Static Lunges Alternative

So my roommate and I were at the gym last night, and we're both running on the same routine as far as a workout plan goes. We went to do static lunges and he decided that instead of holding a bar weight acrossed his shoulders, he was going to use free weights at his sides. My question is would this exercise essentially be the same as far as what muscles it's working? Or are there different benefits from each? I'd think I would prefer to do them with the weights at my sides if at all possible, just overall more comfortable.
 
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