RFI: his n her’s ruck pack/plate combo

[Totem Polar]

Right up front, I appreciate everyone chiming in on all my questions of late, the feedback has been excellent. With a mandatory summer off from the aggressive festival schedule of the last 20 years, and a wife bouncing back from a fluke health scare, this is the time for us to be outside getting exercise and forest baths.

We’ve been going out for 3 milers most evenings, with me wearing a borrowed pack with a full 50 cal can in the radio pouch, and, aside from regularly barfing up a lung on several flights of outdoor stairs between hilled neighborhoods, it’s been pretty easy getting back in shape.

We are looking to get a matching set of rucks, with plates appropriate to each of us, to keep things rolling, 3-season. Again, I don’t know what I don’t know. Is the goruck set up the G19 of rucking packs, or is there something else to look at?

Folks here have steered me right on bears, trekking poles, socks... even stripped lowers and instapots... may as well keep mining.

Thanks in advance, ruckers.
:)

[Cookie Monster]

I used to ruck with a Mystery Ranch load pack and simplified to just rucking with my wildland fire pack. It’s the reason I am rucking to lower the suck when I am on fires.

The weight on wildland fire packs are low so I wouldn’t recommend it.

What weight do you want to ruck? Amount?

I have been looking at the Go Ruck Rucker and the Speed Ruck. I think I want to be able to run the 45 lb plate so I will go with the Rucker. I’d like to have a pack that is ready to ruck instead of pulling the plate in and out of my fire bag.

Make sure to get a sternum strap and hip belt, I love those but my background is backpacking and the Go Ruck design comes from military where they don’t like those things. Thinking about this depending on the weight, an basic pack from REI might fit the bill.

I’ll be following the thread. I think you might want to ruck with what you got for a little while but change out to duct taped bag of sand instead of the ammo can.

I do really like the Go Ruck Ruck Plates I got. I actually got an extra 20lb one I could part with.

[kilo sierra]

If I understand your question, you want suggestions on how to carry weight while you hike/walk?

If so...My routine is to use bags of gravel from Lowes tied down on the meat shelf of a rigid external backpack frame.

These gravel bags come in 60lb units. I empty them into a 5gal bucket to approximately 1/2 and lash it to my packframe with para cord. The external frame is adjusted to fit my torso and helps to keep the weight from shifting as I encounter sidehilling, and zigzagging up inclines and down declines. After 10 days or so I increase the weight unscientifically, double handed scoops from the 5 gal bucket of gravel into the bag tied to my frame.

I do this in my somewhat hilly paved subdivision.

After 6 weeks of this, 4-5 times a week, I am feeling pretty confident carrying weight. Then I add a 4' section of 1/2" ID galvanized pipe with sand in it, capped, and carry that also. It simulates carrying weight and a rifle, and doesn't get the anti hunting snowflakes bent. It also helps me recondition my wrists and hands for walking around all day with a rifle. The last week - 10 days or so of this at max weight is an asskicker, and I have to slower and deliberate or I just hurt myself in some arbitrary way, which defeats the purpose.

8-10 weeks of this routine gets GrandPa ready to roll...The gradual build up really helps me condition my feet, ankles, knees, back, and shoulders...My circuit is about three miles in length.

In actual field conditions I do not regularly carry that much weight unless we are packing meat out. My days of 12+ mile backpack hunts are long past. This is just what I do specifically to get ready for opening day after the snow melts.

BTW...AllOutdoors.com has a really nice selection of Ruck type packs, very high quality, and expensive. They also have a training system that utilizes weightlifting plates on a external rigid frame. What I use is merely what I already have.

Keep at it.

[Flamingo]

I have a set of the goruck plates, 20 and 30 pound ones. I did not buy their pack though. I like to have a waist belt for when I am rucking. I have used several older Kifaru packs to ruck with and I really liked them, but I have a backpack fetish.

My current pack is a Hill people gear Umilindi with the recon belt. It is one of my favorites. My current longest ruck is 35 miles in a little over 12 hours. I had the 20 pound plate, some easy to eat snacks, and a water bladder that I could refill pretty easily.

Titan fitness makes ruck plates as well. They are about half the price of the titan plates. The goruck plates used to be made in the US, but I am not sure if they still are.

[Totem Polar]

I used to ruck with a Mystery Ranch load pack and simplified to just rucking with my wildland fire pack. It’s the reason I am rucking to lower the suck when I am on fires.

The weight on wildland fire packs are low so I wouldn’t recommend it.

What weight do you want to ruck? Amount?

I have been looking at the Go Ruck Rucker and the Speed Ruck. I think I want to be able to run the 45 lb plate so I will go with the Rucker. I’d like to have a pack that is ready to ruck instead of pulling the plate in and out of my fire bag.

