Prime Prototype Trap Bar – 4 Bars in 1

I’ve owned my Rickshaw for nearly a decade. It is one of our most favorite bars in our collection for a number of reasons, for both Deadlifts and Weighted Carries. But there are definitely a few areas where it could be improved. When I was looking at a Trap Bar to add to the gym, nothing tickled my fancy, until I found out about the Prime Prototype Trap Bar.

This bar is a 4n1 bar, offering Trap Bar work, Hip Thrusts, Safety Squat Bar, and Cambered Squat Bar functionality by means of some creative attachments. Count me in!

I will be taking this bar for a spin and then sharing my initial thoughts in a YouTube video and write up. Don’t consider this a full review, because this bar isn’t for sale yet. Instead, consider this a sneak peak behind the scenes with a really unique bar from one of the major American Made manufacturers.

The Prime Prototype Trap Bar is now on the Review Pipeline.

Transparency Note

Prime sent the Prototype Trap Bar over at the tail end of April 2025, free of charge, for sake of testing. Their goal is to get a lot of feedback and hopefully put together an even better end product. I have an affilliate link and code with Prime, but they won’t help you much because this bar isn’t currently for sale.

Prime Prototype Trap Bar Overview

Prime Fitness has a Trap Bar in their lineup currently, and also has a Safety Squat Bar in their lineup. But this bar manages to take the standard Trap Bar design, include removable handles, which give it the ability to transform into multiple bars, even including a dedicated Hip Thrust bar.

Prime Prototype Trap Bar Specs

• Brand: Prime Fitness
• Made In USA: Yes
• Bar Weighs: 53lbs with nothing on it
• SSB Mode: 78lbs
• Hip Thrust Mode: 62.66lbs
• Trap Bar Mode: 67lbs
• Dimensions: 32.7″D x 28.7″W x 54.3″H
• Recommended Weight Capacity: TBD

Prime Prototype Trap Bar Feature Requests

Since the entire point of me having this bar right now, is to provide them with feedback, this will be a running list of the features that YOU want to see Prime address, add, remove, or fix.

You can see a lot of where this list has come from on Instagram (here and here) and on r/HomeGym.

• TBD

If you’d like to provide some additional feedback, requests, or ideas, hit this survey.

Shipping & Assembly

Prime Fitness has some of the BEST shipping out there. Their packages come DENSE and ready for battle. Receiving the Prime Shorty Bench was a thing of beauty, and the Prime Prototype Trap Bar was no different. It came in multiple boxes, each fully stacked and packed to the brim with molded foam inserts. These boxes could have been ran over by the FedEX truck that delivered it, and not had any issues.

Prime Prototype Trap Bar Features

Handles and Hardware

Lets show this off first, so you understand how this bar works. Each of the handles above attaches to the Prime Prototype Trap Bar in the same fashion. The handles work in a keyhole fashion, where they pop the large attachment hole onto the large bolt, slide up and lock the small attachment hole into place. The pop pin secures it in place so it doesn’t slide, and they include a tension knob as well.

In use so far, this works pretty well. Not great, but pretty well. The trap bar when loaded, and the hip thrust when loaded, work easily. The SSB mode is a little more difficult because the handles are awkward and heavy. Trying to get them in the right place, locked and loaded, without twisting the bar in the rack, is a bit more work.

Trap Bar Mode

This is clearly the “primary” mode for this bar, as it is by default, a Trap Bar. The Prime Prototype Trap Bar comes with a couple of handle options. The first set is in line with the sleeves, but I found them to be TOO tight to the hardware of the bar. Essentially, I would scrape my hands using them at all. Instead, I have so far opted for the adjustable handles.

Not only can you adjust the handles up and down, but you can also flip them around to change the grip width from close to wide. A big win for this bar over my Rickshaw out the gate is the knurled handles. I’ve already handled 4 plates per side without any chalk or straps for a weighted carry. Something that was very difficult with the Rickshaw. This has the same knurling as the KAZ Handles. Speaking of which, Prime’s currently Trap Bar offering has multiple handle options such as the RO-T8, KAZ Handles, etc. I’d really love to see those here.

