Review: Ivanko OBXS-20kg-29mm Stainless Steel Powerbar

[DrForce]

In September 2012, I purchased an Ivanko OBXS-20kg-29mm stainless steel barbell, and after using it for awhile, I wanted to provide some initial impressions about the use and performance of the bar. I had started my home gym with the Ivanko OB-20kg which is excellent; however the non-standard knurl pattern made it difficult to deadlift without scraping my shins due to the narrow smooth area of the bar. Plus I liked the idea of having a stainless steel bar for the longevity and rust resistance. I live in Florida, so humidity is high for most of the year.

Buying: Ordering was straightforward. I purchased it online from Gtechfitness which was painless and hassle free.

Arrival: It arrived from Gtechfitness (actually they drop ship from Ivanko directly) in 8 calendar days (Figure 1). The ends of the container were a little smashed in (Figure 2) which had me initially worried, but when I opened the package there were no problems with the barbell sleeves. The only thing I was not happy about where some small scuff marks on the smooth portion of the bar itself (Figure 3). Initially I had thought about sending it back, but then realized it probably doesn't matter except cosmetically, and it will probably get more scuffed over it's lifetime of hard use. I doubt this was a shipping issue as there was no damage to the package in the middle.

Build Quality: As you would expect for an Ivanko product, the build quality is exceptional. The entire bar is stainless steel except for the bronze bushings that attach the bar to the sleeve (Figure 4). The sleeves turn very smooth and there is there is even a hole at the ends of each sleeve where you can apply oil if the sleeve no longer turns smoothly (Figure 5).

Use: I love using this bar. It feels solid in the hand and the knurl has a great feel. Compared to the black oxide OB-20kg, I have 2 comments: 1) When I first picked up the OBXS-20kg-29mm, I noticed that the knurling was sharper than the OB-20kg. This may be because this is a power bar and not an olympic bar like the OB-20kg. I've never felt the knurl on the OBX-20kg so I can't say whether there is any difference between knurls on the black oxide bars, but I thought this was worth mentioning. 2) The knurl placement is a big improvement for me over the OB-20kg, as the OBXS-20kg-29mm has a much wider unknurled part of the bar excluding the center knurl (Figure 6). I can deadlift without scraping my shins and the inside edges of the knurl pattern mark the right place to put my index fingers when doing overhead presses. I often see posts criticizing Ivanko barbells for their non-standard knurl pattern. I think this is mainly is because most people have only used or read about their black oxide bars and have never looked into the stainless steel bars. It's nice to know that Ivanko offers the standard knurl pattern if you are looking for it, albeit at a high cost.

Conclusion: What's not to love?: Quality product, stainless steel construction, 218,000 PSI tensile strength steel, excellent knurl. I love this bar and would buy it again. It feels and works great and I'm sure it will outlast me given its stainless steel construction.

Figure 1. Arrival - still in the package


Figure 2. Closeup of the package ends showing the smashed down edges


Figure 3. Closeup of the scuff marks on the smooth part of the barbell


Figure 4. The Bronze Bushing


Figure 5. The Sleeve End


Figure 6. Comparing the knurling between the Ivanko OB-20kg (top) and the OBXS-20kg-29mm (bottom)

[BloodType3R]

That's some sexy shet, right there.

[f0rbidden]

Damn I didn't know anyone owned one of these, has been on my radar for a long time! That bar looks truly awesome, thank you for the review!

Are they still using the 3 ring knurl marks, or does this only have the standard powerlifting knurl markings? Any chance of a full bar shot?

[GarageIron]

That is a beautiful bar. Thanks for the review.

[LimitStrength]

That is a beautiful bar. Thanks for the review.

That's a serious piece of steel. I hope one day to have a bar like that sitting in my garage

[DrForce]

Are they still using the 3 ring knurl marks, or does this only have the standard powerlifting knurl markings? Any chance of a full bar shot?

This bar only has the standard 32" powerlifting markings. No 3 ring knurl.

[GarageIron]

This bar only has the standard 32" powerlifting markings. No 3 ring knurl.

I've never understood the 3 ring pattern. Does anyone know why they do this?

The closest explaination I've seen was in an 'ask Tom" article.

He never really answered. He just attacked the guy that 'asked Tom' and tap danced around the question. That said, the guy asking was clearly asking a loaded question.

http://www.ivankobarbell.com/press/a...nko_part_4.pdf

[f0rbidden]

I've never understood the 3 ring pattern. Does anyone know why they do this?

To confuse the **** out of people and have people at powerlifting competitions accidentally bench with about a 6" grip offset and make an easy attempt go horribly awful.

See my buddy Alex here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n09in...tailpage#t=48s

[GarageIron]

To confuse the **** out of people and have people at powerlifting competitions accidentally bench with about a 6" grip offset and make an easy attempt go horribly awful.

See my buddy Alex here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n09in...tailpage#t=48s

Lol. He won't make that mistake ever again.

[DrForce]

I've never understood the 3 ring pattern. Does anyone know why they do this?

The closest explaination I've seen was in an 'ask Tom" article.

He never really answered. He just attacked the guy that 'asked Tom' and tap danced around the question. That said, the guy asking was clearly asking a loaded question.

http://www.ivankobarbell.com/press/a...nko_part_4.pdf

I tried asking that very question on this thread but never got a good answer. Someone in this thread provided the same reference you did.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...7725453&page=1

[Accutron]

Wow, thats an awesome bar...Man I wish I had that bar, full stainless just beautiful looking.

But its a $1,000 bar so I dont think I will be getting one anytime soon.

Congrats, enjoy!

[Detrus]

Nice, can you do a macro shot of the knurl?

[davidoff1974]

Nice shots! what kind of camera and lens did you use on the close up shots?

[ProtienandIron]

What a nice bar that is. The engineering on it looks flawless as always.

Don't worry about the scratch marks, they are just character. At least the damage is on an area thats going to get scratches and dings on it anyway.

[thejosef]

wow. just wow. dream bar right there. congrats for buying it and thanks for getting some real world shots of it. I didn't know of anyone who owned that bar. Shoot up some full length shots for us if you get a chance. I was actually looking into their OBS-20KG (their stainless olympic bar with multiple hand placement markings, narrower center smooth section, and no center knurl), but I love that they finally widened the section for deadlifts with this powerbar. It's my goal in life to own both of these one day. ha.

Edit: I really hope Ivanko makes a Black Oxide version of this powerlifting bar to have these same specs.. 29mm, single powerlifting hand placement marking, center knurl, with wider spacing in center for deads.. seems like it would sell well.. (if it were around the $500 range)

[DrForce]

Wow, I'm glad everyone found this review helpful. I have 2 more pics that everyone has been asking for: a full length shot of the bar and a closeup of the knurling. I had to zoom so far out to get the whole bar in the picture that you can't see much detail, but hopefully between all the picts you can get all the info that you need. Oh, someone asked about the camera that I used-It is a Nikon D700. Let me know if you guys have any more questions.

Full length bar shot


Knurling closeup around one of the powerlifting markings

[Detrus]

Dat knuurl

Knurl looks like it would feel just perfect. Hampton 7' bars have knurl that looks very similar and it feels great.

[Andrew_WOT]

Hard to tell from the picture, are knurling tips rolled down at all or left pointy like on TPB?

[MEDPILOT]

Thanks for the review.

[DrForce]

Hard to tell from the picture, are knurling tips rolled down at all or left pointy like on TPB?

I've never handled a TPB, but the knurl doesn't look rolled down at all to me. It looks and feels sharp.