Make sure to get a sternum strap and hip belt, I love those but my background is backpacking and the Go Ruck design comes from military where they don’t like those things. Thinking about this depending on the weight, an basic pack from REI might fit the bill.

I’ll be following the thread. I think you might want to ruck with what you got for a little while but change out to duct taped bag of sand instead of the ammo can.

I do really like the Go Ruck Ruck Plates I got. I actually got an extra 20lb one I could part with.
20 might be the ticket for my wife. I’m thinking of doing it your way with dedicated bags and just sticking with 45. I don’t do this stuff for a profession; fitness only. The mil-surp alice deal I borrowed has hip belt/sternum strap, and I’m with whomever it was Here that said hip belt above 40-ish. I did a little over 5k with +/-32 and just the shoulder straps at one point, and survived just fine, but I don’t have the shoulders to do much more than that. :)

[Bratch]

We have a pair of Rucker’s that we are happy with, for straight rucking and not doing calisthenics we just ordered ruck plates on Amazon. Much much cheaper than Go Ruck plates, fit in the plate holder but don’t secure in place. No big deal walking but may want to be able to shut the holder for burpees, bear crawls etc.

[Crews]

I’ve got a GR1. While it’s an amazing backpack, I did a 3 mile hike with a 30# plate and won’t ever do it again. The plate was extremely secure in the laptop compartment. Carrying the weight was a great workout, but to hell with that shoulder pressure. It was not fun; that much weight needs to be sitting on hips. Call me a sissy if you’d like. In response I got a Speed Rucker with hip belt. Can’t tell you how it would have done with the added hip belt; the pack felt super cheesy and cheap compared to my American made GR1. I returned it.

I think 30# is a good weight for the average male, but it needs to be totes in a proper weight bearing pack.


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[whomever]

Disclaimer: I'm a cut-the-toothbrush-in-half kind of backpacker, with the biases that entails.

If the objective is to carry weight for conditioning, my first thought is 'whatever is cheap'.

If the objective is to have a pack, carry weight for conditioning, and maybe on short trips as well, then maybe:

https://www.rei.com/product/148590/rei-co-op-flash-45-pack-womens

Note: I have never seen this in the flesh. The better half and I have carried the ancestors of this many happy miles. Ours are decent packs, reasonably cheap, and reasonably light. Unless they have effed it up badly since we bought ours, 47 liters/2 lbs 9.5oz/$79.49 sounds pretty sweet.

As with shoes, what works for one person might not work for someone else.

We could be be sweet talked into loaning a pack for a while; we have a stable of 'em. If your better half carries one for a few weeks, she will be better equipped to head to the store and try several on.

[vcdgrips]

When I was training for Philmont in 2014, i used milk/juice jugs and 2 liter soda bottles filed with water.
I put an old Walmart sleeping bag (3lbs) into the bottom of the pack I was going to be using (5lbs) and 3-4 gallons of water containers (24-32lbs) on top, cinched everything down and hiked 5 miles in 1:15 a few times a week plus some hill work (such as they are here) and a longer hike every weekish.

I had zero cost in the “weights” and could dump almost all my weight if I had to.
GJM gave me that trick re weight (and a few others as well.)

My go to rec from backpacks tends to be Osprey as they are guaranteed for life with no ya ya from the company.

[Bratch]

When I was training for Philmont in 2014, i used milk/juice jugs and 2 liter soda bottles filed with water.
I put an old Walmart sleeping bag (3lbs) into the bottom of the pack I was going to be using (5lbs) and 3-4 gallons of water containers (24-32lbs) on top, cinched everything down and hiked 5 miles in 1:15 a few times a week plus some hill work (such as they are here) and a longer hike every weekish.

I had zero cost in the “weights” and could dump almost all my weight if I had to.
GJM gave me that trick re weight (and a few others as well.)

My go to rec from backpacks tends to be Osprey as they are guaranteed for life with no ya ya from the company.

I did this while prepping for the Grand Canyon and the Tetons and it works. However the simplicity of the Rucker with a 20-30# plate that lives in it and can sit on the shelf and grab and go has been super nice. Prepping for a backpacking trip I’d want to weight my actual pack to get in miles. But for general fitness a dedicated Ruck is nice if funding allows it. We’ve also wore the Rucker to the zoo and around town with no second glances, a full pack may look a little more out of place.

[Crashpad]

I've used various backpacks with rubber mulch and gallon ziploc bags. I think you can still get the rubber mulch in 50lb bags at Home Depot or Lowes, but I've not checked recently. I got mine through a friend who bought a bunch of it for his kid's play area.

