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Rogue Curl Bar (EZ Bar) Product Review

Rogue Curl Bar - full product review

The Rogue EZ Curl Bar – easily one of the most well-received and sought-after pieces of training equipment released in the last year. An instant success; just about every batch made available since its initial release has sold out the same day (it took me over three months to catch one in stock and place an order!) Are you wondering what makes a curl bar so popular?

Well not to spoil the review, but it’s popular because it’s better than the competition. It shames pretty much every other curl bar on the market in at least one way, but typically in half a dozen different ways. Basically if the Rogue Curl Bar isn’t shaming another curl bar with its features, it’s doing so with its price.

I’ll discuss just about every aspect of the Rogue Curl Bar in this review. I’ll also address some things you probably wouldn’t think of by just reading the product page. Finally, I’ll compare the Rogue Curl Bar to both the cheap, box-store curl bars and the other premium curl bars. By the time you finish this article you will know more about curl bars than you imagined possible.

Also, since I tend to write lengthy reviews, I have included some bullet points and a TL;DR summary at the bottom for those with limited time on their hands.


Rogue Curl Bar Review – Specifications

  • Weight: 30-pounds
  • Shaft diameter: 28.5 mm *
  • Shaft finish: black E-coat over chrome
  • Shaft length: 31.5″ (not rackable)
  • Knurling: mild/moderate *
  • Sleeve diameter: 50 mm/1.96″
  • Loadable sleeve length: 10.5″
  • Sleeve finish: bright zinc
  • Total bar length: 54.5″
  • Sleeve Assembly: snap-ring/bushing *
  • Made in USA; 5-year warranty
  • Price: $195
Rogue Curl Bar (EZ Bar) Specifications Image* The Rogue EZ Curl Bar is basically a cambered Ohio Bar. It has the same 28.5 mm shaft diameter, the same knurl pattern, and the same sleeve assembly (bronze bushings and snap-rings). Those of you who have handled any Ohio Bar variant will already know what to expect from the Rogue Curl Bar in terms of performance, quality, and overall feel.


What is E-Coat?

E-coat is an electronically applied, non-metal based paint. It’s basically just an alternative to black zinc and black oxide that offers superior resilience, better corrosion resistance, and in the case of black zinc, a more secure grip. E-coat is uniform in appearance, vibrant, and less likely to fade out. It also won’t turn green!

Brand new Rogue Curl Bar - E-coat finish

This is what e-coat looks like before we get our grubby hands on it.

Resilience and attractiveness is nice, but how does e-coat feel? I would rank the texture and grip of e-coat right about where I would rank black oxide. I think it’s just barely less pleasing than raw steel bars, but miles ahead of black zinc and decorative chrome (another all too common curl bar finish.) It’s essentially an affordable, grippy, black chrome. I like it.


Knurling

Knurl quality is excellent – perfect for this application. It’s the same knurl pattern found on Rogue’s Ohio line (SS excluded.) It’s consistent, grippy but not coarse or sharp. It’s functional yet comfortable. Between the feel of e-coat and the knurl on this bar, chalk is definitely optional (as are those silly, fingerless gloves.)

Close up shot of the Rogue Curl Bar's knurling

Additionally, there are no gaps in the knurling along the length of the bar except for the very center. That means regardless of where you place your hands on this bar you will find knurl. Most curl bars have very limiting knurl patterns – lots of bare sections; lots of gaps.


Bar Weight

The unloaded weight of the Rogue Curl Bar is 30-pounds – a nice and convenient round number. Many of the inexpensive curl bars on the market (and even some of the nicer models) have ridiculous weights – weights that make our brains ache when trying to do what should be simple math.

For instance, the XMark EZ Curl Bar is 22-pounds, the CAP Super Curl Bar is 18-pounds, and the Marcy EZ Curl Bar is 13-pounds! Now I’m not suggesting anyone over the age of five couldn’t do the math involved with these bars, but why would we want to? 5-pound increments, please and thank you.

Do you wonder why these bars are so light despite them being the same length as nicer curl bars? They are hollow. Hollow bars are cheap to produce, cheap to ship from overseas to your local Wal-Mart, and they are absolutely susceptible to bends. Not a fan.


Sleeve Assembly

As previously mentioned, the Rogue Curl Bar uses the same bronze bushings and snap-ring assembly as the Ohio Bar. This is great – most other curl bars are pinned (hex bolts), and pinned bars simply suck. They rattle, they don’t spin well at all, and the hex bolts like to work themselves loose (which can be dangerous!)

