Review of 30kg Weighted Vest from Thunder Fitness

Notice: The vest being tested in the article has been obtained for the writing of this article. That being said, I will still give my honest opinion about the product.

Weighted Vest Fan

I’m a big fan of weighted vests. Their practicality in terms of progressiveness of bodyweight training is incomparable. I own a ten-kilogram vest that I have been using frequently for almost a couple of years now. You can go far with ten-kilo vest, but at times you just need more weight. As an extremely creative individual, I have tuned this ten-kilogram vest in multiple ways to add extra weight, but at that point, the practicality suffers obviously a bit. On the other hand, in heavier vests, the fit for such a tiny guy like myself is very often really bad, which is why I have gone with a lighter vest until now.

A couple of months ago, however, I had the opportunity to test a 30kg weight vest from the Thunder Fitness, which is claimed to fit shorter and leaner individuals as well. I looked at the company’s website carefully and liked what I saw. As always, I made sure the word was free for this article and shook hands with Thunder Fitness. So, I got the vest for the test and if I want to, I can keep it for myself.

Quality and features

If I understand correctly, the products are shipped from Sweden, so I was positively surprised by the speed of the delivery. I placed the order on Monday and already on Thursday the arrival notification was sent to my phone. In no time, my old and faithful Toyota was heading towards the post office. Accompanied by a mild swearing of the post office lady, I realized that this was the first time that I had been able to pick up the package myself directly from the back room of the post office.

At first glance, I knew right away that the vest is of high quality. The seams looks nicely done, the material feels good and very sturdy. The velcro straps that the vest is tightened with are wide and sturdy, which is especially important for such a heavy vest. A quick try-out of the vest gave a comfortable, snug feel and the weight was evenly distributed. At this point, it feels like the vest really is suitable even for a tiny squirrel like me (171cm/65kg). As a side note, when the weight of the vest is almost 50% of your own bodyweight, it is remarkably challenging to wear it :)The vest has thirty pockets (fifteen each side), each with ”sandbags” weighing just under a kilogram. Lightening the weight is quite easy and the bags can be removed from the pockets easily. Putting them back isn’t quite as straightforward, but with a little practice, it starts to go smoothly. When the vest is on, five weights can be grabbed off the front side. This is a pretty good feature if there is a need between sets to add or remove weight in small amounts.

In practice

The vest has been in use for a couple of months now and I have gotten to know it well. The vest fits even a small man very comfortably and can be tightened to the body snugly with the help of two velcro straps. Even when jumping, the vest stays on well and does not bounce around unnaturally.

Personally, I use the vest mainly with push-ups and dips where it really shines. The shoulder joint can move freely and does not interfere with the performance at all. Pull-ups are also possible, but I prefer the weight belt better as the technique is not disturbed, let alone changed. As a smaller individual, hanging from the bar must be done with a moderately wide grip so that the vest does not press badly on the sides of the neck. I have the same problem with my old ten-pound vest, so it’s not just a feature of this vest. Should acquire slightly wider shoulders I guess 🙂 With a wide grip, the problem is almost completely eliminated though. Hanging with a brisk extra weight is quite an interesting experience and I can recommend trying it as an addition to your grip strength training.

Thirty kilos is quite enough weight and due to the ease of adjustment, it is also quite scalable for various movements. I was initially wondering if I would prefer a 20-kilo vest. Fortunately, I opted for a heavier version because it’s easy to make it lighter.

All in all, the vest is really high quality. It also has a relatively high price tag, but the quality tends to cost money, and I don’t think it’s worth skimping on this kind of thing. I can recommend this vest warmly. If you’re a bigger-sized individual, Thunder Fitness offers a bigger model and also 10kg and 20kg vests.

Do you train with vests?