Many home gym weight thrashers opt for a multi-purpose barbell to incorporate Olympic and CrossFit-style workouts into their routine, but if you’re looking to stick to the big three (squat, bench, and deadlift), then a classic powerlifting bar is all you need. One of the hottest bars on the market — and one of our favorites — is the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar. This barbell has a tensile strength rating of 200,000 PSI, which is above average. The sharp mountain knurling provides a sound grip for your lifts, and you can choose between a cerakote or stainless steel finish.
While stainless steel is the king of corrosion protection, the fully stainless steel build will cost you around $450, so the $330 cerakote version might be the best value play here. Plus, cerakote offers a high level of protection itself. With three buying options, a grippy feel, and a durable build, the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar could be an excellent addition to your home gym.
Built for heavy squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, this bar is super stiff for stability with an extra millimeter of thickness to prevent any wobble during high-percentage lifts. Plus, aggressive center knurling prevents the bar from slipping down during low-bar squats.
About Our Tester
Jake Herod is BarBend’s main product tester, and he’s conducted over 20 barbell reviews in both written and video formats. He put together this review using a combination of his past experiences, as well as those of our other product testers.
Main Takeaways
- The Double Black Diamond features a sharp mountain knurling that provides a grippy feel for your lifts.
- With three buying options, you can work within your budget.
- The 200,000 PSI tensile strength rating paired with the thick 29mm shaft leads to a rigid barbell.
REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar Video Review
Our Reviews Writer, Jake, got his hands on the Double Black Diamond for his detailed video review. Follow along as he breaks down everything there is to know about this power bar, and learn whether or not it’ll be a good fit for you.
REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar Highlights
- Price: $330 for cerakote, $400 for stainless steel with chrome sleeves, $450 for fully stainless steel
- Weight Capacity: 1,500 pounds
- Tensile Strength: 200,000 PSI
- Coating: Cerakote or Stainless Steel
- Intended Use: Powerlifting
- Size: 86.6 inches long, 16.3-inch loading sleeves, 29mm diameter
There is a lot to like about the Double Black Diamond. While $450 for the stainless steel version might seem like a lot of money, that’s pretty average for a high-caliber stainless steel bar — plus, it’s a solid investment for a lifetime of use. However, $330 for the cerakote version is a reasonable price compared to similar barbells, like the Rogue Ohio Bar, which costs $350 plus shipping.
The 1,500-pound weight capacity ensures you can confidently hit your max lifts, and the 200,000 PSI tensile strength rating paired with a thick diameter of 29mm helps create a stiff barbell. This is handy when powerlifting, as you don’t want much flexion under heavy loads. Regardless of the coating you choose, you won’t be dealing with much, if any, rust and corrosion with this barbell, either. So, if you don’t have a climate-controlled home gym, you don’t need to stress cleaning your bar as frequently as you would with coatings like zinc, chrome, or bare steel.
Since this is a powerlifting-specific barbell, you won’t find much success in attempting the snatch due to the aggressive knurling and lack of whip. In fact, we advise against it to avoid ripping up your hands from the sharp mountain knurling.
Pros
- Whether you opt for cerakote or stainless steel, the Double Black Diamond offers high protection against rust and corrosion.
- The sharp mountain knurling allows you to achieve a solid grip for power lifts without being too aggressive.
- The 29mm shaft and 200,000 PSI tensile strength rating lead to a stiff barbell, which is ideal for powerlifting.
Cons
- With a price range of $330 to $450, the Double Black Diamond might not be within everyone’s budget.
- Those who want to incorporate Olympic weightlifting or CrossFit-style lifts should look to target a more versatile barbell.
Training With the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar
This is REP’s flagship powerbar, and we’ve been thoroughly impressed with how it has tested. The knurling is the perfect amount of abrasiveness for powerlifting, but it’s too aggressive for CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting. And since it’s a rigid barbell, you won’t be dealing with too much flexion under heavy loads.
Knurling
For those who aren’t familiar with the terminology, the crosshatching pattern on a barbell is referred to as knurling, and its sole purpose is to increase the friction between the bar and your hands, ultimately improving your overall grip. The knurling on the Double Black Diamond is mountain-style knurling, meaning each individual marking sticks up like a mountain does.
This is the most aggressive style knurling pattern and is commonly found on powerlifting bars where you need to create as much friction as possible. However, it’s not so sharp that it’ll hurt your hands to grip it. This is refreshing, as other power bars, like the Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0, can be too abrasive.
Whether we want to pull a heavy deadlift or focus on our bench pressing, our grip hasn’t felt compromised once during our workouts with this bar. While texture is always a personal preference, and not everyone wants the same knurling pattern, we think REP did an excellent job with the knurling here.
Loading Sleeves
When making your purchase, you can customize the loading sleeves based on the finish you choose. The cerakote version (which is what we have) comes with duracoat loading sleeves. For those who don’t know, this chemical process hardens the sleeves’ exterior, making them even more rust-resistant and tougher overall. You’ll notice some scratches on the sleeves over time but don’t worry — these are from the collar of your weight plates, and those scratches will wipe away with a rag.
You can also choose to equip your stainless steel with either chrome or stainless steel sleeves. For those keeping their gear in a humid climate, you’ll be better off shelling out more cash for the fully stainless steel build, but if you want to save $50, hard chrome is the third best coating you could have, so it’ll still serve you well.
The bronze bushings in the loading sleeves are commonly found in powerlifting bars — they don’t spin out of control and are ideal for controlled power lifts. Unlike some other barbells, you won’t find a grooved pattern on the sleeves here. While the lack of that pattern makes loading and unloading your plates easier, you do miss out on a little extra grip to keep your plates in their original place when the bar is dropped repeatedly. If you simply toss on some barbell collars though, you’ll be just fine.
