REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar Review

Barbells come in many shapes and sizes, and while many home gym owners opt for an all-purpose bar to use across all their lifts, specialty barbells like the REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar are designed to help athletes excel in specific lifts. This deadlift-specific barbell features an aggressive mountain knurling, and the shaft is both longer and thinner in diameter than your average power bar. This leads to more flexion under heavy loads, which allows you to lift from a higher position as the bar bends during a lift.

The cerakote finish offers a high level of protection against rust and corrosion, and the $370 price tag is cheaper than some similar bars. It may be a niche bar targeted at a small percentage of athletes, but if you’re serious about your deadlifts and want a barbell that’ll take you to the next level, you may have found your match. Now, let’s dive into a full review. 

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

REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar Video Review

Our Reviews Writer, Jake, breaks down the REP Hades Deadlift Bar during his detailed video review. Follow along as he goes over his pros and cons and who this bar is a good fit for.

REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar Highlights

• Price: $370
• Weight Capacity: 1,500 pounds
• Tensile Strength: 190,000 PSI
• Coating: Cerakote
• Intended Use: Deadlifts
• Size: 91.7 inches long, 15.75-inch loading sleeves, 27mm diameter

While $370 for this barbell might be a lot of money for some, if you’re serious about your deadlifts, you’ll likely find it worth that price tag. The cerakote finish offers a high level of protection from rust and corrosion, and REP did a solid job of adding that extra layer without negatively impacting the grip from the knurling. Since most coated barbells tend to feel a bit slippery, it’s refreshing that you don’t have to worry about that here. 

The overall size of this bar is about five inches longer than your standard power bar, and that’s due to the extra length of the shaft. The loading sleeves are a bit shorter than your standard power bar, as they measure 15.75 inches rather than the typical range of 16 to 16.3 inches. So, if you’re worried about running out of space on your loading sleeves, this might not be the best bar for you.

The Hades has a tensile strength rating of 190,000 PSI, which might seem low for a barbell designed for heavy lifting, but this creates more whip in the shaft, especially paired with the longer and thinner shaft. Whip is the amount of flexion present in a barbell, and bars with a higher rating than this will be stiffer. Since there is more whip with the Hades, you can pull from a higher position, which may lead to a heavier lift. It’s also easier to maintain your grip during heavy lifts since the shaft is 27mm rather than 28 or 29mm.

Pros

• The Hades offers more flexion, allowing you to lift from a higher position.
• The cerakote coating offers a high level of protection from rust and corrosion.
• The thinner diameter paired with the aggressive mountain knurling makes it easy to get a firm grip.

Cons

• This barbell is not versatile and is only meant for deadlifts.
• $370 for a specialty bar may not be worth it for everyone.
• The loading sleeves are shorter than your standard power bar.

Training With the REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar

We’ve been thrilled with the Hades during our time with it. The knurling is sharp as a tack, so you won’t be too limited with your grip, and the thinner diameter makes it easy to grip the bar in general. The cerakote finish is perfect for all home gym owners, but especially those getting after it in a steamy garage. And while the loading sleeves may be a little bit shorter than a standard power bar, you can still load up to 1,500 pounds on this barbell if you use thin plates.

Knurling and Diameter

When deadlifting with the Hades, we never once felt as if our grip was compromised, thanks to the aggressive mountain knurling and the 27mm shaft. Since this bar is thinner than the average barbell, you can get a tighter grip on it. And while we use the term “aggressive,” the knurling isn’t as sharp as a bare steel barbell because of the cerakote finish, so your hands shouldn’t get ripped up while working out. 

The thinner diameter also leads to more whip, or flexion, in this barbell. Once we began lifting over 225 pounds, we could visually see the bar bending a bit. This may seem like a bad thing, but it allows you to lift in a higher position, which can put you in a better position for your lift. 

“Getting the bar off the ground is often the hardest part of the deadlift,” says our Reviews Editor and USPA-certified powerlifting coach Billy Brown. “The extra flex means you’ll be in a higher position when the weights come off the ground, plus, you’ll have a lower range of motion.”

During our testing time with the Hades, we were able to immediately notice a difference in this bar’s grip, and the flexion in the shaft was evident as we increased the weight. During testing, we spent some time comparing the grip to a bare steel barbell and didn’t feel as if the Hades was lacking in its grip. 

