GORUCK re-released their Radio Ruck back in April of 2018. This pack had not been available since 2014 so it was exciting to see them back again.
Although we didn’t buy one when they originally came out we did purchase one of the original ones off another F3 member so we’ll be able to put a comparison post together in the future.
This is a preview post which means tons of pictures, some commentary, and not too much review. However, you should leave this post knowing exactly what this pack is about.
Looking straight at the pack you see the standard slant zip pocket and the 3″ wide x 2″ tall Velcro patch area.
There’s an All Day Ruckoff patch on this one (of course) and you can see the Radio Ruck has two rows of webbing with six columns per row.
Each side of the pack features two rows of webbing with two columns in each row.
The bottom of the pack does a good job showing just how deep this pack truly is. The Radio Ruck is an interesting shape that the community seems to either love or hate depending on the person.
The shoulder straps are what you would expect on a traditional GORUCK pack. They’ve got webbing running up them which is perfect for adding a sternum strap or an ITW GrimLoc.
The shoulder straps are heavily padded which should help when carrying a heavy load or getting under a log at a GORUCK event.
The shoulder straps are sewn into the pack bottom using a piece of fabric that GORUCK calls a bat wing. This method helps prevent the shoulder straps from tearing out at the base of the pack.
The shoulder straps are sewn directly into the top of the pack which is how GORUCK has been attaching them for the past few years.
There’s a nice box stitch attaching the webbing to the shoulder straps.
Flipping the strap over you can see how it’s sewn in on the back side.
Flipping both straps over gives a better view on the back panel. Although it is broken up into seven pads it is 1000d Cordura so it’s still going to heat up in hot conditions.
Being able to flip the shoulder pads completely around is nice because it allows you to get into that laptop area a whole lot easier.
I haven’t even worn this with a red sweatshirt yet… they were merely in the same room together and there’s already some fuzz on the pack! This is a throwback to the EVERGOODS CPL24 post where there was red fuzz all over the pack.
These pictures were taken roughly 30 minutes after opening the pack and there’s already a Watson hair on it. Dog and cat hair do a wonderful job weaving themselves into these packs.
Checking out the top of the pack you can see the padded grab handle. These handles have a good chunk of padding in them and they are definitely appreciated.
Moving down the left side of the pack you can see that it’s identical to the right.
As soon as I got the pack open one of the dogs came to investigate…
… and promptly tried to make the Radio Ruck her new home.
If you buy a Radio Ruck it should come with two rows (six columns) of internal webbing and a document pocket on the inside. It should, however, not come with dirty dog footprints all over the inside.
The depth of the pack is really interested and makes it feel less like a clam shell than the GORUCK GR1.
Here’s the inside again this time just a little cleaner.
Flipping around to the other side you’ll see the two other internal pockets.
The top is great for keys, moment lenses, and other things you might want to grab quickly.
The bottom is great for cords, chargers, and apparently attracting dogs.
The dimensions on this pack felt a little different from the original Radio Ruck that we have in the office.
The GORUCK website shows the Radio Ruck at 17″ tall, 6″ deep, and 12″ wide. I’m not going to pretend to be some expert measurer but I do have a measuring tape and a camera so here’s my attempt at figuring out this thing’s actual size.
The Radio Ruck is supposed to be 17″ tall but I measure it out to roughly 15.5″ to 16″ on the front.
Measuring the back yields roughly the same results as well.
As does measuring it right up the side.
The GORUCK website has this thing at 6″ deep but the external measurements are bit above that.
From two different locations it measures roughly 7″ to 7.5″ deep. Maybe it’s 6″ internal but that would work against the height measurement being an inch to an inch and a half shorter.
I only measured the width once but it came in between 12″ and 13″.
These measurements are important if you’re trying to fit a laptop in the Radio Ruck. I headed on over to /r/goruck on Reddit and there was already a post with someone who was unable to fit their laptop in their newly purchased Radio Ruck. They also measured their pack and got fairly similar results to mine.
The Radio Ruck is definitely and interesting pack and we’ll be picking up a measuring tape used for clothing and then directly comparing this Radio Ruck against our older version. Measuring with the stiff measuring tape we own wasn’t the best for accuracy but it’s what we had handy and it gives a good guestimate.
Hopefully you enjoyed this first look and preview post and if you are in the market for a Radio Ruck hopefully this helped out you!
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