I only just got this bar in the other day and haven't had a ton of time with it yet. I've never used one of these before now, so I can't compare to other brands.First, the good. It feels solid. Grips feel good. I have a TDS rack and it fits perfectly.Now the bad, and the reason I knocked off from my star score. First let me say, I'm happy with my purchase, but I feel people buying this bar should know these things:The bar weighs 30lbs, not 45 like the description says. It comes with two (terrible) collars that add about 3lbs together (33lbs).The collars suck. They are metal rings with a screw in them, so if you want to dent up your bar, go ahead and use them. Too loose and they can slide, too tight and they jack up the bar. Also, I don't like the way you have to screw/unscrew. Get a good set of collars. Springs won't work, get the good locking kind. The sleeve is smooth.Like all TDS stuff (I have a few pieces), it's painted and the paint will scrape off. I'm not worried about it, but it ain't pretty if you care.One image above makes it look like the bar is one piece. It came in three pieces and had to be assymbled. 4 bolts, not hard. Still, I expected a solid bar.Plastic caps on square and round tubing. :/Not sure if other bars are better, but I feel like the square tubing is cumbersome, depending on what you are doing. Maybe I'll get used to it.Over all, I'm happy with the bar and will be using it a lot. My first bench press with it felt great and left me sore in a good way. It's a good price and feels solid, just be aware of the stuff above and be prepared to bolt it together when it comes in.