Having a Rep Open Trap Bar in the home gym has become practically a meme. I have also fallen into owning one. I just couldn’t afford not to. In all seriousness, this thing is great as an open trap bar. They do claim a bunch of extra features and movements, like interchangeable handles and using it as a camber bar for squat and press. All of those things are possible, but not something that I have ever found myself going through the effort to set up. It is very large and heavy so getting into position would be challenging. The bolt for the handle isn’t crazy hard to change out, but I would not call say it is something I have any interest in doing during the workout with the intention to put it back when I am done for to swap for a different feel between exercises. The only thing I could see myself doing is adding on the wide handles to mimic a wider handle frame carry for a strongman comp that has that as an event. I would only add those while I have the prep for that event and then would go back to the handles that fit me best (narrow). I do hear great things about the Kabuki deadlift bar, but I have not gotten my hands on it. I could see myself switching if I liked the kabuki enough, and could even kind the kabuki. I also hear Eleiko did a great job on their open trap bar, but that would only be something I would consider after a few times getting hands on it and finding it used for a really good deal.

This is the only power bar that I have in my gym. Any time I think about upgrading, I have not been able to justify any good reason to do so. This is coming from a guy who has justified some far out purchases for his home gym. Really any Ohio Power Bar you get you are going to be more than happy with. At the price to quality to performance comparison, the zinc, e coat, and bare steel finishes are hard to beat. I do think the stainless finish is great. It is one of the bars I keep trying to justify upgrading to. The price to what you get out of it just doesn't add up in my opinion. I have had no issues with rust or any other surface problems on the bar after 4 years in a garage and basement gym. As “The” Ohio State fans might put it, it is “The” Ohio Power Bar. Enough said.

I have liked everything that I have used from Dean, and this really takes the cake. Firm believe now that all axles should be knurled. I have a smooth axle as well as I compete in strongman so having both is important as they both present in comp. The knurled version helps with the clean for axle and just makes it feel like a safer lift due to that increased contact to the hand. I would not go as far as to say that knurled axles reduce risk for bicep injury on axle cleans, but I think an argument for it could be made. If you are wanting a knurled axle, go with Dean at Black Widow. The powder coat alone will grip onto your hand. The quality to knurl on the hollow axle, which I assume is a bit harder than on a solid barbell, is incredible. I am sure he would make a solid axle if you needed one and would give the same treatment to. I would love to have a 45lb one that fits on the rack. I also bet he could do that in a custom order (if not already provided on the website). My only complaint is that it does not take normal collars. This is typical for axles so not really a fair complaint to make, but my Titan smooth axle does take normal collars and I have been spoiled by that. Just make sure you factor in buying axle collars into your budget.

I originally got this bar for my girlfriend who started to workout in my home gym and she loved it. However, over the course of about a month she went from liking the fact that the knurling was more passive, to hating how passive it felt and ended up using my ohio power bar as her daily driver. The knurling feels just like the ohio bar, but the 25mm shaft does make it feel even softer on the hand. Now this bar mostly gets used when I am butchering attempts at olympic lifting. The lower start weight at 15kg makes it great for guests who need a lighter weight, especially for overhead press. The bar itself is great. The price and quality are hard to beat. If the knurling is a good fit for you and your lifts then you will love this bar.

This bar is low on my list when it comes to bars to buy. If you are doing westside/ conjugate style training then this style of bar may be for you, but I know Titan sells basically the same exact thing for less. All that said, this bar feels fine and does the job you want from it without issue. I would not say it is that polished rogue product you may be used to. I would compare the quality to their axle. It is what they say it is and it works well. Not “pretty” doing it though. I doubt most people are thinking about that, but don’ t think you are getting something better than a cheaper version of this bar because it came from rogue. That school of thought does work a fair bit of the time though. From a practical standpoint, this thing is a pain to store and to move around. It is HEAVY. Not a bad thing, just keep in mind. I don’t think the attachments that mimic this type of bar on a barbell do a very good job. If you are in the market for this type of bar, then get the bar and save yourself on trying out the attachment.

Best squat bar for the money by far in my opinion. I love the full shaft knurling. This is also a great bench bar. If you are wanting a squat or bench bar pick this. The only other option that I think is close is from Texas. The main reason I like this over theirs is the full shaft knurling. Part of what you want on a squat bar is great grip for your back, and full knurling provides that best.

This is another bar for me that I could never justify the new price for. I just never needed it bad enough to spend that much money on something that would be mostly a stabilizer muscle builder for me. I am also not a fan of how their company goes after people online who post DIY versions of the bar. Not even for sale, just for their own personal use. I get there could be a safety concern, but quite a few of their posts do not come off as a company concerned for a persons safety. I got mine used for next to nothing so it was worth it for me. It is cool and does provide a good training stimulus where you can work on stability under load. Most other stability work will not be under much weight load. It is really good for overhead press. Squat and bench are harder to set up because when you hang weight from it with bands you have to wrap the bands in a way that the weight won't touch the ground when in the bottom of the lift. Not that hard, but a bit of a pain. KBs work best, but I doubt most people have enough pairs of matching KBs to use them that way. I just use matching bands and my 25s and lower. They do make some kind of strap system. I do thing that could be of some benefit, but I don’t think it would mimic the band instability as well. There is another version with a slit in the middle for bands to go in. I am sure that works fine, but I just like this one more. Easier to load over the sleeve than fit it inside a sleeve.

Aside from it not being 45 lbs, which most axles aren’t, I don’t really have anything negative to say about this bar. The price is great, the quality that you will expect from an axle bar is up to par, AND IT FITS NORMAL COLLARS! I believe Fringe sport makes an affordable 45lb axle so I could see myself adding that one to the gym, but I would likely keep this one as well. If you are interested in training your grip or strongman then this is a good bar to start your collection with.