The high bar back squat. Its no big secret that over the last few years of competitive Crossfit that the Olympic lifts have been playing a huge part in competitions. In the last 3-4 for years in the regionals and other Crossfit comps the two big lifts have featured in a big way. There fore as Cross Fitters there is no place for a low bar back squat. There is nothing wrong with the low bar back squat, in fact its an integral lift for any aspiring power lifter working out in their garage or guys and girls making it to a power lifting gym.  But it bares no place in the Olympic lifting gym or Crossfit box for the athlete looking to compete in either field .  To put it as simply as possible, those of you wanting to be a competitive crossfiter or Olympic lifter at no point in the clean, front squat and snatch that are you bent over forwards to the degree you have to in the low bar back squat. There fore the HBBS is far more suitable for the Olympic lifts, crossfit and transfers alot better for functionality in day to day living and sports, eg jumping.
Lets have look at a diagram and list some pros and cons

High bar Pros
Greater tension on quads
More transfer to functional movements for sports
More natural bar placement
Requires greater flexibility
Cons
Less tension on glutes and hamstrings
less weight lifted for most people
Requires greater flexibility
Low bar Pros
Greater tension on hamstrings and glutes
Less flexibility required
Cons
Less tension on quads
Can be harder to hit required depth
Bar placement can feel less natural
Not relevant to the Olympic lifts and does not transfer well to sports (jumping)
 
As i said earlier the LBBS is a good lift. You can see this by the pros that i have listed. That said you can acheive all the the pros in a LBBS by deadlifting. Correct deadlifting transfers far bettier to the Olympic lifts, crossfit, sports and functionality. You can get more hamstring tension and glute activation at the same time as improving your grip.
Tomorrow i will continue to discuss the deadlift and its various forms