Pull-Up Mate Vs Gravity Fitness Bar: Which Is Better?

If you partake in callisthenics, then you likely have heard of or used a pull-up bar in workout sessions.

Pull-up bars are highly versatile pieces of equipment, allowing you to make use of your own body weight while building upper body strength. Naturally, including these in your workout will only lead to benefits.

And if you’re looking to perform additional exercises, a free-standing pull-up bar is ‘the’ equipment to include in your workout arsenal. When scouring the market for these, you may run into two highly acclaimed products in particular: the Pull-Up Mate bar and the Gravity Fitness pull-up bar. Wondering which of these home gym equipment suits callisthenics the best?

Let’s take a look at the features and drawbacks of each to find out which pull-up bar can better enhance your workout sessions.

Pull-Up Mate Free Standing Bar Vs. Gravity Fitness Bar

The Pull-Up Mate free-standing bar is a portable pull-up bar that can be assembled and taken apart very quickly. It can be carried anywhere and packed away in a flat shape that goes through a standard door frame easily. When combined with accessories, the Pull-Up Mate pull-up bar can expand the horizons of your bodyweight exercises.

On the other hand, we have the Gravity Fitness Bar, a free-standing portable pull-up bar that features quick assembly and storage. Specifically designed to maximise the number of reps you hit in your pull ups, the pull-up bar is an affordable option that aims to help you improve your training experience. And with a black matte finish, the Gravity Fitness Bar has a visually pleasing look to it as well.

Let’s see how the two pull-up bars fare against each other.

1. Size And Shape

The standard Pull-Up Mate bar is 117 cm long and 113 cm wide, which is fairly standard for any free-standing pull-up bar. It can expand its height in two settings, namely compact and full. When in the compact setting, the pull-up bar is 130 cm tall, while it is 200 cm tall when fully extended.

At 19 kilos, the Pull-Up Mate free-standing bar is light enough to be carried in the boot space of a car.

As for the Gravity Fitness bar, it is 120 cm long and 116 cm wide, which is slightly larger than the Pull-Up Mate. Its compact height setting can reach up to 120 cm, while it stands 192 cm tall when extended fully. This keeps the Gravity Bar just shy of the Pull-Up Mate in terms of height.

At 19 kilos, the Gravity fitness bar weighs the same as the Pull-Up Mate.

2. Materials And Weight Capacity

The Pull-Up Mate and Gravity Fitness pull-up bars are made from high-gauge and durable tubular steel. 

This gives the former a maximum weight limit of up to 120 kilos, which can be expanded by 18 to 27.2 kilos with a weighted vest. It can support heavier weights than the Gravity Fitness bar, which can carry up to 110 kilos with no issues.

Their high build strength allows them to withstand pull-ups and other exercises like chin-ups and muscle-ups without issues. And their scratch-resistant paint will keep the surface free of blemishes for a long while. This durability makes the pull-up bar suitable for use in both outdoor and settings. 

While it’s generally better to keep your equipment indoors, having the option of taking it outside adds to its convenience.

3. Assembly

Assembling the Pull-Up Mate bar can take you anywhere from two to five minutes, which is quite quick. It uses spring latches to join the tubes together, and by following the instructions, the pull-up rack is ready in just a few minutes.

What’s interesting about this assembly setup is that all the joints that handle your weight are pointed downwards. This means that it relies on gravity to keep the metal frame steady, which is a preferable design choice.

You also have the option of purchasing expansion packs for extra pull-up bars of different gauges and a height extension kit as well. These can help you perform more exercises than what would be possible in the base kit. Additionally, the Pull-Up Mate comes with a carry bag for easy transportation.

The Gravity Fitness pull-up bar assembles in a similar manner, with one large difference. You can turn the pull-up station over along its length to use it as a dip station, which makes it much more versatile. Without paying for the expansion packs separately, the Pull-Up Mate cannot be used for performing dips.

4. Components

There are three components to discuss here: the base, the supporting bars and the top bar. 

A. The Base

The standard Pull-Up Mate comes with an arching base, which helps increase its height by a small fraction. It can also double as a push-up bar if you’re so inclined. That said, there is a chance of the free-standing bar toppling over if you use it as a push-up bar.

Due to its flat base, the Gravity Fitness Bar is much more stable and less likely to topple over. While you can’t use its base as a push-up bar, this pull-up bar makes up for it by including spring latches to its joints. You can move the pull-up bar freely without having to disassemble it every time, which can be preferable over a push-up bar.

B. The Vertical Supporting Bars

The length and build of the vertical supporting bars are identical in both models. Where they do differ is in the number of accessories they offer. Pull-Up Mate can extend its vertical bars by up to 7 feet, but the Gravity Fitness pull-up bar has no equivalent.

C. The Top Bar

Without the inclusion of accessories, both the Gravity Fitness and Pull-Up Mate pull-up bars are equal in durability and grip options. The Pull-Up Mate top bars may give it an edge, but they have to be purchased separately.

Final Verdict

Picking between Pull-Up Mate and Gravity Fitness pull-up bars is quite difficult due to the number of similarities between them. With that being said, there can only be one better option among the two.

The Pull-Up Mate is a solid option with a slightly higher weight capacity and a wider range of accessories like a carrying bag. That said, the Gravity Fitness bar edges it out. The extra stability and ease of movement are the deciding factors here, which turn the tide in favour of the Gravity Fitness Bar.

Practicality is key when choosing a pull-up station, which trumps other details like accessories and a push-up bar. After all, stable and consistent pull-ups are preferable over instability.