The best backpack, the Goruck GR1

I’ve wanted a Goruck GR1 for a long, long time. The first mention of it on this very blog was all the way back in 2016, although at that time I had probably known about it for a year or two prior to that. It’s been a while.

But every time I was in the market for a new backpack — which, perhaps surprisingly, turned out to be a couple of times over the past 10 years or so — and my gaze once again fell on the GR1 as a potential candidate, I told myself that I didn’t need such an extreme durability backpack, given my generally less-extreme nature. Or that it was too expensive for what it was, or that the USD exchange rate was too awful right now. Or that it was crazy to spend that much on a backpack without having seen or touched it in person, despite being universally praised wherever and whenever I read about it online. All valid enough points, but for the longest time, it was easy to look past a Goruck GR1 for cheaper and more locally-available alternatives, even if they had other compromises and weren’t as durable. Even if I had to buy multiple backpacks after successively running each previous one into the ground, the chances were good that I’d still come out ahead than if I had picked up a GR1.

And as the years came and went, I still found myself glancing at the GR1 occasionally, like an old crush that I never quite got over. As much as Instagram tried to tempt me with “ultimate travel backpacks” or whatever other flavour of the month was being marketed by influencers, the GR1 lived entirely rent-free in my head. I might not have ever owned one, but I had never forgotten it, either.

And then I saw it. The first-ever Goruck GR1 I’ve seen in the flesh. It was in Tokyo, between the flagship 12-storey Uniqlo and heading back home for the night, a lovely Steel-coloured version that had a nice “this is fine” patch. In that moment, I decided that I needed to have one, and after many years spent coveting the most durable backpack, I purchased my first Goruck in November 2023: a GR1 in Wolf Grey and Black.

Only after waiting months for the darn thing to be in stock in a colour other than black. I don’t generally mind black backpacks. But if I was going to carry the backpack around for at least the next few decades, then I wanted something a little lighter in colour. I was tempted by the GR2 in a lighter colour while waiting for the GR1 to be restocked in a lighter colour, but stayed strong and made myself wait.

And wait I did while it was shipped from the USA. And while I waited for it to be shipped, doubt started to creep in. What if I had waited all this time, only for the backpack to be entirely mediocre? Or, worse, for it to not meet the exceptionally high standards I had placed upon it after so long? Would I have been better buying something locally for a third of the price that would last a few years? Or was the GR1 really going to the be-all, endgame backpack that I had wanted for years?

I was wrong to doubt. The GR1 is the best backpack I’ve owned, no doubt in my mind. I’m a year into GR1 ownership, have already taken it overseas, and customised it with my own Australian flag patch¹. and it has been the ideal backpack in pretty much every situation. It’s not perfect, but it’s damn close.

My favourite thing about the GR1 is that it carries weight better than any other backpack I’ve had, which makes it super comfortable whether I’m carrying just the basics, or hauling my laptop and work gear to and from work, or a full load of groceries. No matter how full the backpack is, there’s very little difference between how it feels on your back compared to when it’s close to empty. This can be a good or a bad thing, but it’s absolutely appreciated when you’re carrying lots. The straps probably contribute a lot to this. The straps were very stiff and uncomfortable the first few weeks, but over time they’ve become less so, and are now broken-in enough that they’re flexible, but also still thick and padded where I need them to be.

And look, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that it’s not perfect. The pockets are fine, serviceable, but there are times where I wish they were better. Having a single externally-accessible pocket (besides the laptop compartment) is a bit of a shame, but the biggest problem with the external pocket is that it’s harder to use than it could be. It’s too deep, so you have to reach all the way in to get anything that has fallen to the bottom, and if your bag is full, it’s hard to squeeze your hand in because the 1000D Cordura, while extremely durable, has absolutely zero play and will also be under tension if your bag is full. Strangely and in contrast, the internal pockets are fine, which I’m choosing to attribute to how the entirety of the bag opens up to lay flat, so it’s a less arduous process to use them even if your bag is full, provided you’re in a position to open the bag all the way up. Other Gorucks have a quick-access to pocket, and I dearly wish the GR1 did, too.

The internal and external MOLLE is great, but how great it is depends on you finding the right accessories that attach to it and work for you. It’s not hard to find a little pocket on AliExpress that you can pick up for a few dollars that attaches to the molle and adds an extra internal pocket or two, but if you don’t, that molle is kind of wasted. So far I’ve picked up a carabiner and attached it to the outside molle in the hopes that one day I’ll be able to clip something to it when I can no longer fit anything inside. It’ll happen eventually, I’m sure, it just hasn’t happened yet. I also have a little pouch I’ve attached to the top that takes up about a third of the space across and goes down to where the internal back slot starts. It holds smaller accessories that don’t go in the top pocket, and I’m considering another if I can find the right shape and size.

I like knowing that the bag will be durable enough to handle whatever knocks and rough surfaces I give to it or put it on. I might not be putting it through as much abuse as someone in military special forces, but I like knowing that it’ll handle the rough-and-tumble of being a daily driver to and from work, carrying my lunch, laptop, and a few other daily necessities with aplomb. More than aplomb, if such an expression existed.

But all that durability comes at a cost unrelated to its monetary value, and one of the other negatives of the GR1 is weight. A GR1 isn’t something you can carry empty and forget it’s there, because even when mostly empty it will still feel like you’re carrying something on you back. Whether this is a worthwhile tradeoff will depend on your own personal preference, but I know I’m looking at getting another backpack that I intend to wear empty most of the time. It’ll be for those times that I’m not sure I want a backpack in the first place, but don’t want to haul the GR1 around empty. I know this sounds crazy; given how much the GR1 costs, you might be forgiven for thinking that it would be your best-all and end-all backpack, but my thinking is that they’ll complement each other. When travelling I’ve typically used one of those drawstring bags as my daypack, but these aren’t perfect either. While they’re lightweight and capable of carrying a few daily essentials when travelling overseas, they’re a bit awkward when empty, and far from comfortable when full. The only reason I’ve persisted with them for travelling is that they’re totally flat when empty, meaning I can just chuck them as another layer in my luggage and not worry about it.

If you’ve any of Project Farm’s videos on YouTube, you’ll have heard the phrase “buy once, cry once”. It refers to paying a premium for a premium product, and having it be useful and last you a long time. I don’t think this applies to every category of product, and is entirely inapplicable to technology in general, but it’s generally pretty good advice. You should absolutely still do your own research and take a look to see if there better alternatives to whatever you’ve set your hear on, but sometimes, it’s let your wallet take the hit so you don’t end up spending years tolerating mediocre alternatives when you could have just had the real thing.

Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten over any long-term crush. At least with the GR1, now I don’t have to.