5.11 Tactical PT-R Flex Weight Plates

On a site where we talk about things like ridiculously equipped Smith Machines and barbells that will literally put another 10 pounds on your bench press, talking about weight vest plates and ruck plates seems a little bit…boring. At least on the surface.

The 5.11 Tactical PT-R Flex Weight Plates aren’t your typical vest plates, though.

A vest/ruck plate I can actually bend and manipulate to more easily fit into my gear (and with the added bonus of being more resilient to the elements and other abuse)…is this the obscure piece of training gear I never realized I needed?!

Maybe I wouldn’t go that far, but the PT-R plates offer healthy doses of novelty and practicality; if you can stomach their higher-than-expected price point, they just might be the training gear you never realized you needed.

Rucking

A lot of you will gloss over this section and head straight for the next one where we discuss how these plates work in weighted vests (or when using them for “dynamic rucking” activities). However, for those interested in the possibility of switching out your current ruck plates for these bad boys, we have a bit of a “good news, bad news” situation for you.

The good news, and this could actually be considered to be great news if you fall into a certain demographic, is that, in my experience at least, the PT-R plates are pretty easy to ignore. Sure, they provide a little bit of resistance (more to that in a minute), but they feel the least “plate-like” of any dedicated ruck/vest plates I have stuck in my bags.

This is probably due to them feeling more “foamy” than “steely” (when you can actually feel them, that is). When I have rucked in these, I have not ever really experienced that hard, pressing feeling that is a common byproduct of rucking with a heavy metal rectangle close to your back.

However, the ruckers who will really appreciate this fact fall into one of the following (and likely both) categories:

• Those with rucks that do not have frame sheets
• Those who ruck with light weights

To the former category, if you’ve ever rucked with a bag that doesn’t have that light, but protective layer of padding that keeps the plate from sitting directly on your back, you know that the experience can be anything from mildly annoying to pretty uncomfortable. The PTR-Flex plates don’t completely eradicate this feeling, but their foam is more comfortable than any plate I’ve used in these types of bags save for the GORUCK Sand Ruck Plates.

To the latter group, this is where the “bad news” part of that earlier equation starts to sink in. To be honest, I don’t know if I have ever personally met somebody who rucks with less than 10 pounds on a regular basis. Because the 8.75-pound iteration of the PT-R Flex Weight Plate is also the biggest iteration, you’re really limited with your resistance options when using these.

You can actually double these up pretty well and, in some cases, they actually fit better this way…but you’re still limited to 17.5 pounds of resistance when going this route.

Now, if you do regularly ruck with less than 18 pounds, first…slap me. After you’ve done that, I would sincerely advise you to give these a look. They are the less obstructive options for lightweight rucking. However, for the vast majority of ruckers…well…I guess there is a reason why the marketing pictures of these always include weight vests…and never include rucks.

If it weren’t for the small weight options, these would score much higher here, but they’re just not practical enough for the masses who generally use at least 20 pounds on their outtings.

Rucking: 90

Dynamic Rucking/Movement

For most people interesting in these plates, we’re going to assume that this is the area of interest. Rucking is cool and all, but between the shape of these plates (the more quasi-hexagon, quasi-pentagon shape) and their respective weights (they are sold in denominations so that, when used in a vest together, the total load comes up to the common 20 or 14-pound mark).

If you want to give yourself every possible advantage on vested Murph, using these and shedding ~2.5 unnecessary pounds of resistance is the way to go.

Considering how well these fit into 5.11 Tactical vests, (most specifically the TacTec Plate Carrier and the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest) when using these items in tandem, vested running, pull-ups, push-ups, and squats are probably about as smooth as they can be with the added resistance. I wouldn’t say that the plates themselves feel “good” against my body, but they are slightly more forgiving than straight metal plates are.

This is slightly more pronounced during runs as this is where I normally feel the brunt of vested workouts the most. The front plate usually slightly restricts my breathing which I don’t notice as much with a PT-R plate in front. It doesn’t completely erase this feeling, but it’s better.

As you might expect, without the “handle” that is decently common on ruck and weight vest plates, the PT-R Flex Weight Plates don’t have much utility when they’re outside of your gear. However, I’ve yet to see someone actually use their ruck plates for curls or presses or whatever so no points lost here. If you do happen to be one of these rare specimens…look elsewhere.

Overall, it doesn’t get much better than using these in compatible gear when the workout calls for vested activity. Don’t expect some “magical” experience, but these are as good, if not better than any other option we’ve come across for these purposes.

Dynamic Rucking: 100

Compatibility

I know that a lot of people are brand loyalists and if you happen to be one of these people…I’m not talking to you here. Your 5.11 plates are going to fit into your 5.11 gear. End of story.

