Highly recommend GoRuck! I have met their leadership and actually ran a DEKA Sprint with one, fell in love with it. Good people too running that company.

Great to hear and thanks for sharing your experiences. Which specific GoRuck vest can you recommend, @john-graham-harper?

The one I used for the DEKA was Ruck Plate Carrier 3.0
I liked it a lot, Ive always stuck with that one

Amazing! Thanks for your recommendation @john-graham-harper 🙏

I've used the adidas running / weight vests beforehand. Have to say, however, that I'm not a huge fan using them for running. Our ligaments (knees + ankles) are already at extreme stress when running (6-8x bodyweight for every step). Adding additional unnecessary weight will increase the impact and increase the risk of long term issues. I'd rather put the vest on when cycling / rowing etc when there is significantly less impact on joints / ligaments.

@marius-klages

Thanks for your feedback and very good point regarding ligament stress and running.

Andrew Huberman recommends rucking (walking with added weight) as a great way to hit Zone 2 cardio, especially for men. It boosts calorie burn, builds endurance, is joint-friendly, and fits easily into daily life (he does a weekly weighted hike while listening to podcasts).

I have this one: https://msports.de/products/gewichtsweste-premium with 30kg

Was a stupid idea since there are 30 x 1kg weights and it is really annoying to adjust the weight. Therefore didn't really use it 😅

I should've gone with a far ligther version to start off.

Hey @karol great topic! Thanks for bringing this up! I use the Suprfit Sigurd vest with 13.75 lbs for slow runs – perfect for me to run with slower runners and focus on technique. https://suprfit.com/products/suprfit-sigurd-3d-gewichtsweste

Thanks for sharing, @brgmn

I didn’t have Suprfit on my radar yet. The price point looks great compared to Rogue or GoRuck.
Are you happy with the quality so far, and is it machine washable?

Recently purchased the miR Air Flow Weighted Vest (Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016NI0ZOS?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1&psc=1).

It's decent, one I got goes up to 40lb and is adjustable. Fits well and can use it for calisthenics workouts + rucking.

Would recommend!

Hey @karol I just bought in May 2024 these weight plates on Amazon: Yes4All. The prices from GoRuck are far to expensive. So I just put the weight in a normal rucksack. To be honest, I didn't use the plate for the last 6 months.

An interesting new video by Physionic (shared by @sandra-hagen) just dropped, and the findings strongly support rucking and wearing weighted vests:

Key takeaways in a nutshell:

• Weighted vests help maintain weight loss over the long term

• They preserve the largest portion of our resting metabolism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIojfAWU9FA

Had spent some time looking at this back in ‘20/21 - rogue / goruck are cool but also felt expensive.

I ended up buying a relatively cheaper version from Decathlon (6kg vest with additional plates which can take it up to 10kg total, cost me 40 gbp all in)

I used it for short runs of 3-5km + also weighted dips / pullups, does the job.

Additional alternative - which i have not tried but wish i had - is the weighted vest from Strength Shop, 100 eur, adjustable from 1-20kg (have bought most of my other home gym stuff from them and it has turned out to be solid quality)

Just jumping in with a quick plug from a slightly different angle: I’m the founder of YVOTY, a functional fitness brand built for women in midlife. Our weighted vest isn’t made for running or gym workouts. It’s specifically designed to complement strength training through rucking (walking with weight), which is incredibly effective for improving bone density and muscle retention during peri/menopause.

It’s been a total game-changer for our community of 40+ women who are focused on strength, not shrinkage. The vest is sleek, adjustable, breathable; and comes with a free DEXA scan (via BodySpec), an app to log your rucks, and access to a private support group. Always happy to swap notes. 💪🏽

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and recommendations @chirag-pritam-dureja and @marie-berry.

I'll probably go with @brgmn suprfit recommendation, as the vest looks solid and has a fair price point. I will mainly use it for my daily walks for lunch and for weighted pull-ups, push-ups and dips.

Do you have any recommendations or positive experiences regarding starting load and how to safely progress with added weight, without putting too much strain on your knees and ankles?

@karol I'm using the Suprfit Sigurd vest with the black weights (really heavy) for short, slow runs (<=5km, 06:30min/km) - they're crazy heavy for running but training effect is also really good. For me this is perfect to slow me down and have an additional training effect when running together with slower runners. I have the red weights, too but rarely use them. Blue wasn't available when I bought the vest. For people lighter than me (<90kg) I would recommend taking the blue and red weights. And keep in mind that running with weights puts an additional load on your knees: a good running technique is a must.