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Weighted vests and rucking backpacks are two ways to make your workouts more challenging. Which one is the best depends on your training goals.
First of all, if you plan to do exercises besides just walking and hiking, weighted vests will generally be the better choice. The weights in these are evenly distributed and don’t move around.
When it comes to walking and hiking the difference depends more on your training goals, personal situation, and personal preferences.
Weighted vests will be more challenging for your trapezius muscles. Additionally, you don’t have any backpack contents that can poke your back and/or move around.
All types of rucking backpacks will be more challenging for your lower back and erector spinae muscles since you have to walk slightly bent-over to balance with the weight on your back.
Suboptimal rucking backpacks will also work your trapezius muscles a lot. Both types of rucking backpacks typically have a slightly higher weight limit than weighted vests and allow you to take other things like provisions.
Weighted vest vs rucking: quick overview
Weighted vests and backpacks for rucking can both benefit your workouts but in some areas, one or the other is typically better. Some of the most important differences between the two include:
- Good rucking backpacks tend to put the weight on your hips. Weighted vests distribute the weight over your entire shoulders. Suboptimal rucking backpacks tend to put the weight on a small area of your shoulders and pull you back.
- This makes it so good rucking backpacks tend to work your leg muscles more when walking although lower back will also generally get engaged a bit more. Weighted vests work legs and trapezius muscles more. Suboptimal backpacks work your legs, traps, and lower back.
- Both weighted vests and rucking backpacks can be found up to 100 pounds (45 kg) relatively easily. For weights heavier than that rucking backpacks tend to be more common but most people don’t need to go this heavy.
- Weighted vests are generally more useful for exercises besides walking.
- Comfort mostly depends on the specific models of both products. Suboptimal rucking backpacks tend to be very uncomfortable.
- A rucking backpack + rucking weight plates tends to be more expensive than weight vests at low weights but cheaper at the high weights.
Which one is the best choice for you ultimately depends on things like your personal situation, personal preferences, training goals, budget, workout program, etc.
Weight distribution
One of the most important differences between a weighted vest and a rucking backpack is the way they distribute the extra weight on your body.
Something that makes this subject a bit more complicated is that within the rucking backpack category this can vary. Good backpacks adjusted to your personal body proportions will be different than a random backpack with the standard settings.
Good weighted vests for walking will typically distribute the weight evenly on your shoulders. How wide the upper shoulder straps are will influence whether the weight is concentrated in one area or evenly distributed.
Some of this pressure on your shoulders can be reduced by strapping on the weighted vest tightly but this can be uncomfortable in a different way.
Next, the goal of good rucking backpacks adjusted to your personal size is to distribute the weight on your hips. The upper straps are more for keeping the backpack in place. Even with these, the weight is distributed more towards the back.
With suboptimal rucking backpacks this weight distribution towards the back stands out even more. Additionally, your shoulders will hold most of the weight, often concentrated in a small area.
In short, with weighted vests, the weight will be evenly distributed and mostly rest on your shoulders. In all types of rucking backpacks, the weight will be distributed towards the back.
In quality rucking backpacks adjusted for you, the weight will mostly rest on your hips. In suboptimal rucking backpacks, most of the weight will rest on your shoulders, often in an uncomfortably small area.
Muscles worked
The main goal of wearing a weighted vest or rucking backpack while walking is to make the workout harder on your body. In turn, this can lead to building (more) muscle, improving cardiovascular health more, and other benefits.
What muscles you work more is influenced by the weight distribution mentioned above.
All of the options will work your leg muscles (glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves) more to move the extra weight from the weighted vest or rucking backpack.
Next, even with quality rucking backpacks, and especially with the suboptimal ones, you will have to lean forward to some extent for balance. This is because of all the weight towards your back.
The leaning forward leads to a more challenging workout for your lower back muscles and erector spinae (long back muscles). This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
If you keep your spine straight and don’t overdo it, this can lead to more strengthening in these back muscles compared to weighted vests.
This is because weighted vests allow you to walk up straight like you normally would. Most of the weight is carried by your trapezius muscles (to keep your shoulders up).
There is not really any additional lower back and erector spinae training.
Suboptimal rucking backpacks will also work your trapezius muscles since most of the weight will rest on your shoulders.
A weighted vest can also conveniently be used in exercises besides walking for training other muscles. Rucking backpacks can help with this too but are generally not as great for this purpose.
In short, all options will be more challenging for leg muscles. Rucking backpacks will generally work lower back and erector spinae muscles more. This can be both an advantage or disadvantage depending on how you approach it.
Weighted vests and suboptimal rucking backpacks also tend to work the trapezius muscles more to keep your shoulders up.
Weight capacity
This next difference between weighted vests and rucking backpacks varies a lot from brand to brand. That being said, there are some general tendencies.
You can find weights up to 100 pounds (45 kg) relatively easily both for weighted vests and rucking backpacks. For weight limits heavier than that, rucking backpacks tend to be easier to find but there are a few good heavy weighted vests above this weight too.
That being said, most people do not need weights this heavy for their workouts.
Something else to keep in mind is that you have to buy separate rucking weights or use weights you already have to get up to these types of weights with rucking backpacks.
Comfort
There are two types of discomfort. The first one is where you feel your muscles working hard. This is generally the good type of discomfort that leads to a stronger body (as long as you don’t overdo it).
To predict what type of equipment will be hard on what muscles, you can look at the muscles worked section above.
On the other hand, you also have discomfort that is just annoying and not good for much.
For weighted vests, this can happen by tightening your equipment too much. This can make breathing harder.
In the case of rucking, weights and other things in your rucking backpack can poke your back. Additionally, the contents of your backpack tend to bounce around more compared to a weighted vest.
Also keep in mind that during rucking the weight distribution can nudge you towards walking with a bent-over lower back. This is generally not recommended and can lead to injuries. Try to walk with a somewhat straight spine.
Something else that can be described as comfort is that rucking backpacks allow you to take other things like water, snacks, etc. with you. This area is a lot more limited for most weighted vests.
Functionality for other exercises
A good workout program also has exercises besides walking. More specifically resistance training exercises but also potentially other cardio exercises like running.
If you already regularly go to the gym these differences between weighted vests and rucking backpacks are less relevant.
A dip belt can be enough for most exercises where you need more than the standard gym equipment and it is generally cheaper than the weighted vest and rucking gear.
If you want to keep (part of) your resistance workout program at home this is a different matter. In that case, weighted vests will generally be better because of the even weight distribution that does not move around.
The same goes for a more active cardio workout like running. Running with a weighted vest can work well but running with a rucking backpack not so much.
Cost
The difference in cost between weighted vests and rucking gear is not that big. Unless you are on a very tight budget you generally want to go for the option that aligns more with your training goals.
That being said, there are still some small tendencies in price differences.
For lower weights, weighted vests tend to be cheaper. For higher weights, a rucking backpack + rucking weight plates tends to be cheaper.
Keep in mind that individual brands will vary. These differences are generally speaking.
