Rogue stainless lat bar vs grandfather clock grip

This is a comparison between the Rogue stainless lat bar and the grandfather clock grip 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 Grandfather clock grip system

This is an overview of the Rogue Grandfather clock grip system 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 Grandfather Clock grip system

Price: $56.50

The grandfather clock grip system is part of the grip system of Rogue. This system includes the Pinch blocks, cannonballs grips, grandfather clock, and globe. The grandfather attachments are one of the easiest out of the line up to master whereas the pinch blocks and the globe are at the harder end of the spectrum. The full specifications of this item are:

Made in the USA
Length: 6"
Diameter: 1.875"
Steel tube with welded loop
Available to order with Rogue Grip System (straps and carabiners)
Color: Black
Knurling: None
Applications: Towel Grip Pull-Ups, Farmer’s Carries, and more

This is a great addition to any gym framed by the rogue grip system. Ideally, you get all components in the set.

Pros of the Grandfather clock grip system

Pros of the grandfather clock grip system:

Versatile
Easy to use
Cheap

Compared to other options to train your strength, the grandfather clock grip is relatively cheap. It can also be attached to various weights or racks using the strap and carabiner system from Rogue. This makes it easy to use, install, and transport. Not a lot you can do wrong with these.

Cons of the grandfather clock grip system

Cons of the grandfather clock grip system are:

Unstable
Shorter than a climbing rope
Easy to lose

The grandfather clock system is a great way to simulate rope climbs if you have low ceilings. Still, they are not a rope and therefore provide only a simulation and not the real thing. The grips will also be quite wobbly. If you don’t like this in your training go with an alternative that is attached to the rack like the spheres or the crown pull up bar. Apart from all of this, if you have a big gym, travel a lot, or have a lot of people using these grips, it is easy to lose them.

Alternatives to the grandfather clock grip system

Alternatives to the grandfather clock grip system are:

The Rogue climbing cross-member simulates a climbing wall on your rogue rack. A couple of these will work best when installed on a longer rig or daisy-chained racks. This setup is only minimally more expensive at $85 and provides stable grips which will be more challenging for your finger strength. This is the better option when you want to train for actual climbing and you do not want to get every tool under the sun.

A climbing rope is a classic tool to train grip and arm strength. A good rope climber always has a strong grip, too. When I used to do Judo semi-professionally we always ended the session with ten ropes in camp. They are a great tool as long as you have a high ceiling. If you do not have a high ceiling or want to avoid heights, then the grandfather grips are an alternative, but no replacement for the real thing.

The crown pull up bar is the best pull up attachment you can get for your rack. In terms of value for money, you get many different grip variations for only $225. If you were to buy all the attachments to get to the same amount of variety you would pay more. You will get narrow, wide, and neutral pull-up setups and two different sized spheres.

The cannonball and pinch blocks are better options if you already have a climbing rope and want to save money. I see the pinch blocks, cannonball grips, and grandfather as a whole to be bought together and not separately. However, that can bring the bill to $300 -$500, which not everyone is willing to pay. If you get the whole set for your home gym, you will not regret it as it is versatile and keeps grip training interesting.

Conclusion for the grandfather clock grip system

The grandfather clock grip system is the best option from rogue to compress rope climbing into a confined. Combined with the pinch blocks and cannonballs you get a powerful grip orchestra. If you have space, hang a rope from your high ceiling to get even better results.

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.

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.