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Originally Posted by M21Sniper
Full plate battle armor weighed up to 80lbs. Some armor was lighter than others. These things weren't built on an assembly line. They were individually handmade by thousands of different blacksmiths, and there were wide variances in the quality, protection, philosophy, and weight of each suit.
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Samurais, at least for battles, wore METAL armor, not wooden armor.
A battlefield european armor would weight around 60 pounds(this is for 15th century gothic full plate). Japanese armors ranged from 55 to 77 pounds. Thus, on the average, Japanese armors were heavier than European armors by 6 pounds. European armors were also stronger then Japanese ones. In fact during the 16th century the Japanese noted quality of Italian and Flemish armors which they imported from the spanish and the portuguese. European breastplates and helms were incorporated into Japanese armors and these were called nanban gosuko. For reference, please read "Classical Fighting Arts of Japan" by Serge Mol.