5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier vs 5.11 Tactical TacTec Trainer Weight Vest – Our Review

Maybe I’m the odd ball here or I haven’t been paying close enough attention (either and/or both of these scenarios are very real possibilities), but I’ve never really thought of 5.11 Tactical as a brand that goes out of its way to promote…fitness.

Sure. They have their mix of outdoors gear, range gear, and items to support industry professionals, but they’ve never really come to mind in the same way that companies like Rogue do.

Turns out, the company has quietly been building up its arsenal of training gear, offering everything from dedicated cross training shoes to workout sandbags.

…but all this time, they’ve been front-and-center with some of their most legit gear being featured at events such as the CrossFit Games and the Rogue Invitational.

Their most notable gear…the same stuff that has been staring me in the face this entire time…is undoubtedly their small, but stout training weight vest collection with the most notable of these two being the subjects of today’s showdown:

The 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier and the 5.11 Tactical TacTec Trainer Weight Vest.

Both of these are legit weighted vest options, but there are enough differences between the two that a comparison like this is warranted. Let’s see dig deeper and find out which one currently holds the title of the most adjustable weight vest on the market today and which is the best weighted vest for CrossFit…

5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier vs 5.11 Tactical TacTec Trainer Weight Vest

Despite having a bit more history than other brands and their respective vests, 5.11’s description of the TacTec Plate Carrier is reasonably humble in my opinion. It states what it does and what it is capable of without overly grandiose or hyperbolic language:

“Introducing the TacTec Plate Carrier from 5.11 Tactical®, a high-performance, lightweight, and mobile plate carrier designed to provide you with exceptional comfort and maximum range of motion. Whether you’re using it as a fully functional ballistic plate carrier or as a weighted fitness vest, our patented TacTec Plate Carrier is the most comfortable you’ll ever wear.

Constructed with rugged, lightweight 500D nylon, the TacTec Plate Carrier features padded yoke shoulder straps, perforated mesh, and front and back padded panels with built-in airflow channels. The innovative design allows for optimal mobility and breathability, ensuring that you stay comfortable and protected during even the most demanding situations.

The TacTec Plate Carrier accommodates medium and large ESAPI ballistic plates and includes a low-profile Grab-Drag handle for emergency exfiltration. The adjustable shoulder straps and skeletonized waistbands with stretch provide a secure fit for sizes S-XL. The one-handed quick-release cable system allows for a fast and efficient escape when needed.

Designed with oversized airflow panels and a laser-cut loop MOLLE and web MOLLE platform, the TacTec Plate Carrier offers exceptional functionality and customization options. The top admin front pocket features a hook/loop closure and pull tab for easy access to essential gear.

The TacTec Plate Carrier is an ideal choice for professionals seeking a high-performance, comfortable, and mobile plate carrier. Its versatile design makes it perfect for duty or your next workout, providing the protection and functionality you need. Invest in the TacTec Plate Carrier and experience the difference in comfort and performance.”

The TacTec Trainer Weight Vest’s description is slightly more bombastic, but is a bit more to the point…

“Unleash your inner savage with the TacTec® Trainer Weight Vest that we designed specifically for training. Constructed from tough 600D polyester, our TacTec® Trainer Weight Vest holds 5.11 and Rogue® weight plates and the 5.11® TacTec® Weight Plate Sandbag. Adjustable yoke shoulder straps with breathable mesh padding and breathable mesh body pads help you push your limits and keep you cool. The adjustable stretch cummerbund keeps the weight vest secure, while the pockets allow you to stash and access accessories. The front admin pocket and loop laser-cut and web MOLLE platforms offer additional carrying capacity and pouch customization. Internal retention straps hold the weight plates securely in place. The TacTec® Trainer Weight Vest is compatible with the 5.11® PC Convertible Hydration Carrier. What are you waiting for? Get after it.”

Those intros aside…

Rucking

I’m gonna give the game up pretty early here, but I’m a pretty staunch advocate for rucking with a reasonable amount of weight. In my opinion, far too many people who really don’t have much business going really heavy when they ruck, nevertheless go…really heavy when they ruck.

