Background: My only prior experience with barbells is with a beat up bar with two broken sleeves for 2-3 years, so read my review in that context. I purchased the hard chrome 20kg olympic bar for $300 a week ago. Here are some points worth discussing:0) SHIPPING. Package arrived on time. I originally ordered another brand 20kg bar from Amazon in the same price range, which got "lost" in transit from Amazon to UPS (after waiting for weeks). Amazon resolved that without hassle but I was hesitant to buy from a 3rd party in case this happened again. Synergee however, did not disappoint.1) PACKAGING. As others mentioned, the package comes in a hard cardboard cylinder with screwed on end caps. Getting the caps off required some gentle shaking to use the bar's inertia to push itself out. Inside, the bar comes wrapped in a plastic bag with a pair of lifting straps, wrist wraps, and a couple of cards with information pertaining to customer service. While the cylinder did its job and protected the bar in transit, the internals suffered damage prior to being placed into said tube. At some stage in this bar's early life, it was likely stored in just the plastic bags without hard cover; parts of said bag were torn and there were numerous small scratches and chips to be found all over the bar. I don't care about cosmetics as much as functionality, but had hoped for something better.2) OILINESS. After reading some other comments, I expected the bar to come greased and protected (yes, I wanted it to come oiled). Mine was completely dry, except at the interface between the bar and the sleeves. What at first looked like rust turned out to be grimy grease (which wiped off easily enough), indicating that my bar has probably been in storage for some time. I have not taken the sleeves off to inspect the insides, and I probably won't until I have to do maintenance in a few months from now. Will update my review if necessary when the time comes.3) SPIN. The spin on my bar is exactly the same as shown by another reviewer's video clip. With a 45lb plate on it, a light push will keep the sleeves rotating for 20-30 seconds.4) SLEEVE PLAY. There is a 1mm lateral play on the sleeves, and almost zero vertical play. I don't know if this 1mm is a significant shortcoming, but it's definitely there if you are concerned about it.5) STRAIGHTNESS. With a light push, the bar rolls itself straight across my tiled floor. I also used the technique of turning the bar on a rack and eyeballing it. It is completely straight as far as I can discern.6) OTHER. In terms of knurling, whippiness, and general feel, I will just say that the bar is superior in every aspect and feels much safer and effective (pressing, benching, deadlifting) compared to the no-brand beater I got from a garage sale (which also had a chrome finish). It holds the weights I am able to use so far (450lb) without problem.Summary: My bar came with some imperfections, but it functions as I expected. All things considered, including COVID related inflation (200-300% over a year ago or so) and availability, customer reviews, designs, specs, etc., I give it 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5).Spec sheets and performances are of course two different things. It is hard to tell if figures like "190k PSI" are accurate or are even relevant for long term durability and performance -- only time will tell. I'll be back to update my review in a year or so.Update: 1 year later, the bar is still functioning perfectly. I have been using it almost every single day since my purchase, and there has been no problems. The sleeves still spin perfectly, and I have not had a need to open it and clean it yet. I now regularly load it to over 400lb and it is handles just perfectly. I squat in the 450+ range, and have never had an issue with the lack of center knurling - the regular knurling digs into the real deltoids just fine.
