GORUCK took a big leap into the accessory market fairly recently with their new line of pockets, accessories, and pouches. The goal was to add some organization to their line of packs and the GORUCK Tool Pouch does just that. As of writing this review the GORUCK Tool Pouch could be purchased on their website.
Review
Before writing this review I used the GORUCK tool pouch for a little over a month to store some items that I usually carry around inside my backpack. My plan here was to reorganize what I carry instead of using this to carry more.
Quality
In typical GORUCK fashion this thing screams quality. The sew points are all very clean and the lines are all nice and straight.
No complaints at all when it comes to the quality. You can see the sew lines running across the pouch giving it a a little bit of extra detail in addition to strength. The pouch is made out of 1000d Cordura so you know it will last.
Everything on the inside feels great and the elastic bands have worked wonderfully so far. I’ve had some oddly shaped objects in there and have yet to pop a stitch or rip any of the bands. They held up to my tests without any issues.
Design
The front of the pouch has a 3″ x 2″ Velcro patch area for displaying your favorite morale patches.
There’s an external Velcro pocket which, thanks to the one inch strip of Velco, stays shut very well. It’s definitely a small pocket but it’s still nice to have on the outside.
There’s nothing on the back of the pouch so you can place it wherever you want without worrying about it damaging a table. It’s exactly what you’d expect from the back of the pouch.
There’s a YKK zipper which does a great job keeping the pouch closed so nothing falls out when you’re moving. The zipper on my pouch was made in Taiwan.
The outside zipper features the standard GORUCK style paracord zipper pull that everyone has come to expect from their product line.
The inside features two pockets on each side followed by two identical elastic areas. Each side has two large areas (1/2 of the width each), two medium areas (1/4 of the width each), and four pencil areas (1/8 of the width each) so that you have plenty of options. As you have probably noticed the only GORUCK logo on this is on the inside which makes it blend in nicely with other non-GORUCK gear.
The larger pockets are great for storing flatter items otherwise they’ll interfere with the objects held in the elastic area.
I’ve got no complaints in the design area. It’s definitely the high quality piece of gear you would expect from GORUCK.
Usability
This thing is incredibly usable thanks to all of the sew points in the elastic material. You can fit in items ranging from as small as a pencil to as large as a battery charger and USB wall charger… just look at the assortment of sized items I’ve got in there. Because of the way the elastic is sewn on top of each other you can generally only use the front or the back strips in each segment but it’s nice to have the options.
On the left side I’ve got a wall charger with a USB cable to keep my phone, camera, battery pack, and anything else I need charged. I kept the middle spot open in the even that I needed to toss something else in there that I picked up while out. I’m a fan of not using every spot of any piece of gear so that if I end up needing a free area later I’m not out of luck.
The right side has a battery pack (which doubles as a wireless network), two pencils, and two pens. I always have a backup pencil and pen in the event that one breaks, runs out of lead, or runs out of ink. I stored an extra empty Field Notes book behind the right side in the event that I fill my current one up. The back pockets are great for flatter items (think notebooks, receipts, etc.) as anything large will push the items in the elastic forward.
Although GORUCK designed the pocket it’s also very usable in non-GORUCK packs. Here it is hanging out in a Triple Aught Design GPP2 pocket. Although it doesn’t need to be stored in a pocket it was rather convenient how well those two items fit together.
The outside of the pouch features a small Velcro pocket area. I usually stored an extra patch or something else small and flat within it. If you like chewing gum it would be a great spot for either a thin pack or a couple sticks. It might also be good for a book of matches… you get the idea on the size of item that fits best in there.
Value
At $36 this pouch is a bit expensive… thankfully you’ll most likely never pay full price for it. If you’re signing up for a GORUCK event you’ll get somewhere between 10% and 20% off and this pouch routinely ends up on sale.
During the time this review was written the pouch was on sale for $15 during a Steals & Deals promotion. I paid a bit more than $15 for mine so if you can pick one up for that, and need the added organization, it’s definitely worth it.
Pick up this pouch (for whatever the current price of it is, retail is $36) at GORUCK.
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Quality
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Design
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Usability
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Value
Summary
Pros
- Spot on sewing and stitching
- Stores huge variety of items
- Made in the USA
Cons
- Expensive if not on sale
Used For: Every Day Carry (EDC)
Tested For: One Month
Conclusion: Great way to organize your smaller daily carry items.
Nice review. Do you have any experience/opinion on how the Goruck tool pouch compares to similar EDC organizational pouches from Maxpedition or Vanquest? Thanks!
I haven’t used either of those but they look very similar. The Vanquest ones look interesting because they offer different setups for the elastic webbing (vertical and horizontal instead of just horizontal). From what I hear both Maxpedition and Vanquest make quality gear… the only real difference I see is the GORUCK organizer is made in the USA, Maxped stuff is usually made in Taiwan, and Vanquest, for the most part, is currently made in the Philippines.