Finish
You can choose a cerakote or stainless steel finish for this barbell. While stainless steel offers the highest protection against rust and corrosion, cerakote is a close second. And though you should still clean your barbell around once a month, you don’t have to worry too much about rust forming on this barbell, regardless of the finish.
What to Consider Before Buying the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar
Like with any other fitness equipment, you must consider a few important factors before purchasing this barbell. We recommend paying close attention to the price and finish, and prioritizing the needs for your particular workout style.
Price
This bar is available in three price points — $330 for the cerakote version, $400 for stainless steel with chrome loading sleeves, or $450 for the fully stainless steel build. It’s great that you can pick a version that best fits your preferences, but these prices may be too steep for some folks.
Workout Style
Remember, the Double Black Diamond is a powerlifting-specific barbell. Therefore, you’re better off not performing Olympic lifts or CrossFit-style workouts due to the sharp knurling, lack of whip, and slower spin rate.
So, if you want to mix in that lifting style, you’ll either want to shell out more money on a second barbell or target a multi-purpose barbell, like the REP Fitness Colorado Bar, that can serve as the only bar in your home gym.
Finish
This barbell is available in the best two finishes you could ask for in terms of fighting off rust and corrosion — stainless steel and cerakote.
However, some folks may still want to target the stainless steel version since the corrosion resistance is slightly superior to cerakote. Plus, the lack of coating may create a grippier feel for your workouts.
REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar Vs. The Competition
We always suggest comparing any home gym essential to the rest of the market, and that’s no different here. We decided to compare the Double Black Diamond to some of our favorite barbells.
| REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar | Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0 | REP Fitness Colorado Bar | Living.Fit Barbell | |
| Price | $330 for cerakote, $400 for stainless steel w/ chrome sleeves, $450 for fully stainless steel | $220 | $320 for chrome, $330 for cerakote | $200 for chrome, $220 for cerakote |
| Tensile Strength | 200,000 PSI | 210,000 PSI | 190,000 PSI | 200,000 PSI |
| Finish | Cerakote or Stainless Steel (option for chrome sleeves) | Bare steel | Chrome or Cerakote | Chrome or Cerakote |
| Loading Sleeve Construction | Bronze bushings | Bronze bushings | Composite bushings | Brass bushings and needle bearings |
| Type of Barbell | Powerlifting | Powerlifting | Multi-purpose | Multi-purpose |
As you can see, only one barbell on this list is similar to the Double Black Diamond, and it’s $110 cheaper. So, if you’re looking for a powerlifting bar but are on a tight budget, the Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0 is your best fit. It has a higher tensile strength rating, and the grip is sharp as a tack. However, since it has a bare steel shaft, it has virtually zero protection against rust and corrosion — meaning you will need to clean it at least once a month to keep it in good shape.
Now, if you only want one barbell in your home gym, you’re better off with one of the two multi-purpose bars. Let’s talk about the Living.Fit one first. This barbell is the cheapest option on this list, and tests well in all facets. However, it doesn’t outperform the two power bars in regards to the knurling. The same goes for the REP Fitness Colorado Bar. This barbell can also help you smash through all of your lifts, but it’s more expensive than the Living.Fit Barbell. That said, it’s the same price as the Double Black Diamond, but it is a better value due to its versatility.
However, if you won’t be repping any power cleans, then there might not be a reason for you to purchase a multi-purpose barbell. If your focus is powerlifting, the Double Black Diamond is your best bet. The knurling is extremely grippy but isn’t as aggressive as the Bells of Steel barbell, so you won’t rip up your hands. Plus, it offers a high resistance to rust and corrosion.
Nobody knows what you need better than yourself. So, just do your homework and align your goals with your budget and workout style, and you’ll land on the best possible option.
Places to Buy
You can purchase the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar directly through the REP Fitness website.
Warranties
REP offers a lifetime warranty covering any manufacturing defects on this barbell. However, that doesn’t cover negligent use, such as using damaged bumper plates.
Company Information
REP Fitness offers a wide variety of fitness gear, from barbells to dumbbells, power racks, and cardio equipment. If you want to speak to a team member, you can email their support team at info@repfitness.com, or call them at 720-420-1731.
In Conclusion
The REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar is one of the top power bars on the market, highlighted by its sharp mountain knurling, high tensile strength rating, and high levels of resistance to rust and corrosion. While you may be limited in terms of workout style, those serious about their powerlifting will find a high success rate when hitting their lifts. We have yet to feel compromised with our grip, and since this is a stiff barbell, it works really well with squatting. Regardless of the version you choose, this barbell is bound to provide you with a lifetime of use, and we think it could make for an excellent addition to your home gym due to its overall performance with power lifts and high-quality construction.
FAQs
How much does the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar cost?
This barbell is available at three different price points. The cerakote version will cost you around $330, the stainless steel shaft with chrome loading sleeves is about $400, and the fully stainless steel build is roughly $450. While you can’t go wrong with any option, the fully stainless steel build is the best bet for those who want the highest protection from rust and corrosion possible.
What workouts can I do with the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar?
Since this is a powerlifting barbell, you’ll want to stick to powerlifting-specific workouts. While the bronze bushings in the loading sleeves provide some spin, the knurling is too sharp to attempt any lift that requires the bar to spin in your hands. And since there is little to no whip present, you’ll put too much torque on your wrists and elbows.
What is the weight capacity of the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar?
You can successfully load up to 1,500 pounds on this barbell, which is more than enough for the average home gym owner.
