GORUCK GR0 – Our Review

You ever used the Rogue Echo Bike?

If you have, you know that it’s a heck of a piece of training equipment…and that it is hell to ride.

While the Echo Bike has been around for a bit, in recent times, Rogue has released a few other “Echo” products, most notably it’s Echo Rower and Echo Weight Vest.

When it comes to all things “Echo”…well…I’ll leave it to Kip to assess how hard Rogue is going with these products:

So where am I going with this? Well, today’s topic of discussion is the GORUCK GR0…a bag formerly known as the GORUCK Echo GR0.

What are the chances that two fitness items would have the same moniker? Did Rogue really want to put their stamp on all things “Echo” and buy GORUCK out of the name?

The world may never know…

As it is, the GR0 is one of GORUCK’s more compact bags, offering a solution for smaller-statured ruckers who don’t feel quite right with larger, bulkier bags.

At 5’8″ the bag feels a little small to me and despite its sleek look and compact, efficient design, I can’t get over it’s “big bag” price tag.

With that being said, if you’re looking for a solid EDC option and you’re at or under ~5’6″, the GR0 might be the answer to all of your prayers…

…but don’t dare classify it as an “Echo” product…unless you want a cease and desist letter from Rogue…

Sizing (unscored)

I want to provide a few special pictures of the GR0 to give an idea of sizing. For reference, I’m ~5’8″ and Mel is ~5’2″:

Rucking

As I briefly alluded to above, the GR0 is designed with a smaller person (or at least with a smaller torso) in mind. As a shorter guy (5’8″) I can attest (and I think many other shorter people can attest) to how awkward it can feel to ruck with a big bag.

Of course, I don’t know this from personal experience (because I wasn’t that kid), but I can only imagine that rucking with a big bag feels like how that kid from elementary and/or middle school who had the giant backpack and took home every book felt like.

With the GR0, you never have to worry about being this kid…and that’s a good thing.

In contrast, I can’t help but feel like even at my shorter stature, the GR0 is a little too small for rucking, at least for me. Right off the bat, I find that the bag and ruck plate sit a little too high for my liking up on my back. I know many (most?) people might actually prefer this arrangement, but I actually prefer it a little lower.

I obviously have the option to loosen the bag a bit, but this takes it away from my body. This makes for an awkward rucking experience and keeps the plate bouncing against my body with every step.

(NOTE: My wife is 5’2″ and thinks the ruck fits her just fine (granted, she prefers to wear bags higher up on her back)).

Sizing issues aside, I do appreciate how compact the GR0 is and how “attached” it feels to me when I’m moving. Unlike bigger, bulkier bags, there is very little sway or movement (assuming it’s appropriately tightened) from the bag itself.

To add to this, in my experience, a lot of bags are pretty good about remaining stable…up to a certain amount of weight and when using certain types of plates. When I load my 20-pound GORUCK ruck plate (which fits the internal Cordura pocket perfectly) in and start walking, everything feels fine.

When I load an additional 10-pound sand plate outside of the pocket (just in the general “storage” area of the bag), everything still feels pretty good. Not ideal (the plate isn’t in the pocket, after all), but due to the bag’s compactness, no problems.

When I load an additional 20-pound ruck plate (this time, one of my Yes4All plates), I start to feel a little bit of jostling (not to mention that this is probably on the higher end of weight for use in a smaller bag), but when placed sideways, the bag is still pretty comfortable.

Truth be told, I’m not often going above 40 pounds on my thrice-weekly ruck outings, but it’s nice to know that the bag can handle 50 pounds (with 3 different-sized plates, at that) so well.

Another thing to note is that the sternum strap is probably going to be unnecessary for most people and could likely even be a detriment. If you’re wearing it right, the bag is going to be tight enough against your back, making the strap mostly superfluous. I have found that when I fasten mine up anyways that it is too tight against my chest. The consequences of this range from being slightly uncomfortable to feeling like my breathing is being impacted.

To finish up, I have to credit the GR0 for how comfortable its straps are. The heavily padded straps are common in almost all GORUCK bags and, while this may not be something you notice on shorter outings, when the miles start racking up, I know my shoulders really appreciate the extra padding.

(After wearing a GORUCK bag, it becomes that much more apparent when straps aren’t as padded!)

