Xmark Barbell??? Really?

[doberman13]

This is my first post here, I'm excited to be part of the forum. I have a home gym in my garage (20ftx20ft) mainly outfitted by Edge Fitness Systems (Rack, GHD, Row/Dip Unit, Hyper Extension etc..). I currently use a Texas Power Bar which is a great bar but I am looking to add a few new bars to my collection. I am probably buying the Texas Deadlift Bar today as deadlifting is my favorite lift but I want to add a second power bar/multi use bar to my collection.

I was going to pull the trigger on the Rogue 2.0 but they sold out. Then I found this Xmark Crowbar on the adamant barbell site ( I cannot link due to my post count)

The specs on it look great. You can get it on amazon for around $330-$340 shipped.

Can I get some feedback thoughts? I never would have considered an xmark product, let alone barbell, as a top quality option?

This is the description from the site:

As of writing, this is THE most insanely strong bar we sell, and every part of the bar is constructed with unique top-of-the-line materials that make it unlike any other bar out there. First, the shaft. It's made of Chromium Molybdenum, a steel alloy that extremely strong (240,000 PSI to be exact) and corrosion-resistant. The low carbon content of this steel means it will still flex a bit, making it suitable for olympic lifts, while still stiff enough for powerlifting squats. The shaft also has dual finger marks with IPF and IWF spacing. Why should a manufacturer choose one or the other? Why not both? Now everyone is happy! No, we're still not done describing how awesome the shaft is. It's coated with a black manganese phosphate finish. We had never even heard of that material before. It applies as a ultra-thin coating much like black oxide, making the bar feel almost like bare steel, but it's got better corrosion resistance. Black oxide needs some oil on it to really work. This stuff doesn't. The chrome-plated sleeves are the only ordinary thing about this bar. But take a look underneath and you'll find lubricated copper-alloy bushings that give the sleeves a good spin. What more could you ask for? They thought of everything. This is the ultimate bar. Environment: All - Clubs, college and high school gyms, home. Exercises: Everything. 7ft Long Black Manganese Phosphate Finish / Chrome Sleeves 28mm Diameter 240,000 PSI 1500lb Static Test Copper Bushing Sleeves No Center Knurling Medium Depth Knurling Weight: 20kg / 44lb Additional Specs: Model: crowbar Weight: 44lbs Manufacturer: XMark Fitness

[PtReyesGreg]

That bar does sound interesting. The Amazon customer reviews do seem a bit suspicious to me, though. They were all made within a 2 day period and all were from people in Shreveport and Bossier City which is the same area where XMark seems to be located. That seems a little "coincidental". However the description of the bar does sound like it is a tank.

[doberman13]

That bar does sound interesting. The Amazon customer reviews do seem a bit suspicious to me, though. They were all made within a 2 day period and all were from people in Shreveport and Bossier City which is the same area where XMark seems to be located. That seems a little "coincidental". However the description of the bar does sound like it is a tank.

I agree and do not trust the reviews one bit. I put a call into adamant barbell to see how many they've sold and what the feedback has been but I haven't hear back yet.

There is a video of this bar on google where they are dropping it loaded from a forklift and the damn thing doesn't budge. If someone with rep count could post it I would appreciate it. But it looks like a great bar for the price. I'm hoping to hear from someone who has actually come across it in the real world.

[cmarti063]

[cmarti063]

Not gonna lie, that is an awesome video. I wonder how they can use that steel and make it at that price... looks like a really decent bar. Buy it and do a full review.

[Paulie_G]

Not gonna lie, that is an awesome video. I wonder how they can use that steel and make it at that price... looks like a really decent bar. Buy it and do a full review.

Agreed. If CAP can do the OB86, then why couldn't Xmark do a legit, high end commercial bar? I'd love to see what Adamant to see what they think.

[doberman13]

Not gonna lie, that is an awesome video. I wonder how they can use that steel and make it at that price... looks like a really decent bar. Buy it and do a full review.

I think I'm talking myself into it.

[rlundregan]

I think I'm talking myself into it.

Be sure to write a thorough review with lots of pics. Someone will embed them for you if need be.

Too bad GarageIron isn't still trying to destroy bars and shooting video of the results, that would be interesting to see....

