Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought the 80-pound vest 2.5 years ago. I used it nearly every day for squats until my cat decided it would make a good litter box. I figure I got my money's worth out of it, and it was time for a better one anyway, so I ordered the 100-pound. I didn't order the 100-pound because I need that much weight. I got it because I wanted the steel weights instead of the sandbags that come with the 80-pound and lower weight vests. The 80-pound served me well. There was a tear in the shoulder strap similar to what another reviewer posted. I was okay with that because it was not going to come apart completely. Like I said, I used it nearly every day. My main complaint about the 80- was that the sand bags were so difficult to get in and out of the pockets that I never bothered to change the weight and just kept it about 65 pounds. You can see in the pictures how much bigger the sand bags are. The 80- vest is much larger than the 100+. The steel weights are very easy to get in and out of the pockets. The sand bags are all 3 pounds. The steel ones are 3 and 1.5 pounds. The 80- comes is one piece and has padded shoulders. It isn't adjustable and hangs at my waist and I'm 6'4". The 100+ comes in two pieces (pictured) and does not have pads in the shoulders. The 100+ is adjustable. I tried wearing it at the shortest setting but I couldn't reach the straps that go around you to secure it. I let it out maybe 3 inches front and back and now it sits a couple inches above my waist. The 100+ is a much snugger fit which is great. The 80- was too loose to do push-ups with but I can use the 100+ for that no problem. I definitely prefer my new 100-pound vest over the older one. Obviously the price jumps up quite a bit when you go from 80 to 100 pounds. When I bought the 80 I think the 100 was about double the price of the 80 but right now the 100 is only $150. I think that's a pretty good deal for a versatile, durable piece of equipment that I'll use every day. Even if you need less than 80 pounds the 100 pound vest better if you can handle the price. The main drawback for the 80- is how tight the weights fit in the pockets and the size. If you're a smaller person the 80-pound is going to be very large on you. I don't know if the lighter ones are just as big or not. They could be smaller and have fewer pockets. I suspect the 120 is exactly like the 100 because there are enough pockets to hold 46 three-pound weights. That would make the vest 138 pounds plus the weight of the vest which is probably about 5 pounds empty. So to truly be 150 pounds the vest would need 4 more pockets. Mine came with 103.5 pounds of weights-23 3-pound and 23 1.5-pound and there are 46 pockets but they will all take the 3-pound weights. I'd give the 80-pound 4 stars because of the tight pockets. The 100-pound costs more but the advantages are worth it. Now if I can just keep it out of the reach of my cat....