It has the sharpest knurl I’ve used too (other than the omni deadlift bar which is uncommon).
I can tell a difference between the Texas deadlift bar and the okie as far as whip. One bumper plate makes them about equal though.
When you only compete in three lifts, skill does come into the equation more IMO. It can make a bit of difference practicing how you play.
Been a lot of replies but ima drop my 2 cents given ur new context and everybody else’s input. I’ve used all these bars so can compare em alright but they are all solid:
Texas Power Bar: some people are fans of it. That being said in terms of training on something close to comp most lifters would like different options because while their deadlift bar gets used often the power is used relatively rarely in comps in favour of other bars (see below).
The Eleiko power bar is often used in comps, is considered the best, but is expensi.
The Rogue Ohio Power Bar is reasonably priced and performs similarly to an Eleiko. Wud recommend.
The Strongarm Sport Power Bar and Bells of Steel Power Bar (they are the same bar I think) perform as well as an ohio power bar (maybe a bit less stiff) at a budget price because made in China (still good value). If buying in bulk worth seeing if u can get a deal on shipping for these because their shipping isn’t as strong as bigger companies.
There are quite few other bars that are close and around about this standard from various brands like the Rep Fitness Power Bars I forget what they are called but if u wanna please powerlifters I’d have at least a few of this level of power bar. Can go cheaper or shittier with the rest if your facility is big or will cater to general fitness/barbell training.
That’ll please the USAPL peeps. For other feds where squat and deadlift bars are used probably need a few of them as well:
Texas Deadlift Bar is the gold standard like how the Eleiko is considered the premium power bar.
Rogue Ohio Deadlift Bar is popular because Rogue but it only does a decent job of everything a deadlift bar does unlike their power bar which is excellent. So thats knurl and whip pretty much when looking at a deadlift bar and Texas outperforms Rogue easily.
Couple of other brands are coming out with their own deadlift bars e.g. isellfitness now but there not too many to choose from at least compared to power bars where dozens of companies make em. Can’t speak to the quality of many either.
I own a strongarm sport sumo deadlift bar which I love for doing me cheat deadlifts with and consider it excellent in every way. That being said I can’t recommend Strongarm Sport because their quality control is meh (a friend bought a conventional deadlift bar and the knurling was dull vs my bar). If u can get a guarantee of return for bars that aren’t up to scratch then maybe worth a shot because Strongarm Sport Deadlift bars are a bit cheaper.
Just ordered a Texas deadlift bar. I will order a stainless rogue power bar when they come back in stock.d
When I first started using a DL bar I expected to pull more but my deadlift was down by maybe 30lbs or so, it threw me off a lot and it took a while to get it back on track. At one WPC meet there was a guy who had only done IPF-affiliated meets before and was laughing at how ridiculous it was to have a bar that bends so you can pull more. Later that day I watched him grind out his last warmup, then reduce his opener which was the only deadlift he manage on the platform that day.
Relatively fancy. Nice. FWIW stainless might be a bit stainless might be overkill depending on the climate where ur at.
I’ve been using a few bare steel bars for a few months now no issue, just brush em down and oil once a month. To be fair it’s dry where I live.
The black zinc bars at my gym haven’t rusted in the 3 or so years they have had them. It is humid in my state. The black zinc will wear off a bit. Only like 30$ more than bare steel here, but stainless is way more.
I have a bare steel Rogue DL bar, I only brushed it with oil once in over 2 years and I actually want it to corrode a bit because the knurling is too sharp (the coated rogue bars are fine) but it’s not happening. And it’s in a basement that gets very humid in the summer, if I don’t keep the dehumidifier running then anything wet won’t dry.
Bad news big fella I think it’ll stay pretty sharp. Just turn brown a bit. Maybe take a steel wire brush drill head and try take the tops of the knurl to make it more volcano like instead of just a spike
It’s already less sharp than when I first got it, but it’s a slow process. I don’t want to do anything that could actually fuck up the bar, so I will just leave it. At least I know if I can pull on this one then I will never complain about the knurling in a meet. Last meet I did they announced that were were using a brand new rogue DL bar, I was worried it would be razor sharp but it wasn’t nearly as bad as mine and that was when I realized that the coating makes a big difference. Not worth being cheap sometimes.
Some people like the raw feel. Fair enough for anything other than hook gripping. With aggressive knurl just seems to stick as u are trying to set up and pull the slack out ur hands. Bar hangs really low in my long as fingers so setting up on an aggressive bar takes some time. I think the best hook grip is actually on a medium-high level knurling aggro bar like me sumo deadlift bar.
Yeah condoms are no fun.
There’s nothing to like about the feeling of the knurling on a bare steel rogue DL bar, but the coated ones I have used at meets are just fine. It was easier on my hands when I was pulling sumo because almost half my hand was on the smooth part, since I pull hook grip it was just crushing my thumbs but not tearing them apart. With conventional it feels worse on the thumb, but I actually started gripping a bit differently so it’s more in my palm, a bit easier on my thumb but more peeling and tearing on the rest of my hand. As long as I don’t do a lot of hook grip volume I’m fine (and I don’t do much volume anyway), and I don’t need to worry about any bar in a meet either.
The only real bonus is it makes the skin on my hands thicker.
most damage to me hand is at the base of my middle and ring finger. Me thumb is fine. I think the skin bunches up there a bit with the way I hook and mega aggressive knurl exacerbates.
Update…
Ordered the texas DL bar. I think it will be more for training fun. I am a believer successes, wherever they come from… drive training excitement and desire. So work in the Texas bar and lift a little more weight.
Also ordered a rogue power bar. I was really wanting the stainless, but other one came in stock and saved me a couple bucks. Who knows when we will see calibrated plates back in stock.