XMark EZ Curl Bar or Olympic Weight Set with EZ Curl Bar, Weight Plate Set

I was searching for an EZ Curl Bar because my 45 lb straight bar wasn't kind to my wrists or elbows doing reverse curls, tricep presses, etc. I had an "EZ Curl" handle attachment for the low pulley on my squat rack, but it was awkward being attached to a cable and I never really liked it.I certainly looked at the typical chrome-plated EZ's at your big box retailers and sporting good stores. Biggest issue I had with those bars is that there's no bearings in the sleeves and they're simply screwed on by a large hex cap bolt on each end. Eventually they'd squeak and squeal as the metal surfaces wears into each other. As far as I can tell, short of taking it apart, this bar has bearings inside the sleeves, and the snap ring retainers are a lot more "professional" grade than the hex cap bolts are. The sleeves rotate smooth without noise, and I'm pretty sure if they ever do start to squeak I can shoot some white lithium or similar grease in there to help. I do have a snap ring pliers, but I'm not interested in taking them apart if I can help it.I added a picture of this with my setup. It fits perfectly in the catch bars of my squat rack, though if it was fully loaded I wouldn't be able to use the end hooks as displayed here because there's be no sleeve left to catch the hooks. It would work fine fully loaded or not within the rack itself, though.Maybe..MAYBE the only con if I was forced to give one is that the surfaces of the sleeves are SLICK due to the machining and plating, and because it's a short-length bar if you don't use clamps to hold the plates and you're form isn't near perfect you'll find in the middle of your reps suddenly one or both sides are unloading themselves onto the floor. Yep...happened to me during overhead tricep extensions. I don't use clamps on my full bar and didn't think about how this one would react when I first used it. At about midway through the reps a 5 lb. plate on one side had slid itself close enough that as I was lying the bar back down behind my head, the plate came off the rest of the way. Clamps went on after that.As for my original need for it, yes, it helps a lot more keeping my elbows from flairing out and my wrists from feeling pinched when doing reverse movement exercises. Definitely a great buy!

I've had the XMark EZ Curl bar for about 5 years now. It works well and I've had no problems. I use it 1-2x per week.

The product itself is high quality but, what is commendable is that the packaging was super deluxe. The bar was enclosed in plastic and placed in a rugged cardboard tube. The tube had plastic caps secured with a screw on each end to secure the bar in the tube. The tube was placed in a strong box with a cover. Then poly strapping (6) was used to secure the box. Maybe sounds silly to mention but, I've seen some pretty shabby packaging before. This packaging in this case brought pure customer delight.

Excellent Quality, coating on bar is nice as well, the bar is a larger diameter than others I have used which is very nice, along with the deeper cross hatching on bar this makes it very comfortable to grip and easy to hold while exercising.The bushings are very smooth and quiet during use, they pivot easily without any noise as it should be.Bends in bar are excellent !, easy to grip and hold comfortably in more than several different exercises I use this bar for.Just a excellent quality bar, was a bit more expensive than some but I see why, the larger diameter bar, deep cross hatch, quiet and smooth end bushings and manganese phosphate coating are all very high quality, very impressed, was totally worth the slightly higher price, you get what you pay for :)It was shipped well, in a thick tube and then inside a heavy long box, received in perfect condition.Very happy with the Xmark bar, will be sure to check their other products out if I do any more shopping.

This is a great bar. I looked for a week before I decided. I wanted good angles, good knurl, black bar, thicker bar and bushings. I took a risk since this was new and had no reviews. This bar meets all my needs perfectly. I was going to get one of the $100+ bars, but couldn't justify it and the cheaper ones had almost no angle and we're just poor quality.One complaint I read a lot about with other bars was poor packing and greasy bars that had to be cleaned for an hour before use. This bar was packed better than many items I have received from Amazon. It drop shipped from the manufacturer and they did a great job. Wrapped in plastic , then placed in a thick tube with plastic ends and then put in a thick box. There is no problem with the black finish coming off. The bushings work perfectly. The weight of the bar is 22lbs. I like that the ends are chrome rather than black...won't show scratches from plates that are inevitable.See my pictures below. I tried to get a good shot of the angle. I highly recommend this bar! No reason to spend more money.

All in all, a good deal on a decent quality, sturdy ez curl bar.Pros* Construction seems solid.* Spin (not critical for a curl bar) is plenty adequate.* Knurling is good, aggressive without being painful.* Bends are fine, several good comfy positions.* Packaging is top notch, out box was crunched a bit but the bar was safe inside the inner tube.Cons* Arrived with some nasty brownish oil/grease/protectant all over the bar...gone several rounds with 3in1 oil, a brass bristle brush, and a rag and it still leaves your hands with brown grime.* Finish is subpar. Not expecting Rogue-level fit and finish at this price point, but my bar has a large splotchy section (see photos) and other smaller finish defects.I would think twice before purchasing a primary Olympic or powerlifting bar from XMark, but for a secondary accessory piece like this, it does the job.