Sorinex SS Bar or EliteFTS SS Bar?

[HuginnOrMuninn]

Sorinex Safety Squat Bar $350

EliteFTS Safety Squat Bar $425

Can someone provide feedback between these two bars? Everything I could find when searching seemed outdated because people were saying the Sorinex bar was overpriced at $616 - it seems they've since changed their pricing.

Anyway, from what I could find, it sounds like the EliteFTS is a solid bar, but I can't find much info or reviews on the Sorinex. Any advice?

[radrd]

You might want to check the shipping costs on those bars. Sorinex is $170 for me. Elite is $127. I'd wait for Titan to be back in stock, tbh.

[HuginnOrMuninn]

You might want to check the shipping costs on those bars. Sorinex is $170 for me. Elite is $127. I'd wait for Titan to be back in stock, tbh.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking for a "Made in the USA" ss bar since I'm building an entire gym of such products. When accounting for shipping (and tax), the totals are $516.01 for the Sorinex and $542.46 for the EliteFTS... so it's pretty close.

[Garage Rat]

Both quality bars,i have the SSyoke bar from EliteFTS.
Any bar with that type of coating will chip or peel putting on plate or in a rack with metal J hooks.
For me I'm more concerned about function that the aesthetics down the road from use.
EliteFTS has from time to to time either free shipping or a sales price on their bars.
That's when i bought mine five years ago.
Removable handles also with an option to buy longer handle separately.
Im totally happy with mine.
You might wait if you can if your interested in the SSyoke bar(one of my favorites by the way) and i have three others but not Sorenix.
Sorenix does make quality equipment though.
Good luck on what you choose.

[Duplicitous]

I have the Elite FTS and am happy with it. The paint job is designed to look nice when it arrives and that's about it. For what they charge I expected a better paint job, but the bar itself is great. I have read that the Titan SSB v2 is actually really close to the Elite bar, but I haven't personally used it.

[C123C]

I don't know anything about the Sorinex model and have never seen it reviewed by a qualified reviewer. They tend to make quality stuff so I'd be surprised if it wasn't decent.

For what it's worth I'll watch Coop's reviews and they are generally worthwhile and he does a great job at giving someone a look at the equipment before ordering. However, IMO he's not qualified to opine on SSBs beyond aesthetics and materials - this is pretty obvious from his SSB review. I think in a discussion I used the analogy of someone who has never driven a car reviewing super high end sports cars by the window sticker info. Not hating on the guy - he doesn't claim to be some mega lifter or guru, just a passionate enthusiast. That said, in certain areas you need real experience to add value beyond base observation and this is one of them.

Qualified opinions for SSBs fall into the camps of 1) equipment people with experience who know what they are looking at and 2) serious users who've spent time under multiple SSB options with heavy loads - both of these people historically favor the Crepinsek bar and Elite. Crep comes with a poor/marred finish and Elite's finish with decent use will soon become equally poor. That's simply the nature of the beast. You are buying a workhorse for training not a show piece. Crep bar comes without handles but Ralph has several options. Note that his site is down and I don't think he's still sold through Westside Barbell's site so I'm wondering if he's retired now. Can't go wrong with an Elite and it has nicer padding than the Crep though many experienced trainees use the Crep and will repad and duct tape it if needed. My original padding remains on mine. I recall Ralph even discussing with me modifying the stock pad for super heavy loads similar to what's done at WSB...which I don't remotely require so don't have great recollection on.

I wasn't even aware Sorinex had an offering in the SSB space and I've never heard them mentioned.

Hope that helps orient you some. This mirrors most of what people have opined in this forum over the years when it comes to SSBs.

[HuginnOrMuninn]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm a bit surprised there's so little information (reviews) available on the Sorinex considering I've heard it's such a good company for quality. I'm leaning towards the EliteFTS then since it sounds like it's a reliable workhorse, albeit with some finish flaws. I'll give it a couple months to see if they do any promos on shipping or anything, but doubt it considering the current state of the market.

[jdboyd78]

I have a lot of Sorinex equipment and it's all top tier quality.

That being said, my SS bar is from Elitefts, it's solid. Wait for a sale and grab it.

[ncsuLuke]

Elite has had a couple $50 off sales on their SSB in the last few months, might pop up again

[rlundregan]

Sorinex does make really nice equipment.....a few years ago, it seemed like they were trying to get out of the garage gym market and stick to facilities. A lot of guys around here were complaining that it was difficult to order just one or two pieces--I want to say that emails/phone calls weren't getting returned. Maybe that's changed since then, I wouldn't know. However, it might explain why there often isn't a ton of information out there about Sorinex products.

