Barbarian Line Weight Load Capacities
We have been getting a few questions regarding the weight load capacities for the Barbarian Line gym equipment. Many of them are below that of Ironmaster, Powertec and other competitors products. The reason is simple: the Barbarian Line is capacity-based equipment in terms of use, not on static loads.
Safety Standard
You will see on nearly all of the Barbarian products, that they have a European Standards certificate. The Standard EN957 covers safety requirements with certain test methods. The purpose of the standard is to ensure that the product is fit and safe for its intended purpose, which—in the case of the Barbarian Line—is for commercial use, referred to as Class S. So when the Barbarian Line is tested, it is for repeated and heavy usage.
In Australia, you can seemingly make the rules up as you go along. Look on ebay and you will see $400 power racks referred to as semi-commercial. They are rubbish, to the point of being dangerous. Some that claim commercial, are not much better either.
The same applies to the weight load capacities. There is no regulation of the testing procedures for these type of racks. So they can claim any capacity they like.
Some of our competitors are now claiming their equipment is certified, but against what standard? Their load ratings are supported by pictures of the equipment loaded with weight plates. They do not factor in the repeated use of heavy barbells.
What use is a power rack that can hold 500kgs, but the J-hooks start stressing with a 250kg load that is dropped?
EN957-2 requires 100,000 cylcles of maximum load. The extrinisic loading is determined at the point during normal usage, where the greatest strain is placed on the equipment. So it is determined at the weakest point.
So in the case of, say the BB-9030 Power Rack, it has its J-hooks rated for 300kgs. So it can handle repeated usage of 300kgs.
The Barbarian in Action
When I questioned the owner of Barbarian, this is what he said (in German English!):
Hi Sam,
300kg is not the static capacity, 300kg meant the weight that the user can push down into the rack. So the real static capacity is much more higher about 600kg – 800kg. So our information re the capacity is in mean in real practice.
After reading this, I wanted to know if we could get a demonstration of 350kg squat, to which Martin responded:
Hi Sam,
Sure, no problem re 350kg.
We have already supported the world-championship in Powerlifting with the Barbarian Half-Rack + Warrior Bench Press + Free-Stands. Many guys use more than 250kg, the strongest guy uses 400kg…
So for you as a customer researching on gym equipment, please question what you read or hear about other products. Just like the guys and gals who inflate their lifting numbers, it is easy to make claims about gym equipment, but there’s a whole different story backing them up.
We have never been shy about backing up our claims with videos of what our products can or can’t do. The reason why we only sell US and European gym equipment is we know that they have to meet standards, and they can handle these numbers with ease.
So if you are looking at a Barbarian product, always understand that it will handle its recommended weight load day to day with ease!