Box 100 lb straitjacket vs Box women's weighted vest

This is a comparison between the of the Box 100lb straitjacket and the Box women's weighted vest including pros, cons, and alternatives. This was originally posted in which weighted vest to get from Rogue.

Overview and review of the Box women's weighted vest

This is an overview of the Women's box weighted vest including pros, cons, and alternatives. This was originally posted in which weighted vest to get from Rogue.

BOX Women's Weight Vest - Weight Training | Rogue Fitness

Overview of the Women's weighted vest

Price: $122 - $144

The women's box vest is a redesign of the time tested box vest classic. Some of the material of the vest has been removed at the chest to make it a better fit for women. This lowers the maximum amount of weight the vest can take to 25lbs. In return, you will have less fabric in the wrong places, especially if you only work at lower weight rates anyway and bring in a sizeable front yourself. (Box themselves avoided to say this, if you have a better way of explaining this, please let me know. It is pretty obvious what this design for women is about.)

Pros of the Women's weighted vest

The pros of the women's box vest are:

A different color scheme from black
Zipper in the front
Better suited to a female anatomy

This vest has been designed with women in mind. You can call them out for gender stereotyping, as this is always a challenge with gender-specific products. Still, I think it makes sense to have a vest that is a little lighter and leaves space in the right places to perform your best without creating unnecessary pain.

Cons of the Women's box weighted vest

The cons of the Women's box weighted vest are:

Less fabric
Price

While the design helps to give you more freedom and provides less fabric than other vests at a similar price point. This also means there is less surface to stick weight into which lowers the overall capacity to 25lb. Combined with the fact that the base price of the women's box vest is the same as their standard vest I find it to be a little bit of a ripoff. I think it would be fairer to deduct $20 as this clearly uses less material than the standard box vest unless somebody explains to me how the production of this vest is a lot more complex.

Alternatives to the women's box weighted vest

Alternatives to the box weighted vest are:

If you hate gender stereotyping and do not mind that a weighted vest covers your full front, then the box weighted vest gives you more capacity for the same price. You can use the same weights and train with a battle-tested classic. The only downside is that it might be a little more painful than with the women's version.

The Rogue plate carrier is gender-neutral and goes up to 40lbs in weight. This is a great value for money option that also leaves you with possibilities to customize the vest with your own patches.

The MiR short vest is a great option if you want to maximize your weight at a relatively low cost for up to 90lbs. In this segment, you can not beat the MiR short vest in the Rogue shop.

Conclusion for the women's box weighted vest

If you need it for what it has been designed for, it is a great fit. Otherwise, it is overpriced and you should go for something else.

Overview and review of the Box 100 lb straitjacket

This is an overview of the Rogue Box 100 lb straitjacket including pros, cons, and alternatives. This was originally posted in which weighted vest to get from Rogue.

Overview of the Box 100lb Straitjacket vest

Price: $292.99

The Box 100lb Straightjacket is the most expensive vest which Rogue currently stocks. In return, you also get the heaviest vest you can get. The design expands on the base box vest by having 50lb as an underlayer and adding another 50lb on top of this. Think about this one as two box vests on top of each other, were the vendor thought about how to attach them properly. The full specifications of the 100lb Straightjacket are:

Made in the USA
Adjustable by 2.5LB increments up to 100LB
Short length for better range of motion
Durable, tear-resistant nylon exterior
Double-padded shoulder base
Reliable, military-grade fasteners
Color: Black

This is a great tool for anyone who wants to maximize resistance on Crossfit exercises which involve short term sprints, pull-ups, and sit-ups. Still, this is an extreme option optimized for weight, not for fit and comfort.

Pros of the Box 100lb Straitjacket

The pros of the Box 100lb are:

100lb in total weight
Short design
Good pouches

This product does what it says on the tin. You get a military-grade vest that can take the 100lb as advertised. The short design is also a bonus compared to other vests that have 100lb. Rather than restricting your torso, you can still turn and bend. Other vests that go that high in weight often use a full torse approach where mobility suffers. You get what pay for with an excellent product that has been battle-tested in many gyms all over the country and in the CrossFit games.

The cons of the 100lb Straitjacket

The cons of the 100lb straightjacket are:

Misleading advertisement
Uneven weight distribution
Mobility constraints

This vest is a one size fits all approach so that you can get all of the 100lb somewhere on to our body. This means that for anyone who does not have the standard male model sizes, this vest will be a nightmare to wear. If you are 185cm tall and weigh 90kg, great. If you are bigger or smaller than that, you will not have a snug fit. So that you can still somewhat move, the design doubles up to around the shoulders and back. This leads to uneven weight distribution and makes this vest hard to work with on long-distance runs rows or prolonged rope skipping. On top of that, the advertising is a bit misleading. If you buy this vest you buy it for its maximum capacity. The full price is then roughly $380 rather than just below $300. This has a reason as the weighted vest market has a drop-off point at around $300 when people say "Are you insane".

Alternatives to the 100lb Straitjacket

Alternatives to the 100lb straightjacket are:

The MiR pro weighted vest is the only vest in Rogue's shop that goes over the 100lb of the straightjacket. The maximum weight option is 120lbs. For this, you will get a vest that severely constraints your movement as this is achieved with multiple straps and extra length instead of a double layer of weights like in the Box 100lb vest.

If you are only looking to add weight to your pull-ups and dips, then a dip belt might be the better option. It is a lot cheaper and can go to a lot more weight than 100lb. The only downside is that kipping pull-ups and any kind of sprinting/changing of exercises within the workout will demand that you take the dip belt on and off and lose the resistance. A dip belt is not a vest that you can just simply put on but is a lot easier to manage and cheaper if adding weight is all you want to do.

The Hyper Vest Pro would be the best alternative if you still want a heavy vest. This vest goes up to 42lb in its XL version as it is longer than the smaller versions. This provides extra space for plates. This vest has mainly been designed to have a snug fit and therefor be great for long time cardio workouts. It still only has half the capacity of the 100lb straight jacket.

The load trainer is the best option for maximum load, as you can simply put plates on your back like a donkey. This will feel a lot more like a rucksack and is especially good if you want to train to march long distances with a heavyweight, but do not necessarily carry weapons halfway through town. Pull-ups, sprints, and dips are also possible, but not at speed.

The original box vest is half the size of the straightjacket and goes up to 50lb. You get the same design and robustness, while the fit is not as snug as with the Hyper range. This model is more than enough for most mere mortals and also a lot more affordable.

Conclusion for the 100lb straitjacket

A 100lb straightjacket is a great tool for Crossfitters who have exhausted their options with the Original Box vest and want to push beyond the 50lb resistance. In my personal opinion, the market for that is very slim. If you are torn between the original box vest and the straightjacket, get the box vest. It will take a couple of years to grow into this resistance training if you are not already jumping up and down with no problem in a 50lbs vest. If you want to do long-distance running with a vest or acrobatics, the box vests are not the best choice.