GORUCK Rucker 4.0 vs. GORUCK Plate Carrier

To be honest, I’m not really sure how most people become interested in rucking, by extension GORUCK, and most specifically about rucking training gear.

I mean, it’s not like CrossFit circa ~2012-2016 when a lot of us “curls in the squat rack” bros got hit with compilation videos like this and decided we had to change things up:

Crazy intense workouts, superhuman athletes, the…”nice”… “uniforms”…we were all in.

…but it’s not the same for rucking/GORUCK, is it? I mean, I didn’t get interested in it because I saw this:

I could be wrong, but the result is the same: today you’re not interested in learning about GORUCK’s “travel bags” or rucks that you’d wear on a more casual outing. You wanna know about training gear.

Most specifically, you wanna know how the Rucker and Plate Carrier stack up against one another.

Given my background, this is a much more intriguing matchup than some of the others we’ve covered and whether you’ve made it this far because you were, in fact, inspired by the GORUCK Games (RIP?) or because you (rightfully) know that you have to do some legit resistance training (with intensity) to supplement your new favorite hobby, the result is the same:

You’re gonna learn a lot about the two best pieces of training gear GORUCK offers. Now let’s cut the crap (sorry about my Camille Leblanc-Baszinet-inspired nostalgia!) and get started:

GORUCK Rucker 4.0 vs GORUCK Plate Carrier

If you wanted to exclusively use information found on the main company page to come to your decision, you wouldn’t be reading this review (if, for some reason, you think that this non-sophisticated looking site is the official GORUCK website, get yourself checked out!) However, if you’re truly coming in without any exposure to or experience with these bags, let’s take a second to explore the official party lines for each of them:

First, the Rucker 4.0:

“PURPOSE BUILT FOR RUCKING

Our Rucker® is the gym on your back that revolutionized the fitness category of rucking (carrying weight on your back). These bags are purpose built for rucking with an elevated pocket designed for Ruck Plates, reinforced construction, extra padded straps and multiple handles to make it a versatile training tool. The Rucker® is the only rucksack you need to get stronger one rep and one mile at a time.”

Of all of the GORUCK bag descriptions, this one is the best. It’s to the point, not grandiose, and accurately conveys what the bag is actually intended for. Well done GORUCK copywriter!

Next, the Plate Carrier:

“MAXIMIZE YOUR WORKOUTS WITH A STREAMLINED PLATE CARRIER

The Ruck Plate Carrier™ (aka RPC) houses a Ruck Plate® (sold separately) and is worn high and tight on your back for natural stability. Your chest stays open so you can breathe better to push harder. Your intensity during workouts should be the reason you feel like you’re suffocating — not your equipment.

The RPC includes a padded top handle, padding on the top of the plate pocket, ergonomic lumbar support padding, and non-abrasive fabric used on the back panel and underside of the shoulder straps — you can even wear it shirtless with no friction burn.”

I’ve never heard the phrase “streamlined plate carrier” nor have I ever heard someone refer to this as an “RPC”. I think I’ve used the acronym “RPG” (and I’ve definitely used “BFG (9000)”) more often so don’t be surprised if RPC is memory-holed right about…now.

Anyways, those intros aside…

Rucking

I think it is pretty well assumed what you’re getting with these two “bags”, but just to reiterate, these items are not your “I’m gonna go on a nice vacation, pack all of stuff in my ruck, and get some miles in before everyone wakes up in the mornings.” You can do this with the Rucker (although there are much better bags for this task), but…not with the Plate Carrier.

Nah…these items are for rucking…whether in its “purest” form or during some kind of workout.

…and of all of the GORUCK bag and gear options, these two are the best at this/these task(s).

For one, both of these items have significant lumbar support in addition to a heavily padded and perfectly “formatted” ruck plate pocket (assuming you’re using GORUCK plates or ruck plates with similar proportions). The Plate Carrier doesn’t technically have a dedicated frame sheet, but it’s general structure ensures that it doesn’t dig into the back (too much) during use.

These may sound like somewhat random starting observations to make, but if you ruck with a bag that doesn’t have these features…well…you’re probably just used to the metal “prodding” or incessant “thud, thud, thud” with each step.

Another significant feature for both items is the material composition. At this point in time, you’re gonna be pretty hard pressed to find a semi-decent bag that isn’t primarily constructed of Cordura (well…unless you go with GORUCK’s Ripstop, or Dyneema…) and it isn’t as novel as it may have previously been. However, the contrasting Cordura is what separates these two.

While both bags are primarily constructed of heavy-duty, 1000D Cordura, select areas, mainly where exposed skin is most likely to come into contact with the bag/plate carrier, is constructed of less abrasive 210D Cordura. Again, this is something that may seem trivial…until it’s “suns out, guns out”, you’re rucking in a tank top, and your shoulders are not torn up/burnt.

We start to see some separation between these two in regard to something that the GORUCK Plate Carrier can’t really “control”: it’s general structure.

If you’re like me and your ruck outings are generally under a couple of hours, you can easily get by with hydrating beforehand and hauling water, snacks, etc. isn’t so important. However, for longer rucks, you’re gonna want to take some extra, non-dry goods with. If you got the Rucker, you got some (or, actually, quite a bit of) space, but if you got the Plate Carrier…no such room.

In contrast, the extreme minimalism of the Plate Carrier can be preferable, cutting down an extra ~3 pounds (and probably double that in “perceived bulk”), but this isn’t really a significant amount. Plus, I think most people would rather have the option to carry extra gear with them over the minor weight reduction.

One last thing I’ll mention here is that you have a decent amount of optionality with these two regarding size. The Rucker spans from pretty small (I have the 15-liter version on below) to medium-sized (25-liters) while the Plate Carrier is available in both “standard” and “long” versions (I have the “standard” on below”).

Unless you’re yuge, you’re going to be able to make one of these options work; it won’t be hard to get your selected item high and tight on your back.

Overall, I strongly endorse either of these options for “pure”, throw a bag on and get walking, rucking. The Rucker 4.0 does a better job of meeting most people’s needs, but the Plate Carrier, despite being a more niche entry, works really well, too.

Winner: Rucker 4.0

Dynamic Rucking

The GORUCK Rucker 4.0 and the GORUCK Plate Carrier are both really good “pure” rucking bags.

The thing is, there are a lot of really good pure rucking bags out there.

In contrast, you have to do a bit of searching if you want to find good dynamic rucking gear…like either of these two options

You know all of that stuff that we mentioned in the previous section, most specifically the parts about the heavily padded ruck plate pocket? It all applies here: nothing makes dynamic rucking movements like swings, thrusters, or presses easier to facilitate than a ruck plate that is firmly secured in its place though the duration of each rep.

A lot of points are allotted for this/these features alone, but other inclusions can be very beneficial, depending on what you’re getting into.

Unlike every other one of GORUCK’s bags, the Rucker has handles on the top, bottom, and sides. This makes all types of carrying movements (ex. farmer carries) and even some pressing movement much easier to facilitate (you actually have something to grasp/hold onto, usually at a better angle/position than by simply grabbing the top handle).

The Rucker also has a number of drainage holes that allow for water to quickly be extracted in the event that…ya know…you end up in a pond or something (this…has been known to happen during, for lack of a better term, “harder” GORUCK events). To be fair, these are pretty niche occurrences (mine have never been formally used) and I don’t think this is an important feature for most people.

The Plate Carrier actually has the ability to do “ruck” swings pretty easily (with the top handle easily accommodating the hands for swings) as well as any type of carrying movements. It’s a little too small to perform presses and similar exercises without them feeling a bit awkward, but you could certainly get away with it in a pinch.

However, the Plate Carrier’s true value is realized during bodyweight movements. Running, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, hell even burpees are going to be a lot more comfortable (not easy, though!) with the limited bulk of the Plate Carrier versus any kind of larger, bulkier bag.

I would argue that if you’re more likely to want to make your runs or sessions of Cindy more intense and you don’t plan on participating in official GORUCK events that you’re better off with the Plate Carrier than the Rucker. Get you a barbell and some kettlebells if you’re dead set on performing swings, presses, and thrusters (barbell and kettlebell variations > ruck variations).

Dynamic rucking is dynamic rucking, though and we’re going to award the win here to the Rucker. Both options are definitely up to the tasks associated with this category, but the Rucker gives you a few more options if you want to be a purist with your dynamic rucking activity.

Winner: Rucker 4.0

Load Capacity

Okay, so this is where things start to get a little weird (it’ll continue into the next section, a well). Nothing bad here; just some things to keep in mind.

Well, maybe it is kinda bad if you want a bag with a big load capacity. Granted, even GORUCK’s “greatest ruck of all time” has only a 1-liter larger load capacity than the largest Rucker, but nobody would say that a 25-liter (or 26-liter, for the GR1) capacity is anything to write home about.

Now, where things get “weird” is the lack of “apples to apples” comparisons going on here. We’re talking about a legit bag vs. a form of a weighted vest; of course the load capacities aren’t going to be comparable!

When looking at items individually, we tend to compare them to other items in their same category/classification. In this case, that would mean comparing the GORUCK Plate Carrier to other weighted vests. However, since we’re directly pitting these two against each other, we have to let it take the beating here.

Truth be told, there is an instance where the Plate Carrier “wins” in regard to ruck plate load capacity (a “long” plate carrier would accommodate a 45-pound plate vs. the 15-liter Rucker will only accommodate a 30-pound plate). In every other instance, the Rucker wins by at least 30 pounds.

…and this is in addition to the fact that, ya know, you can fit a bunch of stuff in the non-ruck plate pocket portion of the bag.

