Gear, How To, Reviews

Packing my GORUCK GR2 for an 9 day Trip

2 min read

I finally got my first GR2, a 40L Coyote Brown beauty. To break her in, I’m loading her up for a 9-day trip. I’m posting here to show you how I packed it out and to demonstrate how much stuff this puppy can hold.

Situation

The family is heading off on a 7-night cruise to the Caribbean. As I am packing, it is snowing 3-5 inches in my yard. We’re departing from Cape Canaveral where the temps are in the 50’s. For the cruise, I will need to wear a suit at least 2 nights. I will need “nice” clothes for the other evenings. I’ll need shorts and t’s for daytime, and I’d like to hit the onboard gym a few times, so I’ll need to account for that. For me, that looks like this:

As one person noted, that picture makes the GR2 look like a Rucker.

For the trip, I loaded up with:

  • 3 Polos
  • 4 “nice” shirts
  • 2 dress shirts
  • 1 suit
  • 9 t-shirts
  • 8 pairs of shorts
  • 2 ties
  • A bunch of socks and underwear
  • Electric shaver, deodorant, contact solution, and glasses
  • Travel docs
  • Hat and cool patches

Front Section

The GR2 has 2 main sections. The front section has 4 zippered pockets to hold stuff.

I began by placing my ties, flat, in pocket 1.

Next, I placed all my polos, rolled up, in pocket 2.

Pocket 3 was for my underwear.

Pocket 4 was for all my bathroom gear.

Once all that was in, I laid my nice shirt in between and zipped it up.

Back Section

In pocket 1 I stuffed all my socks.

Pocket 2 held all my shirts rolled up.

In the main compartment of this section, I laid my suit, dress shirts, and rolled up shorts.

Laptop Compartment

Here, I placed all my travel docs (when fully loaded, it is much easier to get in and out of that as opposed to front pocket).

Did it fit?

Well, almost. Everything fit except my shoes. I was wearing one pair, but the other two were relegated to my daughter’s suitcase.

Click to get your own sweet GR2 to load out.

The Best Part

What is great about this setup is that when we got on the boat, I took out the suit and dress shirt to hang up. Everything else stayed exactly where it was. And this is where the GR2 shines. Whenever I needed something, I just pulled the ruck out of the closet, laid it on the bed, flipped it open flat, and grabbed what I needed. No digging through a suitcase trying to find what I needed. Everything was in place, nice and orderly.

So, there’s my loadout for a trip that required too many clothes. I’m sure I could have done a better job of planning and maybe even gotten a pair of shoes in there. But, overall, I loved my first outing with my GR2.

Click to grab your own GR2.

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7 Replies to Packing my GORUCK GR2 for an 9 day Trip

  2. Nice! I’ve been eyeing the 34L GR2. It’s the shoes that always mess everything up! I end up “needing” at least 4 pairs for most weeklong trips, which means packing 3. I’m trying to get better at taking things that can be worn more than once and doing laundry while we are gone.

  3. I have the 34L. I’m itching for a trip to see how much I can fit. Of the people I’ve talked to, 5 days seems to be the max. I’d be curious of anyone’s experience with the 34L GR2. Also, considering bringing my 60lb sandbag and using it for my shoes and other items that I don’t want packed with clean clothes.

    1. I often travel to Mexico for more than 2 weeks with a 34L. Granted, most of what I’m packing are light weight shorts and shirts but I can fit a lot. I usually wear the “biggest” shoes I need for the trip, and pack the smaller shoes which are usually the more formal ones, and sandals. It’s amazing how much that bag can fit once you get a few trips under your belt. I have the Goruck duffel and smallest kit bag that I’ve experimented with in addition to GR2 when I’ve needed to take “extra” stuff, aka wifey overflow.

  5. Man! I used your guideline for my packing today. How did you get 9 polos in that compartment? Most I got in there rolled up was 5 size L t-shirts. One of the big zip mesh pockets are holding my socks. The compartment you put your socks in can only hold a rolled up merino T and some light running shorts for me. All of the pockets are filled to capacity it seems (exploding)and I still have room in the main with a couple pair of Carhartt shirts rolled up, laptop and a pair of shoes. Bookmarked this page to keep your packing diagram for future use.

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