Recently I was able to acquire a second black GR1… which puts my black GR1 count to 2. I bought my first GR1 well before August, 2011 and used it to train up for my first Challenge with class 053. I’ve used it in 8 GORUCK events so far (every event except for GORUCK Heavy 009) and brought it along on several mud runs. In addition to that I used it as my only EDC bag and brought it almost everywhere.
Pictures
Here’s some pictures of the two backpacks right next to each other. I need to apologize for all of the dirt on the shoulder of my used ruck… I haven’t had time to adequately clean it yet. In all of the pictures the left GR1 is the new one and the right GR1 is the old one.
I tried to get the rucks as close to each other as I could so that there would not be any change in colors due to the lighting. As you can see the new ruck is a lost “crisper” than the old one but that will change with time. It just needs some more love aka abuse.
Another picture of them together… the new one looks taller because it’s new. Once it’s beaten down it won’t stand so tall anymore.
Here is the picture with the dirty shoulder strap. All it needs is a little more scrubbing and another run through the washing machine and it will look beautiful just like it’s matching shoulder strap.
Here’s a closeup of the new ruck’s shoulder strap and the clean shoulder strap of my older ruck. As you can see from the coloring in the picture apart from some random dirt the rucks look almost the same.
You can see that the used ruck definitely shows its wear in the label. One of the threads is coming out and it’s a lot more worn down than it’s brand new counterpart. Labels are on the inside so no one will ever see this.
Sometime around a year or year and half ago GORUCK changed the way that the shoulder straps connect to the ruck. The red circle shows the previous method where the nylon runs right into the ruck. The green circle is the new method that GORUCK uses which they call a “bat wing” that connects the shoulder strap to the GR1.
Finally it looks like somewhere between the creation of these two rucks GORUCK changed the mesh that they use on the inside. Looks like the newer mesh (right) has slightly larger holes than the older mesh (left).
Conclusion
From these pictures I wanted to show how a GORUCK bags looks after going through numerous events. In addition I wanted to show any differences that I’ve noticed in how GORUCK makes their rucks. There haven’t been too many changes from 2.5 years ago to now aside from the “bat wing” and the size of the mesh on the inside. I think it’s amazing that my old ruck looks almost as good as my new one considering what I’ve put it through.
I had an older GR1 I had replaced for a newer one. The thing that struck me was the difference in size. The new GR1 is bigger, definitely in terms of width. The old GR1 was around 10.5 inches I think, the new one is 12. You can see the difference in your first pic. The molle on the newer ruck at the ends is wider than normal. On the older GR1, it’s narrower than the normal channels.
I didn’t like it at first but I’ve gotten used it. Think I prefer the narrower width but then I am quite skinny. Most people won’t notice.
Speaking of the sub-par quality, unfortunately, most of the Goruck rucks I’ve had, have had poor QC. First GR1 I got had inaccurately sown MOLLE, the second I exchanged it for had no padding in the handle. The third was great until it tore at the shoulder. Similar issues with my GR2 and my new GR0 had an area of stitching missing from the shoulder strap. Very frustrating but GR had my back everytime, so I’m glad for that.
Hello, my current edc bags are the Chrome Orlov and Pawn – I’m extremely happy with both aside from their lack of organizational space which is why I’ve become interested in the GR1. The problem is, I’ve been reading accounts after accounts about sub par quality control that seems to have plagued Goruck products lately compared to early years. Just not sure what to think of all this. Guess all I can do is order the bag and see for myself. As a Goruck “insider” is there anything you can share about this?
When GORUCK first began making bags they were all made in one shop in Bozeman, Montana. Once the brand got much more popular GORUCK realized they had to hire at least one more sew shop to assist their Bozeman production. I believe they tried out a few (which is where the sub-par products came from) but have since settled on a great one located in Seattle near their warehouse. I received one of the sub-par GR2s during this transition time and GORUCk paid for me to send it back then sent me a brand new one for free.
I’ve gotten 2 more GR1s since they’ve made the switch and haven’t had any issues with them what-so-ever. I’ve also toured the GORUCK warehouse and the sew shop so I can confirm the bags are still made here in the USA. I hope that helps!
I saw your comment at https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/goruck-gr1/ and it brought me here. Anyways, thanks for your review & pictures.
No problem… glad I could help!
Interesting comparison. Thanks for posting.
No problem!
Should agree too. It’s very interesting