video review
Key Points
- This review focuses on the now-discontinued V2, but I do include many comparisons to the newer V3.
- This bar has some of the ugliest welds of any Titan product. And that’s saying a lot!
- The knurl is almost non-existent, inconsistent where it is there, and completely useless in aiding your grip.
- Mine came with a loose piece of metal that clangs around inside.
- They now make a V3, which does have better knurl and hopefully no extra metal. But there are still better options.
My Quick Take
I knew there was a problem before I opened the box. There was a loud clanging sound coming from inside, and for a bar with no moving parts, that spelled trouble.
When I pulled the bar out of the box, the first thing I saw was half of the branding stickers peeling off. The next thing I noticed was that each handle section had a different type of knurling. All of it was extremely passive. Some of it was missing altogether.
Right next to the awful knurling were some of the lumpiest and ugliest welds I’ve seen on any fitness product. Oh, and that clanging noise turned out to be a loose piece of metal INSIDE the bar itself. It still clangs to this day, making the bar unsellable on the second-hand market.
To cap things off, the bar itself is finished in a powder coat, one of the worst possible finishes for a barbell, especially on the sleeves, where it wore off within weeks of use.
Needless to say, I do not recommend this bar.
They have since released a V3, which I’ll touch on here, but unless you are on the tightest of budgets, I still don’t recommend it.
GymCrafter score: 3/10
- Grip Diameter – 32mm
- Sleeve Diameter – 48mm
- Overall Length. -82.25-in.
- Grip Frame Width – 39.5-in.
- Grip Frame Height – 10.25-in.
- Grip Frame Thickness – 1.5-in.
- Sleeve to Sleeve Length. -53-in.
- Loadable Sleeve Length – 14.5-in.
- Space Between Grips – 2.5-in.
- Grip Length – 7-in.
- Knurling – Passive Texture
- Finish – Powder-Coated Black
- Material – Steel
- Weight Capacity – 1,900 lb.
- Product Weight – 38 lb.
What I Like About The Titan Fitness Multi-Grip Bar
Sorry, but that’s all I could come up with.
At 53 years old, having implements that help me train around chronic injury or pain is valuable. A multi-grip bar is one such tool. I use one at least once a week, if not more.
The inner handles on this bar are angled, which is nice and helps your hands be in a very natural and neutral position while using the bar. There are also three handle positions per side to allow you to go from a very wide grip to a close grip with one step in between.
Multi-grip bars are a very versatile tool (something I value highly in anything I buy for my garage gym). This Titan model is no different. The problem is that there isn’t much else that’s redeeming about it.
What I Don’t Like About The Titan Multi-Grip Bar
Each. of this bar’s 6 handles has a different knurl on it. The best of any of them has a very passive “hilltop” knurl on it. The worst has almost no knurl at all.
This lack of grip makes the bar very hard to hold on to. I found that while using it if there was any sweat on my hands at all, it would easily start to slip out of my grip.
The newer V3 has 8 handles, and the knurling is more consistent. Unfortunately, it’s not grippier, and I still find the new version slick and almost unusable due to lack of grip.
If I were to list barbell finishes from best to worst, powder coat would come in almost last (cheap decorative chrome is the only one that’s worse, in my opinion.
Only weeks after I started using this bar, the finish was rubbing off on the sleeves. This exposes the bare steel beneath and can lead to rust. This isn’t something you want to have to deal with on a barbell.
Not only is this bar littered with welding that looks like it was done by a blind person suffering from seizures, but there is also a loose piece of metal rattling around inside the bar.
I’m sure that loose pieces of metal aren’t in every bar, but the fact that it made it to my house in that condition tells me there was absolutely zero attention paid to quality control or construction with this bar.
Even the branding (cheap vinyl decals) had mostly come off before taking it out of the box.
I’ve bought some very poorly made products in my life, but this one has to be in the top three in that category.
Who This Multi-Grip Bar Is Best For
The v2 is discontinued, so you can’t buy one new. If you see one on the used market, I’d skip that too.
The V3 is quite a bit better, but still not a bar I’d recommend. The knurling is more consistent on the V3, and when I used it, there was definitely more grip than the V2. That said, the knurl on the V3 is sorely lacking.
The V3 has more handle positions, too, but I found them to be too close together for my taste.
This Titan bar (V3) currently sells for $189 with free shipping. If you need a multi-grip bar and are on a tight budget, that might be a decent reason to get one. But outside of that, there are much better choices.
Alternatives To The Titan Fitness Multi-grip Bar
The multi-grip bar I am currently training with is the Cambered Swiss bar by Rep Fitness. It adds a cambered design, which makes it much more comfortable for me to use. It really helps to add depth and range of motion to both presses and rows, something the Titan can’t do.
At $289, it’s $100 more than the Titan. I think it was a good value when I bought mine, but I realize that may be outside the budget for some folks.
If that’s the case for you, then take a look at the Arch Nemesis Swiss bar by Bells of Steel. It has a lot of the same issues as the Titan (passive knurl and powder coat sleeves), but at $199, it is a better choice than the Titan model.