Overall, the GR0 wouldn’t be my first (or probably even third choice) for a “traditional” rucking bag. However, it is definitely a capable bag for rucking, especially for smaller-statured ruckers and it could definitely serve as a primary (or only) bag if desired.

Rucking: 85

“Dynamic” Rucking

One of the major benefits to choosing (most) GORUCK bags over others is the ability to perform a number of different variations of traditional exercises with them.

Essentially, the bag itself becomes your combination barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, and sandbag.

While exercises like ruck presses and ruck thrusters are the some of the most common of these, ruck swings are probably the most common (and iconic) of the “dynamic” rucking exercises. Besides the fact that rucks are generally wider than most kettlebells (what you would normally swing with), the top handle is a good alternative, making this a very effective exercise.

The interesting thing is that while the smaller size of the GR0 requires me to assume less of a “sumo” stance for swings, the handle itself isn’t overly cramped…at least not nearly as much as you would think it would be on a bag of its size.

With this in mind, it is definitely a candidate bag to use for both one-handed and two-handed ruck swings.

To revisit the previously mentioned exercises, the GR0 is a bit small to properly hold for presses and thrusters and I end up having to position my hands closer than I would like (which is also objectively too close) for these exercises.

So…the GR0 ain’t great as a dynamic rucking implement…but how does it work as a bodyweight movement supplement?

Wearing the GR0 for pull-ups, burpees, push-up, and running ain’t bad. It is much more suitable for these activities than it is for any of the aforementioned “rucking” exercises.

The smaller size and overall bulk of the bag is very compact, ensuring that the effort needed to balance and stabilize the weight is minimized. Also, due to the bag’s low total weight (a little over 2 pounds) I pretty much only have to focus on the properly executing each movement and the weight I have packed.

All of this being said, an elephant in the corner is the internal Cordura pocket. This pocket is by no means “bad” (as we’ll discuss in further detail in the Materials section), but it isn’t nearly as robust as the heavily padded and secured pockets found in GORUCK’s “rucker” series of bags. This normally isn’t a big problem, but if you’re used to something like the Rucker 4.0, you’ll definitely notice more plate jostling and movement when using it for these purposes.

All this is to say that the GR0 ain’t the best dynamic rucking bag.

To be fair, it isn’t really marketed this way, but I think most people who pick up a GORUCK bag kinda expect to be able to do this type of stuff with their ruck. If this is you and being able to throw your bag around is important to you, a smaller Rucker is probably the way to go.

Dynamic Rucking: 75

Load Capacity

When you select a more expensive bag with a smaller load capacity, you pretty much know what you’re getting into and likely have a pretty good reason for doing so. Regardless, we have to look at the GR0’s load capacity relative to other bags here.

At 16 liters, it definitely isn’t the smallest bag we’ve come across; there are a significant number of bags that sport a less-than-10-liter capacity, but nobody would ever claim that the GR0 is a big bag.

Thankfully, the interior space is pretty wide open, ensuring that you’re able to put almost all of those 16 liters to actual use.

Load Capacity: 70

Everyday Carry

To piggyback off of the previous section’s main points, I think it is important to discuss the (obvious) elephant in the corner with the GR0 right off the bat.

At 16 liters, your “everyday” load can’t be too big. If it is, you’ll need a different bag.

If you recognize this and are still interested, we can proceed!

For most people, one of the most important aspects of an EDC bag is laptop protection. Thankfully, unlike a lot of similar bags (even to include some GORUCK bags) the GR0 has a legit laptop pocket that is both protective and, for lack of a better term, out of the way.

I like this because the tight space, augmented by the frame sheet, provides sufficient padding, my laptop isn’t “mingling” with the rest of my stuff (this is especially clutch when I’m traveling…who wants their laptop mixing with their shirts or underwear?), and it doesn’t take up extra space (to include the Cordura pocket space) in the general storage area.

Opening the bag’s main area, I can appreciate that it opens flat and there aren’t a ton of superfluous compartments cutting in to the total storage space. The Cordura pocket is good for sticking a heavier book in, although I honestly don’t use the mesh storage area all that much (I think I stuck some toothpaste and deodorant in there once when I was traveling overnight).

As much as I appreciate the mainly “open floorplan”, it does kinda force you to organize your stuff better on your own. For me, this is oftentimes a problem as I default to just tossing a bunch of stuff into my bags and hoping for the best. One of the advantages of the compartmentalized bags is at least they, by default, organize your stuff.