If these people listened to me, they would likely be perfectly content with either of these vests…but of course, they don’t. Because of this (and a few other notable points), the 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier is the better choice if rucking/walking under load, is a priority for you.

Straight up: the TacTec Plate Carrier has a 60-pound (possibly higher) load capacity while the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest is closer to 30. We’ll discuss this point in greater detail in a little bit, but for now, be aware of how significant this is and how it fits into our rucking assessment.

A lot of ruckers want to use more than 30 pounds, which immediately gives the Plate Carrier and edge here.

In terms of general comfort, both are on the more comfortable side with the Trainer Weight Vest actually being more adjustable allowing you to find that perfect fit (if you can be bothered to mess with it for that long), but the Plate Carrier is, by default, more comfortable on the shoulders (softer, less “intrusive”) in my opinion. If you ruck, you know this is the most important comfort area.

If you generally go on shorter (~60-90 minutes or less) rucks, storage space/carry capacity probably isn’t that big of a concern for you, but the longer you’re out for, the more important this area becomes. Both options actually provide a solution to this, although one is a bit more “vocal” about it (albeit, not really being that effective in the process) than the other.

The TacTec Trainer Weight Vest touts the small, zipper storage pocket that is built into its cummerbund. This is a secure are for stashing small items…keys, credit card, phone…the kinds of things you need to lock your place up before rucking or to call for help if things go south.

One thing to note is the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest does have a lot of MOLLE on it that so if hauling some extra gear with you is necessary, you can always thread in something like a hydration carrier to it pretty easily.

In contrast, the TacTec Plate Carrier doesn’t tout any type of storage option, but pretty much has one by default…if you’re not rucking with some crazy, over-sized ruck plate. The plate pocket itself provides some storage space that can be used to stash slightly larger items (again, plate-dependent) with the possibility of throwing in a small snack or water bladder.

Neither of these storage options are going to make you forget about how easy it is to carry what you need in an actual ruck, but, in a pinch, the TacTec Plate Carrier will get you a little more mileage…if you allow yourself to be creative with how you pack.

I wouldn’t recommend purchasing either of these vests for the sole purpose of rucking in them, but if this is a priority for you, the TacTec Plate Carrier is almost certainly the better option.

Winner: TacTec Plate Carrier

“Dynamic” Rucking/”Murph”

The section is almost kinda unfair.

This is mainly because the 5.11 Tactical TacTec Trainer Weight Vest is a really good option for this type of activity. Weighted running, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, etc…it facilitates these activities very well.

Some of its characteristics from the previous section that give it some special advantages for rucking activities (ex. storage area, extensive MOLLE) don’t apply nearly as much here. With that being said, while I would never attach anything to myself during one of these types of vested workouts, the MOLLE does come in handy as a vest adjustment tool.

The “intricate” MOLLE system allows me to thread each strand pretty much however I want to. While this can be (and is) a time-consuming process, the end result is a vest that is more adjustable than any other weight vest I have ever dealt with. Something like the Rogue Echo Weight is good for securing a good fit (due to Small, Medium, and Large size options), but the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest is actually more adjustable.

The only issue with this system is that it isn’t as adjustable on the fly. When I do Murph, I prefer a slightly looser fit (especially the front plate) on runs and a tighter fit during calisthenics. It’s definitely possible to adjust during a workout, but isn’t as quick and easy as other options. Regardless, the adjustability options it provides rocket is up the charts in this category.

The Trainer Weight Vest is comfortable enough, but suffers from the “extended hang down” issue common in many weight vests. As such, squatting requires an overly wide and (for me at least) somewhat awkward stance. Besides these “issues” the vest really doesn’t have any significant weaknesses and rates at just below the “excellent” level.

The thing is, the 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier gets a perfect score in this category.

It doesn’t have quite the adjustability potential that the Trainer Weight Vest does, but is much easier to adjust, particularly during workouts. A quick flip and velcro tear off and on and you got yourself a whole new fit.

Where the TacTec Plate Carrier truly shines, though, is in it equally impressive levels of comfort and freedom of movement.