The Rogue Curl Bar features cast bronze bushings and snap-ring design. Great rotation, maximum reliability.

Bushing assemblies are safer and more durable. The sleeves will spin reliably for the life of the bar, and the whole assembly requires practically no maintenance – maybe a drop of oil once or twice a year. Also because of Rogue’s strict manufacturing tolerances, there is virtually no lateral play in the sleeves. This equates to less friction, less wear and tear, and less noise (squeak squeak).


Sleeve Length

The sleeves of the Rogue Curl Bar are 10½” long, which is about 60% longer than the majority of box-store curl bars (typically around 6-7″). This is a substantial difference that not only allows for more total weight on the bar, but it also allows for those of us who own bumper plates to still load this bar up without having to go buy thinner plates.

To illustrate the difference, my old CAP curl bar with 6″ sleeves could only hold one 45-pound basic bumper plate and collar per side – maybe another 10-pound plate if I let collar hang off sleeve slightly. That basically means that the limitations to what I could ever possibly curl were based on my equipment, not my strength. Well that’s a pretty lame situation to be in.

Is a 260-pound curl enough weight for you? Seems like a lot to me!

With 10½” sleeves it doesn’t matter what kind of plates you own. At that length the bar can be loaded to about 275-pounds with basic bumpers, 375-pounds with competition bumpers, and even 225-pounds with the super thick HI-Temps – and these totals include normal sized collars fully engaged with the sleeves (HG, OSO, etc.) I don’t curl 225-pounds. Do you?


Sleeve Diameter

The sleeves of the Rogue Curl Bar are 50 mm in diameter (1.96″). This means that it is compatible with any and all weight plates, bumper plates, and change plates that are manufactured to IWF or IPF specifications (50.4 mm opening).

Prices measurement of the Rogue Curl Bar's "50 mm" sleeves - close enough for government work

I only mention this because many of the imported EZ curl bars sold in American sporting good stores have 2″ sleeves (50.8 mm) rather than 50 mm sleeves. These 2″ sleeves are only reliably compatible with cast iron plates or same-brand rubber-coated plates. You should expect to have issues fitting the precise, IWF/IPF-compatible 50.4 mm plates onto 50.8 mm sleeves (for obvious reasons).


Alternative EZ Curl Bars?

The Rogue Curl Bar is fantastic; it’s an amazing piece of equipment. Is it the best option though? Based on price and features I certainly think so, but I’ll tell you about a couple of the alternatives and let you decide. First though, let me go ahead and address the cheap, box-store curl bars first..

Rogue vs the imports

I refer to these bars as ‘the imports’ because regardless of brand (CAP, Body Solid, XMark, Troy, Marcy, etc) they are all mass-produced, low quality bars made in Asia. Each brand may have slightly different specifications and seemingly random pricing, but if you spend enough time looking at all these $30-$70 curl bars like I have, you start to see that they share a lot of the same negative traits. Some of the more notables include:

  • hollow shafts; evident by their low overall weight.
  • very short sleeves – as short as 6″.
  • pinned sleeves (hex bolt).
  • chrome variations have spray on, decorative chrome paint that will not remain on the bar.
  • odd weights and shaft diameters.

There are other things to look out for with the cheap curl bars, including very short overall length, poorly and/or unevenly cambered shafts, and inferior bushings (brass and nylon, for instance). There is also the issue of premium plates and bumpers not fitting on the sleeves – an issue that cannot always be discovered by reading the product description.

Example of a crappy, imported curl bar - about $40 from a sporting goods store

This picture illustrates a number of issues with box-store curl bars. The sleeves are thick, the shaft just wobbles loosely in the sleeve (no bushings!), the knurl is a joke, and I dislodged those chrome flakes with just my finger.

What you ultimately buy for your gym is your business, but I really, really believe that buying what’s pictured above is a mistake. We have so many better options now for curl bars. Treat yourself. Buy something you’ll be proud of – something you’ll be excited to use day-in and day-out. Don’t buy a $49 curl bar.

vs American Barbell Stainless EZ Curl Bar

The American Barbell EZ Curl Bar would definitely be my second choice for a high-end curl bar. It has pretty much all of the same features and the same high level of craftsmanship as the Rogue Curl Bar. It even has the added benefit of a stainless steel shaft. Due to the cost though, it was still my second choice (yes, stainless steel is great, but $295 is just too expensive for a bar that’s functionally no better than the Rogue.)

