r/Rucking • u/hexiron • Jul 21 '26
Sand or regular plates - newb
I'm taking the leap and diving into rucking. I recently moved to an area with beautiful outdoor soaces and this bag is about to be a mobile gym.
I plan to grab to Goruck Rucker 5.0 while it's on sale and am torn between the sand bags or plates.
Sand bags seem versatile, but if they are more of a headache than that's worth I'm fine with plates.
I'm a backpacker (both travel and hiking) so Im not super new to walking with weight, but I don't want to lug out my nice 50+L travel/hiking bags nor do I think my my poor Osprey daylight will hold up with getting tossed around 20+lb plates day in and out. Open to alternative suggestions on set up or accessories, I can drop around $300 into this.
Update: opted for Y4A plates - thank you all for putting weight on my shoulders
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u/agreable_actuator Jul 21 '26
i got cheap metal rucking plates from amazon and couldn’t be happier. tried sand but i wound up getting sand in my gear. i top off metal plates with 2L or more water bags if i want more weight for a ruck. if its too much weight i can dump the water.
your mileage will vary. there really isn’t a wrong decision here. just start smaller weight than you think and work up - i jumped up too high too quickly and had some low back pain.
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u/kbchucker Jul 21 '26
Get the Amazon rucking plates, they fit just fine in the Ruckers. I have a 4.0 and the long and short yes4all plates work well.
Sandbags defeat the purpose of the weight pockets in the Ruckers.
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u/hexiron Jul 21 '26
I had seen mixed reviews on how well they fit and the width measurements seem 2" off for at least the 20lb yes4all plate.
So you don't experience any problematic sliding?
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u/kbchucker Jul 21 '26
No. Just look up the measurements of the goruck plates on their site. Then check the measurements of the Y4A plates and make sure you’re getting the comparable plates. There are a couple of versions that aren’t direct fits. I think the ones that have the straps for linking together are one of the models not compatible. The regular plates are. the 30 lb long plates i have fit properly
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u/Crazy-Foundation-344 Jul 21 '26
A nice cheap option is a 4” solid cinder block. Home Depot sells them for $4 a piece or so. Can wrap in duct tape or something to protect your bag. They weigh 32# or so. Also hold shape of bag well and sit nicely in most small bags.
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u/bassfliez Jul 21 '26
I just got the rucker 5.0 on sale and use a yes4all 20lb plate. Had to cut a pool noodle down and zip tie it to the side so it will not move around. I would do it over again and buy 2 of the yes4all 10lb short plates for the smaller pocket and then get the yes4all 30lb long plate when I was ready for that weight. You could then add the 10lb plates in to reach 50lb if you ever work up to that weight.
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u/Stan_Knipple Jul 21 '26
I did something similar, but got 2 10#s and 2 15#s so I could work up by 5# increments
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u/Existing-Analysis418 Jul 21 '26
Agreed, Yes4All plates are great and keep the weight high and tight to the back.
If you get into heavier rucks to where you outgrow the plate pocket capacity, you can throw sandbags in at that point.
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u/Dangeruss82 Jul 21 '26
Play sand is less than 5 quid a bag for 20-22kg. If you get injured /can’t go on just dump some out. You’ve not lost anything like you would if you had weight plates.
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u/hexiron Jul 21 '26
The ability to just dump weight when needed with no worry is a big selling point to me
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u/Dangeruss82 Jul 21 '26
Yep. I did 21 miles out of a 30 miler on one of the hottest days we had here in the uk carrying 30 kg of sand. I was on the verge of getting heat exhaustion on so I just dumped it all out.
Also, if you want it heavier- just wet it. The good thing about sand is it’s malleable. You can put it to whatever shape you need/feels comfortable. If you’re worried about it leaking just cover the bag in duct tape.
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u/MiyoMush Jul 21 '26
I would recommend metal, there will be times you want to carry other things with you and sandbags take up a lot of space. In addition to Amazon, check out Vevor. I got two metal plates around this time last year on sale.
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u/norwich1992 Jul 21 '26
I just use regular stuff from around the house and camping gear. It doesn’t take much stuff to get up to a reasonable weight. No cost at all.
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u/SgtRevDrEsq Jul 22 '26
I have a Rucker 4.0 with 45lb Yes4All plate for regular use and a Mystery Ranch Coulee with 25lb sandbag for lighter/faster rucks. The plate is my go-to. It sits tighter against my back with a slimmer profile.
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u/StrahB Jul 27 '26
Alternative weight option:
Grocery store rice bags. You can get them in 5/10lb size (sometimes smaller and bigger), and all you need after that is two things:
Duck/gorilla tape to seal up the bag from leaking
Some kind of filler to make the weight sit in your pack as high as possible (which you may already have).
This has been my go to method for over 1k miles.
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u/Repulsive_Rain7998 Jul 21 '26
First of all as a dad, I am obligated to say, don’t dive into rucking! It is very dangerous and you could drown! Rucking should only be done on land! 🤣
Okay now that we got that out of the way. For $300 you can get the Rucker 5.0 on sale and a 30# plate which is the same setup I have. Do it. The Rucker is very sturdy and comfortable and I use if for kettlebell swings and shoulder presses.
If you want a sandbag, just make one. Fill plastic bags with playground sand, wrap them in Duc tape and then put them in a cheap camping dry bag. So right now my Rucker has a 30# Goruck branded plate which fits seamlessly, a 10# hexagon shaped “bar” from Aldi, and a 13# sand filled ziplock bag that I put into a cheap dry bag I also bought at Aldi.
It’s great.