For those who don’t mind mixing and matching things up a bit (i.e. for everyone else out there), I’m sure you’re interested to know how well the PT-R plates will fit into your Rogue Weight Vest (they won’t) or your GORUCK plate carrier (they kinda do) and so on.

In our experience with a number of items from a few different brands, these plates fit at the “average-to-good” level. Part of this may have to do with their flex better enabling them to be slightly bent/manipulated to fit into tight spaces, but I think it moreso has to deal with them having the proper, almost “standard-sized” dimensions to work in “standard-sized” (as opposed to “long”) plate pockets.

I will say that they are slightly skinnier than what many ruck plate pockets/sleeves accommodate so, in most cases, they don’t fit perfectly snug. However, many of these pockets/sleeves are designed to have a little bit of “breathing room” to accommodate slightly wider plates so no real harm here. In many cases, if you “double up” and put both plates in together, they fit perfectly with very little give on either side.

With that being said, these aren’t the best at fitting into other brands’ vests/vest-like products. In the GORUCK Plate Carrier, they stick out slightly on the bottom (not so much that it creates a major functional problem), but in the Rogue Weight Vest, they are all-but non-functional…

I apologize that we can’t test how they fit in everything, but we’ve concluded that a good rule of thumb is that they should work well in just about any “standard”-sized ruck plate sleeve, they kinda work in velcroed ruck plate pockets (like the ones on the GORUCK Rucker 4.0), and usually don’t work great (if at all) in non-5.11 vests. There are of course exceptions to this rule, but this would be our “conservative”/cautious suggestion for those unsure about compatability.

Compatibility: 80

Coating

This is one of the most interesting categories in our opinion due to the very unique coating that the PT-R Weight Vest Plates offer.

These aint’t your “standard” metal plates, laser-cut plates, or Cordura/material plates.

This is steel covered by a thick, but flexible layer of EVA foam…

What a concept!

As we’ve briefly alluded to before, these plates really are unlike any other weight vest plates or ruck plates we’ve ever gotten our hands on before. Being able to grab and easily bend the plates betrays a lot about their coating as well as the basic utility it offers.

If you’re like me and find yourself having to more or less wrangle your plates into place when loading them into the narrow confines of your vest, even a little flex helps to get them in the right place. This isn’t going to make them magically fit into incompatible gear, but it greatly reduces the chance of an “aww…f*** it; I’ll just do something else” that happens when you loading the vest is just a bit too frustrating.

(Maybe that’s just me!)

Because the plate’s metal composition is completely enveloped by EVA foam, you don’t get any of the powder-coated beauty (like you do with GORUCK Ruck Plates) or even the “high-tech” precision look of laser-cut plates. Instead, you get Ninja Turtle abs…which isn’t a bad thing…

However, the outer foam is likely to prevent any type of degrading from weather or elements, is much more resistant to chipping than completely metal plates are, and would be really hard to tear or otherwise break.

Although they’re not the prettiest looking plates, I have a feeling that their unique coating will ensure that they are my longest-lasting plates.

Coating: 90* (100 “Protective”/80 Aesthetic)

Price

There was a time wherein order to get your hands on some of the more legit vest plates/ruck plates, you had to shell out a somewhat pretty penny. Of course, “value” is relative, but the camp who ask: “it’s just a weight going in my vest/ruck; why would I spend that much money on it” do have a point.

In recent times, the prices of many of these plates seem to have actually come down a bit…leaving the PT-R Flex Weight Plates as some of the most expensive weight vest plates we’ve come across.

Currently priced at ~$125 for a pair of 8.75 pounders (17.5 pounds total…you’re welcome!) or $105 for a pair of 5.75 pounders, these are certainly not inexpensive ruck plates.

Of course, nobody is really going to be able to match the price of the ultra-cheap Yes4All ruck plates, but even GORUCK ruck plates, which historically have been pretty expensive, but even their 30-pound plate is cheaper than the cheapest PT-R Plates while their 45-pound plate is the same price as the heavier PT-Rs.

To sum things up, if it wasn’t already obvious by now, these are nice plates…but they’re expensive.

Price: 50

Customer Reviews

These plates have just been released.

Like…they’ve just been released. When I started writing this review, there was only 1 customer review and when I came back to it 2 days later, there were 4. Now, when we include the reviews coming in from Europe, they’re up to…6!

At this point, we’d say that there are enough for us to include this metric into our calculation (we don’t do this if the sample size is too low). With that being said with a sample size that is still a little small, there are more or less “extreme” opinions on the PT-R plates.

Some people really like them while one guy really isn’t a fan of how they feel (he thinks they’re pretty uncomfortable).

We’ll keep an eye on these in the weeks going forward and will update as more reviews come in as we’re pretty sure that the stats for this section will change, possibly somewhat drastically, as even a few more scores come in.

