Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar Review

A solid trap bar can be a great tool for any athlete to level up their deadlift since its shape is more conducive to achieving proper form, and they tend to feel more natural than a barbell. The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar features an open design, which might make it even more versatile than a traditional hex trap bar. Aside from not needing to worry about possibly tripping when stepping in or out of the bar, you can also implement some walking lunges into your workout program with this product. 

This trap bar has a built-in jack, which makes it extremely easy to load or unload your bumper plates, and the handle on top allows you to perform suitcase carries. Plus, you also have two fully knurled handles on either side of the bar to switch up your grips. This trap bar from Force USA is able to withstand up to 660 pounds, and you have just under 13 inches on each loading sleeve to slide your weight plates on. When it comes to finding a highly versatile trap bar for a reasonable price, the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is one of our favorite trap bars on the market.

Main Takeaways

Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar Video Review

Our reviews writer, Jake, tested the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar for himself. In this video review, he takes you through the build, features, pros and cons, and price of this popular bar. 

Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar Highlights

The Force USA Trap Bar allows you to lift in a more natural way than you would with a barbell since your shoulders are in a more natural position. This could lead to better form while lifting, which will allow you to lift heavier weight safely. Regardless of if you want to deadlift, or perform shoulder shrugs, a farmer’s walk, suitcase carries, or walking lunges — we found that the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar can handle it.

The open design of this trap bar allows you to do extra lifts since you don’t have a bar floating behind you as you’re using it, providing more working room. The built-in jack makes changing your weight as easy as it could be — just use the handle at the front of the trap bar to stand it up. The two handles on either side of the trap bar provide some versatility with your grips, but the top handles are 31 inches apart, which could be spaced too far for some people. The handles are fully knurled, which will assist you in finding a good grip, but they aren’t cut very deep, so you might need to invest in some chalk, straps, or gloves. 

You can load up to 660 pounds on this trap bar, which is a solid number for the majority of weight lifters, but the loading sleeves are just under 13 inches in length. This is significant because with a 20-kilogram barbell, the loading sleeves are typically 16 inches and will allow you to add some more weight than you can with this trap bar. So you could essentially run out of room for your plates before you reach that max weight threshold. The sleeves also don’t feature any grooves, but a pair of spring collars are included with your purchase to keep your plates in place. 

Who Should Buy the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar

• Athletes of all levels can use this bar for their deadlifts since your body is aligned more naturally than it would be with a barbell. To put it simply, you don’t have to lean over this bar like you do with a barbell, which is really nice.
• Customers who want a trap bar to do more than just deadlifts will enjoy the open design that brings more versatility and makes it possible to perform walking lunges, while the handle on top allows you to do suitcase carries.
• Anyone who is tired of the hassle of changing weight on a trap bar will love the built-in jack here that requires minimal effort to load or unload weight plates.

Who Shouldn’t Buy the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar

• Anyone who is looking for their trap bar to have an abrasive knurling might not be too fond of the passiveness of the knurling on the handles here.
• This trap bar is priced at around $600, which might be too much money for some people, and in that case, you might want to consider some cheaper options. 
• Since the max weight of this trap bar is 660 pounds, anyone who deadlifts over that much weight will want to find a bar that is able to accommodate their strength levels.

Price

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is available for right around $600. We realize this is a pretty good chunk of change, but since you’re getting some added features in the design that lead to more versatility, we think it’s a pretty solid price. It’s worth mentioning that on top of finding some cheaper hex trap bars, you can also find some other trap bars out there that sport a cheaper price tag, but we can’t speak on the quality of those cheaper options.

Force USA also throws in a lifetime structural warranty with this product that covers any manufacturing defects, and you can finance your purchase through Affirm. Payments with Affirm start at about $50 but could increase after they run a soft credit score check. At the end of the day, the longevity and versatility you’ll experience with this trap bar make it a solid option worth considering for your home gym. 

Overall Build and Quality

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is pretty versatile with regards to a trap bar. It features a built-in jack that makes changing your weight plates effortless, you have five different handles you can use to mix up your workout, and the open design allows you to perform a wider variety of workouts than you can with a traditional hex trap bar. The loading sleeves are 12.8 inches, which is noticeably shorter than the 16 inches you’ll find with a barbell, and some people may experience the issue of running out of room on the loading sleeves before maxing out the weight limit. The weight rating is 660 pounds, which may be plenty of weight for the recreational lifter, but that might not be enough for elite-level powerlifters. 

We aren’t sure of the exact materials used to forge this trap bar, but in our time with it, we felt that it was sturdy enough to handle all of our workouts. The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is about 29 inches tall when standing on the built-in jack, and is 69 inches long from sleeve to sleeve. Since you have two handles on either side, you can switch your grip up for your workouts, which could also force you to get lower during your deadlifts.

While the handles are fully knurled, they aren’t very abrasive, which could create an issue for some in terms of optimal grip. We thoroughly enjoyed the handle placement though since it feels more natural than deadlifting with a barbell, but the top handles on either side of the bar are 31 inches apart — which could be a problem for some smaller athletes. And while we don’t know the exact diameter of the handles, they felt to be around 30 millimeters when comparing them to the handles of some dumbbells. This trap bar weighs a solid 65 pounds and does require assembly, which took us about 20 to 30 minutes. 

