Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar Review (2024): How Good Can a Budget Specialty Bar Be?

If there’s one thing we love here at Garage Gym Reviews, it’s finding a good deal. Even though brands like Rogue Fitness arguably make some of the best barbells and dumbbells, there are many home gym owners who simply can’t afford them. 

Enter Bells of Steel (BOS), which makes budget-friendly home gym equipment we’ve enjoyed in the past. In our Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar review, we’ll see if they’re able to do the same with one of our favorite specialty bars. 

We’ll give you our honest thoughts on the bar, tell you who it’s meant for, and let you know if we’d recommend it over the more expensive options on the market. 

We’ve Got a Good Grip on the Home Gym Equipment Industry 

It’s always great to see the look on people’s face when we say we “test gym equipment” for a living. But that’s exactly what we do, and because of that we’ve researched, used, and tested hundreds of barbells, from the best Olympic barbells to specialty ones like the one we’re talking about today. 

We also use barbells in our roles as weightlifting and CrossFit coaches, certified personal trainers, and competitive lifters. If we recommend a bar, it’s because we can see ourselves or our clients using it in an everyday training session. 

A Budget Specialty Bar

Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar

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Product Highlights

• Bells of Steel has taken a spin on the classic Swiss Bar by redesigning it to also double as a cable attachment. 
• The welded bar comes with three different neutral grips to protect shoulders, a hook on the top for easy cable attachment, and a curved design to facilitate chest strength building. 
• The Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar weighs just 24 pounds but boasts a moderate weight rating of 600 pounds, which is more than enough for most users. 
• It’s important to note that the sleeves on the Arch Nemesis are not compatible with regular 2-inch collars.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3 neutral grip angles designed to protect shoulders
• Versatile
• Budget-friendly
• Free shipping
• Good warranty
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• Knurling is not aggressive enough for some
• Regular 2-inch collars will not fit the sleeve

Bottom Line

Bells of Steel offers great value in its Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar, a mid-tier curved barbell with three neutral grip options intended to take pressure off the shoulders.

A Quick Look at the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar

The Swiss Bar was originally called the “Football Bar,” because it was created to allow American football players to bench press without aggravating their shoulders. The bar accomplishes this by allowing the user to switch their grip, which allows the shoulders to retract more easily and puts less pressure on them when compared to a bench press performed with a typical Olympic barbell. 

There’s a theory that it’s now called the “Swiss Bar” because you can use a neutral grip, and Switzerland typically remains neutral in foreign policy matters. Anyway, back to barbells. 

The Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis bar can be used for more than just pressing, as it comes with an attachment you can hook to your functional trainer or cable machine. It’s also great for seal rows, hammer curls, and skull crushers, making it a great choice for those interested in bodybuilding as well. 

Our Tips

• You can’t use normal 2-inch barbell collars on this, due to the slightly smaller steel tubing. A screw-top collar, like the Proloc 1 collars, would work best. 
• You can try out the bar for 30 days and return it for a full refund if you don’t like it, minus a $20 shipping fee.

Is the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar Worth It?

Unless you’re someone who has a nagging shoulder injury, or you’re an athlete who needs to protect their shoulders at all costs, there’s absolutely no need for any Swiss Bar. Yes, it’s also good for those focused on muscle-building, but you can accomplish a lot with just a typical barbell and dumbbells. 

But for those who fit into one of those categories, or simply just want to add a specialty bar to their home gym collection, here’s our honest assessment: The $199.99 Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar is not the nicest option out there, but it’s probably the best value Swiss bar. 

“For many home gym owners, the Kabuki Strength Kadillac Bar is overkill,” says Coop, referring to one of the more well-known Swiss Bars on the market. “This fits in well at the price point and feels pretty similar in hand.” 

There are some areas where BOS falls short on this bar, but for 99 percent of trainees, those things probably won’t be an issue. Here’s who we think will enjoy it, and who should look elsewhere. 

Arch Nemesis Bar Specs

Lifting With the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar 

Functionally speaking, the Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar works just like any other Swiss bar out there. Coop took it for a spin and used it for bench presses, tricep extensions, seal rows, overhead presses, and other movements during his strength training sessions. 

It has a cambered design, similar to the Kabuki Kadillac Bar, but already comes with an attachment so it can be used with a cable pulley (Coop added this feature to his Kabuki bar). A Swiss Bar is already a great value purchase, but the ability to use it on a cable machine makes it one of the most versatile bars out there. 

Coop also noted this bar was comfortable in the hand, due to how slim it is. Most Swiss bars are twice the weight of this one, and because of that the grips are a little thicker. Again, this isn’t a bad thing and many people may even prefer a thinner grip. 

However, the smaller sleeves can present a problem when it comes to durability. The sleeves are made with steel tubing, which is just a few millimeters thinner than what you’d see on a typical barbell sleeve (which is what most Swiss bars use). This presents two problems, with the first being that you can’t use 2-inch collars to secure weight plates. 

It also means the weight plates won’t fit as tightly as they would on other sleeves, and may move around and could cause scarring to the sleeves. 

One bonus is that the bar is rackable, meaning it can be placed on your power rack on top of your J-cups. Not all Swiss bars are made this way. 

