Weighted Vest vs Rucksack: Which One Should You Use (And When)?

WEBVTT

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If you own a weighted vest or a rucksack, do

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you actually know which one to grab for today's

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session or do you just default to whatever's

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closest to the door? Some ruckers treat these

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two tools like they are interchangeable. Grab

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the vest if the ruck's dirty or grab the ruck

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if the vest is buried in the closet somewhere.

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But by the end of this episode, that's gonna

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be over. You're going to know exactly when a

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weighted vest is the smarter choice and exactly

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when a backpack should be on your back instead

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based on your goals, your session. and what the

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research actually shows about how your body handles

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each one. Sure, preference matters, but your

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body responds differently to load carried on

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your torso versus load carried on your back.

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And once you understand that difference, the

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decision stops being a guess, and you'll know

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exactly when to wear a weighted vest or your

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rucksack. You're listening to the Rucker's Edge

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podcast, a show all about rucking that is designed

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to help you improve your rucking routine, lose

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weight, and ultimately gain your strength and

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energy back. Each episode dives into the science,

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stories, and strategies behind rucking. You'll

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learn from top ruckers, coaches, health experts,

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and performance specialists who break down what

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it takes to train smarter, recover faster, and

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stay ready for the next challenge. So whether

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you're new to rucking or an experienced rucker

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that's already logged hundreds of miles, this

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is the show for you. I'm your host Spencer. Thanks

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for listening in. Let's start with why this even

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needs an episode. When you break it down, a weighted

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vest and a loaded rucksack are doing the same

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job. Basically, they're adding external resistance

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to your body so that walking becomes harder and

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more productive. Because of that surface level

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similarity, I feel like some people assume that

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that choice is just either about comfort or what's

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on sale. Which, by the way, GoRook is having

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their Christmas in July sale. Some pretty decent

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deals if you're looking to get someone in your

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family or one of your friends into it. Now's

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a pretty good time to pick up some gear. Anyway.

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But I feel like those people might be missing

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a key point. Where the weight sits on your body

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changes what your body has to do to manage it.

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A vest holds weight close to your center of mass.

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It's distributed across your front and your back.

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Whereas a rucksack holds weight up and behind

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you, it's shifted off your center of mass entirely.

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That single difference in weight placement changes

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your posture, your oxygen demand, your muscle

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recruitment, and honestly, your injury risk profile,

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depending on how you use it. If you're training

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for a go -rick event, doing conditioning circuits,

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or just trying to lose weight on your daily walk,

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picking the wrong tool for that specific goal

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means you're either under -training for what

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you actually need or overloading joints and connective

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tissue in ways that don't transfer to your goal

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as much as it could. With that, let's jump into

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the mechanics of it. So back in 1996, a researcher

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named Joseph Napik, I think that's how you pronounce

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it, K -N -A -P -I -K. He published a review in

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the Journal of Applied Ergonomics looking at

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decades of load carriage research from military

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and applied physiology studies. One of his central

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findings still holds up today, though. The closer

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a load sits to your body's center of gravity,

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the lower the energy cost of carrying it. He

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specifically found that a double pack, meaning

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weight split evenly between your front and your

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back, just like a weighted vest does, costs less

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energy to carry than the same weighted load entirely

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into a backpack. Also, Mountain Tactical Institute,

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which I've covered previously on the podcast,

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go check out that episode. I'll put that in the

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show notes. They picked up on this same principle

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in their own research review comparing vest and

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ruck training. Their explanation is pretty intuitive.

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When you load a rucksack, your center of gravity

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shifts backwards. To keep from falling over,

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your torso leans forward to compensate for that.

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And that changes your natural gait pattern and

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puts more demand on your lower back and your

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legs just to maintain your balance. Your body

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also burns more oxygen doing this stabilizing

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work and generates more heat in the process,

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which adds to fatigue on longer efforts like

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longer, heavier rucks. A vest skips most of that

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problem. Because that load sits close to your

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center of mass, the front and the back, your

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torso doesn't need to lean forward to compensate

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for that. Your gait stays closer to normal. Your

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stabilizer muscles don't have to work as hard

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and for the same external weight your oxygen

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cost tends to be much lower. Now, before you

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decide vests are better and stop listening, that

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efficiency is exactly why vests and rucksacks

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are suited for different jobs. The rucksack's

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perceived inefficiency isn't a design flaw. It's

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not that it's bad. It's the entire reason certain

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training and real -world applications call for

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a rucksack instead of a vest. And I'll hit more

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on that in a second. There's also a strap imposter

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piece worth knowing about, too. Research on shoulder

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and back loading, including later work by Napik

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and his colleagues, which was published in Military

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Medicine, that research found that erector spinae

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muscle activity, which that's the muscle groups

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running along your spine, is actually lower during

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a moderate load carriage than during unloaded

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walking, up until loads getting into the 30 to

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40 kilogram range, which is about 66 to 88 pounds.