FWIW, I have an older version of the EliteFTS bar, and I like it a lot.

[TunaGill]

Sorinex Safety Squat Bar $350

EliteFTS Safety Squat Bar $425

Can someone provide feedback between these two bars? Everything I could find when searching seemed outdated because people were saying the Sorinex bar was overpriced at $616 - it seems they've since changed their pricing.

Anyway, from what I could find, it sounds like the EliteFTS is a solid bar, but I can't find much info or reviews on the Sorinex. Any advice?

I assume you have used a SSB before and know that you really want one.

However, on the off-chance that you haven't, just know that it is going to be really different than what you might imagine, especially at really heavy weights.

If you have not used one before, and want a bar to do Hatfield style squats or good mornings or just a low bar type squat "safely", the Marrs bar is a better bet.

But the Marrs bar is very different from a SSB.

If you know what you want, ignore this post.

[MGM711]

I don't know anything about the Sorinex model and have never seen it reviewed by a qualified reviewer. They tend to make quality stuff so I'd be surprised if it wasn't decent.

For what it's worth I'll watch Coop's reviews and they are generally worthwhile and he does a great job at giving someone a look at the equipment before ordering. However, IMO he's not qualified to opine on SSBs beyond aesthetics and materials - this is pretty obvious from his SSB review. I think in a discussion I used the analogy of someone who has never driven a car reviewing super high end sports cars by the window sticker info. Not hating on the guy - he doesn't claim to be some mega lifter or guru, just a passionate enthusiast. That said, in certain areas you need real experience to add value beyond base observation and this is one of them.

Qualified opinions for SSBs fall into the camps of 1) equipment people with experience who know what they are looking at and 2) serious users who've spent time under multiple SSB options with heavy loads - both of these people historically favor the Crepinsek bar and Elite. Crep comes with a poor/marred finish and Elite's finish with decent use will soon become equally poor. That's simply the nature of the beast. You are buying a workhorse for training not a show piece. Crep bar comes without handles but Ralph has several options. Note that his site is down and I don't think he's still sold through Westside Barbell's site so I'm wondering if he's retired now. Can't go wrong with an Elite and it has nicer padding than the Crep though many experienced trainees use the Crep and will repad and duct tape it if needed. My original padding remains on mine. I recall Ralph even discussing with me modifying the stock pad for super heavy loads similar to what's done at WSB...which I don't remotely require so don't have great recollection on.

I wasn't even aware Sorinex had an offering in the SSB space and I've never heard them mentioned.

Hope that helps orient you some. This mirrors most of what people have opined in this forum over the years when it comes to SSBs.

This is all spot on!

Sorinex makes nice equipment, but they don't come to mind as the top producer of specialty bars, at least not currently.

To me, the decision comes down to one of three options since you only want Made in the USA bars: SS Yolk, Crepinsek, or if you feel adventurous, I'd even throw the Marrs and Transformer Bars into that mix. I can make an argument for any one of those 4 as the best choice.

[thedickus]

I don't know anything about the Sorinex model and have never seen it reviewed by a qualified reviewer. They tend to make quality stuff so I'd be surprised if it wasn't decent.

For what it's worth I'll watch Coop's reviews and they are generally worthwhile and he does a great job at giving someone a look at the equipment before ordering. However, IMO he's not qualified to opine on SSBs beyond aesthetics and materials - this is pretty obvious from his SSB review. I think in a discussion I used the analogy of someone who has never driven a car reviewing super high end sports cars by the window sticker info. Not hating on the guy - he doesn't claim to be some mega lifter or guru, just a passionate enthusiast. That said, in certain areas you need real experience to add value beyond base observation and this is one of them.

Qualified opinions for SSBs fall into the camps of 1) equipment people with experience who know what they are looking at and 2) serious users who've spent time under multiple SSB options with heavy loads - both of these people historically favor the Crepinsek bar and Elite. Crep comes with a poor/marred finish and Elite's finish with decent use will soon become equally poor. That's simply the nature of the beast. You are buying a workhorse for training not a show piece. Crep bar comes without handles but Ralph has several options. Note that his site is down and I don't think he's still sold through Westside Barbell's site so I'm wondering if he's retired now. Can't go wrong with an Elite and it has nicer padding than the Crep though many experienced trainees use the Crep and will repad and duct tape it if needed. My original padding remains on mine. I recall Ralph even discussing with me modifying the stock pad for super heavy loads similar to what's done at WSB...which I don't remotely require so don't have great recollection on.

I wasn't even aware Sorinex had an offering in the SSB space and I've never heard them mentioned.

Hope that helps orient you some. This mirrors most of what people have opined in this forum over the years when it comes to SSBs.

Pardon me for taking this thread in a different direction, I didn't really want to start a new one and it probably belongs in the exercises forum but I trust the opinions of the people here, I don't post much in exercises. I'm considering an SSB, haven't even thought about which one yet. My question is are they more quad dominant? I've used one of the old Hatfield squat bars 25 - 30 years about that you didn't have to hold, more like a shoulder pad and you held on to the handles that attached to the rack. I don't remember too much about it. I'm not looking to increase my back squat and seldom do them. When I do back squat I generally high bar squat and often with elevated heels. With the SSB I've heard it feels more like a front squat and a high bar squat, do you find this to be true? I'm really looking for something that is mainly quad dominant like a front squat, I just HATE doing front squats.

[HuginnOrMuninn]

Pardon me for taking this thread in a different direction, I didn't really want to start a new one and it probably belongs in the exercises forum but I trust the opinions of the people here, I don't post much in exercises. I'm considering an SSB, haven't even thought about which one yet. My question is are they more quad dominant? I've used one of the old Hatfield squat bars 25 - 30 years about that you didn't have to hold, more like a shoulder pad and you held on to the handles that attached to the rack. I don't remember too much about it. I'm not looking to increase my back squat and seldom do them. When I do back squat I generally high bar squat and often with elevated heels. With the SSB I've heard it feels more like a front squat and a high bar squat, do you find this to be true? I'm really looking for something that is mainly quad dominant like a front squat, I just HATE doing front squats.

Take my opinion for what it's worth as I'm still fairly new. But from what I've read, a SSB will allow you a more quad-focused squat much like a front squat (being with an upright torso). The big difference is a SSB will enable you to load more than a front squat. Again, someone else with more knowledge is more qualified to answer than me.

That, and because my acromion process has a weird curve to it severely limiting my shoulder ROM, is a big reason why I'm looking for a SSB.

[rlundregan]

Using an SSB will be more like a front/back squat hybrid. My impression is that doing Hatfields (holding the assist handles on the rack) is probably more quaddy than holding the handles on the bar itself.

I don't know the first thing about your current routine, but I feel like my quads benefitted a lot from doing SSB squats followed by split squats (or lunges or Bulgarians).

[UncleWade]

Having used similar bars to the Sorinex, I think that the pad design of the SS Yoke Bar will be much more comfortable.

The top pad of the Sorinex bar looks thin, which could result in an uncomfortable position depending on your body type (safety squat bars are carried higher on the back, may press on the base of your neck).

I've squatted on the Yoke Bar for about eight years. The coating isn't pretty, but the design is outstanding and the pad has held up.

Pardon me for taking this thread in a different direction, I didn't really want to start a new one and it probably belongs in the exercises forum but I trust the opinions of the people here, I don't post much in exercises. I'm considering an SSB, haven't even thought about which one yet. My question is are they more quad dominant? I've used one of the old Hatfield squat bars 25 - 30 years about that you didn't have to hold, more like a shoulder pad and you held on to the handles that attached to the rack. I don't remember too much about it. I'm not looking to increase my back squat and seldom do them. When I do back squat I generally high bar squat and often with elevated heels. With the SSB I've heard it feels more like a front squat and a high bar squat, do you find this to be true? I'm really looking for something that is mainly quad dominant like a front squat, I just HATE doing front squats.

A safety bar squat will generally be more quad dominant. Another poster referenced a front squat, back squat hybrid, which I think is a great comparison. It is driven by the bar naturally being carried higher (for example, like a Manta Ray). Carrying the bar higher will also extend the length of your back as a lever, which will also make it more of a core strength challenge as well.

The SS Yoke Bar can be used for front squats (flip it around, handles should be angled out toward you). It is much more comfortable in a front rack position but will give you a more direct, quad-centric training effect used that way if that front rack is what makes you hate front squats.

