Synergee Hex Bar

[GarageIron]

I haven't done one of these posts in a LONG time, so please bare with me. I'm in the process of rebuilding my home gym and picked up a few things. Figured I would share one of the items that came in today.

Synergee Hex Bar, 25KG. Made in China. The bar is available in two versions. 25kg or 20kg(no raised handles) each with 2 coating options (Black Phosphate or Chrome).
After searching various options from the usual suspects, limited availablity, prices, etc... I decided to give this one a whirl. I went with the 25kg Black Phosphate at $279CDN including shipping (US price on their website is $259). This was the most expensive of the 4 options. The 20kg version is priced at $199 and the Phosphate coating is a $10 premium over chrome on both.

First thing I noticed was the bar had punched through the packaging during delivery. Oh boy. There was no damage though (and I'm not a picky as I used to be)



The bar was originally well packaged (in concept) with wood boxes at either end of the box to support the bar and faom protected handles. At some point this setup failed during shipping and the bar popped out.



The specs off of the shredded box.



The bar was covered in some sort of ghostbusters style ectoplasm. Incredibly greasy. I didn't like that very much but It cleaned up reasonably well. Also you can see the welds here.. not great. They all look like this but this one is extra ugly. One of the welds (not pictured) looks like it was repaired after the bar was coated. I'll post a pic of that if anyone is interested but it seems I limited to 6 uploads in this post. Not the Rogue/Black Widow type of quality that I'm used to but it will do.



Both the raised and lower handles and knurled and the knurl is rather nice, aggressive and well done. Even though the handles were wrapped in foam during shipping, the knurling is damaged in 4 locations, 2 flat spots on each raised handle.. almost like the box was dropped on a conveyer or something with 2 rails that bashed the knurl flat. Not the end of the world but still a bit disappointing. The rust looking material in the background of this photo is not rust, it is some of that creepy grease that I missed.



Below you can see the 4 flattened knurl spots on the raised handles. The sleeve fit the plates perfectly, nice tight fit. Only one use so far but it was nice to use. Lots of room inside the bar (20' front to back and 23" between the handles). It feels well balanced and handles are well placed. Not convinced it was the best use of capital as I know there are better options out there, but aside from the issues I listed above (which are quite a few really), the bar is ok. No plans to return or complain to the company. While I'm sure they should improve on the quality I'm just looking forward to using it.

[urbanlifter]

Welcome back to the home gym scene GarageIron!!!!

[grumpytude]

nice bar- it will get the job done!

[dragon360]

Been wondering about these for a bit now GI - thanks for the review. Definitely clears up some questions I had.

[jdboyd78]

I have a BWTG hex bar, which has served me well for years, but it has no knurl. I'd like to get one @ some point with knurl without breaking the bank. This will be in the running for sure.