Rogue Plate Carrier Review

The Rogue Plate Carrier is a weight vest for those looking to push their physical prowess to the max. This traditional weight vest uses plate inserts to add extra weight to your workout. The vest mimics the load that professionals like military, law enforcement, and first responders might carry on the job, or for true athletes, the type of vests that elite CrossFit athletes wear in competition. It is comfortable, breathable, and hugs the body nicely so that it won't interfere with your workout, regardless of the exercise. If you're looking for a vest that can keep up with your hardest workout, the Rogue may be it.

Performance

When performance matters, the Rogue delivers. Across exercises like pushups, pull-ups, and squats, the vest sits nearly unnoticeable on your body. When it comes to jogging or running, we experience a bounce with every step, but cinching it down tighter can help combat that. It outperforms other vests we tested due to its minimalistic design that doesn't interfere with any range of motion.

We pushed ourselves almost as much as the weight vests during testing, conducting hundreds of repetitions of push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and more while wearing the Rogue. The slim chest and back panels hug our body closely, meaning you can complete full range of motion exercises. Push-ups were particularly pleasant, where we were able to go all the way to the ground without the weight sagging forward or unevenly loading our bodies. This is helpful for dynamic exercises like burpees, where the snug fit feels secure without interfering.

Weighted pull-ups are a specialty of the Rogue. Many vests with padded shoulder straps pinch or dig in here, but we were able to do rep after rep with no issues. Squats were the same; the vest sits high enough on our body that the plates didn't dig into our abdomen at all. During all of our test workouts, we were able to bend, hinge, squat, and lunge without the vest impeding.

The Rogue works great for running, too. Almost all the vests that we tested experience some kind of bouncing. When we cinched the velcro waistband a little tighter, we noticed a significant reduction in bounce on the Rogue, although this did sacrifice the breathability of the vest a little.

Comfort

Calling a weight vest comfortable should come with an asterisk, as performing weighted exercises of any kind is rarely comfortable. That said, the Rogue Plate Carrier does its best to go unnoticed during your workouts. To evaluate the comfort, we considered the weight distribution, ability to adjust the fit, and any chafing or breathability issues during various types of exercises.

Weight distribution on the Rogue is excellent. The front and back balance the weight equally, assuming you put the same plates in each. Although you need to purchase the plates separately, they typically come in pairs, making that the default option. Additionally, the weight sits high on your chest. This is especially important when it comes to exercises like push-ups, where the weight resting lower can strain your back or impact your center of gravity.

Adjusting the vest is easy. Velcro on both the front and back of the waist strap, in addition to slightly elasticized straps, make for a tailored and snug fit around your waist. That's one of the most important factors in preventing the vest from bouncing during exercises. The shoulder straps are also adjustable velcro, letting you tailor how high or low the weight sits on your body.

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The Rogue is very breathable, given that it has just enough fabric to hold the weight plates securely. With fully open sides, it lets you heat up your workout without overheating yourself. The shoulder straps come with removable padding, which also helps prevent chafing. Our lead tester noted, “Normally shirts are necessary to prevent chafing with a vest, but I loved that during summer workouts I could go down to just the vest with no worries about friction burns.” Whether it was squats or overhead movements like pull-ups, we had no issues with range of motion or comfort while wearing the Rogue.

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Features

Weight vests are pretty simple training tools, but we evaluated and scored each vest on its features, like adjustable weight range, padding, and included weight cinch. While the Rogue is a simple vest, it packs just the right amount of features to make it a high-performing machine.

The vest by itself is under two pounds, with most of the weight coming from removable plates. These are available directly from Rogue in five to 20-pound ranges, which means you can have a total vest weight of between 10 and 40 pounds. There are also third-party plates that you can find in almost any weight range.

The Rogue has just enough padding in all the critical places. On both the chest and back, there is thin padding to prevent steel or iron plates from digging in, and the removable shoulder padding helps prevent the webbing and velcro shoulder straps from digging in as well.

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The waist belt on the Rogue helps hold the vest to size, but also helps prevent bouncing during workouts. Velcro on both the front and back means it's highly customizable. One of our testers said, “I love that the elasticized strap meant I could cinch it tight to prevent bouncing, while still allowing me to breathe deeply and heavily during the hardest part of my workouts.”

Ease of Use

The Rogue is a simple vest and scored well in our ease of use testing.

As a plate-style carrier, changing the weight on the Rogue is only possible if you have different-sized vest plates on hand. To do so is a simple process. With the vest on the ground, undo the velcro at the bottom of the front and back, remove the retaining strap, and replace the existing plate with another. The internal retaining strap helps hold the weight snug and secure inside the vest.

The Rogue is incredibly durable. After several years of testing, use, and abuse, the vest is still going strong. Everything from the reinforced seams, durable fabric, heavy-duty straps, and velcro closures are still fully intact. Because of its simplicity, the vest is also very easy to put on. Our tester said, “My only minor gripe with the Rogue is that the waist straps sometimes get twisted behind me when putting the vest on. It can help to have a partner hand you the straps.”

Should You Buy the Rogue Plate Carrier?

We recommend the Rogue Plate Carrier for people who want to add a simple, comfortable, and durable weight vest to their workout program. Though we'd not consider the weights adjustable, there are plenty of different options to choose from, and you can always increase the weight over time as your strength increases. If you want to add a little challenge to your workout, but not be encumbered by a bulky or bouncing vest, the Rogue is probably right for you.

What Other Weight Vests Should You Consider?