Knurling 

Good news: Every grip section of the Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar comes with knurling. The bad news: It’s pretty poor and uneven, but that’s honestly not too surprising considering the price point. 

“Poor grip and knurling,” Coop says. “I would have preferred just a more textured powder coat, personally.”

Durability and Construction

With any piece of budget home gym equipment, there’s going to be some areas that are lacking. In this case, the Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar is not made with the most durable materials. 

The bar uses pretty thin steel, which results in the relatively light weight of only 24 pounds and low weight capacity of 600 pounds. The welds and powder coat are “just OK,” Coop says, but that’s another thing to be expected when you’re only paying around $200 for a specialty bar.

Although 600 pounds is light compared to other Swiss bars, it’s a weight that should be fine for 99 percent of trainees. If you’re planning to enter a Strongman or powerlifting competition and need something that can hold more weight, we’ll have other suggestions for your home gym in a second. 

Footprint

At 78.1 inches in length, the Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Bar is one of the shorter Swiss bars out there. The Kabuki Kadillac is 87 inches in length, and the REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar is 80.7 inches. 

It’s still pretty long, and if your cable machine is in a tight corner of your home gym, it could be a tight squeeze. 

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar vs Kabuki Strength Kadillac Bar

Kadillac Bar

Kabuki Strength Kadillac Bar

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Product Highlights

• Cambered the same angle as the Duffalo Bar for increased range of motion.
• Machined Sleeves allow the use of regular barbell collars and include our signature end caps.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The Kadillac Bar is Kabuki Strength’s version of the football bar that utilizes the same curvature as the ever-popular Duffalo Bar.
• Sleeves are machined to the Olympic standard which allows the use of regular collars, and traditional end caps for both tight tolerances on plates, but also a great look. This is something overlooked A LOT by other companies.
• The entire bar, san sleeves, is coated in a highly-textured powder-coat that grips extremely well. This is honestly the best textured powder-coat we’ve seen on a bar. Reminds us of Williams Strength/EliteFTS but with even more grip.
• Various grip angles at 10°, 12.5°, and 15° to “promote optimal, stacked joint position and improve movement mechanics.”
• The camber of the bar matches the Duffalo Bar which increases range of motion.
• Can be used in the standard or reverse grip positions.
• Thinner than many other multi-grip bars which means it’s easier to use for overhead press and curls.
• Shipping cost is lower than other Kabuki Bars due to the removable sleeves, yet it’s just as strong.

Cons

• Although we love the heavily-textured powder-coat, we would have preferred to see the handles knurled. This said, that likely would have increased the cost substantially and we don’t think it would be worth it since the bar won’t be used often for pulling. Some may disagree.
• One reviewer claimed the bar didn’t fit in their rack due to its width. “the diameter of the sleeves doesn’t fit in my bench press rack (I have a Fortis rack with moving bar holder). I had to swap the J cups from my squat rack just to fit the bar onto the cups, and now it slides around.” We have not had this issue.

Bottom Line

The Kabuki Strength Kadillac Bar is one of the best multi-grip bars that we’ve tested and reviewed. It’s certainly unique and has a niche, but if you don’t mind the premium cost of a Kabuki Bar, you’re going to get one of the best designed, featured, and finished specialty bars on the market. We’ve used the bar for everything from bench to overhead press, to even seal rows. This is another bar from the mind of Chris Duffin that makes you think, “why hasn’t this come out sooner.”

To be fair, this is kind of like comparing a Big Mac to an A5 Wagyu steak. That said, there are times when the former is a better call even though the latter is objectively better. 

The Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar is more affordable ($199.99, with free shipping), and it already comes with a piece to use on your cable machines. The Kadillac bar doesn’t have that, though with the right power tools you can easily add that to it. 

Now, the Kadillac bar ($499.99, not including shipping) is going to feel a lot better in your hand due to the use of more durable and higher-grade materials. It can also hold up to 850 pounds, and won’t scratch as easily as the Bells of Steel bar.  

And though the Kabuki bar doesn’t have knurling, the powder coat on it is incredibly textured and you should have no problem gripping it. 

If you’re someone who enjoys the finer things in life, the Kadillac bar is worth the $499.99 price tag. But if you just want a Swiss bar that will get the job done, Bells of Steel is the better choice for most home gym owners. 

Read our full Kabuki Strength Kadillac Bar review to get more thoughts on this bar.   

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar vs REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar

Affordable and Versatile

REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar

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Product Highlights

The REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar is the best value specialty bar for most home gym owners. With a removable eye bolt screw and knurling on each grip, it has features most other Swiss bars don’t. Plus, it’s rackable.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Max weight load of more than 800 pounds
• Easy assembly
• Bar camber allows for better balance during pressing
• At under $300, it’s a great value for a specialty bar

Cons

• The knurling on this bar is on the passive side and inconsistent between the grips
• The sleeves don’t disconnect from the Swiss bar, so they’ll be on there when you’re using it for lat pulldowns (only slightly annoying)

Bottom Line

The REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar is an incredible value for a specialty bar, as it can be used for pressing movements and on a cable machine.