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Past that point, spinal muscle activation goes

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up higher than walking with no load at all. So,

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a lot of words there. Translation, light to moderate

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rucksack loads aren't automatically destroying

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your back. It's heavy loads, especially loads

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carried for a long time with poor pack fit, where

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the real risks start to show up. So now that

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we covered some of the mechanics, let's start

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to talk about what you actually want in each

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tool. But before we get into the decision making,

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quick clarification on the terminology because

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a weighted vest actually covers two different

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setups, in my opinion. We talked about how vests

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have a front and a back load. Some of these vests

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come with a fixed weight sewn into it. You buy

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the 20 pound or the 40 pound version and that's

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what you got. That's your vest. You can't adjust

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it. Other vests sometimes called plate carriers

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or ruck plate vests. Those are built to hold

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removable ruck plates just like you would, you

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know, let open your rucksack. So you can swap

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the plates out in and out and, you know, interchange

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how much load you're carrying for each session.

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Both of those are weighted vests in my opinion.

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And that's what I'm just going to be referring

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to as when I say weighted vests throughout the

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rest of this episode. What matters for this comparison

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is where the load sits on your body, like I mentioned,

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close to your center of mass, front and back,

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not whether that weight happens to be sewn in

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or strapped in with Velcro as if they were plates.

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The distinction we actually care about today

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is the weighted vest either version versus a

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rucksack on your back. All right, let's dive

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into when you should be wearing a rucksack, when

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a rucksack is the right call for your session.

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If your goal involves any of the following, the

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rucksack is your tool, not a vest. There are

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three that I had. thought of. So the first one,

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that's going to be heavier loads over longer

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distances, like I kind of alluded to earlier.

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This is the single biggest one. A properly built

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rucksack with a frame, a hip belt, and a load

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-bearing strap is designed to transfer weight

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down through your hips instead of hanging entirely

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off your shoulders. I mean, I said frame, something

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that's well -structured in terms of a rucksack.

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It doesn't necessarily have to have like a skeletal

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frame to it, but something that's well -built.

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purpose built for like a long ruck. Vests generally

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aren't built for that. You know, these long rucks,

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most weighted vests top out in a range that's

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comfortable for shorter sessions. And once you

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start pushing toward, you know, 30, 40, 50 pounds

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for multiple hours, a vest without proper structure

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or the ability to transfer weight to your hip

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become miserable fast. If you're training for

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a go ruck event or some sort of long distance

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ruck with heavy weight, you need the load bearing

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design. a rucksack gives you the second situation

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in which you should really be wearing a rucksack

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over a weighted vest is when you're developing

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your posture and core development over distance

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because a rucksack shifts your center of gravity

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your core and postural muscles have to work harder

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to keep you upright and stable over the length

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of a ruck that's a feature not necessarily something

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wrong That's ideal when your goal is building

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functional trunk strength that carries into daily

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life. A rucksack tends to offer more benefits

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for improving posture over time compared to a

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vest, precisely because of that added stabilization

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demand. And our third situation when you should

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be wearing a rucksack instead of a vest. is when

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you're training for go -ruck events and other

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challenges themselves. If you're training specifically

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for a timed or team -based rucking event, train

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the way you're going to compete. A lot of these

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events, you have to wear rucksacks, not necessarily

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vests. Most events are rucksack -based by design,

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so your training should mirror the equipment

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that you're going to be using during those competitions.

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Okay so since we just talked about when you should

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be wearing a rucksack let's touch on when we

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should be wearing weighted vests instead of rucksacks.

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There are four reasons why you should be wearing

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a vest instead of a rucksack. The first one Any

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session that combines walking with body weight

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movements. So push -ups, pull -ups, squats, lunges,

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box step -ups, stair climbs, burpees. You know,

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a rucksack bouncing around behind you during

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dynamic movement is annoying at best and a stability

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risk at worst. A vest stays snug against your

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torso and moves with you, which is exactly why

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it's the better tool for the circuit style or

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hybrid conditioning work that isn't pure walking.

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I'm not saying don't use a rucksack for that.

