Fringe Sport Hex Trap Bar
A 45 lb hex bar with 24 inches between the handles — the deadlift variant that most people should have started with.
Specs
| Contents | 1 Olympic hex barbell |
|---|---|
| Weight | 45 lb |
| Weight capacity | 600 lb |
| Dimensions | 56 in long, 23.375 in wide, 5.25 in high |
| Handle spacing | 24 in |
| Shaft diameter | 25 mm |
| Sleeve specs | 12 in long, 2 in diameter |
| Material | Steel |
| Finish | Chrome |
| Knurling | Medium, both handles |
| Warranty | 1 year |
These figures are copied from Fringe Sport’s own published specs and were last checked on 2026-08-31. Manufacturers revise products without notice, and variants differ. Confirm anything your decision depends on with Fringe Sport before you buy.
Choose this one if
- You want to deadlift heavy without loading your lower back the same way
- You are teaching someone to deadlift and want the safest starting position
- You want to do farmer's carries and jumps without buying more equipment
The detail
A hex bar puts you inside the load instead of behind it. That single change moves the bar's line of action through your midfoot rather than in front of your shins, which shortens the moment arm on your lower back and lets your quads do more of the work. The result is a pull that most people can load heavier, sooner, with less risk of the form breaking down under fatigue.
It is a different lift, not an easier one, and it is the better teaching tool. Someone learning to deadlift with a straight bar spends weeks fighting the bar around their knees. With a hex bar there is nothing to fight, and they learn to brace and drive.
Twenty-four inches between the handles is a comfortable, neutral shoulder-width grip. That neutral position is also why this bar does farmer's carries better than anything else you own — pick it up, walk, put it down.
Two limits to know. The 600 lb capacity is the lowest rating on this site, and it is a real constraint if your deadlift is heading past 500 with the bar's own 45 lb on top. And it does not rack: Fringe say so explicitly, so it lives on the floor or on a barbell holder.
The Bells of Steel open trap bar is the alternative worth comparing — an open back lets you walk into it and do lunges, at the cost of the closed hexagon's symmetry. This one is the simpler, cheaper shape.
The 25 mm handles are thinner than most trap bars, which helps grip and means they knurl-bite a little more per square inch. Medium knurl on both handles is the right amount for a bar you will be holding for a 40-yard walk.