Bench with the cambered bar for a comfier, deeper press.
The slight extra depth loads the stretch, control the bottom and don't bounce it off your chest.
The buffalo bar's camber curves around your chest, letting the bar travel slightly deeper than a straight bar allows, which loads your pecs in a longer stretch at the bottom of every rep. The bent shape also lets your wrists and shoulders sit at a friendlier angle, so lifters with cranky shoulders often press pain-free with it. Your triceps still run the lockout, making it a legit heavy pressing option, not just a rehab tool.
It's a barbell with a gentle camber, a curve through the middle. On the bench that curve adds a touch of extra range at the chest and eases the position for your shoulders and wrists, so it suits lifters who find straight-bar benching achy.
Yes, if you control it. The extra range is the benefit, but it's also new territory for your pecs, so start lighter than your straight-bar numbers and never bounce out of the bottom.
Expect to press a bit less at first. The increased range and the bar's slight instability change the movement enough that chasing your straight-bar numbers on day one is asking for trouble.