The front zippered exterior pocket is another nice touch and, in theory, would be a good place to stash a wallet or phone…but you really gotta trust your surroundings/environment if you go down this path. I live in, like, a “negative crime” area (it’s nice!), but if you live somewhere where someone might be tempted to quickly (and the zippers do unzip fast) unzip your bag and grab your stuff…I’d just opt for put a small water bottle or something else of limited value here.

A final advantage of the GR0 (which is more or less by default) is that with a 16-liter capacity, you can’t really load too much stuff and, by extension, go too heavy. As such, I rarely ever really feel weighed down in this bag when I’m using it for non-rucking purposes (which is, admittedly, pretty…not often).

If you know what you’re getting into with selecting a smaller bag for EDC, the GR0 is actually a pretty good option for the task. Between the legit laptop pocket and wide-open internal storage area, it should be able to accommodate most people’s “typical day” gear pretty well.

Everyday Carry: 90

Materials

One thing that you can’t really fault GORUCK for is its use of higher-quality materials in its bags (and, for the most part, in most of its gear).

The GR0 is no exception.

Like just about every GORUCK bag (and many of the heavy hitters in the industry today) is mainly comprised of 1000D Cordura along with some less abrasive 210D Cordura on the shoulder straps and back panel (if you ever ruck without a shirt and/or with exposed skin, your body will really appreciate this less irritating material).

Also like many of the higher-end bags in the industry, the (multiple) zippers are the YKK variety. While this may seem like a less relevant inclusion than the actual material itself, if you’ve ever had a zipper bust on you (which, in turn, probably ruined your bag, jacket, or whatever), you’ll appreciate how much more robust these are.

Inside, there is a combination of mesh pockets and Cordura pockets. While the mesh pockets aren’t really anything special, the Cordura offerings are a bit tougher (not to mention a bit better looking) than the interior pockets on other bags.

One last thing to mention is the material comprising the laptop pocket/”protection” area. The fact that this space is “more dedicated” for the task of protecting a laptop more so than many others (where the laptop is expected to be placed in the less-than-protected “plate pocket” area) already makes it a winner.

Materials: 95

Price

Truth be told, the GR0 is not an inexpensive bag.

GORUCK bags are already somewhat notorious for being on the pricier side, but when comparing the GR0 to other GORUCK options on a “pound for pound” (in this case “liter for liter capacity”) scale, it takes the cake: the most expensive bag relative to its size.

Granted, different GR0 variations (ex. Ripstop Robic, “USA”) are on sale from time to time, but at its base price of $285, it’s going to run you more than any of the comparably-sized Bullet options and even begins to approach many of the smaller (but still a full 5-liters larger) GR1 options.

If you look hard enough, you can find some niche bags of similar size and with similar features that run higher than the GR0, but you have to go pretty far out of your way.

I normally stick to exclusively mentioning “price” in an absolute sense in these reviews, but I feel pretty comfortable stating that the relative “value” really isn’t there with this one, either.

Price: 55

Customer Reviews

Like just about all of GORUCK’s items, the GR0 currently rocks an impressively high cumulative review score. At 4.7 out of 5, it certainly appears as though the vast majority of customers are more than happy with their bags.

With that being said, like just about all of GORUCK’s products, there aren’t many other places where you can readily find a large number of reviews of the GR0 (hell, even Rogue doesn’t sell it!) so you’re pretty much at the mercy of GORUCK’s (pretty accurate and consistent) main page reviews.

A few things to note here are that the sample size for the GR0 reviews is a bit smaller than the literal thousands that you can find on products such as the MACV-1 boots or GR1 ruck. Presently, there are only a little over 100 GR0 reviews.

Something else to note is that although there are very few negative reviews, the ones that do exist are more specific and detailed than the “Bag never dont show upto my hose! GOURCK sux!” kinds of negative reviews for other products. For example, Andrei has a few things to say about how the GR0 compares to his GR1 Huckberry.

To be fair, the Huckberry collection of bags is known to be a higher-quality series of GORUCK bags so it is difficult to hold them to the same standard. As it is, though, I apprecaite Andrei’s comments.

Customer Reviews Score: 94

Customer Service

I know it’s common for people to have really good experiences with a person, place, or company and to then experience a gradual decline in their perception of the entity.

