Rogue branch and beam vs stainless steel lat bar

This is a comparison between the Rogue branch and beam and stainless lat bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue stainless lat bar

This is an overview of the Rogue stainless lat bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview of the Rogue Stainless lat bar

Price: $165

The Rogue stainless lat bar is made from stainless steel by the professionals at Rogue who know how to work metal. This lat bar comes standard with the Rogue Monster Lat pulldown machine. If you are buying from Rogues you will most likely already have this bar. The specifications of the stainless lat bar are:

Made in the USA
Width: 48"
Diameter: 1.125"
Knurled Stainless Steel
Laser-cut Rogue “R” branding
(1) Black Carabiner Included

This is a solid lat bar either as a replacement when some of your existing equipment breaks, or you want to upgrade a bargain you got from the internet on a lat pull machine. As it comes standard with the Rogue machines that it attaches to, it is not often seen by itself in the wild.

Pros of the Rogue Stainless lat bar

Pros of the Rogue Stainless lat bar:

Stainless
Made in USA
Good craftmanship

The team at Rogue knows how to work metal and the brand is carried by the reputation that everything they make is overbuilt. The stainless lat bar is no exception and is an upgrade to most lat bars out there. If you bought a cheap weight stack tower, at least give some proper love to your hands and get a good lat bar.

Cons of the Rogue Stainless lat bar

Cons of the stainless lat bar are:

Heavy
Aggressive knurling
Price

As this is an overbuilt bar some might say that makes it overpriced. I would not belong to that group, as I love overbuilt things, but f you do not care about that you can get a bar like this for a third of the price. As it is stainless steel this lat bar is also heavier than most other lat bars and has more aggressive knurling. This might not appeal to the general public as well, as one of the mass-produced Chinese lat bars.

Alternatives to the Rogue Stainless lat bar

Alternatives to the Stainless lat bar are:

The Rogue Multi-grip cable attachment is a massive lat pull that gives you multiple grip variations at a different angle to a straight lat bar. This is especially interesting for big athletes and those training for strongman competitions. It is only $10 more than the stainless lat bar and worth looking into if you want to buy a second attachment.

The back widow is a great option if you can afford the $299 and want a very versatile attachment for your lat pull that triples up as a T-Bar row and deadlift jack. This is a great option for a home gym that wants to save space and still have many options. For a commercial gym, this might not be the best bet, as you can get 5 Rogue Monster grip triangles, or a mix of attachments, for the same price for multiple users.

The Rogue Monster grip triangle is a good option if you want a little variation and you are happy with your current lat bar. It only costs $60 and is therefore something easy to throw into bigger orders to make it to an even amount. It is also not as massive as the Multi-grip or pricey as the back widow.

Conclusion for the Rogue stainless steel lat bar

The Rogue stainless steel lat bar is a great upgrade for a lat pull that has not been bought from Rogue. If you did not want to spend the $3000 on an original Rogue Lat pull-down, then at least you can get the lat bar for $165. If you are looking to purchase a second attachment for your lat pull, the stainless bar is rather pointless, as you already have one at home. Try to vary things then.

Overview and review of the Rogue branch and beam

This is an overview of the Rogue branch and beam including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the branch and beam

Price: $170

The branch and beam are bars from rogue which have been made extra fat. The branch has a round grip, while the beam has a square grip. These two bars are a great alternative to the traditional 28-29mm bars and a bit closer to the unconventional lifts you can find in strongman competitions. This will also help with your grip strength in general. The specifications of the two bars are:

The Rogue Branch Fat Bar
Round grip
Outside Diameter: 3"
Bar Length: 80.5"
Bar Weight: 39LB

The Rogue Beam Fat Bar
Square grip
Fat Grip is 3x3”
Bar Length: 80.5"
Bar Weight: 41LB

These are great additions to a fully equipped gym that looks for more options to entertain their clients or a strongman home gym who wants to be prepared for anything.

Pros of the branch and beam

The pros of the branch and beam are:

Safe to use
Easy to load
Easy to store

The branch and beam are two options to challenge your grip for heavy lifts with unconventional setups. They can be stored on a regular barbell gun rack, are easy to load, and are safer to use than an actual tree trunk or wooden beam. Compared to other more cumbersome solutions to the problems they solve they are a preferable option.

Cons of the branch and beam

The cons of the branch and beam are:

No knurling
Issues with the finish
Narrow use cases

For bars with very limited use cases, unless you really make a point about using them, they are eating up quite a bit of space to become a gimmick. As these bars also not go through the standard quality tests for all barbells from rogue, some of them lack in quality. Especially during COVID where some extra people were hired.

Alternatives to the branch and beam

Alternatives to the branch and beam are:

Fat gripz are an easy and cheap way to turn a barbell into a branch. These are made of plastic and can be wrapped around the bar to make it thicker.

Pinch blocks can be used to simulate the beam. Combined with straps and a carabiner you can hook up kettlebells, dumbbells, and barbells to your liking.

Log bars are an essential training tool for strongman athletes as no competition goes without a log bar lift. The neutral grip also challenges the regular deadlift setup.

Conclusion for the branch and beam

The branch and beam are great tools for serious strongman athletes or gyms who like to mix things up regularly. With pinch blocks and fat gripz you can simulate similar stress to the body, without eating up as much space in your home gym.