Eleiko Oppen Bar

Name: Eleiko Oppen Bar
Brand: Eleiko
Rating: 4.0 (4 reviews)

The Eleiko Öppen Bar is a premium open-ended trap bar built around a patented design: an open frame that lets lifters step in and out freely, a built-in rubber-footed loading jack that raises and lowers for hands-free plate loading, and (as of its current generation) two handle heights instead of one. At 25 kg / 55 lbs with 28mm chrome handles and a 320mm loadable sleeve per side, it’s rated to over 1,100 lbs of training load, finished in a black matte powder coat, made in Sweden, and backed by a 5-year warranty. Reviewers consistently call it the best-built open trap bar on the market – balanced whether loaded or resting, rackable for pressing and cambered-bar squat work, and versatile enough for lunges, rows, carries, and step-ups beyond straight deadlifting – while flagging its premium price and shorter-than-average sleeves (which can cap plate count with bulkier bumper plates) as its main tradeoffs.

Buying guide

Best Barbell for Your Home Gym — July 2026

Finish	Black matte powder coat
Origin	Made in Sweden
Weight	25 kg / 55.1 lbs
Sleeves	Hard-wearing chrome
Warranty	5 years
Manufacturer	Eleiko
Handle heights	Two (standard)
Handle diameter	28mm
Loading mechanism	Integrated rubber-footed loading jack
Training capacity	1,100+ lbs
Loadable sleeve length	320mm (12.6") per side

What is a Barbell?

What a barbell is

The barbell is the center of a strength gym — the bar you squat, press, deadlift, and clean with. A men’s Olympic bar is 20 kg (44 lb) and 7.2 ft long (15 kg / 6.5 ft for women). The specs that matter: knurl (the grip texture — aggressive for pulls, milder for high-rep work), shaft diameter (28–29 mm for barbell lifts), sleeve rotation (bushings are fine for slow lifts; bearings spin fast for the Olympic lifts), tensile strength (~190k+ PSI resists bending), and coating (bare steel grips best but rusts; stainless and Cerakote trade grip for corrosion resistance).

Which one to buy

For general lifting, a multipurpose bar (28–28.5mm shaft, dual knurl marks, no center knurl) does squats, bench, deadlifts, and the occasional clean off one bar — this is the right first barbell for most home gyms. Choose a dedicated power bar (29mm, stiffer, aggressive center-knurl grip) only once you know you’re training squat/bench/deadlift specifically and want the stiffest, grippiest tool for that job. A dedicated Olympic weightlifting bar (needle bearings, more whip) is worth it only if you clean, snatch, or jerk regularly.

Beyond your main bar, specialty bars solve specific problems rather than replacing it: a safety squat bar shifts load off sore shoulders, a trap/hex bar takes stress off a cranky lower back on pulls, and a curl bar’s camber reduces wrist strain on isolation work. Add them once you know which problem you actually have.

How it compares

	Eleiko Oppen Bar	Lumberjack Curl Bar	Longhorn Camber Barbell	Midas Open Trap Bar
GymRadar rating	4.0/5	4.0/5	4.0/5	4.0/5
Price			$399.00	$299.00
Finish	Black matte powder coat		Black chrome on cold rolled steel	matte black powder coat (center bar), gold titanium (sleeves)
Origin	Made in Sweden
Weight	25 kg / 55.1 lbs		55 lb	55 lb
Sleeves	Hard-wearing chrome
Warranty	5 years		Lifetime warranty against bending or breaking	lifetime warranty
Manufacturer	Eleiko	XMark	Fringe Sport	Fringe Sport
Handle heights	Two (standard)
Handle diameter	28mm
Loading mechanism	Integrated rubber-footed loading jack
Training capacity	1,100+ lbs
Loadable sleeve length	320mm (12.6") per side	6.25"

4.0/5 · 4 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.0/5	4 reviews
Youtube	3.5/5	2 reviews

Independent coverage of the current dual-handle Eleiko Öppen Bar is strongly positive: Garage Gym Reviews and Iron House both call it the best open trap bar they’ve tested, and GymRadar’s own rating agrees at 4/5 (n=4). Its standout dimension is functionality – the built-in, rubber-footed loading jack raises and lowers to load plates without lifting the bar, it stays balanced whether loaded or resting (a common failure point on rival open trap bars), and its compact 77” frame stores upright against a wall. Its weakest dimension is value: at roughly $799-$850 it’s among the priciest trap bars on the market, backed by only a 5-year warranty rather than the lifetime coverage rivals offer at that price, with fixed 28mm handles that can’t be swapped for a thicker diameter. One older video (Men’s Health’s MH Strong) reviewed a prior single-handle generation and gave a lukewarm 5/10 “for the average guy” – but that predates the dual-handle upgrade every other source praises, so it reads as an outdated-generation outlier rather than a knock on the current model.

+Functionality: integrated rubber-footed loading jack raises and lowers so plates load and unload without lifting the bar, and it stays balanced whether loaded or resting (Garage Gym Reviews; YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)
+Build quality: barbell-grade 28mm chrome handles with a medium knurl and neutral-position grip markings, construction reviewers rate on par with Eleiko's competition barbells (Garage Gym Reviews; Iron House)
+Versatility: open-ended frame plus rackability supports lunges, rows, carries, step-ups, overhead pressing, and cambered-bar squats beyond straight deadlifting (Garage Gym Reviews; Iron House; YouTube: MH Strong)
+Functionality: compact 77" length and 55 lb weight store upright against a wall, lighter and shorter than rival open trap bars like the Kabuki Strength trap bar or Rogue TB2 (YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)

−Value: among the most expensive trap bars on the market at roughly $799-$850, backed by only a 5-year warranty rather than the lifetime coverage competitors offer at that price (Garage Gym Reviews; YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)
−Build quality: handles are a fixed, non-replaceable 28mm diameter with no thicker option, unlike rivals now selling interchangeable handle widths (YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)
−Durability: the current black powder coat shows marring and ring-wear on the sleeves more readily than the prior "space gray" finish it replaced, per one reviewer's early-use notes (YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)
−Functionality: shortened 320mm loadable sleeves versus the prior generation can cap max plate count for lifters using bulky bumper plates rather than calibrated or iron plates (YouTube: Garage Gym Reviews)