In the following review, I will compare 6 of the best portable pull up bars with multi-grips for doorways to use at home. These pull up bars are extremely portable and can be instantly mounted without using any screws or mounting hardware.
You will find various brands of pull-up bars all of which can be easily mounted to a doorway and all of which have multi-grip handles. With the various angles and added grip positions on the bar, you get more workout variations to hit your upper body and core muscles than with your traditional straight chin-up bar.
My three top choices and most highly rated brands are the ProsourceFit multi-grip pullup bar, the Ultimate Body Press XL chin-up bar, and the Iron Age bar. However, I do recommend you compare them all and make your own decision on what’s best for your requirements.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What We Mean by Portable Pull Up Bar
- No Installation Required with these Portable Chin-Up Bars
- What We Looked for in a Portable Pull Up Bar for Doorways
- Our 6 Best Portable Pull Up Bars with Multi-Grip for Doorways
- Some Quick Safety Tips to Follow Before Using Your Portable Pull-Up Bar
- Why We Chose the Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bars
- Various Exercises you can Perform with your Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar
- Wrapping Things Up
Here is a quick overview of the best portable pull up bars with multi-grips for doorways we could find for this review:
- ProsourceFit Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar
- Iron Age Portable Chin-up Bar
- Perfect Fitness Doorway Pull Up Bar
- Ultimate Body Press XL Chin-Up Bar
- Iron Gym Extreme Edition
- Ultimate Body Press Multi-Grip Doorway Pull-Up Bar
What We Mean by Portable Pull Up Bar
After reading through a few reviews on what was supposed to be on portable pull up bars, I quickly discovered that the term “portable” was not exactly represented correctly. I would find multiple instances of wall mounted pull up bars, screw attachable, or the type you can quickly attach to a tree outdoors or stand up as a free-standing unit.
If a chin-up bar requires you to drill holes for mounting, then I would not consider that to be portable by any means. And yes, the outdoor bar I would consider portable, but who really wants to do pull-ups or dips on a tree? How many of us even have a tree for that matter?
And the freestanding units may also be portable, but they are a pain to move around and store due to their size which pretty much defeats the point of being portable. Therefore once you have it assembled, it’s probably not going anywhere for a while.
So what is portable? For me, a portable pull up bar you can instantly mount and dismount without having to use any screws or permanent attachments. Portable should also mean lightweight and small enough to conveniently move from one door to another, or take on the go to use at a hotel, vacation home, or when visiting relatives or friends. And when you are done, easily store it away in a corner or closet.
With that said, this review will only list truly portable pull up bars for your doorway and nothing less.
No Installation Required with these Portable Chin-Up Bars
Another great feature to be aware of is that none of these pull up bars require drilling holes for mounting brackets. If anything, you may need to do some initial assembly work. But after that, you simply place the pull up bar in the correct position on the door frame and you are ready to do your first pull-ups.
These bars are designed to use leverage points to create a secure grip around the door frame which becomes even more secure with the added weight of the user when in use.
I would only suggest that you make sure the door frame is solid and strong enough to support your weight. New homes should not be an issue and older homes in most cases can be easily fixed with just a few extra nails.
What We Looked for in a Portable Pull Up Bar for Doorways
In order to make the cut in this review, all chin-up/pull up bars had to meet the following criteria:
- Sturdy and solid construction
- pull up bar with multi grips (preferably padded)
- Padded pressure or contact points to protect walls & door frame
- True portability (no screws or mounting hardware necessary)
- Specifically designed for doorways
- Hold at least 300 lbs
So without further ado, here are our top 6 portable pull-up/chin-up bars for doorways.
Our 6 Best Portable Pull Up Bars with Multi-Grip for Doorways
I have chosen the following pull up bars based on quality, ratings, functionality, customer feedback, and ease of use among other things.
#1 Prosource Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar
Editor’s Choice and best bang for your buck!
Bargain price: The ProsourceFit multi-grip chin-up/pull-up bar has a lot to offer for a very reasonable price when compared to other brands.
12 Grips: With a whopping 12 cushioned foam grips you have every position and angle you could ever need to perform a wide range of upper body and core muscle exercises.
Also, use for situps, dips, & push-ups: Easily perform wide or close grip pull-ups, and hanging leg raises for abs and obliques. Place it on the floor for push-ups and tricep dips, or even at the base of a doorframe using the grips to support your feet to do situps and crunches.
Widest grip bar: This portable multi-grip pull-up bar is 41” long. Which is a plus for those of you who enjoy wide grip pull ups.
Built to last, this bar is made of durable heavy-duty steel, supports up to 300 pounds, and will easily fit onto any standard size door frame from 24”-36” wide and 6” deep.
Extra hardware: Additional mounting hardware is included for those of you who may want to permanently attach the bar to a door frame in your home or garage.
See just how versatile the Prosource multi-grip chin-up/pull-up bar is in this short demonstration video!
Key Features
- 12 cushioned foam grips (2 optional to protect door)
- Holds up to 300 lbs
- Durable, premium-grade steel
- Fits all standard door frames (24”-35” wide; 6” thick)
- Assembly and installation instructions included
#2 Iron Age Pull-Up Bar with for Doorways
Highest weight capacity: The Iron Age is our strongest and most durable bar with a maximum weight capacity of 400 pounds. The only drawback, but not a deal killer, is that it falls short on grip angles compared to our other bar in this review, but does still provide 3 different grip options for wide and close grip exercises.
Super wide grip: Nonetheless, the Iron Age also makes up for this with its super wide grip bar that is adjustable from 39.17” to a whopping 47.24” wide.
Ergonomic end grips: With this added width and the ergonomically angled end grips, you can attack your back without wrist strain and guarantee yourself a successful and productive workout session.
