Rogue Squat bar vs Davidsdottir bar

This is a comparison of the Rogue Squat bar and the Davidsdottir bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

Overview and review Rogue Bella bar Davidsdottir

This overview of the Davidsdottir bar was originally published in my comprehensive guide on which Rogue barbell to buy. If you are currently considering to buy a Rogue barbell it is worth a read to get input on the latest models. I update the guide on a yearly basis depending on Rogue's new releases.

Price 375$

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the Rogue bella bar Davidsdottir

The Rogue Bella Davidsdottir edition pays tribute to two times female Crossfit champion Katrin Davidsdottir. It comes with her sledge dog logo and has the Rogue logo imprinted. The effects are achieved by Rogue's cerakote finish which they have adjusted from the gun industry.

The bar base is derived from the Bella bar, the "female" version of Rogues flagship Ohio bar. It is made to IWF standards and comes in at 15kg. The diameter is 25mm and the loadable sleeve length comes to 13.00. The sleeves rotate via bushing and the bar withstands 190K Tensile strength. The whip is good to accommodate its versatile use.

If you like blue and Iceland this is the bar for you. This is also a bar which will especially tailor to the needs of women, as the international standards differ from the men's bars. If you like blue, you are from Europe and like Crossfit, this is a good bar for a home gym or as a special edition to your commercial gym. The higher price compared to the original Bella bar might make it a bad choice when you want to buy in bulk.

Pros of the Davidsdottir

A nice design which inspires you to think of Katrin Davidsdottir's wins in the Crossfit games. It might be bought is a package with the Thor power bar so that a couple can train in the home gym. It is an all-around bar which is up to the task.

Cons of the Davidsdottir

The Davidsdottir bar is currently only available with Cerakote sleeves. These are more likely to show wear and tear from the plates. If you use it at home and want to keep it crisp consider getting bumper plates instead of steel plates with this bar. You can also wait until Rogue offers it with chrome sleeves like the chan bar. The design might not flow as nicely then.

Conclusion

If you need a 15kg barbell which looks good and has been built on the solid foundations of the Rogue Bella bar this is the one to go for. On top of that you also get to connect to champions mind whenever you lift. If you do not want to invest the few extra dollars for the Cerakote design there is still the bella bar is a more cost effective alternative.

Learn more about the specs of the Rogue Davidsdottir barbell and purchase on the Rogue website

Overview and review of the squat bar

The Rogue squat bar is a 32mm long sleeved version of Rogue bars to maximize what you can squat. Here are the pros and cons.

The Rogue squat bar is a special design that focuses on squatting at $445. The main differences to regular bars are

Bigger circumference 32mm
Longer shaft
Fully knurled
Longer sleeves

This makes it a bar that is aimed at big, heavy squatters. It could also be interesting for some deadlift experiments as the elephant bar from the Arnold has not gone into mass production yet. The specifications of the bar are:

Made in the USA
Weight: 25 KG
Diameter: 32mm
Stainless Steel Shaft - 200,000 PSI
Aggressive Knurl Pattern along full length of shaft + powerlifting and center knurl marks
Bar Length: 94.488
Distance Between Sleeves: 56"
Loadable Sleeve Length: 16.795"
Chrome Sleeves
Bronze Bushings

Pros of the squat bar

The pros of the squat bar compared to other bars are in the name. The design features are inbuilt to maximize big squats.

Longer sleeves
Longer shaft
Full knurling
32mm

Longer sleeves will enable you to put more weight on the bar with rubber or steel plates. If you see Ray Williams squatting you can get an idea of why he might run out of space on the sleeves.

32mm stainless steel will keep the whip at bay. While you want whip in an Olympic barbell to make use of momentum to get the bar overhead, it is not a desirable feature in a squat bar. You want to minimize 1000 pounds taking a life on their own on your back.

The full knurling will provide more grip to your back. There are other bars out there with center knurls which does almost the same thing for you.

The longer shaft will make it less like for you to bump into the rack when oh are walking out very heavy weights. Depending on your setup this can be annoying. I injured myself twice because of twisting my upper body when walking out of a setup and touching off the j cups.

Cons of the squat bar

The cons of the squat bar are

No IPF / IWF approval
Space requirements
Limited use
Price

If you are considering the squat bar because you want to break records, keep in mind that it is not approved for the IPF or IWF. You will still earn respect for posting the first 500kg raw squat, which this bar is basically built for, but it won’t count in these federations.

If you are setting up your home gym in a very crammed place, keep in mind that this bar will protrude even further to the sides. If you have already cut it very thing with the distance of your bar to the wall or another rack, the squat bar might just push it over the edge.

The squat bar is mainly limited to squats. As it has bushing and knurling all across the bar it might not be the best option for Olympic lifts, the bench press, and deadlifts.

For the price you are looking at you can get more versatile barbells for your home gym with a cooler design. If you are setting up your home gym the squat bar might not be the go-to option.

Alternatives to the squat bar

Alternatives to the squat bar are

The Rogue Chan bar is a good alternative for mere mortals who don’t squat 400kg. It is cheaper than the squat bar, has a poppier design and can also be used for Oly lifts. If I was to spend $400 on a starter barbell for my home gym it would be this one.

The duffalo bar is an interesting bar for people who squat 800 pounds plus on a regular basis. This bar has been invented at Kabuki strength which is headed by Chris Duffin. The design is aimed at relieving stress on the shoulder while bench pressing and squatting. This is a very interesting second bar to buy instead of the squat bar, even though it costs $200 more.

Summary for the squat bar

The squat bar is a great bar for someone who actually needs it. This would be people who squat more than 300kg on a regular basis. There are not that many of them around. I personally think for a second barbell in your home gym you are better off going with safety or duffalo bar.vs Squat bar