The Best Safety Squat Bars For Your Home Gym – 2024

Last updated on April 5th, 2024 at 10:06 am

What Safety Squat Bar Should I Buy?

Ultimately, I’d have no complaints with any of the bars listed on this page.

Why do I need a Safety Squat Bar?

Need might be a strong word. As we dig into this article I’ll cover specific reasons for each bar and why it might be better at certain things versus others. But in general, you might want to explore an SSB if you:

• have shoulder issues, especially during/after squatting
• need more quad development in your life
• are always falling forward in the squat
• are trying to save your back and knees
• love good mornings
• are looking for some calf work options in your garage gym
• like some variety in your life

All valid reasons to be looking at a Safety Squat Bar. Before proceeding, think about the following.

• What is your budget?
• What is your goal with adding a Safety Squat Bar to your lineup (reference the above list)?
• What kind of equipment owner are you (picky, high end, budget, etc.)?

Lets take a look at what a Safety Squat Bar is, and then what SSBs I would recommend you check out.

What Makes a Good Safety Squat Bar

The Handles

The Pads

Accompanying the handles is the pads. Putting a squat pad on a bar is often frowned upon. I’ve even heard them referenced as man-pons. But for a Safety Squat Bar, they are downright crucial. This is often because the bar typically sits very high on the shoulders, opposed to a more common low bar position. We are talking on top of the traps both on the back of the neck and over the shoulders. So without the pad, the bar is likely to be pressing down on some vertebrae, and smashing the living crap out of your neck.

The pad both provides comfort (because it’s a pad, duh), but also splits the load across the upper back more and keeps the bar in a better position. The handles and the bar itself will likely have pads, because you’ll be letting the handles rest, or even actively pulling them into, your shoulders/traps. The pads seem to be built and wrapped differently on most SSBs on the market. From soft to firm, leather to dense foam. Some are wrapped around your entire upper back, others skipped the back “pad” entirely. Longevity in a commercial setting is unlikely. The sweat from a plethora of dudes and dudettes is going to wreak havoc on pretty much every single pad type out there.

The good news is, I haven’t heard of anyone destroying an SSB at home with normal use. So we likely just need to understand the different pad types in the different bars (below) to choose our favorite.

The Camber

Possibly the most important differentiation between a great, good, and bad Safety Squat Bar is the camber. Take note that the handles will likely point in a roughly 45 degree angle towards the floor, away from the bar. The camber should come down off the bar, and align parallel with your body while standing (or very close to it).

What we want, is the bar to sit on your shoulders, and the weight to essentially hold it there, comfortably, ideally with little need for both hands to be on the bar while executing the lift. I’ve seen athletes with broken arms utilize a good SSB just fine. I’ve used mine while juggling single leg training, to get into position, hold the rack for balance, and Hatfield squats. I’ve done calf raises, I’ve done a number of things with an SSB that is downright impossible with a traditional bar.

We don’t want the camber to be in line with the handles, as this would throw the bar off center. And anything too far in the other direction would have similar results. So the right balance to the camber can make a drastic difference in the bar. You can see some very low end, cheap Safety Squat Bars, that the camber is in direct line with the handles. Beyond anything else, this is a give away that the bar was designed without truly understanding or ever using a Safety Squat Bar. I will typically say, it is easy to spot equipment designed by people who never used it.

Are Safety Squat Bars Easier Than Normal Bars?

Yes and no. The fact that the bar doesn’t require the same shoulder mobility, wrist strain, and more. Can make the lift “easier”, as in more comfortable. But the fact that the bar doesn’t REQUIRE that level of tension, often means that you have less tension to put INTO the bar. Pair that with the fact that the bar typically sits in a different spot than how most people squat, and you have a variation with multiple contrasts to a competition back squat. So, it will very likely lead to you using less total weight on a Safety Squat Bar, opposed to your traditional back squat.

Now, the counter argument here is if you might be a more upright, high bar back squatter. I find the SSB to be pretty perfectly in line with how I squat normally. So I get to use a bar that sits still, with no wrist or shoulder issues, that mimics my typical stance, posture, and positioning. I can CRUSH SSB squats.

There is also a difference in the TYPE of SSB. As you’ll learn as we go, not all of them are designed for the same goal. Some were meant to be used to punish you. Others to make your life easier. So the bars that have a goal of making your squats more enjoyable, are more likely to be friendly towards your total weight lifted. The bars meant to punish you on the other hand, might just crumble you forward.