Without a doubt this is the most comfortable training vest I’ve ever put on (like…by far). No matter what sized plates I have in my vest, it never feels weird or uncomfortable with the shoulder straps being both overly padded and designed to sit in the most advantageous spots.

The shoulder strap design directly relates to the conversation on freedom of movement. Interestingly enough, despite the TacTec Plate Carrier’s straps being thicker and more padded than most others, their placement (and general feel) makes them very unrestrictive. It is easy for me to get my arms fully above my head without them “nagging” at me or pulling them down.

Over the course of workouts with literally hundreds of reps, the freedom of movement facilitated with this vest pays massive dividensds.

Also, despite it hanging down almost as low as the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest, I don’t find that I have to go as wide on my squats…a fact that also contributes to the vest’s superior freedom of movement.

So…in case you couldn’t figure it out, the Trainer Weight Vest is really good in this category…but the Plate Carrier is exceptional.

A final thing to point out about these vests is that neither are really functional as training implements by themselves i.e. you’re not gonna want to use them for “vest swings” or similar movements. Save that for your equipment that is actually dedicated for these tasks (or for the GORUCK Weight Vest or Plate Carrier options which do a decent job).

Winner: 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier

Load Capacity

Technically, this category should be a tie.

Technically

Like many training weight vests and/or plate carriers, these two are designed to accept ESAPI-style/shaped vest plates. This unique design ensures a more precise fit for these specifically designed plates…but it has its disadvantages, as well. Namely that it can be really hard to fit more generic plates in the pockets.

This is a bit of a bummer because you’re gonna be hard-pressed to find ESAPI plates that are much heavier than 9 pounds.

The TacTec Trainer Weight Vest is pretty well enslaved to this caveat. Try as you might, trying to fit different-sized plates into these pockets will result in very awkwardly fitting plates at best to a wasted 10 minutes of your life at worst.

So, when counting the vest itself, you have a load capacity of about 30 pounds.

Now, the TacTec Plate Carrier has similar dimensions and, in theory at least, has similar “limitations”…but in my experience, it is able to overcome these…

All of these plates fit this vest…maybe not as well as specifically crafted plates (most notably 5.11 Tactical’s own PT-R Flex Weight Plates and Weight Plate Pair), but for those who want to go heavier, I can assure you that they will work well enough for your purposes.

I wouldn’t get crazy and try placing “long” plates in this (don’t…it won’t work) so if you’re really trying to stretch the utility of your Yes4All plates…sorry; the party is over.

All of this is to say that the load capacity of the TacTec Plate Carrier is at least 60 pounds (2, 30-pound plates). If you come across “standard”-sized ruck plates (or vest plates, to be fair) that are heavier than 30 pounds each, there is a decent chance they’ll fit this vest, however, I wouldn’t go too heavy; going too much heavier and you’ll be testing the structural integrity of the velcro enclosure…and you shouldn’t do that.

End of the day, TacTec Plate Carrier wins again; a 60-pound capacity should be more than enough for anyone reading this.

Winner: 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier

Customer Reviews

Although this is starting to turn into a route, the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest can hang its hat on having a pretty high customer review score. With matching 4.6-out-of-5 collective review scores on both 5.11 Tactical main page as well as on Amazon, the vest is sitting in solid “A-” range with the masses.

What’s most impressive is that of its 4 (out of ~150 total) 1-star reviews, 2 of them involve someone asking a question (not actually negative reviews) and 1 what someone complaining that it doesn’t come with weights. However, the best negative review involves someone with really high (“god”-like”, even!) standards:

Sorry, Chris, but it looks like you may be on to something about how the Plate Carrier compares…

…because it wins, yet again.

With a collective 4.8-out-of-5 across multiple websites (5.11 Tactical and Rogue), the TacTec Plate Carrier outpaces the Trainer Weight Vest’s already impressive score, sitting in solid “A” territory.

What may be even more impressive is that this score is based on close to 500 reviews…on Rogue alone! A very impressive sample size, indeed.