Features

The Force USA Trap bar comes equipped with five different handles at your disposal for your workouts. The handle on top is primarily used for standing the bar up, or laying it down while changing your weight plates, but it can also double as a grip for a suitcase carry workout. You also have two handles located on either side of the bar that can give you some variety during your lifts. They’re all fully knurled, but you might need some assistance to get the best grip possible since they aren’t very abrasive. 

The handles rotate, which did not affect us in a negative way while lifting, but that could be an annoyance to some. It’s not clear what the handles are made out of, but they felt to be some type of metal, so durability shouldn’t be much of a concern. The loading sleeves are as smooth as Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, but since your purchase includes a pair of spring collars, you shouldn’t have to worry about your plates sliding off while lifting. 

Knurling

The knurling found on the handles is not very abrasive, which may be a bit disappointing to some athletes. While they are fully knurled which can assist you in getting a good grip regardless of where you grab the handles, without that abrasiveness you might want to invest in some lifting chalk, gloves, and/or straps to provide you with the proper grip you desire. 

Sleeve Design

The sleeves on the Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar are smooth and do not feature any type of grooved pattern. This seems to be pretty common across all trap bars though, and since you have a pair of spring collars thrown in with your purchase, we don’t think you should sweat that too much. We definitely recommend using the spring collars for your own safety.

Counterbalanced 

A really awesome feature with this trap bar is that it has a counterbalanced design. At first glance, you would think that the open design would lead to the front of the bar being heavier which could make it difficult to lift with. Fortunately, that is not the case, as this counterbalanced design helps keep the bar level during your workouts. 

Built-in jack

Our favorite feature of this trap bar is without a doubt the built-in jack. This is going to make loading or unloading your weight plates as simple as possible. Just grab the handle located on the top of the bar and set the bar on the jack. You’ll have the perfect amount of space between the sleeves and the ground for you to slide your plates on or off without any interference. 

Product Specs

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is one of our favorite options on the market due to its versatility and uniqueness. Because it has a natural feel when performing deadlifts, beginners can learn the proper technique, and since it has a weight rating of 660 pounds, more seasoned lifters can also get some solid usage out of it. When standing on the built-in jack, it has a height of 29 inches, and is 69 inches from sleeve to sleeve, with each one being 12.8 inches. 

Materials

The materials used on equipment play a large factor in the overall quality, as well as the price for said equipment. While we don’t know the gauge steel that was used for this trap bar, it does feel pretty solid in our opinion, and we don’t think you need to worry about it breaking on you. Fortunately, Force USA throws in a lifetime structural warranty on their products, which covers any potential manufacturing defects.

There are some negative reviews online from customers saying the handles are made out of plastic, while we didn’t find that to be true, we still aren’t exactly sure what was used. There’s also a black powder coating which gives it a nice look in our gym. 

Weight Capacity

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is rated to hold up to 660 pounds. This is a solid number for the majority of home gym owners, but if you are someone who is able to deadlift more than that, you’re going to want to explore some other options. There are actually some trap bars out there that can handle up to 1,500 pounds. 

Dimensions and Weight

Unlike some other equipment like a kettlebell or dumbbell, trap bars don’t vary too much in terms of their overall dimensions. The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is 69 inches in length, stands 29 inches tall when rotated to the built-in jack, and the loading sleeves are 12.8 inches long. We were a bit disappointed that the loading sleeves are that much shorter than what you’ll find on a 20-kilogram barbell, but since this bar is not able to handle as much weight as a solid barbell can, it’s probably best to keep the sleeve length as is.

This trap bar weighs 65 pounds when fully assembled, which is a nice touch and can provide a solid weight on its own when you look to do some suitcase carries. Just be sure to keep this in mind as it’s 20 pounds heavier than a traditional 45-pound barbell.

Warranties

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar features a lifetime warranty that covers the structural integrity of the bar and any errors that may occur during manufacturing — but that warranty excludes any rust that may form or negligent usage. 

Places to Buy

You can purchase this barbell directly through the Force USA website.

Company Information

Force USA had offered affordable gym equipment for those who want to build out a home gym. They currently operate in over 25 countries across the globe, but to reach their USA operations team, you can call (385) 557-2554, or for their Canada team you can call (778) 800-950. If you’d rather contact them via email, you can fill out a request form on their website to have someone from their team email you.

Final Word

The Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is a highly versatile trap bar that is a great option for anyone looking to learn proper deadlift technique, plus you can work in some suitcase carries or walking lunges on top of the typical trap bar workouts, like a farmer’s walk. It’s less expensive than some trap bars that feature a similar design, but those are also rated to handle more weight than this trap bar is able to hold. While $600 for a trap bar might seem like a large sum of money, we think the high quality and versatility of this specific trap bar make it a pretty solid deal in our eyes.

The knurling on the handles might not be ideal for anyone who needs an abrasive knurling, but you could also work in some lifting chalk, gloves, or straps if necessary. While 660 pounds may be more than enough weight for a lot of people, anyone who is able to deadlift more than that will want to go ahead and bite the bullet for a more expensive trap bar that can handle their strength level. But when you consider all of the features that make this a pretty unique trap bar, we think it’s one of the best options you could add to your home gym. 

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