I have a yet another question about best equipment choice for my gym's situation. I'm lucky to lift at place where ownership is making real efforts to make the place powerlifting-friendly. As part of this effort, they've agreed to purchase an all-purpose power bar. Currently, we have 2 old-school split sleeve Yorks that have held up for > 30 years and are still pretty good for pulls, aside from a bit of knurl wear, but they have no center knurl. The new bar would be primarily used for squats and pulls from the floor/blocks. The budget ceiling is around $350. As I mentioned in my previous platform thread, the gym is in a humid basement that sometimes gets wet due to plumbing issues. As a result, rust is a legitimate concern. The gym is seeking my input on what to purchase.
The candidates I currently have sent them based on my research include:
- Ohio Power Bar (45 pound version) (bare steel or black zinc)
- Texas Power Bar
- B&R Bar
- Westside Power Bar
- EliteFTS Power Bar (likely to go on sale Labor Day weekend)
Based on what I've read in other forums/sub-threads here, among all the bars above that have been in production a while, I'm leaning toward the Ohio Power Bar. It seems most people prefer it over the Texas Power Bar, and our gym will never be a good fit for weightlifting, making the dual knurl marks of the B&R of no value. I don't see a distinct reason NOT to consider the Westside model, but I also see no compelling reasons to buy it over the Ohio Power Bar. If anyone has a history with the B&R, Westside or Texas bar along with a compelling reason to consider it over an OBP or EliteFTS bar, I'm open. I'm just excluding all stainless models from consideration due primarily to price but also to the reduced strength ratings of these bars per Rogue. The gym isn't a hardcore PL gym, but we have to plan on idiotic gym bros occasionally dropping the bars onto pins or other such stupidity, so the stronger the better.
My primary questions:
- In a higher-moisture environment, would black zinc finishes be the best compromise between knurl and rust potential, or would you go with bare steel? Based on how positive most reviews of steel are, I tend to lean toward doing steel if available in the final model we decide on and spending the saved money on oil and a nice brush. Heck, I'll take over oiling responsibilities as long as I'm at the gym for all I care. It seems that oiling it at some regular interval should mostly take care of rust concerns.
- Does anyone have any thoughts on/experience with the new EliteFTS Power Bar? Depending on the extent of their Labor Day sales, it might represent an economical option. Additionally, I noticed it's 28.5mm vs. the more common 29, potentially making it slightly better for hooking deads for manlet-handed individuals such as myself. This is not a primary concern, as the Yorks we currently have are 27 or 28 based on feel
I'm open to other models not being considered as well, as long as it's <=$350. Feel free to include input outside the explicit scope of my questions. Thanks in advance all.