THat is a great price for that bar with those specs. I have to wonder if they didn't cut some corners somewhere in the way they made the sleeves to keep the price down.

[cmarti063]

Be sure to write a thorough review with lots of pics. Someone will embed them for you if need be.

Too bad GarageIron isn't still trying to destroy bars and shooting video of the results, that would be interesting to see....

THat is a great price for that bar with those specs. I have to wonder if they didn't cut some corners somewhere in the way they made the sleeves to keep the price down.

It seemed to spin well enough after the uneven drop...

[Bench905]

Agreed. If CAP can do the OB86, then why couldn't Xmark do a legit, high end commercial bar? I'd love to see what Adamant to see what they think.

If the XMark specs are legit, they blow away the OB86. This is showing 240k tensile and the OB86 is 130k. The OB86 is recommended because of it's price point.

[Paulie_G]

If the XMark specs are legit, they blow away the OB86. This is showing 240k tensile and the OB86 is 130k. The OB86 is recommended because of it's price point.

No, no, no. You misunderstood my post. I was simply making a point that a run of the mill home equipment company could do something right. Of course the Xmark specs are in a different league.

[rlundregan]

It seemed to spin well enough after the uneven drop...

It did.....and I really don't know the first thing about manufacturing bars.....but 240k tensile strength should put that bar in the league of Ivanko.....how are they making it so cheap?

I own both an Ivanko and a CAP OB-86B, as well as a couple of other bars. One of the big differences between the CAP and the Ivanko is the amount of play in the sleeves. The Ivanko has none, while the CAP has a fair amount of play. I guess this is really what I was getting at above.

[cmarti063]

It did.....and I really don't know the first thing about manufacturing bars.....but 240k tensile strength should put that bar in the league of Ivanko.....how are they making it so cheap?

I own both an Ivanko and a CAP OB-86B, as well as a couple of other bars. One of the big differences between the CAP and the Ivanko is the amount of play in the sleeves. The Ivanko has none, while the CAP has a fair amount of play. I guess this is really what I was getting at above.

Gotcha. Yeah, the specs are insane on this bar. I'd take an OB-86B and $200 cash over a Rogue. I wonder if this bar will compare similarly with Ivanko, like is it really worth the extra cash for whatever the difference ends up being. Hope OP puts the order in and does a quality review.

[Bench905]

It did.....and I really don't know the first thing about manufacturing bars.....but 240k tensile strength should put that bar in the league of Ivanko.....how are they making it so cheap?

I've never seen a bar at 240k tensile. Aren't the top Ivanko and Eleiko bars at like 215k to 218k? Not saying I don't believe XMark, but I'm skeptical.

[rlundregan]

I've never seen a bar at 240k tensile. Aren't the top Ivanko and Eleiko bars at like 215k to 218k? Not saying I don't believe XMark, but I'm skeptical.

Yes, you are correct about Ivanko and Eleiko. I kind of share your skepticism.

Who knows, maybe stronger steel is fairly cheap these days. I think Vinko mentioned something a while back about the sleeve construction being somewhere around 80% of the cost of a bar. I don't recall the exact quote, but it is somewhere in the Ivanko thread.

[ctgblue]

So I'll be able to curl in the squat rack with it, then drop it on the stops and it'll be fine???

I mean I curl 4 plates a side, when I can find eight 2.5lb plates that is...

[Northernmoris]

What about the Excalibur by Rep Fitness?

[rlundregan]

Gotcha. Yeah, the specs are insane on this bar. I'd take an OB-86B and $200 cash over a Rogue. I wonder if this bar will compare similarly with Ivanko, like is it really worth the extra cash for whatever the difference ends up being. Hope OP puts the order in and does a quality review.

Given their attention to detail, I have to think that Ivanko is likely worth every extra dime over the Xmark.

I would also be curious as to how the Xmark bar compares to the Texas Power Bar. They are closer to each other in price point, and the TPB did seem to have some quality control issues later last year.

[Northernmoris]

So I'll be able to curl in the squat rack with it, then drop it on the stops and it'll be fine???

I mean I curl 4 plates a side, when I can find eight 2.5lb plates that is...

Lmao. Reps

[doberman13]

Given their attention to detail, I have to think that Ivanko is likely worth every extra dime over the Xmark.

