Kabuki Strength Duffalo Bar

Kabuki Strength Duffalo Bar

The Kabuki Duffalo Bar is considered by many to be the gold standard in the buffalo/bow bar industry.

This a premium bar with great specs, several of which are unique to the Duffalo Bar.

With three different finish options to choose from, users can look at aesthetics, oxidation resistance, feel, and price to determine which is best for them.

Read more for details.

Features & Highlights

• Proprietary Bend – The standout feature of a buffalo-style barbell is the bend. When you look at the landscape, some bars have a shallow bend and some bars have a deep bend. The Kabuki Duffalo Bar falls somewhere in the middle. It creates a very comfortable and stable bar.
• Finish Options – The bar comes in three finish types: Zinc, Black Oxide, and Electroless Nickel (shown in order of price from lowest to highest). Electroless Nickel will provide the best oxidation resistance, arguably the best feel, and arguably the best look, but it will also cost the most. Black Oxide lacks oxidation resistance, but it looks great and it offers a supreme feel given it’s a conversion coating. The cheapest option is zinc, which provides middle-of-the-road oxidation resistance, feel, and look.
• Knurling – This bar is known for having a very grippy knurl pattern that isn’t overly aggressive. In the center of the bar is a very wide center knurl with a smooth ring dead-center to help lineup perfectly in the middle of the bar.
• Long, Olympic-Sized Sleeves – The Duffalo bar is equipped with extra-long sleeves to accommodate a lot of plates. At 17.25″, it’s one of the longest sleeves among other buffalo-style bars. The sleeves are also Olympic-sized, which means you can use traditional collars. Lastly, these sleeves include a slight upward angle, which changes the center of gravity to offset the bend and better match a traditional barbell.
• Bushing Rotation System – Similar to a traditional power bar and many multi-purpose bars, the Duffalo bar uses bronze bushings to spin the sleeves. This creates a slow and steady spin, which is exactly what you want on the squat and bench, where this bar shines.
• Best End Caps – In my opinion, Kabuki makes the best end caps in the world of strength equipment. With a stamped, stainless steel, it just looks beautiful and has a very high-end feel to it.

From the Manufacturer

The Duffalo Performance Squat and Bench bar is the ultimate bar for squatting and bench pressing, correctly, safely, and for performance. Today, there are thousands of Duffalo Bars located in gyms and S&C facilities all around the world – making it one of, if not THE, most popular specialty bars on the planet. Dozens of professional teams in the MLB, NFL, and NBA have Duffalo Bars in their strength training facilities. We honestly believe that outside of competition, every lifter would benefit from using the Duffalo Bar over a standard barbell.

Duffalo Bar for the Squat

Our proprietary bends allow for improved scapular retraction and reduces stress on the easily-irritated biceps tendon in the shoulder, while eliminating the counter-productive center peak on similar bars. Reducing this direct strain on the bicep tendon and allowing increased back rigidity + proper joint centration via scapular retraction is incredibly important for strength and injury prevention. Additionally, our bar can improve your ability to generate core stability due to the reduced mobility demands of the shoulders allowing you to avoid excessive spinal extension and maintain neutrality in a back squat rack position . Many athletes and lifters report immediate improvements in their ability to brace and maintain spine neutrality.

Duffalo Bar for the Squat

Our proprietary bends optimize the wrist angle when held in the pressing position. This positioning cues proper joint centration in the shoulder, while also improving both lat and scapular engagement. Despite the increased ROM of the press, users report significantly reduced or completely eliminated shoulder pain while gaining an increased training effect from the additional range of motion.

What They’re Saying at Kabuki Strength

The Kabuki Duffalo Bar receives very positive feedback from users. With an average rating of 5/5, here are some of the things people have said at kabukistrength.net:

Positive

• “At first glance the knurling looks passive, but your hand does not move once you grab onto it. I had a cheaper bow bar from strength shop that was fully knurled, but this thing blows it away. Pick pop cans, sell some shoes, buy cheaper beer, do whatever it takes to afford this bar; worth every penny.”
• “Squatting with this bar is so much more comfortable than with a regular flat bar that I don’t ever want to go back. The knurling is fantastic and doesn’t jack up my palms; it makes my other (non-Kabuki) bar want to hide in the corner out of sheer embarrassment. One interesting aspect of trying to bench with this bar is how it effectively forces you to keep your wrists in proper alignment; because the bar is curved, if you don’t do this, the bar will try to roll over, which can be sort of disconcerting if you’re not expecting it. Pay attention to your technique and don’t get sloppy and you won’t have any issues.”
• “EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT customer service. Bar is well constructed. Knurl is perfect. Get this bar.”
• “Reduced shoulder and elbow pain when squatting and benching. The knurl is top notch as well. High recommend!”
• “I had been having shoulder pain for some time doing low bar squat. After doing some research I decided to buy this bar. It is an absolute game changer. I have had zero discomfort squatting with this bar. It feels more natural. I have zero pain with the duffalo bar doing both squat and bench press. I have used it for flat bench, incline, and reverse grip triceps press and it feels great. The only downside is the price point, but the ultra high quality makes it more than worth it. This is, hands down, the best investment I have made in the gym in over a decade of lifting.”
• “I’ve my duffalo bar for 3 years now. I squatted 645lbs on it last week and the knurling is still like new. Great bar, built to last.”

Critical

• None Noted

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has not yet reviewed this bar.

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Kabuki Strength Duffalo Bar: