When I saw that EliteFTS was coming out with their own Power Bar, I emailed Matt Goodwin and said to ship me a half dozen.
Sight unseen.
They weren’t even available yet.
Matt did tell me they would be here in a few weeks, so, I waited like Al Bundy at the door when Peg said that she ordered him pizza. Peg did not order pizza.
Al’s pizza never came, but my bars did.
Why would I order 6 bars sight unseen when I could have grabbed some other bars that I knew were of the highest quality, such as the Texas Power Bar?
Well, I knew that if EliteFTS was putting their name on a Power bar it would be stellar. I also knew what to expect from other bars, such as the Texas bar.
I’ve been buying them for years, and love them. There are other manufactures who make good bars too, just not many I want to spend MY money on.
OK, of course I could have ordered one, but we needed new bars.
Why risk six on a sight unseen product?
There was no risk in my opinion. If Dave put the EliteFTS brand on it, I was fine.
So, along they came and we opened them up.
I was not disappointed.
Let’s go over the bar’s features and benefits:
AGGRESSIVE knurling with center knurl and Powerlifting marks:
I like aggressive knurling, some don’t. That’s because they have sissy hands with no callouses.
If you’ve been actually training for a while you develop callouses. That requires an aggressive knurl to dig into your man-hands.
The center knurl ensures it will not move when it is on your back for squats and good mornings.
By having the rings spaced for Powerlifting, we know our hands are in a consistent and legal spot.
Bronze Bushing bar:
I like bearing bars for some things and bushing bars for others.
If you don’t know what this means, here is the rundown:
An Olympic bar and a Power bar should revolve smoothly on the ends. You do not want a bar that does not revolve, like a Strongman axle when powerlifting or weightlifting.
A bearing bar is usually more expensive and rotates much faster and smoothly.
A bushing bar is a better alternative for our needs as Powerlifters. They revolve very smooth, but not as fast as a bearing bar.
A bearing bar is better for Olympic Weightlifting where you want a bar that spins fast, smooth and for a long time.
28.5 mm width:
This is ideal for what we do.
Not too thick, not too thin.
Like warm porridge, it’s just right.
2000 pound capacity with 190,000 PSI strength:
This is a confusing area for some to understand.
The 2000 pound capacity is easy to grasp. It means the bar will hold 2000 pounds without damaging it.
The PSI is where the confusion slips in. Many don’t understand what this means.
It simply measures the tensile strength of the bar, which means that amount of force needed to permanently damage it.
It is how much force the bar can take and still recover without a permanent bend in it if dropped.
Did you ever drop a bar on the safety pins in the rack, or drop one on your chest while benching?
A bar with a low PSI will bend easily and it will be no good after a few drops or one bad one.
As an example, an Eleiko bar has 215,000 PSI at almost three times the cost.
190,000 PSI for under $330?
That’s a winner.
Zinc Plating:
This is a no brainer.
Having high quality plating on a bar prevents it from rusting.
We have all kinds of bars at TPS, and sadly, it gets moist in here when the gym is full so, we have seen all kinds of bars need maintenance.
With moisture comes oxidation (rust), and that will ruin a bar fast. Many brands are not zinc plated, but finished with other methods.
I have found that zinc plated bars are virtually maintenance free.
And speaking of maintenance.
Snap Ring Ends:
Snap rings are good for some types of bars and not for others.
As an example, I have seen the snap rings fly out on low end weightlifting bars when dropped with as little as 225 from overhead.
Pinned bars are better for this.
A snap ring bar is fine for Powerlifting, and might be a better choice as you can easily disassemble the bar in about 3 minutes with a pair of snap ring pliers.
This allows you to clean and lubricate the revolving ends if you choose to do so, and you should.
An hour or so once every year or two cleaning and lubing your bars will extend their life by years.
So, now with the features and benefits listed, how did it perform?
We have had them about a month now and they get used all day in a gym full of strong(er) people.
I have used it almost exclusively in my training too.
From all but a few reports people LOVE them.
The only complaint I have heard is that the knurling is a little aggressive for some.
I told them to use more chalk.
I love them too, so much that I put a Proloc Bar Blocker on one, and it is MINE.
I’ve got a gym filled with virtually every bar on the planet and I use this one every session.
I cannot give it a better endorsement than that.
And we have two big events this weekend at TPS.
Instead of writing about them, just look at these pictures.
And, Did you miss my last log?
I think it is one you should read.
Click the picture below to read it right now.
Ask me a question-Be sure and Type to Murph in the header
Find me on Google-search for Total Performance Sports Malden, Mass. The Best Gym in Boston, Facebook too.
Oh, yeah, follow us on Instagram too. TPSMalden
SHARE THIS!
#bostonsstrongest
Vincere vel mori
By: C.J. Murphy
July 12, 2018