Making a Weighted Vest

What are the alternatives to Xvest? It seems like a nice product, but I don’t have $300 to spend at the moment.

Are there similar products out there? If not, any idea how one would go about making one of these with webbing or something (basically, how would you weight the thing?) ?

I went to an army disposal store and grabbed a bullet proof vest (without the kevlar in it).

I filled the vest with sand.

I simply put 5kg of sand in a bag and wrapped it in duct tape. I made two of those 5kg bags, I also made several 1kg and 2kg bags as well.

I placed the sandbags evenly in the vest (front and back). It weighs 20kgs and is great for dips, bear crawling, chin ups, and a whole heap of other stuff.

Cost me less than $20 dollars and about an hour to make.

Sweet! Good idea. I’ll have to try something like that.

Or get a backpack and put weights or other heavy objects in it.

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Or get a backpack and put weights or other heavy objects in it.[/quote]

Thats what I use. An old backpack with weights in it works fine for most exercises except weighted push-ups, as it tends to slide to one side.

[quote]KombatAthlete wrote:
Nate Dogg wrote:
Or get a backpack and put weights or other heavy objects in it.

Thats what I use. An old backpack with weights in it works fine for most exercises except weighted push-ups, as it tends to slide to one side.[/quote]

Wouldn’t that be “stability or balance” training then??? :wink:

They just shift a lot on their own no matter how you do them.

Vests are better than back packs, as the weight is more evenly positionedand is less stress on the lower back. The vest should be tight so as to not move around to much.

I can do Handstand presses with my vest and it won’t come off.

[quote]matsumi wrote:
Vests are better than back packs, as the weight is more evenly positionedand is less stress on the lower back. The vest should be tight so as to not move around to much.

I can do Handstand presses with my vest and it won’t come off.[/quote]

yes the beauty of the x vest is the fit and the weight distribution. you can wear the x vest for just about anything. backpack you can only wear for some things. overhead squats for example forty pounds hanging off the back will try to pull you over. same thing with pistols.

hey matsumi throw up some pics !

I have a backpack with 40 pounds in it.

It is uncomfortable, but it works.

A vest would be sweet.

[quote]matsumi wrote:
I went to an army disposal store and grabbed a bullet proof vest (without the kevlar in it).

I filled the vest with sand.

I simply put 5kg of sand in a bag and wrapped it in duct tape. I made two of those 5kg bags, I also made several 1kg and 2kg bags as well.

I placed the sandbags evenly in the vest (front and back). It weighs 20kgs and is great for dips, bear crawling, chin ups, and a whole heap of other stuff.

Cost me less than $20 dollars and about an hour to make.[/quote]

Word. I am being fitted for a new vest at work next week and have toyed with the idea of converting mine into a “weighted” vest, as you mentioned.

With the kevlar, it is already weighted, but only minimally. I like the idea of making different weights to insert into the vest for the various exercises. Novel.

Tyler

If you knows somoene with a chain-mail armor that’s more than perfect! (Mine is like 60 pounds+)

Here is a pic of my vest with sand bags wrapped in duct tape for weight. The bags range in weight from 5kgs to 1 kilo.

The weightvest.com 50# vest is under $200, I have one and love it. Sports Authority carries the All-Star weight vest for about $60, it’s not bad, it’s the first one I used.

Now for on the cheap alternatives.
Go to the Army Surplus store and get an old LBE harness and 4-6 Magazine pouches. You can put weight in those, and also get an ALICE or Assault pack and put weight in that too.
The problem with a Ruck alone is that all the weight is on your back, where as with an LBE, it’s in the front as well.

Weight vest are better, unless your in the Military and need to get used to the gear and weight. Even then, it was an SF trooper who turned me on to weight vest training.