The Ultimate Barbell Buying Guide

Fewer items in the gym will have more of an impact on your weightlifting than the barbell. After all, the barbell is the only piece of equipment that comes in direct contact with your body aside from your shoes.

Barbells come in a variety of materials, knurling patterns, diameters, drop ratings, capacities and maintenance requirements that should be carefully considered before making an investment in the most important piece of equipment in the gym.

Given the gravity of this decision, for this post we've decided to assemble a comprehensive guide. We'll begin with a breakdown between the two big categories of barbells: powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting barbells.

What are the two types of barbells?

Powerlifting barbells (aka "power bars") are designed to facilitate the squat, bench press and deadlift. They tend to have the following characteristics:

• Rigid and unyielding. May have a 'no whip' or 'little whip' rating.
• Designed for 'maximum load'.
• Thicker shaft (29-31mm).
• Center knurling (mainly for the squat).
• Cheaper bushing sleeve joints.

Olympic weightlifting barbells are designed to facilitate the snatch and the clean & jerk. They have the following characteristics:

• Flexible and spring-like (aka 'whippy').
• Thinner shaft (28mm).
• May or may not have center knurling.
• Built to withstand being dropped repeatedly.
• Ball bearing sleeve joints to facilitate plate spin.

The next big factor to consider is what materials you want your bar to be constructed from.

What materials are barbells made out of?

Barbells are made out of a variety of materials and coatings these days.

Stainless steel is renowned for its durability, low maintenance, and its prohibitive price. Stainless steel is one of the few options that isn't a coating, so the knurling feels great. Stainless is easily the most premium option and a good choice if you can afford it.

Cerakote is an innovative new material known for its durability, fun colors, 'grippy' feel, and propensity to chip when it comes in contact with other metals. Like stainless, cerakote commands a premium price.

Bare steel is as strong as stainless steel at a much lower price point. The catch is bare steel bars will quickly rust in even the most favorable conditions. This is especially the case in a harsh environment like a garage. This is of course fine from a health standpoint. But without diligently scraping the rust off every month, a rusty bar can leave marks on clothes and be generally unslightly.

Hard chrome is a shiny, durable coating that holds up fairly well under favorable conditions. The problem with coatings like chrome is that they can affect the feel of the knurling and make it slightly slippery.

** Zinc/Nickel** is another plating technique similar to chrome, but with slightly better durability. Zinc bars typically come in two colors: 'bright' or black. Black is typically applied over the bright coating. Over time, the black coating can wear, exposing the bright layer.

Decorative chrome is common among bars that cost less than $100. A dead giveaway is if the product description simply describes the material as "chrome." Decorative chrome is a cheaper finish that can allow rust to form beneath the surface and chip fairly easily. Bars like these tend to omit details about the specifications about the bar, like its tensile strength, and tend to easily yield and break even under the most generous conditions. Buyer beware.

There you have it on materials. There's one final criteria you should consider before pulling out your wad of cash for a bar.

Size

Historically, weightlifting was a sport reserved for large dudes with handlebar mustaches, like this guy:

In recent times, weightlifting has enjoyed a surge in popularity among people of all anatomies and identities. And as more and more people adopted the sport, it became apparent that the default equipment wasn't suited for everyone -- particularly women.

The problems manifested themselves two ways:

• For people with small hands, the default bar width of 28-31mm can be difficult to hold on to during the snatch, clean, clean & jerk and deadlift.
• For untrained women and men under 125 pounds, the 20 kilogram bar is too heavy. Especially for the press, power clean, and power snatch.

So a smaller bar was developed and colloquially-termed the "women's bar." Whatever. Gendered terminology aside, these bars are compelling for several reasons:

• Their shaft diameter is 25mm instead of 28-31mm. A reduction of about about 12%.
• They weigh 15 kg (~35 lbs). A reduction of 25%.
• They're shorter at 201cm instead of 220cm. A reduction of 9%.

Honestly, as a six-foot-tall 175-pound man, I'm occasionally tempted to use the smaller bar. The thinner bar thickness makes me feel a lot more control over the weight. Although I haven't tried it, I bet I could deadlift more with the smaller bar as grip is a big challenge for me on that lift.

And surprisingly, despite the thinner material, every women's bar I've seen has the same load capacity as the men's bars in the same category. This begs the question, perhaps these bars aren't just made for women?

Unsurprisingly, I'm not the first person to have noticed this. Many smaller men and larger women athletes have voiced a preference for the other bar, and rumor has it the International Weightlifting Federation is considering loosening the rules around bar selection. How about that?

So, in not so many words, the idea I'm trying to convey is there's no shame in using the 15kg bar if you want to.

If you've made it this far, I'm impressed. Without further ado, here are my favorite barbells.

Best 20kg powerlifting bar: Rogue 45lb Ohio Power Bar

Runner up: American Barbell Elite Power Bar

Best 20kg Olympic weightlifting bar: Rogue Olympic Weightlifting Bar

Runner up: American Barbell California Bar - Elite Blackout

Best 15kg Olympic Weightlifting bar: Rogue 25mm Women's Training Bar

Runner up: The Bella Bar 2.0 - Black Zinc

Best 15kg Powerlifting bar: The Bella Bar 2.0 - Cerakote

Runner up: American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar

Best value bar: XMark Lumberjack Olympic Bar