[Cleveland33]

Pardon me for taking this thread in a different direction, I didn't really want to start a new one and it probably belongs in the exercises forum but I trust the opinions of the people here, I don't post much in exercises. I'm considering an SSB, haven't even thought about which one yet. My question is are they more quad dominant? I've used one of the old Hatfield squat bars 25 - 30 years about that you didn't have to hold, more like a shoulder pad and you held on to the handles that attached to the rack. I don't remember too much about it. I'm not looking to increase my back squat and seldom do them. When I do back squat I generally high bar squat and often with elevated heels. With the SSB I've heard it feels more like a front squat and a high bar squat, do you find this to be true? I'm really looking for something that is mainly quad dominant like a front squat, I just HATE doing front squats.

I squat high bar with lifting shoes and I think the SSB (with lifting shoes) is even more quad focused and it is also going to bring your upper back into the equation as the SSB is trying to dump you forward, so be ready for that.

[TunaGill]

Take my opinion for what it's worth as I'm still fairly new. But from what I've read, a SSB will allow you a more quad-focused squat much like a front squat (being with an upright torso). The big difference is a SSB will enable you to load more than a front squat. Again, someone else with more knowledge is more qualified to answer than me.

That, and because my acromion process has a weird curve to it severely limiting my shoulder ROM, is a big reason why I'm looking for a SSB.

I think you may want to look at transformer bar by Kabuki or Marrs bar, but that may be out of your price range...

[sera310]

I have the Edge Fitness SSB and really like it, + it's made in USA & way less than some of the options. I use it because of shoulder injuries, it's painful for me to crank my shoulders back to squat with a straight bar. It does change the feel of the lift just a little compared to a straight bar, though, a little more of the weight is toward the front of the body.

[RGrizzzz]

I have Rogues SSB and have been happy with it. It's usa made, as far as I know.

[showtoppa]

when it comes to SS bars you have a couple things to look at

Design- how is it balanced and how do the handles pads fit on your shoulder and how long are the handles

Padding- how comfortable is the padding

Overall the crepnsek is the best balanced bar. the owner is a super nice guy and is more than willing to explain the different details on everythign to you. Not sure if he is still in business or not

EliteFts would be next in the balance department and it has the best padding. Sure it wont look good after a while, but it will always perform

Rogue has a terrible pad design and overall is not nearly a good of design as the two above. If i am not mistaken the sorinex is very similar to the rogue.

the other option would be the marrs bar and transformer bar. To me the marrs bar doesnt have the same effect as a traditional SSB. Transformer bar is bad ass but alot more money too

The titan is not quite as good as the elite from a padding perspective, but is an exact clone and has the better finish.

If you choosing one out of the two you mentioned....go elitefts.

as far as the questions about how the ssb feels, that is going to depend a lot on the lifter. What i mean by that is the lifter going to push up on the handles or pull down. Big difference between the two.

[Cleveland33]

I have the Edge Fitness SSB and really like it, + it's made in USA & way less than some of the options. I use it because of shoulder injuries, it's painful for me to crank my shoulders back to squat with a straight bar. It does change the feel of the lift just a little compared to a straight bar, though, a little more of the weight is toward the front of the body.

Everyone I know that has that one has good things to say about it. I would put it third after Elite and Crepinsek.

[Sboarder1964]

The only 3 options you should consider (not in order):

1. Crepinsek
2. EliteFTS
3. Titan Fitness

Titan is everything the EFS is, and more, at a cheaper price. The sleeves are a true 2" so you don't need specialty collars, and they're chromed so they'll last much longer than the cheap clearcoat

My question is are they more quad dominant?

ALL SQUATS HAVE EQUAL QUAD ACTIVATION. Look at EMG data. The difference is how much posterior chain is involved. From least to most

Goblet Squat < Front Squat < SSB Squat < High Bar Back Squat < Low Bar Back Squat

[MGM711]

when it comes to SS bars you have a couple things to look at

Design- how is it balanced and how do the handles pads fit on your shoulder and how long are the handles

Padding- how comfortable is the padding

Overall the crepnsek is the best balanced bar. the owner is a super nice guy and is more than willing to explain the different details on everythign to you. Not sure if he is still in business or not

EliteFts would be next in the balance department and it has the best padding. Sure it wont look good after a while, but it will always perform

Rogue has a terrible pad design and overall is not nearly a good of design as the two above. If i am not mistaken the sorinex is very similar to the rogue.

the other option would be the marrs bar and transformer bar. To me the marrs bar doesnt have the same effect as a traditional SSB. Transformer bar is bad ass but alot more money too

The titan is not quite as good as the elite from a padding perspective, but is an exact clone and has the better finish.

