GORUCK GR2 Review: The 34L for Rucking With Real Gear

The GORUCK GR2 is GORUCK's premium travel bag, and it feels it. It's built like the GR1, with a second full compartment up front so your gear doesn't get buried under everything else. When I took it rucking, that organization was the best part. The second compartment turns out to be the whole story.

It isn't the GR1 version 2, either. The GR2 is a separate bag with different features for different needs, not an update of the GR1. I understand the confusion after GORUCK went from the Rucker 4.0 to the 5.0, but these two are parallel models. Mine is the 34L in black, and I've had it for about two weeks. GORUCK sent it to me for review; they didn't tell me what to say and didn't sign off on the review.

How I used it

I've used the GR2 for about two weeks. The main loaded outing was on September 24 at Round Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, around the Round Lake Logging Dam, with my dog Jase. We were out for a couple of hours on forest trail, a leafy two-track and the lake shore, where Jase went straight into the water.

The 20 lb figure is the plate alone. Everything else added to the total.

The front compartment is the reason to buy it

Both compartments unzip and open flat, which makes packing a mixed load quick. The main compartment took the plate, my drone case and a first aid kit. The front compartment took the drone itself, the controller and the batteries. GORUCK lists three pockets in the main compartment and three more in the front, plus a built-in field pocket, so smaller things have somewhere to live instead of sliding to the bottom.

I kept the drone in the front for easy access, along with its batteries and controller. When I wanted to fly, I opened one zipper and everything I needed was there. I didn't have to dig past the 20 lb plate, or around the larger compartment, to find a battery. If you plan to fly on a ruck, check the land before you launch: our sister site Drone Authority's guide to flying a drone on public land walks through national forest, wilderness and park rules.

A single-compartment ruck is simple and slim, but everything shares one space with the plate. The GR2 lets you decide what's heavy and buried and what's light and reachable, and the layout still works once the bag is full.

There's a quieter benefit, too. Keeping the plate's compartment zipped means the load likely stays where you packed it at the trailhead. If you stop often for a drone, a camera or first aid, that's the practical case for the GR2 over one big room. Just remember the front compartment sits farthest from your spine: it's for light things you reach for often, not anything heavy.

The outside carried what I wanted fast

The MOLLE webbing on the outside held my water bottle holder, bear spray and Jase's leash. Bear spray is only useful if you can reach it, so it went on the outside with the things I'd want in a hurry. The leash is the same story, with a wetter dog on the other end of it.

The same rule applies outside: keep it light. Anything on the webbing sits even farther from your back than the front compartment, so a heavy pouch there can likely tug the bag backward with each step. Cinch attachments so they can't swing, and split them between the sides so the bag doesn't lean.

The plate sleeve, and my lower back

This is where the GR2 shows it was designed for travel first. After using it non-stop for about an hour and a half, I noticed my lower back felt a little numb. Nothing dramatic. I also missed the Rucker 5.0's big lumbar pad, which the GR2 doesn't have.

My best guess is the plate sleeve. Like the GR1's, it's an open sleeve with a couple of straps, so in a bag this tall a 20 lb plate can sit a bit lower than you'd like, and that's where I felt it.

The fix follows from basic rucking physics: a plate held high and snug against the back panel presses down through your shoulders and spine, and likely has less leverage on your lower back than one riding low.

GORUCK's own advice is to keep a ruck riding high on your back; its gear tips name a low-slung bag as the most common beginner mistake. The company doesn't list plate sizes or a maximum load for the GR2 on its ruck plates page. My 20 lb plate fit the sleeve fine.

My suggestion is an easy one: strap the plate as high as you can using the internal MOLLE webbing, then put a rolled towel underneath it. If you ruck with a GR2 and have a better way to keep the plate high, I'd like to hear it.

A few more setup habits follow from the same logic:

• Fill the empty space. A jacket or other soft gear around the plate gives it nowhere to settle.
• Cinch the shoulder straps so the bag rides high. GORUCK's rule of thumb is that the bottom of the bag should sit above your belt line.
• Think about a hip belt as the weight goes up. At 20 lb I went without. Heavier plates are where a belt likely earns its place, shifting some load to your hips; GORUCK pitches its padded belt for longer, heavier rucks.

