I need to get a good quality barbell and weights. I've been contemplating the rogue bar 2.0, but they charge quite a bit for shipping in Canada, unless you buy the plate and bar combos.

Also, concerning plates, the regular olympic steel plates are the cheapest, but they make the most noise and the most damage if dropped (this is for my home gym). Go with rubber covered plates or bumper plates? I was hoping to start with 260 lbs worth of weights without paying too too much.

bumper plates/olympic plates are pretty expensive that's the downside of it but will cause way less damage if you drop the weight

Colour me new, but what is the difference in bar quality? Like. What difference does it make?

I grabbed the 300 lbs (incl bar and rubber plates) from fitness depot. Watch the oil on the plates though. It was like $400 out the door. I also upgraded to the hex locks instead of standard spring. Totally worth the $30

Cheap bars bend under weight. Bending causes spring and whip at the bottom of a squat. Coming out of the whole this can make it very unstable if the bar is wobbling on your back

Edit:

Plus they usually have poor knurling
Plus the bending will permanently bend the bar

This post was edited by HotHamAndCarl on Jun 23 2015 11:05pm

Just a few things to consider, JP:

*invest in a good solid bar, you want the least bending while it holds the weights.
*regarding plates it's quite easy:
- if you drop the weights, either you're not utilizing optimal form, going too heavy or yes, an accident which can always happen.
- if you're the only one using these properly, you won't see wear and tear for a very long time.

If you're confident with the above, my suggestion is to go with the high quality bar and cheaper plates.