I like being able to adjust the weight based on the pack I'm using or the activity I'm doing. And it's far less of a hassle than sand. It also forms to the back better than plates and doesn't require a certain kind of pack.

[Default.mp3]

I've used bags of rice for weight in rucks; was useful because I could donate it at the end of Bataan, or I could still eat it. I don't really see much purpose in dedicated weight plates if you're just throwing it in a ruck. I'm not sure how much difference on weight distribution matters for exercise; when hiking, having the weight up high (around the shoulder blades as close in as possible) to keep a somewhat normal center of gravity is quite desirable, but I don't know how much that matters if you're just trying to toughen up; I could still see potential biomechanics issues that might make you more injury prone, but that's just a SWAG.

As for the ruck, I would just say be sure to that you're sizing it properly. A good frame can make carrying more weight much more comfortable; I've lugged over 100 lb in my Kifaru EMR II while camping (in my early days of learning the backcountry, where I carried way too shit), which was over to 2/3rd of my body weight, and I still regularly carry over 60 lb while being able to make over 10 miles and two to three thousand feet up in a day. Obviously not healthy for just exercising, but it also makes carrying the requisite >35 lb for something like Bataan fairly trivial. While GoRuck makes nice daypacks, I would never, ever want to actually go rucking in their bestsellers (the GRx series), given that they have no waistbelt. IMO, they're much closer to being a high dollar assault pack than a sustainment pack. Sure, you can probably put some substantial weight in those things, but your shoulders will suffer, while you fail to make use of your hips. For me, I am of the philosophy that all the weight should go into the hips, and the shoulder straps are just there to keep the ruck from tipping off your back. Now, they obviously do have packs that have waistbelts, but they're also centered specifically for competition, it seems, so my thought is, why not just get a regular backpacking ruck, so you can actually use it for hiking or whatever?

[Shoresy]

20 might be the ticket for my wife. I’m thinking of doing it your way with dedicated bags and just sticking with 45. I don’t do this stuff for a profession; fitness only. The mil-surp alice deal I borrowed has hip belt/sternum strap, and I’m with whomever it was Here that said hip belt above 40-ish. I did a little over 5k with +/-32 and just the shoulder straps at one point, and survived just fine, but I don’t have the shoulders to do much more than that. :)

Look into the Hellcat mod for the ALICE. I'll see if I can dig out a link. I have a couple of GoRuck packs and while they're well-built I take the Hellcat ALICE over them every time.

[Joe S]

At the beginning of The Great Quar, I upgraded from throwing a kettlebell in the pack to a bag of play sand from the local hardware store, wrapped in a couple heavy duty garbage bags to cut down on dust, with a little duct tape for strength. Allows you to make the load customizable/modular. I think it was 50 lbs. for $4 or so. I can adjust the height it rides at with some old blankets or clothes in the bottom if needed.

A gallon jug of water/milk is about 8.3 lbs. A regular red brick is usually about 4-6 lbs. each. If you use bricks, wrap the crap out of them with duct tape, and then wrap it in a blanket. They are very abrasive.

I use an old USMC ILBE pack, which is what I had on hand anyway. Available cheap online if you hunt. Not sure if it would fit the lady, depending on how big she is. I have a very narrow waist, but am long in the torso. Only comes in MARPAT camo, which may be a deal breaker for some (I use it in the middle of NYC without issue, other than twice earning shouts of encouragement from old Devil Dogs).

How comfortable people are under load is very subjective. I've done up to 45-50 lbs. without a waist belt in a First Spear Assault pack and an old Timbuk2 bag, but that's about my limit. My brother who is similar build, maybe a little less meaty in the neck and shoulders, finds about 25 to be his limit in similar packs.

I would highly recommend getting to try different packs for both of you, and maybe getting fitted by someone with backpacking or NCO experience. Many civilian packs will be more comfortable with a given load than military ones, but less bomb proof long term.

Most of the guys and gals I know with the GoRuck packs are pretty tough people, either athletic or former mil. They were popular when they first came out, made in America, tough, vet-owned. My understanding is that they've since moved production overseas, and it's not as good for the price. That's secondhand. If I was carrying a load that felt heavy for me, I'd want a real waist belt, not just a strap.

[Pepper]

Most, but not all of GORUCK's rucksacks are USA made. Items are clearly marked if made here.

[WobblyPossum]

I thought the GoRuck bags had removable waist belts. I was considering one primarily for rucking but if they don’t actually have the waist belts, that’s a huge negative for me.

ETA: it looks like GoRuck does sell a separate padded waist belt. It’s $60 on top of the cost of the pack.