Customer Reviews: 88

Customer Service

I’ve actually had the “privilege” to deal with 5.11 Tactical’s customer service personnel in a few different contexts. I understand that the scare quotes around “privilege” makes it sound like a bad thing, but my experiences have generally been pretty good, if not, for the lack of a better term, uneventful.

Living in Europe, I have interacted with their U.S. and European wings, the former on questions about products themselves and the latter on questions about order statuses and delivery. I have also dealt with some subsidiary/intermediaries working with the company.

Outside of some e-mails being responded to slightly slower than advertises (over 24 hours after sending), my interactions with 5.11 Tactical personnel have been perfectly fine. Questions have been addressed in a succinct, yet sufficient manner and I’ve experienced no issues with shipping delays or products themselves.

For some reason, I was somewhat surprised at this level of surface, but I think this is mainly because for some reason, I had forgotten that the company has grown into a large, legit brand, obviously prioritizing customer service and relationship-building practices along the way.

Customer Service: 95

Who are 5.11 Tactical PT-R Flex Weight Plates really for?

GORUCK plates make for nice additions to most rucks. They may not fit some rucks all that well and, in other cases, may not be necessary (depending on what you have in mind). With that being said, let’s take a look at who they’re best for:

5.11 Tactical Vest Owners

The PT-R Weight Plates surprised us how compatible they are with other brands’ weight vests and rucks. However, these fit perfectly into 5.11 Tactical’s two “flagship” vests (specifically the TacTec Plate Carrier and the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest).

Of course, other plates work in these vests, but the PT-R plates are up there (along with 5.11’s powder-coated plates) as the best options for these vests.

Those who want a soft-ish ruck plate

As we mentioned before (and as the name implies) the PT-R Flex Weight Plates aren’t your typical hard, heavy, unforgiving, pieces of ore. While they do contain a significant amount of metal, it is almost impossible to feel as the heavy EVA foam flex is much more apparent.

That being said, you would absolutely never want to drop one of these on your foot, but if you want something that you can manipulate a bit, whether this is when you’re attempting to stuff it into a tight weight vest/plate carrier pocket or for some…other reason…these are the option for you.

Not for those looking for an inexpensive ruck plate/weight vest plate

We’re pretty confident that it’s possible to find more expensive ruck plates and weight vest plates, but we haven’t come across any that challenge the PT-R plates. These are some really nice plates, but if you’re looking for more economical options, these probably aren’t going to be on top of your list.

How we reviewed the PT-R Flex Weight Plates

We were very fortuitous to get our hands on these plates a few weeks before the 2025 edition of Murph. As you can imagine, we were really keen to determine the best setup for the workout and to see if the PT-R plates were going to be the right tools for the job this year.

Besides using them in our pre-Murph vested workouts, we actually did load them into one of our TacTec vests on Memorial Day. I understand that this isn’t the longest timeframe/track record to make a definitive assessment and usually we use items a bit more before reviewing them. However, we make exceptions for Murph…you do that workout with a piece of equipment, you pretty much know all you need to know about it afterwards!

Besides Murph work, I have personally stuck the plates in a couple of my different rucks to use during my normal sessions on multiple occasions at this point. With these different weight vest plate/ruck plate uses in mind, I’m confident we have all “normal” uses for these plates covered.

5.11 Tactical PT-R Flex Weight Plate Alternatives

If you’ve skipped out on reviewing our article on the best ruck plates…shame on you! This article is a lot more comprehensive in its discussion of quality alternative ruck plates, but, if you’d rather quicky scan the best alternatives, we present them to you here:

Frequently Asked Questions

Dropping $100-plus on weight vest and/or ruck plates is, understandably, a big ask. Before you pull the trigger, let’s address some of the more common questions we haven’t covered yet (actually, we did cover one of these; you just weren’t paying attention…slacker)…

5.11 Tactical PT-R Flex Weight Plates…premium plates with a premium price

We rarely tell people to shy away from “premium-priced” products and never do so simply because they happen to be more expensive than other offerings. If anything, we’re much more likely to advise people to shell out more for gear than they intended to as to ensure that they don’t get stuck with some low-utility item or low-quality crap.

With plates that are almost exclusively placed in the pocket of a ruck or a vest, though…our approach is sometimes different.

The PT-R Flex Weight Plates are really interesting options and, to some degree, have a bit more actual utility than just about any other plate option of these types. Having plates that I can more easily…”manipulate” into by vests/rucks that are more resistant to the elements is the type of real utility I appreciate.

However, the $125 is almost impossible to ignore, especially as certain high-profile plate options have recently been reduced in price.

If you really value the unique attributes 5.11’s PT-R Flex Weight Plates offer, they could be excellent buys for you. However, if you’re looking for more basic, “standard”-sized ruck plates that may not have the same bells and whistles, but are priced a bit lower, you’ll want to look elsewhere.