Elitefts SS Yoke Bar

  • Manufacturer: Elitefts
  • Purpose: Safety Squat Bar
  • Bar Weight: 65 lbs
  • Handle Type: Short/straight/Removable
  • Knurled/Textured Handles: Yes
  • Shaft Finish: Clear Coat
  • Sleeve Finish: Clear Coat
  • Olympic-Sized Sleeves: No – requires specialty collars
  • Made In: USA
  • Warranty: N/A

Read below to get a detailed look at the Elitefts SS Yoke including product details, features, a full GGL review, real user feedback, and more.

$425.00

Elitefts SS Yoke

The Elitefts SS Yoke bar is one of the best, most respected, and most popular safety squat bars on the market.

I have owned and used this bar for years – it’s an outstanding SSB with ideal specs that create a comfortable and well-balanced bar.

Read more for details.


Features & Highlights

  • Clear Coat Finish – The Elitefts SS Yoke includes a clear coat on top of raw steel. This is the biggest downside of the bar, as it is immediately susceptible to scarring and peeling. This is purely a cosmetic concern.
  • Camber Drop & Angle – The camber drop and angle on the Elitefts SS Yoke is a case study on safety squat bars. It creates a virtually perfect balance that is comfortable and very effective.
  • Short, Slotted Handles – The SS Yoke includes short threaded handles that include a soft plastic covering with individual finger slots. As a fan of short handles, this is one of my favorite features of the bar. The finger slots are comfortable and provide instant feedback letting you know where your hands are without having to look down. Because these handles are threaded, you can introduce different handle systems for variety.
EASY but BRUTAL Safety Squat Bar Hack

  • Comfortable Yoke – This bar includes arguably the best yoke in the safety squat bar game. It’s thick and very comfortable, consisting of what appears to be a pool noodle surrounded by a thick carpet pad. The vinyl is high quality, supple, and generally just well-made.
  • Non-Olympic Sized Sleeve – The other downside to this bar is that the sleeves are not Olympic-sized, which means you will need specialty collars. My personal recommendation is Proloc since they can be used on any bar. They would very well and they’re well-priced.
  • Hefty – This bar weighs in at 65lbs, making it one of the beefier SSBs on the market.
  • American Made – This bar is made in the USA.

From the Manufacturer

New bar design to build your squat and pulls while SAVING YOUR SHOULDERS and back with our ultra-load displacing pad design.

New Bar Features

  • Added padding. Another layer of padding was added to allow for maximum weight displacement across the back (no daylight anywhere), thicker shoulder pads, so big heads still fit but those with narrow shoulders could also feel stable and tight.
  • Shorter and thicker detachable handles. This improvement allows the lifter to support the bar without aiding in the lift or tossing the lifter into a compromising position. Detach the handles and use this amazing bar for JM Presses!
  • A longer bar camber. A longer bar camber greatly increases the strength and rating of the bar.
  • Drop-tested. Our first prototypes and all competitors at the time snapped the end of the bar off with five plates per side. This may not seem like a big deal unless you start using 600 pounds on concentric-only suspended good mornings. This is why we always build with the strongest lifters in mind because it not only ensures their safety but everyone else’s.
  • Pad warranty. While we do warranty our pad, we do so only for those who purchased the bar from elitefts. We do not sell our pad as a standalone item.
  • No rotating sleeves. This is for a reason. Although this would be easy to do, it negates what makes this bar work so well. Take the thoracic extension movement (what we’ll call an upper back good morning). If the sleeves rolled with the plates, it would change how the muscles are being loaded and where.
  • Other upgrades include: Better packaging so your bar arrives AWESOME, higher quality handle grips, and a clear-coated finish.

What They’re Saying at Elitefts

The Elitefts SS Yoke receives very positive feedback from users. With an average rating of 4.9/5, here are some of the things people have said at Elitefts.com:

Positive

  • “This bar is extraordinary with removable handles for versatile use. The padding provides great cushion for the shoulders. This bar is great to improve technique.”
  • “Bar is amazing. Takes the stress off your shoulders and works your legs to the fullest extent. I was pleasantly surprised my daughter (5’1″ 110lbs) was able to use it with no problem.”
  • “I have owned this bar for almost a year and it still is a tank! This bar is for anyone – for me, it started off as a speciality bar to add some variety to my powerlifting program but after tearing my tricep and needing surgery, this bar became my everyday go to bar as I could still perform good mornings, squats, front squats, box squats, etc. When I say this thing is a tank, you can easily load 4-5 plates up a side and this bar doesn’t even flinch. If you need help with upper back development, to rehab an injury, build your base for a bigger squat or if you just want variety (not just lower body, but also upper – think JM presses) buy this bar. For someone who owns various multi-grip bars, power bars, bow bars, etc – outside of my main power bar, this would be 2nd in line.”
  • “This is exactly what I needed to get back to doing squats after my rotator cuff surgery. The bar is well balanced and the padding is excellent. It arrived at my door way quicker than expected. All positive and nothing negative.”
  • “I had no idea just how many training variations could be achieved using this bar. Hand positioning alone changes the load stimulus, and adding good morning and lunge variations makes this bar the complete package for training.”
  • “This bar is an absolute beast. I hesitated spending the money for this bar for a long time, and I’m so happy I finally bought it. It’s an absolute beast. It feels great on the shoulders as well. Spend the money on this bar and feel comfortable knowing that it will last through a lifetime of beatings.”
  • “I’ve had many safety squat bars over the years the only one that come close to this one is the crepinsek however I said comes close this one is the best don’t hesitate order the SS Yoke as soon as you can. It’s worth every penny.”

Critical

  • “The clearcoat starts chipping immediately, and you’ll need some prolocs or other specialty collar. I’d still pick this bar over the others in a heartbeat.”

Garage Gym Lab Review

Best Safety Squat Bars 2022

The Elite SS Yoke Bar was also awarded as a ‘Best Safety Squat Bar‘ in the 2022 Garage Gym Lab awards. You can check out the review here and the synopsis below.

[letsreview postid=”1833″]


Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Elitefts SS Yoke: