Weekend Project - DIY Ruck Plates

Just going through my gear and getting reset after last weeks land nav adventure and I thought I'd share a little weekend project that you can put together.

Ruck plates are a great addition to your repertoire. You can get the official GoRuck plates for about $5 a pound, or the off-brand ones on Amazon for about $2 a pound, but the one I built was essentially free. I think they priced out at about 20 cents a pound or cheaper.

I got these plates, and more, at a garage sale for like $2. I've yet to go to a garage sale where they don't have random mismatched weird weights that they are willing to part with for dirt cheap., often free. A little steel wool and some rattle can and Bob is your uncle. If you can't wait for a garage sale, check out your local used sporting goods store. We have Play it Again Sports around me. I've had luck haggling for the singleton unmatched weights they always have, everyone else always wants the matching sets for obvious reasons.

These plates are not only cheap, they're pretty flexible. I can add and drop weight with just a few zip ties. Infinitely adaptable. I tried a version with little wing nuts but they were just a pain, so zip ties it is. I found that I wasn’t swapping the weight often enough to warrant a major engineering project.

Ruck plates are nice because they're an easy way to scale your ruck workouts. The plate gives a simple and stable way to add resistance. Plus, the weight at the top of the board means it's appropriately positioned. You want the heaviest load high and tight to your back.

I also use these for farmers carry. I'm thinking about adding some plastic edging to keep the plywood intact. Right now the plywood is just painted with regular paint and the border is cheapo truck bed liner I had on hand. Add a little 550 cord wrap to make the handle more comfortable and add cool points.

I’ve got more pics including measurements over on my Instagram.

EDIT- this is my third attempt at posting this…this information is so powerful and vital that China and Russia are suppressing the post…don’t let the commie bastards win!