The Best Safety Squat Bars To Buy For Your Home Gym

EliteFTS SS Yoke Bar

Dave Tate has horrendous shoulder issues after years of abusing himself in the pursuit of a bigger total. His loss is our gain, because he can ONLY squat using an SSB. This is a guy that has regularly stated that he only enjoys leg day, getting under a heavy bar and squatting until he breaks, pukes, or passes out. With that kind of love for the squat, and only one way to accomplish it, you know he is going to invest some massive R&D into perfecting this bad boy.

You’ll notice the bar looks a LOT like the Crepinsek (mentioned below), probably due to Tate’s Westside experience, where the Crepinsek was used and abused on the regular. The EliteFTS SS Yoke Bar takes home the top spot for Safety Squat Bars from a HUGE assortment of lifters. Big and bad dudes crushing thousand pound squats to a plethora of home gym enthusiasts. Look below at the rest of the SSBs on this list and you’ll see that they commonly take a LOT of inspiration from the SS Yoke. As they say,

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

All Good?

The only negative comment I ever saw about the bar was the clear coat on the shaft. EliteFTS has changed that design in recent years. When I originally wrote this article the bar retailed for $389, and it now retails for $387. Typically right before Black Friday EliteFTS has a sale on the bar, and then it goes on sale for about $50 and free shipping during Black Friday. That sale puts it right smack dab in contention for price with the other similar bars, even my budget SSB pick. I’d take the EliteFTS SS Yoke Bar over those myself any day, but with the similar price point? No questions asked.

Without a doubt, if I want the most true and tested Safety Squat Bar on the planet, the EliteFTS SS Yoke is the bar to get. Shout out to my man Keith Honeycutt of The No Whine Cellar for the SS Yoke Pictures.

Marrs-Bar

The Marrs-Bar is an SSB, but is one of the few unique offerings on the market. It was developed by a dude in a similar situation as Dave Tate, in that he couldn’t squat with any other bar on the market. So you’ve got a big jacked strong dude, spending every waking moment of his life trying to figure out how to get back under the bar.

That is how the Marrs-Bar came to be. And since the launch, the bar has had extremely mixed feedback from everyone BUT those who end up using it. The price, clocking in at $649, makes it one of the most expensive SSB bars on the market. The price and unique design are what keep a lot of people, myself included, from taking the plunge. But I have to rely on the experiences of a number of my friends out there. The Marrs-Bar is legit.

Function

The bar functions by means of placing the load further down the back, leveraging the camber to bring it back to center, and displacing the load across your entire shoulder and upper back, so you end up with a VERY neutral position barbell. If you have back issues from squatting, this might be your jam. The bar can be used for front squats AND back squats. I will say that MOST SSBs can do that, but the Marrs-Bar with how it is designed, is actually MADE to do both, instead of it just technically being able to do both.

One huge note here, the original Marrs-Bar had a very different pad than the current one. Some people don’t have an issue with the new one, others HATE IT. They find it uncomfortable, which obviously defeats the purpose. If you find one on the used market, you might want to keep an eye out for the earlier models.

If you are someone who struggles with squatting due to back back, knee issues, shoulder struggles and more, this is probably the most comfortable option on the market to keep squatting long term.

Shout out to my man Coach Carp for the Marrs-Bar pics.

Prime Fitness Super Squat Bar

The Prime Fitness Super Squat Bar is my current go-to in my gym for a Safety Squat Bar. Out the gate it wasn’t my favorite. It had some issues with loading, storage, and maneuverability. But once you get the bar on your back, it is a DREAM of an experience.

The back pad and the way the bar is situated, WEDGES you right into the bar. It fits like a glove. The bar doesn’t look great, as it has so many twists and turns and color changes and texture changes. Something I’m not accustomed with for Prime Fitness who normally nails every aspect. But I can overlook it for a bar that feels as good as this one does. Mind you, I hope they have a V2 in the works that addresses some of my complaints. But in the meantime, I’ll just close my eyes and roll into squatting bliss.

The extra long handles are curved outwards, so you have plenty of hand options without worrying about ruining your range of motion. The camber is set to keep the weight neutral, as the goal of this bar was to make a quad dominant hypertrophy barbell. Prime is all about the muscle development, not necessarily the strength gains, so their products are targeted at muscle stimulation. Their work with Coach Kaz to develop this bar is evident. Pair it with a set of Squat Solos, and you are ready for new gains.

High Performance

My buddy Flex Marks The Spot has this and the MAJORITY of other Safety Squat Bars. He shares similar experiences as I do, truly enjoying this bar for squats. He mentions that it is a fantastic Good Morning bar as well.

