Article Updates
- 8/5/2016
- With the introduction of the Ruck Plate we have released a new article titled “Choose Your GORUCK Weight” which is more up-to-date and complete than this post.
GORUCK now allows you to bring sandbags instead of bricks to their events which opens up a big debate on which to choose. I’ve trained extensively with bricks and sand and know that there are pros and cons to both… which is what brings about this article. Commence the big Sandy Brick debate!
The Weight
Bricks
If you buy your bricks from Home Depot or a similar store they’ll most likely weigh out to 5.5 pounds per brick. If you buy them from a specialty hardware store you may run into some that weigh as little as 4 pounds. GORUCK has stated that as long as the bricks weight between 4 and 6 pounds that you’ll be good to go… but we know that’s horse shit. Get bricks from Home Depot and train hard!
Pros
- Can weigh as little as 4 pounds per brick (but come on now buy real bricks…)
- Relatively cheap
- If secured to top of ruck creates a nice “shelf”
Cons
- Abrasive edges can puncture ruck/bladder
- Solid objects (won’t conform at all)
Check out my article on how to wrap bricks if you need any help with that.
Sand
Sand weighs what sand weighs. There’s no “cheater sand” available and the requirements are what they are. Keep in mind that you should pack sand as water-proof as possible because if it gets wet you’re going to have a bad time aka it’s going to retain water.
Pros
- Sand is virtually free (just find a beach and bring a bag)
- The sand bag can be sized differently so that they may fit better in your ruck
Cons
- If sand gets wet it will gain weight quickly
- Sand can lose its shape if not packed very securely
Check out my article on how to create a sandbag pill if you need assistance with that.
Event Requirements
I’ll post the weight requirements for sand and the equivalent weight requirements for Home Depot bricks and cheater bricks. I’ve marked the lightest in bold and have not included cheater bricks because cheater bricks will ALWAYS weigh less. Seems like sand is always the better bet unless you’re doing a GORUCK Challenge or GORUCK Heavy and weigh over 150 pounds. Here’s a handy dandy table if that helps you out with the info to back it up below.
| Weight/Event | Light | Challenge | Heavy |
| Less Than 150 Pounds | Sand | Sand | Sand |
| 150 Pounds or More | Sand | Bricks | Bricks |
GORUCK Light
Under 150 Pounds
Sand: 10 pounds
Bricks: 11 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 8 pounds
Over 150 Pounds
Sand: 20 pounds
Bricks: 22 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 16 pounds
GORUCK Challenge
Under 150 Pounds
Sand: 20 pounds
Bricks: 22 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 16 pounds
Over 150 Pounds
Sand: 40 pounds
Bricks: 33 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 24 pounds
GORUCK Heavy
Under 150 Pounds
Sand: 20 pounds
Bricks: 22 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 16 pounds
Over 150 Pounds
Sand: 40 pounds
Bricks: 33 pounds
Cheater Bricks: 24 pounds