Rogue IWF olympic women bar and the Castro bar
This is a comparison of the IWF women bar and the Castro bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details
Overview and review of the Rogue Castro bar [Article, Video]
This is an overview of the Rogue Castro bar which is made of bare steel and therefore very cost efficient. This article was originally oublished under "Which Rogue barbell to buy". Follow the links to learn more.
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Price 275$
Overview
The Castro bar is a bare steel bar which comes closest to what you find in most commercial gyms. This is the lowest price tag you can get from Rogue for a full barbell. This makes it a good fit for anyone on a budget who has to buy a lot of barbells or expects them to be stored outside/transported often. For those scenarios, it is a waste of money to get anything that it pretty or elaborate in function.
The Castro bar weighs 20kg and comes in at 28.5mm diameter. It can take up to 190K PSI tensile strength with a good whip. The knurling is standard and the sleeves are attached via bushing. The loadable sleeve length is 16.50. Based on this it is the lowest priced multi-purpose bar available from rogue. Other bars are either special use or designed for children.
The Castro bar is the option to go for if you want to go spend as little as possible while still maximising the training options. If your gym/facility can also live with the fact, that these bars might look quite beaten up pretty fast, even better.
Pros of the Castro bar
The ultimate reason for the Castro bar are the costs. You still get a Rogue bar which is made in the United States at relatively low prices. The bar still goes through the same basic quality checks and holds a warranty. There are other vendors out there who might send you a bar with a lower price tag. Think twice whether you will get the same customer service, warranty and quality checks which only slightly retails over the cost of the raw materials, never mind the labour.
Cons of the Castro bar
A big con of the Castro bar is the bare steel. This finish is likely to show corrosion and use. This means you will need to take more care of it and maintain it more often. If you already have the labour and the necessary equipment to clean bare steel, you might even turn this into a plus. If you want to drill discipline into a bunch of new recruits you might get in a barbell cleaning session once a month on top of the other equipment maintenance you do.
Learn more about the specs of the Rogue Castro bar and purchase on the Rogue website
Overview and review of the IWF Olympic women bar
Rogue updated their line up in 2019 with several IWF standard products so you can run weightlifting competitions. Here are the pros and cons.
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The IWF Olympic women barbell is the IWF approved women bar from Rogue. The main differences to the men’s bar are the weight, the diameter and the price of $525. This bar meets the standards to be used by Olympians. I n addition rogue added a design with Cerakote which makes it one of the first barbells with IPF approval which is just not plain steel. The specifications of the bar are:
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Made in Columbus, OH, USA with US and EU Steel
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Women’s Bearing Bar (International Weightlifting Federation standards)
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Bar Weight: 15KG
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Shaft Diameter: 25MM
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215,000 PSI Tensile Strength EU Steel
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Olympic Knurl Marks (no center knurl)
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Bar Length: 79.14"
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Distance Between Sleeves: 51.50"
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Loadable Sleeve Length: 12.50"
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Black Cerakote Color Finish w/ Chrome Sleeves
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Official IWF branding on center of shaft and endcaps
If you always wanted some an Olympic barbell with some extra design this one is for you.
Pros of the Cerakote IWF women bar
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IWF approval
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Price
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Design
The Cerakote women bar is one of the few bars of Rogue which Cary the prestigious IWF approval. This means that it is build to the highest demands which live up to the bar being used by Olympians. The IWF has the strongest demands on sticking to their specifications with a minimum margin for error to keep competitions fair and comparable. Compared to Eleiko bars the Rogue bar is comparatively cheap to achieve the same goal.
Cons of the IWF Cerakote bar
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Cerakote coating
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Cost
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Design
The Cerakote coating is not an ideal combination with steel plates. These bars also do not will with metal rack pins. Cerakote tends to scratch a lot faster than stainless steel on metal to metal contacts.
The cost of the Cerakote IWF women bar is considerable when you combine it to the lower Rogue ranges. If you are looking for an all-purpose bar for your home gym or CrossFit bis you can get more bars for the same money.
If you don’t look at this design it works against rather than for this bar. In commercial settings, you might also want to keel the colors and the design more neutral based on the clientele you would like to attract.
Alternatives to the IWF Cerakote bar
The Rogue Ohio bar is the workhorse option from Rogue. This is the all-purpose bar from where the entire Rogue production line started. A solid bet at a reasonable price.
The Rogue Pyrros bar has been finalized by Rogue and the finest Olympic weightlifter of all time to produce the finest Olympic weightlifting bar there is. If you want the household name of the Greek lifting god in your home or gym, this is the bar to go for.
The Rogue Thor bar is another option for someone who wants more than a plain design but leans more towards powerlifting. The Thor bar sleeves are longer and can there fit more plates.
Summary for the IWF Cerakote barbell
If you like the design over stainless steel for an IWF approved barbell this is the way to go. If you are looking for a CrossFit bar save yourself $200 and get the Rogue Ohio barbell.