Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/02/17/this-pull-up-bar-hangs-from-a.html
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I’ve got one of these. Works great as long as you can find a door frame that has adequate space and construction to hold it in place. The only place I could find to use it is in the basement.
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The manufacturer’s page doesn’t show any photos of how the bar is supported by the door frame. Some customer images on Amazon show the bar resting on the crown molding over the door. Molding isn’t meant to support weight like that; it’s decorative, not structural.
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I am pretty sure these are gag gifts, because I have only seen this product’s existence in the context of videos of people falling off them.
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I have one of these. It isn’t really using the molding as support. It has a friction surface on the faces that touch the wall. The molding only holds it in place when there’s not weight on it. As soon as there is weight on it, the weight distribution is such that it is cantilevered in place with little pressure on the molding. I’ve tested it by pushing it up slightly from the molding with one hand then adding my weight to it with the other hand. It holds in place with a gap between it and the molding.
Just don’t swing from it and you’ll be fine.
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I have one and can confirm it’s a genuine good thing that works very well. All the comments here endorsing it are spot on, and this comment endorses those comments.
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But you didn’t 
frauenfelder’s article!
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We’ve had one of these for years with zero issues. For additional safety, we screwed in the little L-shaped bracket that comes with the bar. It’s set up at the guest bedroom for use by anyone wishing to get in a few pullups. A pumped guest is a happy guest.
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Please, please, please tell me that is the heading of your VRBO ad! 
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Only visiting relatives and friends, I’m happy to say! 
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These surfaces (on the one I bought) will also mark up the door frame.
But I never fell off.
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friend used a suction cup intended to lift 2 X 2 plenum floor tiles ( aka “computer floor” ) as a chin up bar. He went into an empty rack cabinet with a smooth interior surface on the top panel, and smacked the thing hard up against it. Then, he did a pull up that held for about half a second; the grip failed and he clobbered himself on top of his head with it. So, don’t do that
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They also would not pull a dent out of a car’s body panel (though, fortunately, this experiment did not end in any mishap)
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My friends and I had a lot of fun with those suction cups; we also had a one cup molded suction lift device that really was no good for tiles but, since it was all rubber, you could throw it at a window. A skilled player could stick it to the glass from forty feet away
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Same. I’ve had one for about 7 years. I weigh over 200 pounds and I’ve done a lot of pull-ups on it over the years. I used to hook the TRX up to it as well.
It never felt unsafe, but there’s a permanent black stain on both sides of my door frame.
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this was my issue as well, I had to modify a doorframe to fit it…
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I’ve owned one for three years or so and have yet to fall from it. My dad has owned his for a decade.
Inb4 the smartass comments: Yes, we do regularly use them. Yes, while they’re hanging from the door frame.
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Been using one of these for over a year, it’s done ridiculous things to my upper back muscles. Best thing is it forces you to move slowly and carefully, paying attention to steady form, because if you move to quickly and jerkily you might dislodge it and take a tumble. If I can’t get to the gym for any reason, this and a yoga mat are the only two things I need to keep things working at home.
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I’ve had mine for about 10 years too. I use it at least a few times a week. Whatever the back muscles are that flare out behind your armpits/ribs get shredded when you do the widest grip. The only muscle group on me my wife has ever gone out of her way to comment on… Also decent for gravity-based core workouts
mine was too narrow for the doorway it’s in so I had to get little pipes from the hardware store and extend it.
And yes I do quite often have to pull myself up into line-drying laundry…
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