American Barbell Stainless EZ Curl Bar - Where is the knurling?

Additionally, the American Barbell Curl Bar has way less knurling than the Rogue. The Rogue offers knurl for every possible hand position you could take – both for curls and crushers. The AB has very isolated knurling, which more or less dictates to you where you can hold the bar.

Finally, the distance between collars is 31½” on the Rogue, and 36¾” on the AB; yet the sleeves are about the same overall length. This means the AB is longer than the Rogue. Sadly, it’s not long enough to be rackable so this difference in length is just whatever. Neither advantage or disadvantage.

vs Ivanko OBZ-55 EZ Curl Bar

The Ivanko OBZ-55 is very similar to the Rogue Curl Bar. They both have the same shaft diameter, nice long sleeves, and bushing systems. They both weigh 30-pounds, and both are made in the USA. The only notable differences are the finishes (black oxide on the Ivanko), isolated knurling like on the AB, and the price.

Ivanko OBZ-55 EZ Curl Bar - Fantastic bar, insane price

Forget the knurl, it’s the price is where most people are going to have a problem with the OBZ-55. With an MSRP of $383.50, it’s nearly $100 more than the American Barbell Curl Bar and $200 more than the Rogue Curl Bar. Since there are no real benefits to owning the Ivanko over the Rogue (other than to say you own an Ivanko), I don’t see me ever recommending this bar. Nobody can argue the fact that Ivanko makes great equipment, but sadly they remain just too cost-prohibitive.

BTW: Ivanko has another curl bar (the OBZ-30B) for closer to $250. Do not confuse the premium OBZ-55 with the OBZ-30B, as the 30B is the equivalent of a $60 box-store curl bar (imported, thick shaft, pinned sleeves, etc.) It’s technically better than say a CAP bar, but worth no where near its asking price. 

Premium EZ Bar Specification Chart

Rogue EZ AB SS EZ Ivanko OBZ-55
 Price $195 $295 $383
 Weight 30 lbs 31 lbs 30 lbs
 Shaft Diameter 28.5 mm 28.5 mm 28.5 mm
 Shaft Finish black e-coat stainless steel black oxide
 Sleeve Finish bright zinc hard chrome black oxide
 Loadable Sleeve 10½” 10¼” 10″
 Bushings bronze composite bronze
 Total Length 54½” 59″ 54½”
 Knurl Coverage ++++ ++ ++
 Made in USA yes yes yes

 


Bullet Points – Pros

  • Premium components – solid steel shaft, bronze bushings, and snap-ring assembly (versus a hex bolt.)
  • Cambering is smooth and fluid with good angles – comfortable for all hand sizes. Very well done.
  • Good weight – bar feels substantial. Nice round number for easy mathulating as well.
  • Almost double the loading capacity of cheap curl bars.
  • Perfect knurling – grippy yet comfortable. No sharpness.
  • Maximum knurl coverage – no gaps.
  • Beautiful finish, and virtually no chance of shaft corrosion.
  • 100% American-made.
  • Significantly less expensive than comparable curl bars.

Bullet Points – Cons

  • While less expensive than the other premium curl bars, Rogue’s Curl Bar is obviously a lot more expensive than cheap, imported bars.
  • Not rackable. I mean it’s not supposed to be, but it would be nice.
  • Difficult to find in stock.

 TL;DR and/or Review Summary

It’s obvious to me that a lot of thought and consideration went into every single facet of the Rogue Curl Bar during its development – nothing was overlooked or skimmed over. From knurl depth and placement to the length and angle of the cambers, everything about this bar feels superior to other curl bars. It is comfortable yet secure, requires virtually no maintenance, spins as reliably as any Rogue Olympic bushing bar, and it’s priced reasonably and competitively.

Additionally, at 10½”, the Rogue has the longest sleeves of any 50 mm curl bar that I know of. I feel like it’s safe to say that you will never curl more weight than you can load onto this bar, and that’s a lot more than can be said for curl bars with short 6″ sleeves.

I really don’t like to get unduly excited about things, but I really, really dig this curl bar. It definitely makes the list of top-10 Rogue products ever. I don’t regret paying $195 for, and if it somehow went missing I’d buy it all over again. I’m not alone on this either. Everyone who uses my gym loves having it around. So if you don’t want to buy one, at least find a friend with one a try it out. You’ll dig it, I promise.

