The Power Armor from Fallout is a trademark of the franchise and provides the wearers with good protection against the dangers of the wasteland. Fans have long been wondering how much such an armor actually weighs. MeinMMO asked the developer Bethesda and can now provide the answer.
What is Power Armor anyway? It is arguably the most powerful type of armor from Fallout. Essentially, it is a tank that surrounds the wearer’s body. You become a walking fortress, exuding authority and power.
On a functional level, the armor offers excellent protection against dangers in the wasteland. Additionally, heavy weapons like a minigun can be easily lifted – which would be difficult, if not impossible, for a person without armor.
However, even the sound of the footsteps of a Power Armor gives a clue: This piece is quite heavy. The Fallout community has been discussing for years how much it actually weighs. We directly asked Bethesda if there is any official statement on this – and received a concrete answer.
The Fallout series by Amazon also features Power Armor. Here you can see the trailer for season 2:
A matter of models
What does Bethesda say about the question? The developer provided us with a response from the Lead Artist of Fallout 3 & 4, Istvan Pely. He first emphasizes an important point:
Not all armors are identical, even within the same type, as there are often running material changes during a production run. It depends on what the factory can source at scale that’s economical at the time.
The first Power Armors were developed by the USA at the company West Tek even before the Great War. After the bombs fell, it was clear that not all resources were equally available.
But we know all power armors start with the same internal powered frame made of a relatively lightweight magnesium alloy. That plus the servo motors and other mechanicals would give a baseline of around 450 pounds for the chassis [approximately 204 kilograms].
But that’s not all. For proper protection against bullets or attacking creatures that may also appear in mutated form in the wasteland, more is needed. There are differences among the various models of the Power Armor:
On top of that are the armored body plates. Unlike the T-51 and later armors that used lightweight composite alloys, the T-45 is good ‘ole thick (and cheap) steel. There’s also a thinner tungsten lining for radiation shielding, but this was often substituted with lead for cost. Some variations would even get a layer of titanium on a few sections for extra protection, but this wasn’t common. We also need to take into account that there are variations in thickness across different sections, with some parts being cast and some machined. All of this would easily add at least another 400-550 pounds to the total weight [181-226 kilograms].
In total, Bethesda calculates up to 430 kilograms, not including the user of the armor. Fortunately, one hardly feels anything from the enormous weight. You don’t need to be strong to use the armor; the design takes on the load.
