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My Bag is Badass

2 years ago

My Bag: GORUCK GR1

Who are you?

My name is Uri. I’m an information security researcher that specializes in red team and digital ops. I served as a Recon operator and a sniper in the military for several years and I am the author of Pack Light, Go Fast, a blog about the art of packing light and enjoying the freedom that it gives you.

What’s you bag?

The bag I chose as my main carry is the GORUCK GR1.

GORUCK was founded by Jason McCarthy, a US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) Operator. Toward the end of his service in the military — after serving in Iraq and other locations, he began to think about how much he was going to miss the high-quality, nearly indestructible backpack supplied by the US Special Forces. After searching for a replacement that he can use as a civvy and not finding one that was up to his standards he decided to build his own. The result is the GR1. You can see a vide of Jason explaining the origins of GORUCK, the philosophy behind the GR1 and some other cool information on Pack Light

Proudly built in the United States, Jason describes the efforts that went into designing each and every part of the GR1 in his post: GR1 explained by Jason, GORUCK’s founder.

The GR1 is an extremely tough backpack and, like all GORUCK gear, it comes with the Scars Lifetime guarantee. The backpack is designed to ride high on your back, with straps that are super comfortable, even when carrying a lot of weight. The 1000D Cordura is nearly indestructible and highly water resistant. I’ve carried my laptop and iPad under torrential rain and they remained dry. This bag was built to abuse it.

The padded back of the GR1 and the straps. The more you use this bag, the more it becomes yours. The Cordura straps adapt to the contour of your shoulders and chest.

Another detail that made me choose this bag is the fact that it can be customized. There are 3 lines of MOLLE webbing outside and 3 inside that allow you to attach MOLLE compatible pouches and gear to the outside and inside of the bag. I like the idea that the pack is minimal and very streamlined out of the box but if I need it I can always add a pocket, pouch or other carry attachment.

The MOLLE outside in the front of the pack and on the sides

and inside where you can also see the mesh pocket on the back of the main compartment (in the current model it was replaced by a solid Cordura pocket). The GR1 lays completely flat, a feature that I really love and that allows for optimal organization and efficient packing of your gear. You have access to all the gear inside without having to fight your way around it.

The laptop compartment, also a hydration bladder compartment, is padded to securely take a laptop into combat. That is a great feature. You can place the laptop in that pocket and it will be protected. It sits close to your back and if for whatever reason something hits your pack it will be cushioned by the gear you carry on the main compartment and the padding in this pocket.

The laptop compartment

And speaking of hydration bladder, the GR1 has a little hole on the top (protected by a Velcro closure) that allows the hydration bladder tube to be threaded out. I used this hole to thread a rope and I used it to rappel off a roof during a physical penetration test.

The pack’s flap has two pockets on the interior part of it and one slant pocket outside. The zippers on all the pockets and the main zipper are YKK zipper, made in the US and designed not to fail under any condition. The zipper pulls are silent, using paracord 550 and rubber tubbing to enable grabbing them when wet, cold and pretty much any condition. The inside of the ruck also has the only label, a very subtle patch that says GR1, made int he USA.

You can customize the GR1 using a patch of your choosing. There is a 2” x 3” velcro strip where you can attach any of the patches from GORUCK or the ones you have. I usually have my GORUCK Tough patch on it. Further customization can include the GORUCK Field Pockets

The GR1 is also an excellent travel pack and helps you in packing light and going fast. In the following pictures I packed clothing and gear for a trip.

The last picture also shows a Badass hat, the GR Tac.

So, the GR1 is a fantastic, tough enough for Special Forces, easy to carry, easy customize, comfortable day backpack that can also serve as a travel pack. What else would you need in a backpack…? Simply Badass!

A GR1 at the Boston GORUCK Challenge. Good Livin!

And mine after having survived the GORUCK Challenge in Chicago

Here’s a GR1 with the new Brick Bag

GORUCK also has smaller and bigger packs. Check them out.

The Echo, Radio Ruck, GR1 and GR2.

And a GR2 being badass in a combat zone with Green Berets.

All Notes

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