Who is ISF? I Sell Fitness offers several high-quality and unique products like this deadlift bar at lower prices based out of New Jersey. In 2014, ISF started selling pre-owned equipment out of a garage and expanded to what it is today, where it offers just about anything you’d want for a home gym. Over the years, ISF has also accumulated passionate customers who rave about the products and frequently recommend them.
What is a deadlift bar? As you probably guessed, a deadlift bar is designed for deadlifting. These bars use a narrower diameter, have a longer distance between sleeves, and more aggressive knurling. Therefore, it’s easier to grip for this lift, and the bar has more “whip,” which allows it to bend more than a traditional bar when coming off the floor. This helps to increases speed at the beginning of the pull. You should be able to deadlift more with this over a traditional power bar.
Who is a bar like this for? A specialty bar like this is best for someone training for powerlifting. However, lifting with a deadlift bar is just different. Some may even call it fun, and anyone who loves “deadlift day” would appreciate this bar. While it’s not necessary for the average lifter, if you have space/budget, a deadlift bar will make a nice addition. For gym owners, this would be a nice toy for your members!
Now, let’s talk about the ISF Deadlift Bar.
This is a very impressive bar. Some initial specs with comparisons to a typical power bar include:
- 27mm shaft diameter (power bar is typically 29mm)
- The overall length of 91.73″ (about 5″ longer than a typical power bar)
- 15.75″ of slightly grooved sleeves (a bit less than most power bars)
- No center knurl (a must for traditional power bars)
- Below are some pics with a traditional power bar on the bottom.
The finish of the specific bar in the review is bare polished steel with hard chrome sleeves. At the moment, this barbell is about 1 year old. It has held up extremely well through the 4 seasons of Indiana weather with zero maintenance. There are a few spots of minimal rust, but overall much less than other bare steel options in the same garage. More maintenance will be needed over the years, similar to other bars without certain finishes. Black oxide and ceramic/Cerakote options are also available, but you should stick with this one for those looking for the most aggressive knurl.
Now let’s discuss the knurl. With an extremely aggressive and deep knurl, this bar locks your hands in place. It’s extremely grippy, and it’s easy to get a full grasp on the bar. Chalk would be needed rarely, if ever. This bar is ideal for lower rep/high weight. However, it is not overly sharp. 8-10 reps are definitely doable (there hasn’t been any blood…yet) on occasion with this volcano knurl pattern, but you can keep this out of your CrossFit workouts.
Some whip was noticed when lifting 225 lbs, and the bow gets larger with more weight added. As previously mentioned, this should help you deadlift more. This comes from a combination of the thinner shaft diameter and additional space between the sleeves. However, it does not feel as though it bends too much. It’s comfortable to lift and is easy to control.
Below is a video of one of the strongest men in the world using this bar (@dbell_74).
The price tag makes it difficult to buy on a whim but is priced much more favorably to some other (Made in the USA) deadlift bar options. Surely some behind-the-scenes math goes into this, but this bar starts at a random price of $281.36. That’s about $50 less than the bare steel options from Rogue and Texas Power Bar, but above the most budget power bars on the market. For example, the ISF Power Bar is currently priced at $225.
The primary reason an individual bar should not get a deadlift bar due to its lack of versatility. If you’re piecing together your home gym one piece at a time and don’t have an unlimited budget, there are many more versatile items that most consider. Nevertheless, if a deadlift bar is on the wish list, this is definitely one to consider.
In the end, the ISF Deadlift Bar may be the best value deadlift bar currently available. It’s well constructed and includes all the features you’d want to see, including its impressive and aggressive knurl. If you love deadlift day, this is a bar to consider.