Safety Squat Bar Mode

This is probably the most “WOW” feature of this bar. Which is saying something. When I sent the promo video to a few friends, they all said they audibly were shocked at the SSB mode. Right now, the general construction of the handles, the pads, and the overall feel of this is very similar to the Super Squat Bar.

What you’ll notice is that they don’t have the more traditional padding a lot of SSB bars do. Instead you WEDGE into the front bar pads and the back panel. This locks you in, and helps you stay upright. The goal with this bar, unlike a lot of other Safety Squat Bars, is to nail the quads. An upright posture for me, is the ideal posture for squats. Easy on my knees, does everything I want it to do, and is a really strong position for me. I actually think I might squat MORE with the Super Squat Bar than a traditional straight bar.

I’ll be comparing this side by side with the Super Squat Bar in a few months, looking to see if I notice any glaring differences (good or bad) and if I could see this replacing the bar entirely. This would be fantastic by the way, because reducing the amount of bars I own means more space for more toys.

Cambered Bar Mode

I have owned a Cambered Squat Bar for a long time, and it is one of my FAVORITE squat bars. A lot of people hate them. I find it to be a very fantastic squat pattern. Maybe I’m weird, maybe I’m built different, but the Edge Fitness Systems Cambered Squat Bar is a regular in my rotation. I love adding chains to this bar too, something about it feels VERY West Side Barbell.

Out the gate, I noticed that this doesn’t have as much of a camber, and the rounded and VERY smooth powder coat could definitely use some tactile feedback for this movement. I don’t need knurling necessarily, I just need a grippy powder coat. Again, I’d love for this to take the place of another bar. I have high hopes for the SSB mode, I’m a little more cautious of this one.

Hip Thrust Mode

I was told before the bar shipped, that “it was good for Hip Thrusts”. I had no clue what that could mean. How could a Trap Bar, do Hip Thrusts? Well, now I know! The pads slide on like the other attachments, and they leverage the rollers that help with loading the bar, to let you roll the bar in and out of place. This is pure genius.

Out the gate, the bar is wide enough to fit around my Booty Sprout, which is a plus. I think they might be better offer with a single pad instead of dual though. And ideally, we probably have some adjustable pads for different sized users. This will be a heavy hitter for me and my wife if it pans out well, as Hip Thrusts are a favorite, but we hate the set-up process.

Storage & Mobility

This is one piece that this bar is definitely struggling in. To be fair, the Super Squat Bar struggled here too, and so do MOST specialty bars. I’ve passed on buying a few bars in the past due to awkward storage requirements. The Prime Prototype Trap Bar

What I’m Looking For In The Prime Prototype Trap Bar

I own the Super Squat Bar, and believe it to be one if, if not THE best SSB style bars on the market. Its main focus is to produce a picture perfect upright squat that destroys the quads for hypertrophy purposes. And it does this amazingly well.

The Prime Trap Bar is abused by some of the strongest home gym lifters I have seen, and has a number of custom handle types to mix and match your deadlifts, carries, and more.

The Prime Prototype Trap Bar needs to build on what these bars have started, without any degradation in their legacy. This bar needs to give me that same squat pattern and locked in feel as the Super Squat Bar. It needs to handle near 1000lb deadlifts, MASSIVE weighted carries, and come back for more the next day. And that Hip Thrust function? Well it better be comfortable, easy to use, and ready for some BIG lifts.

I’m a huge fan of my Cambered Squat Bar as well, and have put in a LOT of reps on that thing over the years. So I’m definitely ready to compare this side by side with that as well.

Other Options On The Market

There are a TON of Trap Bars on the market. But nothing quite does what the Prime Prototype Trap Bar does. In my opinion, the best SSBs on the market are the EliteFTS SS Yoke and Prime Super Squat Bar. So I will be comparing directly to those for SSB Mode. For cambered, there aren’t a TON of options, so I’m comparing directly to my Edge Bar. For the Trap Bar, I’ll be comparing to the Eleiko and REP Fitness Trap Bars as two of the best on the market. And for Hip Thrusts, I’ll be comparing to my cambered bench bar with a hip thrust pad. Not fancy, but our current go-to.

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✅ I’ll have a First Look initial review on the Prime Prototype Trap Bar here and over on my YouTube channel. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.