If you choosing one out of the two you mentioned....go elitefts.

as far as the questions about how the ssb feels, that is going to depend a lot on the lifter. What i mean by that is the lifter going to push up on the handles or pull down. Big difference between the two.

Just FYI, the Titan is not an "exact clone" of the SS Yolk despite what has been said by our equipment savior, Coop. The drop angle of the camber is shorter and the pad is thicker on the Titan which means it sits higher up and further back on the upper back.

[showtoppa]

Just FYI, the Titan is not an "exact clone" of the SS Yolk despite what has been said by our equipment savior, Coop. The drop angle of the camber is shorter and the pad is thicker on the Titan which means it sits higher up and further back on the upper back.

your right, its not exact but it is pretty close. I have used both alot and I didnt feel the titan sat much higher, maybe a tad.

The elite padding is still better though, even with the titan being thicker.

[UncleWade]

The elite padding is still better though, even with the titan being thicker.

Agreed - SS Yoke Bar has a much denser pad material.

[MGM711]

Agreed - SS Yoke Bar has a much denser pad material.

Actually, I don't think it does, it just has a two stage pad system which may give it that feeling. There's essentially a pool noodle wrapped with a higher density padding inside the SS Yolk, Titan just has the carpet padding stuff for the entire yolk.

[C123C]

Pardon me for taking this thread in a different direction, I didn't really want to start a new one and it probably belongs in the exercises forum but I trust the opinions of the people here, I don't post much in exercises. I'm considering an SSB, haven't even thought about which one yet. My question is are they more quad dominant? I've used one of the old Hatfield squat bars 25 - 30 years about that you didn't have to hold, more like a shoulder pad and you held on to the handles that attached to the rack. I don't remember too much about it. I'm not looking to increase my back squat and seldom do them. When I do back squat I generally high bar squat and often with elevated heels. With the SSB I've heard it feels more like a front squat and a high bar squat, do you find this to be true? I'm really looking for something that is mainly quad dominant like a front squat, I just HATE doing front squats.

I think you've been given some good advice already. Been busy with work. One important point I'd add is that the SSB exercise will hit every lifter differently. For instance:
1) a lot of people feel it really strengthens the upper back
2) Hatfield apparently used it with nearly perfect carryover into the full back squat.

FOR ME:
1) I don't feel it in the back at all, it hits my legs in a very balanced way with more symmetrical engagement/recruitment of hams/glutes/quads than I feel in any variation of squatting (low bar/oly with heel, etc...). Love the bar and effect on my training but note my description doesn't match convention at all.
2) Because the bar is heavy I decided to leave it in the rack and completely supplant the back squat for a while and push on my SSB - this did not work for 100% carryover and left BIG weak points in my core or along the posterior chain. Lesson here is that I am not Fred Hatfield and cannot neglect the back squat and depend on SSB despite how good it may feel (and my lazy ass not wanting to swap out bars!)

So I'd say two things. Lifter matters from above so everyone is giving you good info but at the end of the day your personal population of one will have to see and incorporate it into training as you feel best. This is with all things but with SSB it's probably more so. Also when dealing with a bar that has bends - angles, lengths, and padding all these work together to change effect, leverages and feel. This is why the very top bars largely copied the Crep bar. Some companies have thrown some stuff together and produced poor product because they didn't understand this and are used to just knocking off largely simple and straight designs. Something like this has nuances and while similar in look they end up being hugely different in feel and training effect.

Hope that helps but between this and everything else in the thread I think that's as good a base of info as you can get before trying it out. Let us know what you find!

[JohnCuster]

I wouldn't suggest the Sorinex SSB...I personally didn't like the camber on it and the handles are very, very short now (design update).

I'd suggest the SS Yoke and or a Marrs...I have both and they are great.

The SS clear coat is annoyingly cheap, but it is a tool to use, not a Ferrari that belongs to Mr. Frye (that he rubs w/a diaper).

The Marrs has Oly Sleeves, which is nice.

Transformer Bar's are great, but it will be 2022 before we see them come online as regular stock.

The Crep SSB is well regarded, but I never used it.

I dislike Rogue's and all models that have pads in that style.