At $625 this bar clocks in JUST below the Marrs-Bar, and almost double the EliteFTS SS Yoke. This is a tough price category to fit into. But not something Prime isn’t accustomed to.

REP Fitness Safety Squat Bar

REP Fitness dropped their SSB not too long ago, and like everything from REP, it got some pretty high praises. As I mentioned, you can see where this bar takes a HEAVY influence from the EliteFTS SS Yoke. The same pad design, handle concepts, camber, and more. REP Fitness went ahead and added knurled handles and hard chrome sleeves with a black powder coat to give it a little somethin somethin.

Keep in mind that this bar is imported, where the EliteFTS is American Made. While I think the knurled handles are a nice aesthetic addition, I’m not positive that they provide any real function. Remember, MANY people use an SSB without even touching the handles. And even if you do grab hold, there is no chance that your grip is the limiting factor in your lift.

The chromed sleeves are a nice touch. This means the bar will continue to look good for years and years, whether you use iron or bumper plates, hang chains off of them, or anything else.

This bar comes in at around $330. That is roughly $50 cheaper than the EliteFTS, but on par with the annual sale price of the SS Yoke. If you need an SSB at some point during the year, this is the best budget option in my opinion to save you a few bucks. Plus REP shipping is free all year round. If you are comparing the two during a sale price, you really just have to decide if you NEED the knurled handles or not.

Shout out to my man Coach Carp for the REP pics.

Bells of Steel Safety Squat Bar – The SS4

Bells of Steel has re-released their SSB a few times with improvements coming in multiple fashions with each release. Currently the Bells of Steel SS4 is listed at $339, weighs in at 45lbs, has rotating sleeves, and has handles that you can change out including short, bent, long, and even chain variations.

The Bells of Steel bar offers one of the best prices on a Safety Squat Bar on the market WITHOUT a sale, alongside the unique handle options, and again, a VERY common design that mimics the EliteFTS SS Yoke.

Once again, the sleeves are a good choice because it means the bar will look good today, and tomorrow, and far into the future.

If the handle options tickle your fancy, this is the obvious choice. I believe you can go custom with some of the other bars for weird add ons and handle choices, but this is the only option that has it out the gate. If not, it would be hard to recommend this over the more polished and slightly cheaper REP Fitness option or an on sale EliteFTS SS Yoke. Find it used for a deal? Or maybe it goes on sale? Or maybe you just want to grab your entire gym from Bells of Steel? You won’t be disappointed by any means. This is a good bar, just not likely my pick for the top spot.

Shout out to my man Flex Marks The Spot for the SS3 Picture.

Black Widow / Edge Fitness Systems SSB

Edge Fitness Systems had found some ground in previous years, partly due to their extremely well priced SSB offering. It came with long handles, solid pads, and a good camber. I owned this bar for more than five years. You can see my 1+ year review here. One thing to note with Edge, is his main focus is on function, not on the bar being pretty.

He expects you are going to be tossing hundreds of pounds on the bar, hitting 1 RMs, and not caring about a few dents and dings. That’s not to say that his welds and padding aren’t relatively clean, and that his bars and powercoat don’t last (in fact, the powdercoat lasts better than Rogue’s). After handling this bar for multiple years, I can say that the camber and pitch put you in almost Back Squat / Front Squat hybrid pattern. The bar feels very dead center on the body, allowing you an almost straight and upright torso and plenty of quad development. At $250 with shipping and tax, this bar was unbeatable for the combination of fit, function, and price.

Good or Bad?

Common complaints with this bar are the multiple pad pieces (it makes them rotate and can be less than ideal aesthetically). As well as the way the handles go on, they can come lose often. Some people enjoy, others hate, the long handles.

Unfortunately this isn’t available for purchase anymore. So whether it was the greatest or not, is less than important.

I combined this one with the Black Widow SSB, because the bars are VERY close to the same build. Black Widow’s bar comes in at $340. For me, $340 plus shipping on a bar with some outdated designs, is a rough ask. It is USA Made, and Dean is an awesome dude, but this is just a hard sell for me.

Kabuki Transformer Bar

Here is an interesting one, the Kabuki Strength Transformer Bar. It gives the user the ability to adjust the camber in a bunch of different ways. In typical Kabuki Strength fashion, there are a handful of other small tweaks they have made that are supposed to make a tremendous difference in its fit and function. It has four different adjustments from North to South, and an additional SIX adjustments from East to West for a combined 24 different positions. What these do is change where the load is placed. Anything from center of gravity to way out in front, to quite a bit behind you. Why would you want this?