I would also be curious as to how the Xmark bar compares to the Texas Power Bar. They are closer to each other in price point, and the TPB did seem to have some quality control issues later last year.

Agreed. I doubt XMark is doing Xray and Ultra Sonic testing on their bars but for most commercial and home applications, why would the end user want to pay for that type of detail/assurance if they didn't need to? I think this could be a great find, I am still waiting to hear back from adamant so that I have at least some information to go on.

[doberman13]

The response from adamant was that they haven't sold any yet. Apparently it is a pretty new product having been released a few months ago. I think despite being a value from a feature standpoint, it is expensive for being an XMARK product.

Decisions decisions.

[Stasher1]

Not gonna lie, that is an awesome video. I wonder how they can use that steel and make it at that price... looks like a really decent bar. Buy it and do a full review.

Agreed. If I had seen that video before I bought my Quest bar, I definitely would've considered this bar as well.

[Bench905]

I agree and do not trust the reviews one bit.

The Amazon customer reviews do seem a bit suspicious to me, though. They were all made within a 2 day period and all were from people in Shreveport and Bossier City which is the same area where XMark seems to be located. That seems a little "coincidental".

And this is one of the reasons I'm skeptical. If you have a solid product, there's no reason for shill reviews. In addition to all 4 reviewers living in pretty much the same town and posting within a 2 day period, all 4 reviewers have only reviewed a single product - the XMark Crowbar.

[GarageIron]

Looks like another branded Gymway bar to me. To my knowledge they are the only manufacturer that uses Chome Moly and offer Manganese coating. Same as Vulcan and ForceUSA bars and bunch of others. The last I spoke to them they had a 216K spec but were working on other options.

[rlundregan]

Looks like another branded Gymway bar to me. To my knowledge they are the only manufacturer that uses Chome Moly and offer Manganese coating. Same as Vulcan and ForceUSA bars and bunch of others. The last I spoke to them they had a 216K spec but were working on other options.

How would you describe the quality of the Gymway products that you have seen?

[cmarti063]

Looks like another branded Gymway bar to me. To my knowledge they are the only manufacturer that uses Chome Moly and offer Manganese coating. Same as Vulcan and ForceUSA bars and bunch of others. The last I spoke to them they had a 216K spec but were working on other options.

What's your general opinion of gymway?

[GarageIron]

How would you describe the quality of the Gymway products that you have seen?

They are nice bars. I worked with them to design a run of 100 bars I was going to sell but ultimately backed out. Not because of the bars, because I saw them popping up everywhere else. Gymway has a few lines of bars with various customization options. You pick the bar, knurl pattern, coating, etc. and then you can adjust the details and add your logos. Here is an older model Force USA. The dead giveaway of a Gymway used to be the star cutout on the end cap, however they use solid caps now. I'm not saying this xmark is one for sure, but I'd be willing to bet it is. Gymway has made bars for some high end brands.

[Bench905]

I'm not saying this xmark is one for sure, but I'd be willing to bet it is. Gymway has made bars for some high end brands.

I'd bet on that too. Looking at XMark's fb page, a lot of their stuff looks rebranded.

Vulcan Strength has a bar with 240k tensile too: http://www.vulcanstrength.com/Men-s-...r-p/vstb-m.htm I'm guessing the same steel as the crowbar, but then Vulcan has bearings and a different finish.

And Vulcan Strength mentions Chro-Moly steel on another bar: http://www.vulcanstrength.com/Vulcan...p/vebb20bk.htm

[GarageIron]

I'd bet on that too. Looking at XMark's fb page, a lot of their stuff looks rebranded.

Vulcan Strength has a bar with 240k tensile too: http://www.vulcanstrength.com/Men-s-...r-p/vstb-m.htm I'm guessing the same steel as the crowbar, but then Vulcan has bearings and a different finish.

And Vulcan Strength mentions Chro-Moly steel on another bar: http://www.vulcanstrength.com/Vulcan...p/vebb20bk.htm

Yeah, they let you pick the finish, sleeves, internals, knurl, and so on. So each branded name is likely a bit different depending on what the vendor wanted. They just provide a menu of options.

[morebarbell]

It's surprising that someone who "worked tirelessly with the factory to come up with a patented collar design" would mistake the sleeves as being made of stainless steel.