In this study total of six buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) were manufactured using a square steel rod as a load-resisting core member and a hollow steel tube as restrainer to prevent global buckling of the core. The gap between the core and the tube was filled with steel rods as filler material. The performances of the proposed BRB from uniaxial and subassemblage tests were compared with those of the specimens filled with mortar. The test results showed that the performance of the BRB with discontinuous steel rods as filler material was not satisfactory, whereas the BRBs with continuous steel rods as filler material showed good performance when the external tubes were strong enough against buckling. It was observed that the buckling strength of the external tube of the BRBs filled with steel rods needs to be at least twice as high as that of the BRBs filled with mortar to ensure high cumulative plastic deformation of the BRB.