Well, on paper the idea is that with one bar you can essentially train Goblet Squats, Front Squats, SSB Squats, High and Low Bar Squats, and even Hip Hinge variations. Again, with FOUR options in each range. So one bar, is like having 24 bars, or something like that.

The Problem With The Kabuki Strength Transformer Bar

The VAST majority of people are likely going to program one squat per week in their lifting, maybe two. Most programs have you change up exercises somewhere around the 4 week mark.

If we never took a break from the gym and ONLY used the Transformer Bar for TWO sessions a week, changing the settings every four week block and never repeating them, we’d only get to the end of our options at the end of the year (23 options would be 52 weeks in the year, so we’d have an extra).

That is, arguably, just too many damn options. Add in variances like adding bands, chains, boxes, pauses, and more. And you have YEARS of options before you’d ever repeat a variation. I’m not saying that options, and a plethora of them, is a bad thing inherently. I just feel like you are paying for those options, and not likely to use them.

What I see from MOST people is that they pick one or two that they like, and never vary from those. So we are paying for 24 options and using a couple of them. It would be like buying a Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD, and only doing floor nordics with it. Just buy the bar that works really good at the one or two things, not the bar that does a bunch of stuff you never do.

Who should buy the Kabuki Transformer Bar?

If you simply can not squat, deadlift, or do any kind of lower body variations due to upper body issues like shoulder strains, wrist problems, etc. I can totally get on board here. You might have this bar on your back for two or three main movements a week, plus multiple accessories. If you are LIVING under this bar, I’m cool with the purchase. I can also get behind the bar if you snag it used for a quality discount. A $300 Transformer Bar would be hard to argue with. But that is where I stop.

The bar costs $795 from Rogue. To give you some context, when I first wrote this article the bar sold for $479 and I thought THAT was outrageous. In no world other than one where you need all the shiny toys and have an unlimited budget, can I recommend the Transformer Bar at the current price. If you managed to snag one of the earlier offerings, especially on a sale, then kudos to you.

Shout out to my man Coach Carp for the Transformer Bar pics.

What Safety Squat Bars Should I NOT Buy?

SB-1 – Rogue Safety Squat Bar

I’m a fan of Rogue and what they generally make, but their SSB costs $445! It is MORE expensive than all but the high end premium options, it has the multiple pad design, and the TERRIBLE Rogue powdercoat. This bar is sure to chip, peel, and wear within the first year of use. In a weird world, Rogue has never changed the design of this bar. It is the same SB-1 design from 5+ years back. This would be a bad purchase at $350, it is a terrible purchase at almost $450. Skip it.

No Name Copy Cat SSB

There are a metric ton of SSB offerings on Amazon and other sites that don’t really make their own bar. They simply sell a rebranded version of the same bar, under different names. Notice in the picture that the handles AND the sleeves with the camber are both “on the ground”. This means the bar has no off-set to the camber. Thus the weights will be OUT FRONT of you. This is going to lead to some neck issues and pains. Not ideal!

While these bars can come in at a VERY tempting price at nearly half of what the bars on this page are, I would HIGHLY recommend you skip them. Everything about the bars is likely to be a worse experience, paired with the fact that it just isn’t a well designed SSB in the first place.

Titan Fitness Safety Squat Olympic Bar V2

When Titan came out with their first V1 SSB, it was the same No-name copy cat bar. When it got terrible feedback, they pulled it, and came out with their V2. The V2 is an EXACT copy of the EliteFTS SS Yoke, just of course at the insanely low Titan pricing due to their import processes.

Now, I’m obviously not 100% against import products, I have a number of them. I’m also not against the cloning process entirely. I’d just like to see SOMETHING change in the process. REP improved on the handles and sleeves, Bells of Steel added the interchangeable handles, you get it. I’m not a fan of Titan, I think the way they have run their business over the last few years is a reason why they got super big, super fast, and then have fallen off. No judgements here if you buy their SSB, but I’m not going to recommend it.

Wrap Up

There are a ton more Safety Squat Bars on the market. I know Watson, Vulcan, and American barbell makes SSBs. But I’ll say that the ones above are the bars that get tested, beat up, and used the most often.

If it didn’t make the short list, I’d probably say it isn’t battle tested. I encourage you to do your own research before selecting a bar, and if possible, test them out before taking the plunge. There are people who LOVE the Transformer Bar and think it is worth every penny. There are people who love the Marrs Bar, and people who hate it. My opinions above are based on my experience, use, and research over the years.

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