Barrow Hardline fittings are better than EKWB (16mm)

Spiritwolf · 20 Mar 2021 at 12:26

Just putting this out there to see if anyone else feel the same.

I've always been a bit of a EKWB fan boy when it comes to water cooling, I have their D5 pump, coolstream radiator, cpu/gpu plates (3090FE on back order), and about 30 fitting pieces for hardline 16mm fittings.

Until now I have purchased directly from EKWB, since they usually had the best price and most variety, however since Brexit I've had some bad experiences with customs, as thus I have been turning to OCUK to supply EKWB parts.

Recently upgrading a custom distro board I have needed an extra 16 fittings, and there was no stock with the colour I wanted, so in a pinch I turned to eBay and found some Barrow hardline fittings, fully intend to replace them after EKWB come back to stock. However after using them I've found the both build quality and seal quality is superior to the EKWB standard fittings.

I've been working with acrylic tube for a while and it is always hard to get the perfect smooth edge and I've always struggled to get a perfect seal with EKWB, with Barrow fittings the hold is rock solid with 3 layers of o-rings, and feels very re-assuring.

Given the price difference between Barrow and EKWB I was pleasantly surprised, and are now considering swapping the remainder of my EKWB fittings to Barrow. Certainly it has improved my impression of them, if anyone else is looking for hardline fittings I would recommend Barrow over EKWB.

im4gine3 · 20 Mar 2021 at 13:22

if i remember, barrow are basically oem clones of Bitspower fittings, so i'm not surprised they are doing well.

Spiritwolf · 20 Mar 2021 at 13:43

Not that I can see, it is a lot deeper than the bits power fittings, with 3 rubber gasket seals instead of 2.

Brizzles · 20 Mar 2021 at 13:59

I posted this in another thread, and i stand by it ;

Not sure why EK are held up as a pinnacle of excellence, they are just another supplier, and certainly not the gold standard - plenty of companies match and surpass them in all areas of watercooling.

Infact, i cannot think of 1 area where they are the best.

They have just become the go-to brand over the years, there are better fitttings, blocks, radiators, tubing, fluid, pumps all made by different companies.

andy_mk3 · 20 Mar 2021 at 14:31

All my fittings are Barrow I'd recommend them every time. They're really nice quality.

Zeeflyboy · 20 Mar 2021 at 14:57

Barrow are brill in my book!

LePhuronn · 21 Mar 2021 at 22:36

I have EK 12mm HD and HDC (push fit and compression) and Barrow 12mm push fit and combi compression 90 degree adapters in my hands right now. I instinctively went EK when I was getting the parts in a few years ago for my never-ending Asteria II project because they were the go-to brand. I went Barrow purely for the cost because they're for 2 additional tight-budget projects and I'll be honest I'm very close to selling all the EK fittings and switching to Barrow for Asteria II. Barrow just feels so solid, and certainly every bit as good as the EK ones.

I'll also throw this out there, from an aesthetic standpoint EK's Nickel fittings look utter garbage. Since Nickel has a yellow hue to it, when it's plated onto a knurled surface like EK's compression fittings and extenders, it just looks dirty with all the pits and shadows, almost like somebody's covered Chrome in nicotine vapour. Especially obvious next to the Barrow "silver" fittings I have which are a bright Chrome.

LePhuronn · 21 Mar 2021 at 22:38

im4gine3 said:
if i remember, barrow are basically oem clones of Bitspower fittings, so i'm not surprised they are doing well.

They used to be, but Barrow separated from Bitspower a few years back. And funnily enough, it looks like Barrow have surpassed them too.

Have you seen their Wolverine fittings?

SonicSW20 · 21 Mar 2021 at 22:53

Brizzles said:
I posted this in another thread, and i stand by it ;

Marketing.

Next weekend I'll be doing a full Barrow / Bykski loop, bits all ordered from Aliexpress. Got tubing (soft tubing though) and coolant from OCUK. Looking foward to it!

LePhuronn · 21 Mar 2021 at 23:07

Nice, I have a Barrow CPU block and Bykski GPU block next door in the parts box for use later, and they also feel solid as tanks. Actually took the Barrow block apart for some modding investigation and I'd swear I was staring at an EK Supremacy Evo. So much so I took my Evo apart as well to compare

im4gine3 · 21 Mar 2021 at 23:53

LePhuronn said:
They used to be, but Barrow separated from Bitspower a few years back. And funnily enough, it looks like Barrow have surpassed them too.