I apologize for the length of this article, but thanks for reading and enjoy your workout!

♦ ♦ ♦

{ 24 comments… add one }
  • Matt June 19, 2017, 6:26 pm

    Does anyone know when the rogue curl bar will be available in Australia?

  • Matt June 25, 2017, 12:54 am

    Anything?

    • jburgeson June 25, 2017, 12:21 pm

      That’s anybody’s guess really. Rogue Europe and Rogue Canada both offer the Curl Bar, but it is sold out company-wide. I’m just guessing here, but if Rogue Australia is ever going to offer the Curl Bar, it won’t be until inventory is stable at least in the USA – which it has never been. You could just ask Rogue AUS if they are trying to get it if you haven’t already.

      • Matt June 25, 2017, 6:24 pm

        Yeah thanks, I’ve emailed rogue but yet to receive a reply. I was just hoping someone had some better news than I had assumed.

  • jordan July 25, 2017, 12:15 pm

    Hey John. Your review tipped me over the edge. I bought one of the Rogue curl bar’s a few weeks ago. Boy….what a pain trying to catch one when they come in stock. The email notifications were useless. I just got lucky refreshing a few times a day.

    Ironically, I don’t have much intention of traditional curling with the bar. I bought it primarily for laying tricep extensions.

    Very nice bar, indeed. Happy I didn’t go the cheap route!

    • jburgeson July 25, 2017, 12:46 pm

      It’s nice right? I’m not crazy. I probably have a 2:1 ratio of tricep to bicep work with it myself. Friends that use my gym love it, but I’m pretty sure they just curl with it.

      And yeah, e-mail notifications go out after it’s back in stock so there is still a decent chance that page refreshers will find it hours sooner, and push it out of stock before you ever see that email. It’s silly. Works for “normal” items, not for top sellers.

      • jordan July 25, 2017, 1:00 pm

        Yeah, I imagine mine will outlast me.

        I suppose I have to confess the first thing I did with it were curls and reverse (pronated grip) curls. Guilty pleasures…better stick to my training. LOL!

        As an aside, I bought a Castro bar recently too. I love it! Primarily using it for deadlifts and power cleans. Perfect for both. Using my Ohio Power bar for squatting and pressing. Its nice having both…I keep my Castro loaded with 135 on my deadlift platform; however, if I was starting over I’d just buy the B&R bar. Great for all of the above.

        Oh well…options are good!

        • jburgeson July 25, 2017, 1:09 pm

          fixed!

          You get that Super Bench?

          • jordan July 25, 2017, 2:01 pm

            Nope, not me.

            Still leaning toward the Ironmaster dumbbells in the future, but they aren’t high on the list right now. I’m still a novice, so no need to get fancy yet.

            Will probably bite the bullet for the Rogue AB 2.0 when I do get dumbbells, but the Rep bench you reviewed deserves some attention.

            Will probably get the Monster bench with the Fat pad first.

            Pretty soon, I’m going to have to kick my wife out of the garage all together. Haha.

            • jburgeson July 25, 2017, 5:05 pm

              Oh that’s right, that CL ad had the dumbbells too.. my bad, I remember now.

              I have a custom frame for the Fat Pad coming – pretty excited. I probably won’t keep that Rep Bench. It’s not better than what I have and I’m not going to make space for that thing just for the decline – especially a single decline angle.

  • Jess July 26, 2017, 8:36 am

    The Rogue Curl bar is back in stock again. I’ll get mine later this week.

    • jburgeson July 26, 2017, 10:36 am

      As soon as I read this I had to go check status – it’s gone again. Can’t wait with this product – not if you really want it.

  • Rob August 1, 2017, 7:45 am

    Hey John!! Just wondering if you had a chance to take a peek at the new Vulcan Curl Bar. I am interested to read your thoughts on how it compares to the Rogue.

    • jburgeson August 1, 2017, 8:51 am

      I saw that it was added the other day, but I’ve yet to physically handle one. It looks promising, and price seems good. Some differences I see are:

      Vulcan is black oxide versus Rogue’s e-coat. Probably an excellent feel for a curl bar, but will rust if not maintained.
      Vulcan has chrome sleeves versus zinc, and there are some minor durability advantages to chrome over the long term.
      Knurl looks softer on the Vulcan but until someone handles one, who knows for sure.
      Length and loadable sleeve length are not yet listed; would be nice to know those two things.
      There’s a bearing added, which is fine but probably not necessary. Rogue bar spins fine without it, though maybe Vulcan spins fine for longer. Nothing a drop of oil doesn’t fix in either case.

