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Oso barbell collars


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I've trained for numerous years now and been a member of numerous gyms, and always had one small but consistent frustration throughout this time - Lack of decent Barbell collars.

I'm going to start by saying having a loose, worn or insecure barbell collar on the bar can be one of the most dangerous mistakes a lifter can make. When you are lifting 100s of kilograms or less and you don't have secure collars in place the weight can be unevenly distributed during the set. This can unbalance you and increase the risk of injury to not only yourself but others working out around you in the gym if the weights slide off the barbell. This happens more often than you might think in the gym and has even happened at elite level powerlifting and weightlifting events in the past.

I recently got myself a pair of OSO barbell collars, from raiselower.co.nz and have been using them for a couple of months now. They are fantastic. I have been slamming the deadlifts down after every rep, racking the squat bar back into the cage hard after every set and these things just don't move at all. They fit any 50mm barbell and weigh next to nothing. They come in a range of cool colours and look great too.

Collars might seem like an odd accessory to buy but if you have a home gym then you are going to need collars of some kind. I don't train at home myself, but the collars at the gym I train at are hopeless. When you have 300 odd kilograms on a barbell and plates move around because the collars don't hold them in place, it's not only dangerous but can be hard to push them in flush after each working set. Especially when you are fatigued and tired. With OSO barbell collars I don't need to do that, because they are reliable and they don't move once locked on.

Raiselower.co.nz sell these for $90 a pair. I think it's a fair price considering the quality and the longevity you are going to get from them. And lets face it people are spending more than $90 on night time supplement forumulas, Lcarnitine fat burners and pre workouts that are all scientifically proven to do everything apart from work. So $90 isn't so bad for a product with a 2 year warranty, that will make your lifting safer and last you a very long time.

Over my time training the two types that most commonly come across and had problems with are..

1. Spring collars - these have 2 grips and when you squeeze them together they open the circular piece on top which allows it to slide onto the barbell and when you release it tightens locking it in place. When these get used for a while the ability of the circular piece to tighten becomes almost no existent. Which means it will slide on and off the barbell without much effort. I have included a photo of an over used spring collar and a spring collar in newer condition below. When these are in good condition and working how they should they can also be a real pain to get on and off the barbell. They become caught on the ridges of the barbell and need to be wiggled off. This is where the OSO barbell collars just slide straight on and off when they are unlocked.

2. Clamp collars - these are probably the most popular and common collar in gyms. They are made of plastic and in my opinion that's their downfall in comparasion to the OSO collars. They slide on and off really well when new, but Iv seen snapped ones and seen them loosened before. The hinges tend to pack up on these just because they are plastic and plastic doesn't to well against metal gym equipment everyday.

Safety should be number one when buying a pair of collars. I hope my review will be of help one day to someone and I have included some photos below so you guys know what I tested and compared.

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good post, in my home gym had spring type and these other screw type. both were shit. amount of time i spent raging when a collar got stuck on or wouldnt tighten was worth more than 90$ for a pair of these

 

next time i have a home gym collars will def be a planned investment, seems like a little thing but makes a big difference for convenience and safety

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I brought some pro-locs before someone in NZ started distributing them cos a mate got me a hookup - have GPCNZ engraved on them, slam down any dead lift and they stay strong, f*ck those regular gym collars

 

vids and pics of how they work here - http://proloccollars.com/Page_2.php

 

Unsure if i should have posted this on a review - if not just delete it no biggy!

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nice in-depth review mate. along similar lines i recommend the elite fitness olympic compression collars.. $20 the pair and they weigh 2.5kg each just like the official stuff. they tighten up super easy and getting them off just as easy. the spinlock part of it is really convenient for when you wanna get an extra tight push on the blades to the sleeve.

 

#never going back to spring collars crew

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I had some proloc in my raffle world champs fundraiser raffle - tried them out, didn't hold unless I tighten the screw tight, too bulky in gym bag, not quick release too much messing around screwing on and off, look average (not that looks matter but since we are reviewing).

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That's why i like the oso collars. For the fact especially on deadlifts when I want to add or take off a plate in not bent over messing around with the collar. Quick lock and quick release and just slides off because it opens wide enough to easily slide it off without any catching and wiggling.

Proloc I am bent over unscrewing a screw.

That's my opinion anyway.

One benefit of the proloc that the oso doesn't have is the chain and band connection you can buy for it. But I don't use bands or chains so no worries for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

On topic of collars, my gym bought 2 pairs of these and they are hands down the best collars iv used or seen. Easy to put on and off, dont budge no matter what. Price is reasonable. They ship to nz also and sell alot of other stuff if you wanted to do a bigger order save on shipping. Cheapest romaleos in Australia

http://www.ironedge.com.au/store/lock-jaw-elite-collars-pair.html

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Yeah agree with the screwing on/off of prolocs when youre bending over loading weights quickness is important. I used Josh's Oso ones and they held strong all the way up to +300 and were quicker to get on/off - also nice colours - I do think looks are important when you buy custom shit, thats why we do it ( least me ) and his bright color ones looked baller as. The proloc guy messaged me when I uploaded my dead pic saying 'oh dont think those will last long etc' told him they were solid as and held tight, seemed to make him sour hah

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