Can you tell what the major difference between this Safety Squat Bar and this Safety Squat Bar is?
Very close to $200.00
Well, the first bar ships for $8.00. I bought my bar from New York Barbells and paid $65.00 for shipping, for a total of $284.00. So, after all is said and done the total is more like $121.00. Still, it is the same, exact, bar.
I put a lot more time into some of these entries than you might suppose at first glance. Yesterday’s entry about Hills and Wind in central Ohio took several hours.
This entry has already taken much longer than I’d expected as I’ve been looking for a particular Safety Squat Bar. 
I think this one is the one I want, but I don’t care for the picture, and the manufacturer isn’t listed on the though here is the web site. Coincidentally, this bar is available from EliteFTS.com, at 138 Maple Street in London, Ohio. Which, if you’re a regular reader, you know is one leg of the bike ride I took last week.
Back to this bar. If you look at the picture you’ll notice the yoke prongs, while angled down, are offset from the down bend in the bar closest to the padding. I don’t think this bar would ever lay flat. Laying the bar portion flat will cause the yoke to extend up just a bit.
If you look closely at this picture and how the bar hangs in the rack you’ll see the yoke extending forward some. That is, not straight down.
This is the type of bar the gym I belong to has.
And … about an hour has passed since I typed that last bit. I knew I’d seen something, somewhere, mentioning the name of a particular SSB. I just found it. The bar mentioned is a Crepinsek. Which is the kind my gym has. It is sold by EliteFTS.
This is the first SSB I used and cost $135.00 more than the one I bought (Or, $355 before shipping and tax are added. $402 after both are added). It, honestly, feels better on my neck and shoulders than the one I purchased; it has more padding and the way the yoke is attached — it pokes forward instead of straight down as it sits in the rack — puts it on the shoulders a little better.
Four hundred and two dollars is a lot to pay for a bar. And I don’t know that I’d drive to London to save the $20.00 in shipping. Oh yes … I’ll pedal my bike there on a whim … but drive to save $20.00??? And yet, it’s just $175.00 more than I paid. I’m tempted to say that knowing what I know now, I’d pay the extra for this bar. I just don’t know.
The $400 bar is rated for 1500 pounds. The bar I bought is rated for 1000 pounds. Or, about 1200 and 700 pounds, respectively, more than I’ll ever put on them. (And only then if Pat Roberson is over for the weekend and is in the mood for some squatting and good mornings.)
The top bar in this picture is the bar I own. You’ll notice the yoke points straight down as it sits in the rack.
My first impression of the bar was that it was not as comfortable as the bar we have at the gym. It seemed to sit too far forward on my neck, putting pressure on the back of it. The shoulder padding was not as comfortable either. I briefly considered returning it. Upon further reflection I decided I’d see what I could do to make it more comfortable. As far as form went — the squatting motion — it was fine.
As I’m a guy, I never throw anything away and I have a bunch of old ratty towels. I rolled one into a, well, roll and placed it behind my neck. This seems to have done the trick as the bar sits back a bit further and doesn’t press on the back of my neck so much. This also makes it hit my shoulders a little better.
What would I recommend. If I were made of money, I’d buy the $400.00 bar from EliteFTS. As it is I am not unhappy with the bar I purchased from NY Barbells. It certainly meets my needs.
If you are looking to buy a SSB, be sure to look around before jumping in and buying something. It appears, based on web-site pictures, that a lot of vendors are selling the bar I bought. New York Barbells had the best price that I found.
Likewise, EliteFTS has the best price, I ran across, for a bar with the offset yoke.
Your mileage may vary.