Bonus power ropes: As an extra bonus, Iron Age has included a set of suspension straps to add even more exercise options to your workout routine.
Collapses flat: Another great feature is the ability to collapse the support bars flat, making it super easy to transport or store away when not in use.
Key Features
- 6 cushioned grips for 3 grip options
- Ergonomic end grips
- Hold up to 400 lbs
- Super wide grip up to 47.24”
- Collapses flat for easy transport & storage
- Fits doorways 22.83” to 36.22” and 8.27” deep, and 3.54” trim height
- Bonus power ropes/suspension straps
#3 Perfect Fitness Portable Pull-up Bar with Multi Grips
The Perfect Fitness portable chin-up bar can be used as a pull up bar turned over and used on the floor for dips and pushups.
The 6 cushioned handles offer 3 grip options for wide, close, and hammer grip chin-ups, plus 2 more cushions for dips. When done with your pullups and leg raises, place the bar on the bottom door frame for leverage when performing situps and crunches.
This model offers door and floor protection and will hold up to 300 pounds, and the widest grip is approximately 37”.
Key Features:
- 6 cushioned grips
- Holds 300 lbs
- Fits doorways 27” to 33” wide and 6” deep
#4 Ultimate Body Press XL Pull Up Bar with Multiple Grips
What makes the Ultimate Body Press XL so unique is its elevated bar and extra wall clearance. The bar sets 1” above trim & 10” from the wall giving you more headroom and better range of motion.
This bar fits door frames 6” deep and has expandable bar ends to fit doorways 24” to 36” wide.
The XL will support up to 300 lbs and can be used on the floor for performing pushups or dips, but can also be used to brace your feet for doing situps.
Key Features
- 6 cushioned grips
- Holds up to 300 lbs
- Fits doorways 24” to 36” wide and 6” deep
- Extra wall clearance
#5 Iron Gym Extreme Edition Portable Pull Up Bar
The Iron Gym Extreme Edition comes with 10 cushioned grips giving you 5 total grip positions for a versatile workout.
An extra pair of safety brackets have also been included but are not mandatory for additional safety and a secure fit. These are basically attached between the upper trim and the wall for more support.
Key Features
- 10 cushioned grips
- Fits doorways 24” to 34” wide & 6” deep with up to 3.5” trim
- Holds up to 300 lbs
#6 Ultimate Body Press Pull Up Bar
With the Ultimate Body Press doorway pull up bar you can quickly switch between doorway chin-ups or leg raises to floor exercises such as push-ups or dips.
This bar has 6 foam grips with the widest grip being 36” apart. This bar will hold up to 300 lbs on a door molding no wider than 3.5” deep.
Door extensions for the perfect fit: For a more accurate fit, the unique expandable bars make it possible to position the padded bar ends directly over your door trim.
Word of caution: You cannot grip any wider than your door frame, and some users also complain of black residue.
Key Features
- 6 cushioned foam grips
- Holds up to 300 lbs
- Fits doors 24” to 36” wide, 6″ deep, & trim 3.5” thick
- Door extensions
Some Quick Safety Tips to Follow Before Using Your Portable Pull-Up Bar
- Make sure all parts have been securely attached and screws tightened.
- Check that you do not exceed the maximum weight capacity.
- Assure that your door frame is strong enough to support your weight by slowly adding your body weight to the pull-up bar initially.
- Make sure the pull up bar is secure before starting your exercise.
- Do not bounce around when performing exercises.
Why We Chose the Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bars
The pull up bar with multi grip handles vs your traditional straight bar offers many more benefits with very little price difference if any at all, that it only makes sense to go with the multi-grip pullup bar.
Multiple hand grip positions have the benefit of providing more flexibility for adding more exercise variations to your workout. This creates an opportunity to perform more exercises that target more muscles from many more angles.
Some of the multi-grip bars can even be used on the floor to brace your feet when performing situps, or used for dips and pushups.
A straight bar, on the other hand, has far less to offer other than palms forward or backward positions and is usually limited to the width of your door frame. Which for me is a deal-breaker since a wide grip is what hits your back muscles the best.
With that said, let’s take a closer look at all the exercises and muscle groups you can work out with these bars.
Various Exercises you can Perform with your Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar
The portable multi-grip pull up bar can offer much more than just your traditional chin-ups. Here is a list of exercises you can perform with your bar.
- Pull-Ups for back & biceps: Close grip & wide grip pull-ups with various hand positions to target your back or biceps from different angles.
- Leg raises for abdominals: Various leg raises to target your abdominal muscles and obliques.
- Sit-ups & crunches for abs: Use the portable pull up bar at the base of your doorway to brace your feet for sit-ups or crunches.
- Push-ups for chest & triceps: Place the multi-grip pull up bar on the floor to perform push-ups at various hand and width positions. You can also find various push-up accessories here.
- Dips for chest & triceps: In some cases, you can position your bar on the floor or a raised platform to perform dip exercises.
Wrapping Things Up
If you’re a fitness enthusiast like me, having access to a pull up bar at home truly is a treat. Nothing works your back better than your basic old fashion pull up.
The simplest, most affordable, and most effective way to bring the pull-up bar into your home is with the portable doorway pull up bar with multi-grips.
In this review and comparison guide, I have listed some of the best portable pull up bars I could find that offer multiple grip variations to fit just about any doorway in your home. So now it is your turn to decide which bar is best for you, so you can get busy with your own new pull-up bar.
With over 30 years of experience in strength training and fitness, Mark LaRue is the founder of Fitness Mastered, a blog to help educate fitness enthusiasts of all fitness levels, ages, and gender. We write topics that range from weight training tips and exercise routines to home workout machine and fitness related product reviews, to name a few.