Vulcan Absolute Power Bar

Vulcan Absolute Power Bar

The Vulcan Absolute Power Bar has been one of my go-to power bars for several years. It’s one of my favorite bars in my entire collection.

This bar has a very impressive knurling profile headlined by very clean machining and an aggressive feel. I use this bar on each of the big 3 lifts.

The Absolute Power Bar includes some impressive specs that make it one of the best power bars for the price.

Read further for details.

Features & Highlights

• Black Oxide – Black Oxide is one of my personal favorite finishes due to its excellent feel in the hands and how well it takes chalk. Surface rust will eventually show up on a black oxide surface, so just keep this in mind. Oil will help mitigate oxidation, but it won’t prevent it.
• Aggressive Knurling – This bar has one of my favorite knurl patterns on the market. It’s mountainous, but not sharp, and it bites in all the right ways. It’s suitable as an everyday driver on each of the power lifts.
• 29mm Shaft – The 29mm shaft on the Vulcan Absolute Power Bar is consistent with IPF standards. It creates a very rigid shaft ideal for the big 3 power lifts. 
• IPF Knurl Marks – This bar offers single powerlifting knurl marks spec’d to IPF requirements.
• Tensile Strength – The 221k PSI tensile strength puts the Vulcan Absolute Power Bar in the upper echelon of power bars, especially at this price point.
• Grooved Sleeves – The grooved sleeves will tend to keep the plates on the bar better than a smooth sleeve when not using collars, but they will also be louder. The sleeves are finished in a matte chrome. 
• Bushings – The bar offers a bronze bushing rotation system as expected with a power bar.
• Center Knurl – This bar offers a 4″ center knurl that has a slightly less aggressive profile than the outer knurl.
• Strong Warranty – This bar offers a lifetime warranty.

What They’re Saying at Vulcan Strength

The Vulcan Absolute Power Bar receives very positive feedback from users. With a 4.9/5 average rating at vulcanstrength.com, here are some of the things people have said:

Positive

• “Simply an awesome bar. Grip/knurling is perfect. Looks amazing with the black and silver. Great construction. The packaging was incredible – no way it could have been damaged without somebody purposely going out of their way to do so and even that would require tremendous effort. Ecstatic about this purchase. Looking forward to using this bar for years and years.”
• “Perfectly aggressive knurling without being too aggressive. Provides a very secure grip. Any more aggressive and it would hurt/potentially tear at your calluses. Center passive knurling is a beautiful and thoughtful touch. I do not know of any other comparable bar which does this. Unique design of the sleeves provides a nice aesthetic change of pace. This bar just looks good and feels good.”
• “I had a leading competitors power bar, but sold it when I got this Vulcan bar. I love the knurling…aggressive, but not overly sharp and with a lot of points per surface area, so it sticks to the paws well. The center knurl is mild, which to me, is the bar’s #1 best feature.”
• “The bar looks great, the knurl is perfectly aggressive but not too much, and the softer center knurl is a nice touch. I’d highly recommend this bar to anyone looking to buy something new at a reasonable price.”
• “I have been using this bar in my home gym for over a year and absolutely love it. It is stiff with aggressive knurling, perfect for the big 3 lifts. I also like that the center knurling is less aggressive and doesn’t tear my shirt when I put it on my back. The black oxide finish looks sexy too.”

Critical

• “Ribbed sleeves seem pointless, tbh, but doesn’t distract from the quality of the bar. Matte finish comes off the sleeves with sliding cheap plates on and off. Bumpers scraped the matte finish as well, but that’s not personally a big deal to me.”

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has reviewed this bar. You can read the full review here or you can view the synopsis below.

[letsreview postid=”2692″]

The Vulcacan Absolute Power Bar was a winner in the Garage Gym Lab 2022 Best Barbell Awards.

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Vulcan Absolute Power Bar.