GORUCK created their first Heritage GR1 (review) to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the GR1. That pack was made with waxed canvas, featured leather accents, and was limited to 300 made. I purchased one of those packs and absolutely love it. It’s a fantastic everyday carry bag, looks professional, and and wears very well. My only gripe was that it was 21L and, being 6’2″, a 26L GR1 would have felt a little better on me.
This latest line of heritage GR1 packs fills that need for me. Now available in three colors (Field Tan, Dark Oak, and Olive) the new heritage packs can also be found in both 21L and 26L sizes. Although GORUCK’s website does not say they’re limited edition the Carryology website mentioned they were. The jury is out there however GOURCK confirmed via email that these are limited to 100 each and, checking quantities, there’s roughly just under 100 of each size and color available.
Besides the difference in size the 26L, according to the features description, includes “… a small hidden zipper pocket underneath the handle.”
It appears that this pocket ends up coming in the main pack area right around where the hydration port exit hole would be. I like the idea and I’m curious about the decision to include it on only the 26L packs.
As of right now the “features” text says that the packs are “Optimized for Hydration: Clip your hydration bladder into the interior D-Ring with a carabiner and feed the hose through the exit port under the top handle of the ruck.” That being said looking at the pictures I can’t see a D-Ring anywhere. I’m not sure if it doesn’t exist (maybe the text was copied from the Rucker) or if I’m just missing it. Either way if you know anything about this D-Ring I’d appreciate the insight.
Another difference I’m sort of seeing between the sizes is in the handle area. It appears that the 21L GR1 features the hydration exit port while the 26L does not. I can’t say if this is the case for certain but the pictures lead me to believe it is. Looking at that shot above of the 26L being worn it really looks like there’s no hydration port. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.
As of posting this the quantities available are:
- 21L Olive: 94
- 21L Dark Oak: 89
- 21L Field Tan: 95
- 26L Olive: 74
- 26L Dark Oak: 80
- 26L Field Tan: 87
It appears that the 26L is selling quicker than the 21L assuming the same numbers were initially available of each. If you want to check out the new $395 GORUCK GR1 Heritage then head on over to GORUCK’s website. I think I’ll be picking up a 26L in Olive but I haven’t placed the order yet. If you’ve got any thoughts on the pack or are thinking of grabbing one I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
I also put one on order. I was torn between the dark oak and tan but ultimately picked the former. Hopefully I’ll be happy with it. I like the new upper pocket a lot, and am also curious about some of the listed but not shown features. Since they’re aren’t in production yet maybe that’s why there weren’t pictures. And perhaps they’ll be ready a bit sooner since more inventory is starting to show up ahead of schedule.
picked up the 26L Olive. What about yourself??