This is a fairer comparison, as the REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar comes in at a still agreeable price tag of just under $300. So a little more expensive than the Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar, but still cheaper than other brands. 

Both have the same design, can be used with a cable machine, and unfortunately have passive and uneven knurling. The REP Swiss bar gets a few points for having a higher weight capacity, and better durability (it’s made with higher-quality steel, and the welds are better than the BOS bar). 

We understand money’s tight, but if you can afford the extra $90 for the REP bar ,that’d be our pick. If you can’t, Bells of Steel will do just fine. 

Read our full REP Fitness Cambered Swiss Bar review for more information. 

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar vs Titan Fitness Multi-Grip Camber Bar

Budget Bar Battle

Titan Multi-Grip Camber Bar

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Product Highlights

The Titan Multi-Grip Camber Bar isn’t anything like your standard barbell.  The camber portion of the bar and different grip widths design allows athletes to use a variety of different grips to target specific muscle groups in their shoulders and chest. This barbell essentially gives the athlete more range of motion while keeping the shoulders safe and healthy.  The Titan Multi-Grip Camber Bar fits Olympic-sized plates and is rated up to 1,000 pounds.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Multiple angled and neutral grips to target different muscle groups
• 2-inch Camber
• Knurled handle create a secure grip
• Bar is rackable
• Fits a 49” rack

Cons

• One-year warranty
• Standard collars fit, however the sleeve is smaller than a standard bar

Bottom Line

If you're looking for a bar to give you a variety of grip options, you'll likely love the Titan Multi Grip Camber Bar. As long as you don't mind the sub-par warranty and smaller sleeve, this well-designed bar would be a solid add to most home gyms.

The Titan Fitness Multi-Grip Camber Bar is the same price as the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar, and to be honest they perform just about the same. This is a case where we call a draw, though Titan might eek out a photo finish win due to the use of normal barbell sleeves. 

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar vs. Rogue Fitness MG-4C Multi-Grip Bar

The Rogue One

Rogue Fitness MG-4C Multi-Grip Camber Bar

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Product Highlights

Perhaps the most versatile camber bar on the market, the Rogue MG-4C gives you options for handle positions as well as angles: straight, 16 degrees, and 20 degrees. Also, choose between two sleeve length options and two finishes (matte black and stainless steel).

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Customizable handle spacing and angles
• Comes in matte black or stainless steel
• 200K PSI tensile strength
• Choose from short or longer sleeves

Cons

• Stainless steel upgrade costs extra
• Might be expensive for a specialty bar for some

Bottom Line

The Rogue MG-4C Multi-Grip Camber Bar is loaded with optionality for sleeve length, finish, and handles, making it one of the most versatile camber bars on the market.

Coop’s initial impressions of the Rogue Fitness MG-4C Multi-Grip Bar were, “Eh.” He actually said it felt most similar to the Titan Multi-Grip Camber Bar, which is a bit weird considering the Rogue Bar is $425 and the Titan bar is $199.99. 

His main issues with the Rogue bar were the shape, and the space between the handles. For the price, you’d actually be better off with the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar despite the smaller weight capacity and durability concerns. 

Ordering and Assembling the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar

The Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar is easily available for purchase online, and comes with free shipping. Best of all, it ships in a well-packaged box already assembled. All you have to do is unbox it and get to lifting. 

Customer Service 

Bells of Steel can be reached via phone, email, social media, or a form on their website during business hours, which are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 

Returns, Financing, Warranty

Bells of Steel offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can use the product for a month to decide if you want to keep it. All you have to do is return it in its original packaging and ship it back to the BOS headquarters, and you’ll only be charged a $20 shipping fee. 

Financing options are available through Affirm, which can be selected at checkout. There are three-, six-, and 12-month financing options available. 

The Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which basically means it’s protected for life so long as you don’t use it improperly (read: Don’t slam the barbell down while lifting with it). 

Customer Reviews

With more than 70 reviews, the Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar has a 4.7 rating, most of which are 5-star reviews. People rave about the bar saving their shoulders and allowing them to get back to bench pressing again. 

The lowest ratings are 3 stars, and most of the complaints center around the lightweight nature of the bar.

Final Verdict of Our Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar Review

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: You get what you pay for. The Bells of Steel Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar will be great for most home gym trainees, but you will probably see some durability issues and not be able to lift quite as much weight with it as other bars. But like any other Swiss bar, it’s an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that, while not necessary, can be a great addition to your home gym. 

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar Rating

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar

Our Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar review takes a close look at this specialty barbell and compares it to other options on the market today.

Product Brand: Bells of Steel

Product Currency: USD

Product Price: 199.99

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
3.66

Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar FAQs

Anthony O'Reilly, CPT, CNC

Anthony O'Reilly is a NASM-certified nutrition coach and personal trainer whose work has been featured in Muscle & Fitness and BarBend, and previously was an award-winning reporter and photographer for newspapers on Long Island and Queens, NY. After spending most of his life overweight, he dropped 80 pounds and took control of his health and fitness. Outside of work, he still enjoys Little Debbie cakes but offsets them with rigorous hikes and workouts. He's an avid Manchester United supporter, through thick and thin.

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