      It looks good; especially for $60 less. It’ll probably do well assuming there isn’t some huge unknown about it, but that seems unlikely.

      • Rob August 1, 2017, 9:44 am

        Thanks for the speedy response!! It looks solid to me also. Like you, I really wished that they had listed the sleeve length. But yeah, price looks great and it gives us as consumers yet another option.

        On another note, I’m looking for a quality 3 in 1 foam ploy box. I bought one from Titan and it was total crap, weighing less than 20lbs. My son still uses it but only for the 20 and 24 inch heights because the 30 inch height is so unstable. I’ve hit on a few accessory items from Titan but this definitely was not one of them. I’ve looked at all of the usual suspects (Rogue, Vulcan, Rep, Wright, Get) for an upgrade but was wondering if you had this item in your arsenal and which brand or make you would recommend. Thanks again for your time.

        • jburgeson August 1, 2017, 9:53 am

          I’ve actually not used any of the foam boxes. I only jump for spiders. If I were to try one though I’d probably try the black, crazy looking Vulcan version, but only because they were going on and on about it with me, not because I have any other reason to think that it’s different or better. Well I say that, but it is like 70 pounds versus that 20 pound Titan… and Rogue’s is 58 pounds. It may actually be better. Looks like something a gaming computer would come shipped in though lol

  • Rob August 1, 2017, 10:29 am

    Yeah it’s kind of hard for that Vulcan box NOT to catch your eye. The product description also says that the box contains weighted balls that help to shift the weight of the box for additional stability. I was leaning towards that one because of it’s weight but with the cost and free shipping factored in it is a much better value than the Rogue. I really like Vulcan. I think that they make products that are very comparable to Rogue in quality but their pricing in my opinion is better. Thanks again.

    • jburgeson August 1, 2017, 11:11 am

      It’s true. Well you can’t charge more than Rogue and expect to survive, so there’s that.

  • Scott October 19, 2018, 8:21 pm

    Just stumbled upon your site while looking at reviews for ez curl bars. Really appreciate how thorough the write up is- will definitely spend more time here.

    I’m looking to start buying some of the basics for a low budget home gym. I want to start with a curl bar and some kettles to get a quick workout in when the baby goes to bed. I read your thoughts on the Xmark…would you consider it junk on its own, or just compared to Rogue? I’m not putting up a lot weight and I like the corrosion resistance because my basement gets damp. They also have some nice plate packages. Appreciate any feedback.

    • jburgeson October 20, 2018, 7:02 am

      I worked out with a cheap curl bar for years before upgrading to a better bar, and I’m pretty sure it was worse than the Xmark.

      Even when they aren’t very good compared to nice bars they’ll still get you by – sometimes for a long time, and it’s not the end of the world if you buy an Xmark and use it for x years before going “hrmm I think I could do better”, and then you run out to buy a Rogue or Vulcan or American Barbell or something. I try to help people avoid buying the same piece of equipment twice, but a curl bar certainly isn’t the worst thing to do that with if you know what I mean.

  • Brent July 5, 2019, 5:47 pm

    This curl bar is the best. I love it very solid quite and spins nice. Would highly recommend it. It’s a beast of a bar for the money.

  • Paul May 17, 2020, 3:06 am

    Key factor I didn’t read in this review. Just put together my garage gym and have an American Barbell ez curl bar, just because it was what I could find. It feels like superior quality, but I have a MAJOR issue with it: the first bend coming from the sleeve isn’t counter-bent to keep the center of gravity in the middle of the knurled hand placement. As soon as I pick this bar up, it immediately struggles to roll out of my hands because all of the weight is above where the grip is positioned. The bushings are legit, so strict heavy bicep curls feel almost impossible…it’s been turned into a balancing act. I really like American Barbell products, but I just signed up for the Rogue ez curl bar notification alerts.

    • jburgeson May 18, 2020, 8:22 am

      Interesting.. Nobody I know has ever purchased that AB curl bar, and neither have I. I’m a little curious now.

  • PowaKleena May 27, 2020, 10:51 pm

    It’s 2020, and now there IS now a rackable version of the Rogue curl bar! 52″ between sleeves, weight 35 lbs.

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