As you can see, you have zero extra room with the Plate Carrier:

There really is no contest here; the Rucker 4.0 wins hands down.

Winner: Rucker 4.0

Customer Reviews

As promised, this is another somewhat “weird” area of comparison.

First, the non-weird part; the GORUCK Plate Carrier gets pretty stellar reviews, currently clocking in at a collective 4.7 out of 5 based on reviews taken from the official GORUCK website. A few reviews can be found on Amazon and also on Rogue which aren’t as glowing, but also aren’t nearly as extensive (even when they are factored into the equation, the average stays at 4.7).

Reasonable enough and nice to see that there are so many satisfied customers.

Things get weird with the Rucker 4.0, entirely because of how its score is conveyed. Unlike some of the other GORUCK bags that have seen multiple “iterations” and are advertised on separate, dedicated pages, all of the Rucker’s iterations (as you might be able to guess, there are currently 4 of them) ae lumped together on the bag’s customer reviews page.

Now, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the Rucker’s customer review scores are pretty high, especially when considering that they have made improvements to each iteration so, hypothetically, the newer models would have higher scores than the older models. I think a 4.8 out of 5 rating (which is what it is currently rocking on GORUCK) is reasonable, however, it’s just not fair to use this as a scored area when it is rather ambiguous as to what the score really is.

All in all, both of these score really well, but we’re not gonna declare a “winner” for this section (we’re not even calling it a tie or a draw). We’re confident that the Rucker’s customer review score would be comparable to the Plate Carrier, but it’s just not fair to do so without the hard data to confirm it.

Winner: Not scored

Price

We’ve said it before about GORUCK and we’ll say it again about GORUCK: “Price” is undoubtedly (almost) always the “worst” category for any of the company’s gear. Interestingly enough, though, one of these items has actually scored higher in this category than any other GORUCK gear we’ve gotten our hands on.

The Rucker is by no means the least expensive GORUCK bag, but it is more affordable than most. Personally, when considering the features it boasts, I think it provides the most value of any of the GORUCK bags currently on the market. Like most of the company’s bags, it makes sense to “go big” since the price difference between the largest and smallest bag is minimal.

In contrast…the GORUCK Plate Carrier. Now this is a price someone can fall in love with!

There are a lot of weighted vests that are actually less expensive than the Plate Carrier…but there are a lot that cost a lot more than it is well. This is rare among GORUCK products where their particular offering is normally the most expensive of the bunch.

Looking at the price only within the confines of this little showdown, the choice is a no-brainer; the Plate Carrier is, like, half the price of the Rucker. As such, if price is your biggest determining factor…well…the decision should be really easy to make.

Winner: Plate Carrier

Overall Winner

According to our metrics, the GORUCK Rucker 4.0 is today’s “winner”.

I do think that most people, minus those with more niche interests and training objectives, are most likely to agree with this assessment and will also most likely be more satisfied with the Rucker as a “training gear” purchase.

With that being said, there is still a lot to like about the GORUCK Plate Carrier and, for certain types of training modalities (running with weight, metcons like Murph), it is definitely the better choice.

I would say “why not go with both?”, but you were probably already expecting that…

Our Testing Process

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a much bigger fan of GORUCK’s “training rucksacks” (which technically includes their plate carrier) than I am of their travel bags. I mean, I like them both, but I train a heck of a lot more than I travel. As such, I am pretty regularly putting these bad boys to use.

In addition to general training, the Rucker was my “weapon of choice” during one of last year’s GORUCK Events (a GORUCK Light in Germany) and the Plate Carrier helped me to set a new PR in (vested/RX) Murph last May.

That these held up well during general training and during more “official” testing/events added another layer of credibility, especially in more practical settings, to each item.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s cover the last few questions from the stragglers…

The GORUCK Rucker 4.0 and the GORUCK Plate Carrier…the Brand’s Best Training Gear…

If you’re just getting into rucking and are looking for a great bag to “travel the world with” while also being able to do some weighted walking with on the side…go with one of the GR-bags.

Those will suit you a bit better.

However, if you’ve seen those training videos (either the ones for the CrossFit Games or the ones for the GORUCK Games) and thought to yourself “yeah…I wanna do stuff like that“, then you’re definitely gonna want to get your hands on a Rucker or plate carrier.

It doesn’t hurt that the Rucker is on the list of the best rucking backpacks or that the Plate Carrier graces the list of the best weighted vests with its presence; at least you know that, whichever option you choose, you got the “best” of something.

You’re gonna be able to do more with the Rucker, but will be able to do more with less (while also spending less) with the Plate Carrier. It’s on you now to decide what you want your “training rucksack” experience to look like!

As we finish up, we invite you to check out our definitive guide to GORUCK backpacks, bags, and vests. We figure if you’re into other kinds of GORUCK gear, you’ll be into the bags, too.

Also, if you’re interested in GORUCK footwear offerings, check out our definitive guides on the GORUCK boots and GORUCK shoe lines!