Our rucking form guide covers posture and pack position in more detail, and our ruck plate guide covers plate sizes.

If numbness ever hangs around, spreads or comes with any leg weakness, see a doctor.

No sternum strap, and I didn't miss it

Just like the GR1, the GR2 doesn't have a sternum strap, and there's no hip belt in the box. As with the GR1, I didn't miss the chest strap. Without it, the shoulder straps pulled my shoulders back a little, and my posture, which isn't great, seemed to appreciate the help.

That likely comes from where the straps sit. With no sternum strap tying them together, the harness rides a little wider on the chest and tends to draw the shoulders back rather than rounding them forward. If your straps start sliding toward the outside of your shoulders, or you move up to heavier plates, an add-on sternum strap is the fix.

That's consistent with how GORUCK describes the design. Its founder has written that the GR2 rides high on the back, which is part of why it stays stable without a waist belt. If you want more, the webbing on the shoulder straps takes an add-on sternum strap, and GORUCK sells a padded hip belt separately. I didn't use either.

Built for travel first

GORUCK built the GR2 for one-bag travel and sizes it as a carry-on. Both compartments open flat, and there's a separate laptop compartment against your back, with a removable plastic frame sheet that gives the bag its structure. The shoulder straps and top handle are padded. The shell is 1000D Cordura, the YKK zippers have cord pulls you can find with gloves on, and there's webbing inside and out, plus a patch you can swap. The back panel fabric varies by color: GORUCK's listing shows 1000D for the black 34L, while some other colors use a lighter 210D. GORUCK's lifetime guarantee is behind all of it.

That laptop compartment is what lets the GR2 switch between a convenient travel bag and a ruck. I wouldn't carry a laptop and a weight plate in it at the same time, though. I don't trust a plate pressed up against a laptop, so for me it's one job or the other.

The laptop compartment sits against your back, which is exactly where the plate wants to be. Put both in and the laptop takes the best spot for the weight, while the plate rides right behind a screen for every step. Travel day, pack the laptop; ruck day, leave it home. Like GORUCK's other bags, it's rated highly water resistant, though I haven't put that to the test on mine.

Height-wise, it's only about half an inch taller than the GR1. The extra space is depth: about 9 inches, against roughly 7 for the GR1, and that's where the second compartment lives. Keep the heavy things against the back panel and the light things up front. GORUCK lists the 34L at 12.5 inches wide, 20.5 inches tall and 9 inches deep, and 4.1 lb empty.

At 34 liters, there's room for a full day's kit. The separate compartments keep that room under control, since each is smaller than one 34L space and gives the load less room to slide. Pack it snug, and if your day is only a plate and water, the Rucker 5.0 or the GR1 is the tidier fit.

GR2 vs Rucker 5.0 vs GR1

For pure rucking, the Rucker 5.0. It has a high, snug plate pocket, a big lumbar pad and a sternum strap. In my Rucker 5.0 review, it stayed solid on rough ground with the same 20 lb plate. If your load is a plate, water and keys, it's the better tool.

For carrying gear, the GR2. When the plate shares the bag with a drone kit, a first aid kit and things you actually need to reach, the second compartment earns its bulk. That's the job the Rucker isn't built for.

For a slimmer everyday bag, look at the GR1. It's the GR2's single-compartment sibling: less depth, one main space, the same family of materials. If you're weighing those two specifically, our GR1 vs GR2 comparison walks through the sizes and use cases side by side.

What I found across the three GORUCK bags I've carried

I've carried all three with a 20 lb plate. This table sticks to what I found on my own bags; anything I haven't checked says so.

The GR2 is at its best as a gear hauler that rucks well once the plate is packed high.

Should you buy the GR2?

Buy it if:

• You ruck with gear you need to reach on the move, like a drone or camera kit.
• You want one bag that can be a travel bag one day and a ruck the next.
• You like your load organized: two full compartments that open flat, with pockets in both.
• You'll take a minute to strap the plate high instead of dropping it in and zipping up.

Skip it if:

• Your load is mostly a plate and water. The Rucker 5.0 holds the plate higher and has the lumbar pad I missed.
• You want a smaller everyday bag. The GR1 is slimmer, with one main compartment.
• You want something outside GORUCK's lineup or at a different budget. Our best rucking backpacks guide covers the other options.

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