maximizes job creation locally, then Sorinex or Rogue fitness are the better options.

Alternatives to the Rep Black Sabre Barbell

Alternatives to the REP fitness black Sabre bar are:

The rep sabre bar is the more logical alternative in my opinion if all you care about is to get a fairly decent barbell at the lowest possible price. If you are already taking a big hit on features, you might as well strip the color of the barbell and maximize your savings.

The Rogue Ohio bar with Cerakote coating is an option if you have the money, but want more color options than just black. Rogue provides quite a few combinations of colors and material in their portfolio. So if it is the creative freedom you are after for your barbell, then Rogue has a lot more to offer.

The TITAN Atlas bar is the bread and butter barbell on the low end from TITAN fitness. If you want the cheapest possible home gym, while still getting commercial-grade equipment, then TITAN is your best bet. The only downside is that as a company they seem to cut more corners for low prices than other vendors. This might have an impact on your individual experience when buying from them.

Conclusion for the Rep Black Sabre Barbell

The black sabre barbell is a good option if you want to buy from REP fitness and to make a statement, but not for more than $200. It is so far also the only barbell with color in the REP fitness lineup. If you want to maximize savings the Basic barbell or steel-colored Sabre barbell are also options.

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.

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.