Have you seen their Wolverine fittings?

just had a look.. and they do look interesting i must say... may use them for a future build. Already spent too much money on my current build so won't be a good few years yet

Kangaxx · 22 Mar 2021 at 08:26

I recently rebuilt my loop in a new chassis, and decided to upgrade all my fittings and add a few extra parts to the loop. I also went for barrow compression fittings, mainly as I could find also 90/45 fittings in the same colour scheme and found them fabulous. I used XSPC fittings previously, and the only thing I missed was the screw notch that XSPC fittings have, to enable easy tightening/removal of the fitting. Having said that, barrow use a standard allen key implementation for tightening the fitting, and that worked even better than the XSPC method.

I must admit, for the price alone, compared to other manufacturers (looking at you Phanteks) they seem to be a complete bargain. But they are well made, functional and easy to work with.

SonicSW20 · 24 Mar 2021 at 10:32

Project for the weekend... Barrow / Bykski fittings, Barrow pump / block combo, Bykski GPU block. Rads were not branded but seem to be the same as the Bykski RD280 rads.

D1craig · 24 Mar 2021 at 21:59

What about the 90 degree fittings? I’ve recently purchased or am thinking of purchasing some of the EK quantum ones. They seem a lot better than the older 90 fittings that seem to be the standard across the market.

EDIT - I went with EK for my first build because it seemed like they were the gold stanDard... just like everything nowadays people assume price means quality.

tyler_jrb · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:07

I do like the look of them but i find their compression fittings lacking design wise compared to the EKWB versions. Barb is too short and the tube fit is WAY too tight. As in your fingers blistering after trying to get the first collar on kind of tight. I gave up trying to fit mine, almost impossible. Yes correct ID/OD tubing and fittings. Impossible to get them on any component once in the case. They do look decent quality though and generally better finish than the standard EK fittings IMO. Although the newer ones are quite nice. Swapped back to standard EK fittings + tubing fits perfect, dead easy.

I've always used BP rotary 45/90 since one of my ek ones leaked (old type) although it was my fault most likely. I generally find the bitspower ones the best quality so have stuck with those. And realistically the only fitting type i use that will potentially leak.

Radox-0 · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:08

LePhuronn said:
They used to be, but Barrow separated from Bitspower a few years back. And funnily enough, it looks like Barrow have surpassed them too.

Have you seen their Wolverine fittings?

that’s not correct, unfortunately a myth that does not die, though I suppose given how similar they look easy to assume. They were never one company. Barrow was always producing in PRC and bitspower in ROC. Both at varying times put out statements they have not worked with one another / partners etc. https://www.bitspower.com/

1.Recently, some statements have been made online regarding a relationship between Bitspower and the watercooling brands Bykski and Barrow.
These statements are false. Bitspower produces products under the brands Bitspower,
and a few other well-known and respected brands around the world, but so far, we have not partnered with either Bykski or Barrow.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any inquiries regarding our brand.

recall someone following up and them saying categorically never were one company.

all that said got loads of bitspower and barrow fittings. Both quality but go barrow if not only to get rid of that seahorse stamp everywhere.

Radox-0 · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:10

D1craig said:
What about the 90 degree fittings? I’ve recently purchased or am thinking of purchasing some of the EK quantum ones. They seem a lot better than the older 90 fittings that seem to be the standard across the market.

EDIT - I went with EK for my first build because it seemed like they were the gold stanDard... just like everything nowadays people assume price means quality.

I use the 90 hardline ones for 14mm chrome tubing, in fact got a bunch around me while writing this finishing up my tubing. They are really well built and quality. Had some for years with no flaws using initial oring. Got some either to them. Can be tricky in very tight corners but same of most fittings when tightening them I suppose.

D1craig · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:21

Yea I’ve had some of the ek ones leak when slight pressure is applied. In a very tight it’s case and as a first build it was really scary when I did try some maintenance. But the new ek torque ones look a lot sturdier.

LePhuronn · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:23

Radox-0 said:
that’s not correct, unfortunately a myth that does not die, though I suppose given how similar they look easy to assume. They were never one company.

They weren't the same company, but they were the same OEM. By "separated" I meant Barrow moved manufacturing away and then diversified their actual products and designs.

Radox-0 · 24 Mar 2021 at 22:30

LePhuronn said:
They weren't the same company, but they were the same OEM. By "separated" I meant Barrow moved manufacturing away and then diversified their actual products and designs.

Also not true, neither was OEM for one another. They produced the fittings themselves. Barrow was OEM however for other manufactures buying at the time, but for there own line cloned bitspower (very well) This goes way back to at least 2014 period. going back to 2014 when same question was asked on barrows page they they produce for bitspower, no was the answer: https://www.overclock.net/media/no-title.4304944/full

https://www.reddit.com/r/watercooling/comments/4wu5v7/is_barrow_the_oem_for_bitspower_fittings/

https://www.overclock.net/threads/barrow-brand-fittings.1577293/