Goruck Shoulder Bag?
 

Hi, has anyone tried the new Goruck shoulder bag? I am looking at making a switch and getting a new bag but wanted a more detailed review of this before I purchased it.

Thanks.

You must be traveling to some pretty tough places if you need a bombproof bag!

1.5 years of development and after 25+ prototypes, this is what Goruck came up with?!

comments on their 15L bag:

pros:

• molle-system side panels
• strap hardware looks robust

cons:

• weird dimensions - 18" long but only 9.5" high...ideally, it should be 10"-11" in height
• no exterior auxiliary pocket - useful to slip in travel tickets, newspaper/magazine/book, or tablet
• no 'luggage' sleeve to allow it slip over the handles on wheeled luggage
• front-facing pockets are unsecured (no zippers), lets in rain/snow, and are fixed in width (sewn in)
• shoulder strap is not padded

i can understand that they may not want their bag to look like what's already out there, but a lot of the features that the 15L bag lacks are basic and useful. it looks like something that could have been designed in <3 months of development. what were they doing for the other 12 months?

moreover, they chose to put front and rear zipper pockets on their 20L bag but purposely left them out of the 15L bag. why? at 18" long and 5.5 inches wide, the bag certainly could have accommodated that w/o any issues.

The goruck market isn't for the average traveler. Their main bag is designed to carry 35# of bricks, soaking wet, for 25 miles at a time. If you want a bag that will last forever it's for you.

the construction of the bag is undoubtedly good...it's the design of the bag that has shortcomings.

an aside: the goruck challenges are usually done with their rucksacks...running with 35lbs of bricks in a shoulder bag with an unpadded strap and unpadded handles is another matter entirely. sure, you might be able to do it...but it's going to pretty *uncomfortable*.

being that Goruck is marketing this bag towards those interested in a work or travel use, the lack of the forementioned features in the 15L, make it a poor choice. the 20L is only 1" longer and has the front & back pockets which the 15L lacks. why they choose to do this makes little sense from an utilitarian POV. it smacks more of a marketing decision than anything else, IMO.

there are other purveyors of tough-made shoulder bags - red oxx, maxpedition, etc that i would consider before the Goruck. Goruck has a loyal following and they'll probably buy the bags in droves, but judging the bag objectively on its design & features, i think it could be improved quite a bit.

Thanks for all the comments. I will check out some of the other suggestions.