I got this bar because the hand grips are closer together than most of the other ones out there and I thought that would be what I wanted (since you typically do these sorts of exercises with a dumbbell and therefore with your hands right on top of each other). Now that I've used it for a while, I think I would prefer to have the wider grip after all. I'm not removing any stars for that, though–I got exactly what I was looking for and it isn't their fault that I've decided I want something else.

The build quality of the bar itself is great–the handles are rough enough to provide grip without being so rough that they are uncomfortable to hold. The collars have a rubber gasket on them to help keep the plates on securely and the whole thing feels sturdy enough to hold as much weight as I'll ever be able to use this with and then some.

Finally taking workouts seriously, tired of being skinny and trying to build muscle. I been mostly doing bench press exercises, leg extensions/curls, deadlifts, squats etc. for the past 3 weeks but nothing I've found has given me a burn in my triceps. I don't feel comfortable doing skull crushers with my straight bar and I also don't feel like downsizing the weight from 70 to 10lbs every time so I got this and I love it. Did tricep extensions (skull crushers) 3 sets of 20 reps at 10lbs with 3min breaks in between, then did 3 sets of 7 reps at 20lbs. Could for sure tell it was working triceps out as well as my forearms. Also did some curls 12 reps at 40lbs 3 sets. Some might not like the grip not being padded but I always wear fingerless gloves anyway so doesn't matter to me. Don't feel like I need a lot of equipment outside of my bench and barbell but will say this is an absolute must have, glad I found out about it.

But even a short fellow, such as I, have difficulty putting larger plates (even 5 lbs. ) on first w/o hitting my forearms during the triceps press. However, the solution is putting on a couple of 1.5lb plates first and gradually increase in size. I find it actually balances better! That's the only reason I took off one star but perhaps, for the price, I shouldn't have. This is a first rate piece of weight equipment. NOT for Olympic plates.

This is a pretty hefty little barbell. Surprisingly heavy. I used the collars it came with as an inside stop for the weights to but up against and used quick release clamps on the ends. In this configuration, I can get 2 10lb and 1 5lb weight on each side. The bar probably weighs 10+ lbs by my guestimation.

It was packaged well and both star spin collars were included. I like the compactness of the whole set up for overhead tricep extension.

Helping me out to stay in shape

I have a teen at home getting into weights and this bar is great for him. Very sturdy and easy to grip

Most annoying thing about these is the piece that is supposed that would normally clamp the weight to the bar is not a clamp, it's a metal piece with rubber that just screws onto the bar. This design choise means that every few reps the weights will gradually loosen up and I have to retighten them. It's pretty annoying.