The Rucker showed up late last week which means a preview post is in order. I took the pictures as soon as it showed its face so that I could load it up with weight and get out rucking with it. A review will be coming once at least double digit miles are on it along with a good number of workouts.
I purchased the 25L version which compares more closely to the 26L GR1 so I’ll be making some comparisons between the two. From this view the two packs would look identical.
I picked up the green version which is apparently the Ingress Enlightened version of the pack. Not sure if Jason did that on purpose but he did mention the Green/Blue Ruckers relating to the two factions in Ingress. Nerd :P. Since these two colors released there have been two more added: Grey w/ Red and Grey w/ Silver.
More green webbing on the side… perfect for one of the stabilizer belts.
Outer pocket is present and accounted for. It also looks like it wants to eat me.
On first glace it appears that nothing is different between the Rucker straps and the GR1…
…but if you get closer you’ll notice the sewn square pads are gone. Oh yeah, and there’s no laptop spot and the internal sheet is twice as thick. Which is awesome.
Moving on to the inside you’ll see the differences immediately. There’s no MOLLE on top and instead there’s a loop to secure a hydration bladder.
One little detail that I really like is that…
…there’s both Velcro and a snap to keep the hydration bladder in place. If you’re carrying a 3L bladder of water know that 1 liter of water weights 2.2 pounds… so a 3 liter bladder will weigh 6.6 pounds + bladder when full. Having the Velcro to take some of the weight off the snap seems like a good idea. It turns out that this feature (the snap in addition to the Velcro) might not be on every Rucker out there. There’s a big possibility that if you order one yours will not come with the snap.
Of course there’s a new label in the Rucker.
The weight area is nice and is able to fit two GORUCK Ruck Plates in it. My hope is that the Velcro is strong enough to handle at least two 30 lb plates… I guess we’ll see when review time comes!
The outer panel on the inside with the two pockets is pretty much identical to the GR1.
As in now-typical GORUCK fashion Taiwanese YKK zippers are present and accounted for.
Overall the pack looks great and I’m excited to put it through its paces. Because this is a “preview” post there isn’t any review to be had but hopefully the pictures were enjoyable. The Rucker is available for $100 less than the GR1… which, based on pricing, makes it the ideal pack for people looking to just do GORUCK events.