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I'm saying maybe use a tool that's not going

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to mess with your center of gravity while doing

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these types of workouts. The second reason to

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wear a vest instead of a rucksack, running or

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higher intensity intervals. If part of your training

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includes ruck runs, sprints, intervals, or anything

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that's... a faster cadence the vest centered

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load and lack of shifting weight makes it dramatically

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more stable than a bouncing pack that matters

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both for performance and joint safety at higher

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speeds but again another caveat here not a big

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fan of running with load a rucksack or a vest

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So definitely use this one with caution. The

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third situation where you should be wearing a

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vest instead of a rucksack, anything that puts

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you on the ground. So bear crawls, sit -ups,

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floater kicks, you know, things like that. Getting

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down into a burpee and back up again. You know,

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try that with a rucksack. Ask a lot of the hybrid

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athletes. Sure, you can absolutely wear a rucksack,

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but I think having something more close to your

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center of gravity is probably going to be ideal

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there. And lastly, the fourth one, when balance

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and stability are a priority, especially for

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older adults or people who are injury prone,

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anyone new to loaded training in general. And

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the event that you have balance or stability

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issues, you definitely want something that's

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going to be closer to your center of gravity.

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And a vest tends to produce less disruption.

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to your natural gait and helps with your balance.

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So several gear and physiological sources point

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to this exact reasoning for recommending vests

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to people who are more concerned about fall risk

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or general stability during weighted walking.

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So definitely something to consider there. Okay,

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let's talk about comfort for a little bit here.

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Something we haven't talked about so far when

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comparing weighted vests to rucksacks is breathing.

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Because a vest sits directly on your chest, heavier

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vest loads or poorly designed vests can genuinely

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restrict how easily your rib cage expands, especially

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during hard breathing and higher intensities.

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If you've ever thrown on a cheap vest or it felt

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like you couldn't get a full breath during a

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hard set of stairs or burpees, that is a shared

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experience. That's a real mechanical limitation

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of these types of tools. It's definitely worth

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factoring in and your decision to wear either

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a vest or a rucksack. Rucksacks generally don't

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have this problem. You know, all that said, some

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rucking equipment manufacturers are addressing

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this problem, specifically GoRuck. I mentioned

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a product they made back in, I guess, last fall.

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At this point, they have a rucking weighted vest

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in which the weight plates are curved to help

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with your breathing ability. So check that out

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if you still want to wear a weighted vest. be

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able to breathe a little bit better while you're

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doing, you know, those types of workouts. Before

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I offer up my suggestion on how to use both these

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tools, I want to take a quick break and just

00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:02.700
say thanks for listening to the podcast. If you

00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.419
know anyone that has mentioned getting into rocking

00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:07.799
or working out with a weighted vest, please share

00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:09.440
this episode with them. They might get something

00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:12.000
out of it. It'll also help the show. As more

00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.460
people listen, the show will grow and it will

00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:16.519
reach other people trying to improve their health

00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.620
and their lives. So greatly appreciate a share.

00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:21.850
Thank you. So here's here's an idea that I want

00:13:21.850 --> 00:13:23.889
to challenge you with and it's the idea that

00:13:23.889 --> 00:13:26.870
you need to pick a permanent favorite the smartest

00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:29.330
approach in my opinion and one echoed across

00:13:29.330 --> 00:13:33.029
coaches and Researchers in this space is to rotate

00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.629
between the two based on what each session actually

00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:39.700
calls for not just based on habit or what's available

00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:42.820
rucking with a backpack places low at high and

00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:44.500
behind you like i've mentioned several times

00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.220
already and that's going to challenge your posterior

00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:50.620
chain your postural muscles and your gait stability

00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:54.639
in one specific way vest training keeps the load

00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:57.340
centered which shifts more demand onto your legs

00:13:57.340 --> 00:13:59.899
and your core in a different way and it's similar

00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:02.340
to how weighted sled drag or resistance based

00:14:02.340 --> 00:14:04.419
training changes muscle recruitment compared

00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.879
to straight walking using only one tool week

00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:10.769
after week means you're only ever training one

00:14:10.769 --> 00:14:13.230
specific stabilization pattern, and that can

00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:15.850
set you up for overuse issues in the same shoulders,

00:14:15.990 --> 00:14:18.909
hips, or lower back over time. Kayla Gergen,

00:14:19.009 --> 00:14:20.690
former guest on the show, actually puts this

00:14:20.690 --> 00:14:22.529
really simply. By the way, if you haven't checked

00:14:22.529 --> 00:14:24.330
out her awesome podcast, it's called Sugar and

00:14:24.330 --> 00:14:26.440
Strength. Highly recommend you listen to it.

