At WeightVest.com, we’ve been building serious training gear for over 25 years. Our vests are made to last, designed for performance, and engineered with carefully sized iron weight bars. But have you ever wondered what would happen if those bars weren’t made of iron at all… but solid gold? Let’s take a fun (and heavy) look at what that would mean.
The Weight of Iron vs. Gold
The reason a 45 lb. weight vest weighs exactly that is because the removable bars are cast from iron. Iron is tough, affordable, and has a density of 7.87 g/cm³. Gold, on the other hand, has a density of 19.3 g/cm³.
That makes gold about 2.45 times heavier than iron for the same volume. In other words, if you swapped out the iron bars in your vest for gold bars of the exact same size, you’d be carrying more than twice the load.
From 45 Pounds to Over 110 Pounds
If you slipped on a standard 45 lb. weight vest and replaced the iron bars with gold, the scale would read: 45 LBS x 2.45 = 110 LBS.
That means your 45 lb. workout vest would suddenly turn into an 110 lb. vest—almost triple the challenge. Forget push-ups and sprints; just walking up the stairs would feel like military rucking with a loaded pack.
The Value of Gold in Your Workout
Of course, gold doesn’t just weigh more—it costs more. At today’s market price (hovering around $3900 per ounce), that much gold would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Training with it wouldn’t just be a workout; it would be like carrying a small fortune strapped to your chest.
So while gold vests sound fun in theory, we’ll stick with iron—it’s affordable, strong, and perfectly suited for everyday training.
But What About a 150 lb. Weight Vest?
Here’s where things get wild. If you started with one of our 150 lb. weight vests (already designed for elite conditioning) and imagined it loaded with gold bars instead of iron, the math looks like this: 150 LBS x 2.45 = 368 LBS!
That’s right—your 150 lb. vest would transform into a 368 lb. monster. Not exactly practical for pull-ups or running, but it sure makes you think twice about the power of density.
Final Thoughts
While you probably won’t be training in a vest made of pure gold anytime soon, the comparison shows just how perfectly iron fits the balance of weight, durability, and cost. It gives you all the resistance you need—without breaking the bank (or your back).
So next time you strap on your 45 lb. weight vest, imagine what it would feel like if it were more than 110 lbs of gold. Heavy, yes. Priceless? Definitely.