GORUCK Simple Pants (Original vs Current) Comparison

In 2017 GORUCK re-released their GORUCK Simple Pants after being sold out for months in all popular sizes. We grabbed a second pair because they’re amazing pants and we wanted to see if they had changed anything. To make this post easier to follow we intentionally grabbed a different color. Throughout this post the grey pants are the original run and the coyote pants are the newer run.

The newer pants were purchased on November 8th, 2017 while the older pants were purchased back on March 3rd, 2016.

Thanks to Google (and other search engines) people stumble upon our reviews months (and often times years) after they have been posted. In the time that passes between when the review was posted and when the person reads it often changes have been made to the product.

GORUCK Simple Pants Comparison

Let’s start the comparison out with price. When the GORUCK Simple Pants were originally released they sold for $95 and GORUCK has listed their second run for $110. A $15 price hike isn’t much but it does take the pants from the $$ (sub-$100) to $$$ ($100+).

We’re obviously not thrilled with the price increase but GORUCK does randomly have apparel sales so there’s a good chance you can catch it for under $100. The pants are made in the USA and USA manufacturing is expensive.

The internal labeling has drastically changed between the versions. The previous GORUCK Simple Pants has the label printed directly onto the pants (and looks very warn after multiple washes) while the newer pants have the labels sewn in. This is good proof that the pants used in this review are indeed the same size.

This tag can be found on the older version of the pants (washing instructions and a purchase order number) but it’s missing from the newer version. Although it is missing don’t worry… it’s not missed. The newer pants have an overall cleaner appearance when it comes to internal branding and tags.

At first glance the pants look identical from behind… two back pockets and really long legs.

However, you’ll notice that halfway down the older version is sewn across while the newer version is not. There’s no difference in the feel at that point but aesthetically it’s still a difference.

The zippers used between the two pants are identical which is great news. The zipper tab on these pants holds in place so they’re not moving around or anything while you’re wearing the pants. I’m not sure if there would be any issues if the zippers didn’t lock but they do and they’re pretty slick. It’s definitely one of those features you notice when you zip them up.

Turning the pants inside out gives you a great look into all of the sew lines and patterns used between these pieces of apparel. You’ll notice from the above picture that nothing changed between the versions. I’ve taken both of them through GORUCK events and they’ve held great so I’m happy to see no changes.

You can see looking at the front of the pants that the sew lines and styles are exactly the same. The only thing you might notice is that the coyote (newer version) appears a little wider than the older version.

Upon closer inspection the newer version is roughly 1/2″ wider on the waist than the previous version. This difference can be felt when wearing the two different pants. Jason has mentioned in the past that these pants are machine sewn by people and the fabrics are cut by people so there will be slight variations. Just like with our hats there isn’t some magic pants (or hat) producing machine replicating the prototype. Even after a few washes the newer run is slightly wider than the original run and we would be very curious to know if anyone else has both pairs and has experienced anything similar.

Buttons used are the exact same and are probably the only piece on the pants that show wear over time. You can see the button on the grey pants is definitely more scuffed than the button on the coyote pants. If you’re buying GORUCK Simple Pants used then this is your best indicator of actual wear.

Looking at the sides of the pants the sew lines and styles are the same. The only difference being the pocket on the newer pants is sewn ever-so-slightly lower than the first version. Again, not sure if this is intentional but it’s there on our two pants.

Here’s a different view of the same variation.

Moving towards the bottom of the pants the sew lines are identical on the leg opening… nothing different here.

Back to the top as you’ve probably noticed both feature the same 3″ x 2″ logo sewn into the back.

GORUCK Simple Pants Fit Pics

Coming Soon.

GORUCK Simple Pants Comparison Conclusion

And that just about covers it! The GORUCK Simple Pants are made of the same great material and the new batch is just as durable as the older batch. To recap here are the differences we saw between our pants.

• Price increased from $95 to $110
• Internal labels look a million times better in newer batch
• Sew line removed halfway down pant leg in newer version
• Waist is ~1/2 inch wider in newer batch
• Pockets sewn slightly lower in newer batch

There you have it! A few changes made between the batches but overall they’re the same pants. Ours fit slightly different but if we didn’t have the two versions to compare we wouldn’t have been unhappy (or noticed) it. If you’re a fan of GORUCK apparel you can check out all of the posts we’ve written on GORUCK apparel as well as our review of the GORUCK Challenge Pants and GORUCK Simple Shorts If you want to buy these pants you can *usually* find them on GORUCK’s website.