00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:29.639
She said she keeps both a vest and a rucksack

00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.659
on hand so she can grab whatever fits that day's

00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:35.200
session. That's the mindset that I think we should

00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.720
all be working with here. It's like not just

00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:40.639
which one is better, but which one fits what

00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:45.559
I'm doing today. So breaking it all down, let's

00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:48.580
make this simple. Here's how to decide in about

00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:51.019
five seconds based on what you're actually doing.

00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:54.299
Training for a Go Rookie event. a long road march

00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:57.779
or building a real world carrying capacity, rucksack.

00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:00.279
Every time, train the way you perform. Doing

00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.340
a body weight circuit, functional fitness class

00:15:02.340 --> 00:15:06.460
or ruck run with faster pace changes, fast. The

00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:08.720
stability and the freedom of movement will win

00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:12.200
every time. Going for time on your feet over

00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:16.039
5, 10, 15 miles with a real like heavy load,

00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:19.659
rucksack with a proper structure, and a hip belt.

00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:21.899
Don't try to push heavy weight over long distance

00:15:21.899 --> 00:15:25.080
in a vest that's not built for it. A quick 20

00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:27.220
to 30 minute weighted walk before work, stairs,

00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:30.899
or a HIIT style session, vest. Convenience and

00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:33.299
centered load make it a better fit for the shorter,

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.580
higher tempo work. Newer to load training, if

00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:38.639
you're older or concerned about balance or stability,

00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:41.700
start with a vest and a lighter load. The more

00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:43.740
natural gait pattern gives you room to build

00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.220
confidence before progressing to heavier rucksack

00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:49.070
work. And lastly, if you're not sure or just

00:15:49.070 --> 00:15:51.629
want general fitness and calorie burn on your

00:15:51.629 --> 00:15:55.809
regular walk, either one works. This is generally

00:15:55.809 --> 00:15:58.049
the category where personal preference gets to

00:15:58.049 --> 00:16:00.350
make that call since both add meaningful intensity

00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:02.230
to plain walking. But if you haven't picked up

00:16:02.230 --> 00:16:05.570
on it already, I'll always lean towards rucksack.

00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:08.789
Okay, so here's where that leaves you. A weighted

00:16:08.789 --> 00:16:11.049
vest and a rucksack are not interchangeable tools

00:16:11.049 --> 00:16:13.370
that come down to whichever one you feel like

00:16:13.370 --> 00:16:17.789
grabbing, except for that. one specific scenario

00:16:17.789 --> 00:16:20.269
where we just talked about where you're not sure

00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.970
and you just kind of generally want to start

00:16:22.970 --> 00:16:24.830
some sort of fitness thing, which totally support,

00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:27.090
just get started, figure it out from there. But

00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:29.769
the vest keeps load centered, which makes it

00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:31.870
a better choice for body weight training, running,

00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:34.470
higher intensity work, shorter sessions, and

00:16:34.470 --> 00:16:36.889
building bone density when it's paired with real

00:16:36.889 --> 00:16:40.360
impact training. the rucksack shifts load behind

00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:42.700
you which makes it the better choice for heavier

00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:45.639
loads longer distances event specific training

00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.899
gear carrying and building the kind of functional

00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:52.019
posture and core strength that transfers to real

00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:55.179
life situations your action step for this week

00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.720
is simple look at your training calendar and

00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:00.360
actually assign the right tool to each session

00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.080
instead of defaulting to habit if you've only

00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:05.819
ever used one this is your sign to add the other

00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:09.380
in and see what changes All right, that's it

00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:11.039
for today. Check out the show notes for some

00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.799
of the studies I mentioned, as well as some of

00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.720
the previous episodes I mentioned in today's

00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.420
episode. Check me out online. I'm on Instagram

00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:20.420
at TheWreckersEdgePod or at the website, which

00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:23.859
is TheWreckersEdge .com. And if you haven't already

00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:26.079
subscribed to the show, go ahead and do that

00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.200
because next week I'm sitting down with... Bailey

00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:32.759
Ertle. She is a top rucker competing in the Ruck

00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.059
Race League. She also does a lot of hybrid events.

00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:37.859
She's got a lot of great advice for ruckers trying

00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:40.400
to up their game, up their training. Highly recommend

00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.200
you listen to it. Plus, she's done some really

00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.099
cool competitions with her daughter, which is

00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:46.460
an amazing story in itself. You're not going

00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:48.259
to want to miss that episode, so definitely be

00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:50.799
sure to subscribe so you get notified when new

00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:53.700
episodes are released. Okay, that's it for today.

00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:55.819
Really appreciate you listening to this episode

00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:57.059
of The Rucker's Edge.