Of these, the vast majority are 5-star reviews with a sprinkling of 4-star reviews in there. There are very few 3-star reviews (and lower) and of these, there really aren’t any common trends or commonly-referenced problems. Some people don’t like the sizing or think the quality is poor, but most are things like this:

As someone who is “special” when it comes to getting in and out of my weighted vests, I can kinda empathize with Cyrus…but not really.

What’s really crazy is that almost 300 pound found the review to be “helpful”…come on, people!

As you can see, both of these are beloved weighted vest options in the minds of customers, but the TacTec Plate Carrier wins the day, once again.

Winner: 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier

Price

We saw in the last category that people really like both of these vests, but they prefer the plate carrier just a little bit more. At this point it pretty much looks like it’s going to be a clean sweep for the TacTec Plate Carrier…

…but it isn’t. At the last second, the TacTec Trainer Weight vest avoids the shutout with a pretty decisive win in the “Price Category”.

Although both of these vests could be considered to be more in the “premium” range, the TacTec Plate Carrier is kinda on a different level. At over $200 it’s definitely on the more expensive side, but…as you can probably deduce by now…you do get what you pay for.

As it is, the Plate Carrier is gonna run you $75 more (or, conversely, 33 percent more) than the Trainer Weight Vest will.

At $140 is perfectly in line with other vests in its category (ex. Rogue Echo Weight) and is actually less expensive than less-highly rate options (ex. GORUCK Weight Vest).

You’re gonna have to go niche to find vests more expensive than the TacTec Plate Carrier…but you’re also gonna be hard-pressed to find too many vests that justify their prices as well as it does. Still, the Trainer Weight Vest (easily) wins the point here.

Winner: 5.11 Tactical TacTec Trainer Weight Vest

Overall Winner

According to our metrics, the 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier is today’s winner!

As always, though, I want to clarify that we don’t really score these in a manner where definitive “winners” and “losers” are crowned. If you were following this matchup closely enough, you know that the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest is a really good option…it’s just not as good as the TacTec Plate Carrier.

Additionally, if you’re looking to spend under $150 on a weighted vest (which I would say is a pretty reasonable wish), the TacTec Plate Carrier, despite all of its merits, isn’t really anywhere close to being a “winning” vest.

As always, consider what you want in a vest, especially if you’ve narrowed your choices down to these two. Either of these two can be a “winner”, depending on your priorities (and don’t worry; if one of them really did suck, I’d tell you!)

Our Testing Process

This has been one of the most fun testing processes we’ve undertaken for weight vests because this is the first time we’ve added the “Murph” bit to the measured criteria. As grueling as this workout is, it’s a pretty good barometer of how well these pieces do since it requires vested running, pull-ups, push-ups, and squats…the most popular weight vest movements.

Doing a full Murph in one of the vests and a half-Murph workout in the other wasn’t exactly easy, but it got me a lot of valuable info in a relatively short period of time.

Besides these specific workouts, I’ve thrown both of these vests on for rucking outing and a select few other “functional fitness”-style metcons. I even had a bit of fun mixing and matching different ruck and weight vest plates to test capacity and compatability.

Frequently Asked Questions

You’re getting ready to buy your forever weight vest; obviously you’re going to have some questions (well, maybe it’s not that dramatic…but still…)! Let’s take a look at some of the “best bang for your buck” questions about these two:

The best weight vest for CrossFit…and another really good vest…

I’ll be honest that I was pretty taken aback at how legit these two weighted vest offerings are, mainly because they don’t have Rogue or even Rep or GORUCK in front of their names.

5.11 Tactical…with two of the best training vests on the market today…

Granted, having watched as much CrossFit as I have, this really shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it has. It seems like there is a 5.11 vest in use at every major event.

…and more specifically, this vest is always the TacTec Plate Carrier.

However, there is certainly a place for the TacTec Trainer Weight Vest. If you prioritize MOLLE, adjustability, and affordability, it’s a clear winner.

That being said, the TacTec Plate Carrier is still the clear winner here and may be the most quintessential “buy once, cry once” item I’ve come across yet.