Weighted Calisthenics is really increasing in popularity lately. It not only improves your athleticism but also greatly improves your size and strength.

It similar to barbell/dumbbell training in terms of it ease of micro-loading to slowly increase the difficulty each session.

However, weight calisthenics requires either a dip belt or a weight vest to strap on the extra weight.

It could be rather confusing trying to decide which one is best suited for you. In this post we will be putting the dip belt and the weight vest to a head-to-head comparison.

In this comparison post, we will compare:

• Exercise Selection
• Portability
• Weight Capacity
• Price
• Ease of Use

The Dipping belt is mostly limited to the pull-up and dip. On the other hand, the weight vest allows you to do essentially all other exercises use in calisthenics such as the pushup, row, plank, squat, lunge, handstand pushup and many more.

Winner: Weight Vest

The average dip belt weighs around 1.3kgs, and can be folded to fit inside any gym bag. Most weight vests are extremely bulky and require you to carry all the custom weights for the weight vest to be usable.

However the Kensui EZ-VEST PRO uses weightplates just like a dip belt and can be compacted to fit in a gym bag and weighs in at the same 1.3 kgs.

Winner: Tie

Dip belts are usually able to hold up to 300 lbs. The heaviest weight vest can hold up to 225lbs. So technically speaking the dip belt wins.

However with the weight added being equal, which one is more challenging?

Because of the differences of the weight distribution of the vest and belt, if the weight used was the same it is much harder to perform a pull-up or a dip with the weight vest.

It is similar to how a 200 lbs front squat is harder than a 200 lbs back squat.

Lastly, it is very unlikely to perform pull-ups or dips with these amount of weight. There are only a handful of individuals in the world that can perform 200 lb pull-ups or dips for reps and sets.

These weight limits are practically theoretical for the majority of users.

Winner: Tie

Dip belts only requires a basic nylon belt and steel chains which are easily found. Weighted Vests are a lot more difficult to produce as it has many different parts (such as webbing, velcro, buckles, padding and weights) that are not easy to source.

These differences are reflected in the prices. Dip belts are usually $30-50 where as weight vests start around $80 and can go as high as $450 for vests that comes with 100 lbs of custom weights.

Winner: Dip Belt

The ease of use usually depends on the amount of weight being used.

It is generally easy to get in and out of a dip belt than a weight vest and this difference is more pronounced for higher weights.

For a weight vest it is practically impossible to put on the weight if you don't have the strength to get the weight over your shoulders.

For a dip belt the weight doesn't make a difference.

However for a dip belt the weights can often swing like a pendulum when using lighter weights.

This isn't an issue for weight vests since the weights are secured to your body instead of hanging between your legs.

Winner: Tie

Choosing between a dip belt and a weight vest is like choosing between barbells and dumbbells. They are both great choices and the best weighted calisthenics program will utilize both of them. So if possible we believe the best choice is to get both of them!

However if you had to only pick one it would depend on what is most important for you.

If price is the important factor we recommend the dip belt.

If being able to do weighted walks, pushups, pike pushups, squat jumps, planks and rows is the important factor than we recommend the weight vest.