[Wake27]

For the money, I’m finding it very hard to beat my new Kelty Redwing Tactical. I had an MR bag and it was really nice but they’re a ton of money and hard to find. Pretty sure Kelty has a 25% off code right now and they’re on active junky so you get money back. It’s a we’ll built pack with solid features. For weight, I prefer sandbags. I find they have more utility and may be cheaper. Plus, if shit is really bad, you can dump weight without losing money.


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[Cookie Monster]

Most, but not all of GORUCK's rucksacks are USA made. Items are clearly marked if made here.

I have been obsessively looking at them, just recently the Rucker and the new Speed Ruck are overseas production. It is not clearly marked as overseas. The USA made stuff is clearly marked USA made.

Same with Mystery Ranch. They were pretty stealth about moving a lot of wildland fire production overseas. I am unsure about the other stuff.

The Go Ruck Plates are a nice compact weight and the packs with pockets seem the way though I never used them. I made weights with taped bricks old style Go Ruck and bags of sand in contractor garage bags well taped. The trick has always been trying to get the weight high and close to the back. In backpacking terms you are using your sleeping bag and extra clothes and shelter to get the heavy stuff, typically food and water to where you need it.

Now I have been limiting the pack to 35lb and carry a shovel 5 lbs or when I am feeling saucy a Stihl 461 - 25 lbs to gain some more work. That would look really weird walking around a city.

I am intrigued by the rubber mulch. Rogue had bags of shredded rubber to fill workout sandbags with so there were more stable and easier to move around - kinda not the point.

[Duelist]

Watching with interest.

This thread inspired me to load up my hiking/hunting daypack with a bit of weight for my morning walk for the first time since ... January? Seems about right. I did a small mountain hike in April, but nothing regular, and even on distance days I’ve been doing them without any kind of pack or weight.

Went okay. Felt good.

[texasaggie2005]

In the last year I was introduced to Goruck by some workout buddies, and jumped in pretty deep; Star Courses, challenges, etc.

I have grown to prefer their 20L Rucker w/ waist belt & chest strap for anything ruck/workout. For events I use the 20# plate in the Velcro pocket. Adding another 30# during training for 50# combined. Often I'll add on a sandbag or a cinder block for a few miles to get that extra suckage.

Just a few notes I've learned about other Goruck gear from personal experience;

Bullet Rucks: great for lightweight EDC, but the thin straps suck when adding plates. Lighter weight nylon is not as wear & water resistant. Inability to add a waist belt makes it a no-go for workouts.

Speed Ruck: Purpose made for lightweight distance rucks like their Star Challenges. Wide shoulder straps are comfy and the belt is decent. Same lightweight nylon as Bullet, so less wear resistant and water resistant. Will not hold up to repeated workouts.

GR1: Creme de la creme for EDC and certain use. But sucks to carry plates in laptop pocket. You'll really need to get an aftermarket internal setup to comfortably secure a plate(s). Just get the Rucker if planning on workouts.

IMHO, the 20L Rucker is 95% a 21L GR1. With the only difference being a trade for the internal plate pocket and loss of laptop pocket.

[Shoresy]

Look into the Hellcat mod for the ALICE. I'll see if I can dig out a link. I have a couple of GoRuck packs and while they're well-built I take the Hellcat ALICE over them every time.

Here's the gist/synopsis: https://libertytreeblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/building-hellcat-hybrid-ruck-from-us.html

And a video (about 20 minutes) with a pretty good how-to of actually attaching components if you choose to jump in with both feet:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBnkQ9FNa8g

FWIW I use the "taped bricks" method Joe S described (that used to be the standard for GoRuck events). Just from my own experience a couple layers of duct tape has been sufficient to prevent significant wear to the GR1 and ALICE interiors. It also has the advantage (I think has been mentioned) that if a minor injury forces me to ditch weight to limp back, it's easy to replace.

[TQP]

I have used ALICEs and 2L bottles full of water in the past, the nice thing about the bottles is that you can instantly ditch weight if you need to, anywhere, without littering and you can replace it for free. I used the same bottles for 2 summers, without them failing.

My current setup is a cheap LAPG (https://lapolicegear.com/lapg-bg-lnt-pack.html) internal frame pack, with plates and dumbbells from the thrift store. I have about $10 invested in approximately 50 lbs of random small weights.

[Wake27]

I have used ALICEs and 2L bottles full of water in the past, the nice thing about the bottles is that you can instantly ditch weight if you need to, anywhere, without littering and you can replace it for free. I used the same bottles for 2 summers, without them failing.

My current setup is a cheap LAPG (https://lapolicegear.com/lapg-bg-lnt-pack.html) internal frame pack, with plates and dumbbells from the thrift store. I have about $10 invested in approximately 50 lbs of random small weights.

I’ve also done that. It’s almost never bad to have extra water when hiking/rucking.


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