Loading Sleeves

While the sleeves of most 20kg barbells are over 16 inches long, the sleeves on the Hades are a bit shorter at 15.75 inches. While this will probably be fine for most athletes, deadlifters who pile on bumper plates will want to keep this at the front of their mind, as they might lack the space for another plate. However, you likely won’t experience an issue if you use thin metal plates or Olympic plates.

Finish

The cerakote finish is ideal for most workout areas, but it’s especially useful for those who don’t stash their gear in a climate-controlled room. Cerakote is the second-best finish (stainless steel being the best) you could have regarding protection from rust and corrosion. We also haven’t felt as if the coating compromised our grip. This is a welcome surprise, as barbells with a coating tend to feel a little slippery.

What to Consider Before Buying the REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar

Like any home gym essential, there are a few important factors to consider before purchasing this barbell. This is bound to vary from person to person, but for us, it’s the money, the length of the loading sleeves, and your workout style.

Price

While the $370 price tag is more affordable than some other barbells on the market, like the Texas Power Deadlift Bar, that’s still a pretty penny for a barbell designed for just one movement. You can purchase a solid power bar, like the REP Double Black Diamond, or go for a multi-purpose bar, like the REP Colorado Bar, for a similar price tag. However, if you have the budget for it and you’re serious about your deadlifts, we think this is a solid price. 

Loading Sleeves

This will most likely only affect those with elite-level strength, but the 15.75-inch loading sleeves are shorter than most barbells. There isn’t a set standard for barbells, but most 20kg barbells have loading sleeves that are longer than 16 inches, which provides more room for weight plates. 

Practicality

While you could still technically squat and bench press with the Hades, the bar’s extra flex could create a wobble that could compromise stability during those lifts.

So, if you’re looking for a barbell to serve across the big three (squat, bench, deadlift), you’ll probably be better off targeting a classic power bar.

REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar Vs. The Competition

Like every home gym essential, we always find it helpful to see how a product stacks up against the competition. Since there aren’t a ton of deadlift-specific barbells on the market, we also decided to include a couple of power bars. 

	REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar	Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0	Living.Fit Barbell	REP Fitness Double Black Diamond Power Bar
Price	$370 for cerakote	$220 for stainless steel	$200 for chrome, $220 for cerakote	$330 for cerakote, $450 for stainless steel
Tensile Strength	190,000 PSI	210,000 PSI	200,000 PSI	200,000 PSI
Weight Capacity	1,500 pounds	1,500 pounds	1,500 pounds	1,500 pounds
Shaft Diameter	27mm	29mm	28mm	29mm
Type of Barbell	Deadlift Bar	Powerlifting	Multi-purpose	Powerlifting

As you see, the only two similar barbells on this list are the Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0 and the REP Fitness Double Black Diamond. Both of these barbells cost less than the Hades, and you can hit all of your powerlifting movements with them, not just deadlifts. 

However, if you’re looking for the ultimate versatility, you’re better off going after a multi-purpose barbell like the Living.Fit Bar, as it’s designed to be the only bar in your home gym. This is also the cheapest bar on this chart, and it performs at a really high level. So, if you also want the best overall value, we think it’s the one for you. That said, if you’re a hardcore deadlifter and you want a barbell that coincides with your training, we think the Hades is one of the best overall deadlift-specific barbells on the market and that it’s worth its price tag.

Places to Buy

You can purchase the REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar directly through the REP Fitness website. 

Warranties

REP offers a lifetime warranty covering any manufacturing defects on this barbell, but that doesn’t cover negligent use, such as using damaged bumper plates. 

Company Information

REP Fitness offers a wide range of products, from squat racks to barbells, dumbbells, and bumper plates, among a plethora of other strength and cardio equipment. They offer a full refund on products within 30 days of purchase, and if you need 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

While the REP Fitness Hades Deadlift Bar may not be a perfect fit for all strength athletes, this is one of the better deadlift bars on the market. The $370 price tag is competitive in its class, and the specs are about as good as it gets. The cerakote coating will protect the steel from rust and corrosion with minimal maintenance required, and it doesn’t take away from the grip produced by the mountain-style knurling. 

The shaft is also thinner and longer than your typical barbell, which creates more flexion under heavy loads, allowing you to lift from a higher position for a more successful lift. However, the loading sleeves are shorter, which may pose a problem for those who lift some eye-popping weight. The Hades is one of our favorite barbells for deadlifting, and we think it could be a solid addition to your home gym.

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