It’s not as common for this scenario to play out in reverse, but this is pretty much exactly how my experience with GORUCK has played out.

To be fair, my initial experiences dealing with GORUCK weren’t “bad”; they were just slightly annoying/more tedious than they needed to be over rather insignificant matters. Each subsequent encounter has grown better and better with the most recent one culminating in official GORUCK personnel posing this question to me on first greeting:

Well played, GORUCK…well played…

Besides this, I always like to note how smooth my experiences have been with getting refunds from the company (no defective items; just wrong sizes ordered on my part) as well as the ever-present GORUCK Scars Lifetime Guarantee covering all of the company’s products.

I have yet to have to “call-in” a Scars replacement and/or item repair (yet!) but have heard very positive things from multiple people regarding their experiences with the process. Say what you will about third-party accounts or “reviews”…but remember you are reading this article as we “speak”…

Overall, I rather enjoy my dealings with GORUCK…especially if they’re handing out beers!

Customer Service: 95

Who is the GORUCK GR0 really for?

I wouldn’t go so far as to call the GR0 a “polarizing ruck”, but there are definite people who the bag is for and those who…should probably pass.

Smaller-statured ruckers

Straight up, if you’re under ~5’6″ and often find rucks to feel too long against your back or if you’re an overall smaller person and feel like most rucks actually feel like they’re “swallowing” you up, the GR0 is likely the answer.

With a total height of only 16 inches and width of slightly less than a foot, it is one of the most appropriately sized rucks (that isn’t, ya know, overly tiny or that’s a kid’s bag) for smaller people.

People who do not want to be the “giant backpack kid”

We discussed the “giant backpack kid” (you know the kid) earlier and I think it’s safe to assume that most people do not want to be him (sorry guys, but it was always a boy). Between the GR0’s size and overall load capacity, you can breathe easy knowing that it is more or less impossible to be that kid…but better not to take that chance!

Not for larger ruckers

In contrast to how well the GR0 fits smaller-statured ruckers, larger people (those over ~6’1) might find that it it simply too small and feels a bit odd (or like a child’s backpack…although not like the “giant backpack kid’s” bag). For some, this may not be all that big of a deal, but other may find a bag that covers such a small part of their backs to feel a bit odd.

How we reviewed the GORUCK GR0

I will admit that I had to go a bit out of my way to work the GR0 into my general “ruck regimen”. When I hit the pavement, I usually opt for my GR1 or, in some cases, my Rucker – Long Range and if I have a training session that involves my ruck, I almost always go for my Rucker 4.0.

As it is, I found that I was able to use the same or similar loads in my GR0 that I usually use when rucking in my GR0 (I normally go heavier in my Long Range) so it wasn’t a huge deal to switch out these out for the weeks when I was putting the bag to the test.

Also, my dynamic rucking sessions with the GR0 did not involve overly complex movements, and it wasn’t that difficult switching out my (correction: my wife’s) Rucker 4.0 for a few workouts.

GORUCK GR0 Alternatives

For these alternatives, we’re assuming that you’re specifically looking for a smaller ruck (under 20 liters) so all of these bags match this profile. If you like the GR0, but there are only one or two things stopping your from pulling the trigger, one of these three will probably do the trick:

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s cover a few last-minute questions you might have about the GR0.

The GORUCK GR0…for a certain kind of someone

The GORUCK GR0 is an interesting bag in some ways…and a rather bland bag in others.

Personally, I don’t think there is really anything interesting that sets it apart (other than its smaller size) and at its price point, I would expect some type of additional functionality (or at least novelty) to justify the price.

I understand that if you’re a shorter person, you don’t have the optionality that many others do regarding bag selection and smaller bags like the GR0, Bullet, and Rucker 4.0 (15-liter variety) are your best bets if you want to stick with GORUCK, but in my opinion, either of those other two is going to provide better value than the GR0 will.

All that being said, I don’t dislike the GR0…but it wouldn’t be a bag I actively sought out, especially when there are better bags that cost (in some cases, a lot) less.

Thank goodness for Facebook Marketplace!

As we finish things up, I encourage you to check out our definitive guide to GORUCK backpacks, bags, and vests. If the GR0 turns out not to be the bag for you, maybe one of the other 9 in our review will work out for you!

On a final sidenote, if you’re interested in GORUCK footwear offerings, check out our definitive guides on the GORUCK boots and GORUCK shoe lines!