47 Comments
User's avatar
Lindsay A's avatar

I keep reminding myself gear not stuff. Because I have perfectly acceptable travel backpacks and day packs. But it just looks so cool.

Expand full comment
Matt's avatar

This is awesome! Fingers crossed on the raffle. It would make quite the setup. My travel is not nearly as far, but I’ll need plenty of gear to welcome a new baby. Hospital packing + diaper bag packing is no joke!

Expand full comment
Isadora's avatar

I keep thinking about buying a Bullet. I have travel backpacks, but none of them quite perform the way I'd like - there's always *something* wrong or off.

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Feel free to shoot me a DM. I'm happy to make some recommendations based on your needs.

Expand full comment
Richard Kolkovich's avatar

I've often wondered why a hi-viz interior wasn't an option on GoRuck's standard black packs...maybe because staring into the black hole that is a GoRuck pack is a designed to be a metaphor?

I *do* like the 500D on the Bullets we got at Don't Die (OG!) for the smaller bag - I wish my work laptop fit in the laptop compartment, though (16" Macbook Pro). The 1000D on my GR2 40L and GR1 21L is just so damn beefy, and I love the weight (2%ers DGAF).

That said, I'm more than a little tempted to upgrade my existing GR collection now... :D

Expand full comment
Aris G.'s avatar

If I get one more pack of any kind the missus will insist I pack my crap and move out 😂.

Expand full comment
Richard Kolkovich's avatar

I feel you on that one... I'm contemplating going from 3 packs to 2 to "upgrade" my GR2. Hi-Viz and that quick access pocket 😋

PS - if you *do* get kicked out, you're always welcome here in Grand Junction. :D

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Also, if you *do* get kicked out, at least you'll have a bag to pack your necessities. Lol.

Expand full comment
Aris G.'s avatar

At this point I’ve got bags for my baggage!

Expand full comment
Adam Russell's avatar

Fingers crossed that the raffle is open to Canadians! These look fantastic. Great job Michael.

Expand full comment
Lissette's avatar

I’m a member and a total fan of your books and the Substack…it is literally my first paid subscription ever and I look forward to all the posts. Really. Every mwf morning I am waiting for the post to show up. My one complaint is that I feel over advertised to … really every. Single. Post. Same sponsors. I get it. But this post is a big infomercial, which was super disappointing. I have a tortuga bag that I love and a ruck sack that I love and I really hated that momentary feeling that maybe I should “upgrade”. Then I thought no, what I have works for me just fine. It was also the first time I thought…I am going to discontinue at the end of the year. Have you considered a paid subscription that protects members from advertising? I would seriously consider it. I hate that feeling of maybe I should try this or that product…three times per week, over and over reminding myself that no, I sleep and breathe just fine and what really matters is that I move this body safely and consistently.

Expand full comment
Eric's avatar

He has been hinting at the release of this backpack for a while and I’m really looking forward to it. I will research it further probably purchase it down the line, however, I agree with you in many ways. It would be really great if members received a podcast without the sponsors. Aren’t wesponsors too?

Expand full comment
David Madden's avatar

Yes. I’ve asked the same thing over and over. I understand the desire to make and sell stuff. But it’s a constant barrage. And to rail against that in two books and then say that there’s a distinction between Gear and stuff, so that now it’s WAY different and now YOU NEED THIS…come on now.

It’s just catering to the folks who think somehow they need (and can possibly afford) a $400 backpack, etc. Not sure the term for all this. 2%now seems more like an infomercial for the richest 2% of fad fitness wannabes. Just another poorly disguised platform to sell more shit to folks like me/us who most definitely do not need it. Maybe the new edition of Comfort Crisis will have this as a new chapter. Disappointing.

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Hi! I quickly figured I'd weigh in here with some information and context about partners and this post:

1. Re: Partners. Having both paid subscribers and partners allows for two things: First, it allows me to be much more choosey with partners. I can say no to partners, which is something totally free publications and podcasts often can't do (and I do decline about 90 percent of partnership inquiries). My rule for partners is that I must actually use and believe in the product (i.e., items I'd use even if they weren't a partner). Second, running a publication is expensive. We're able to do and cover more with partners. For example, partners allowed me to stop working at the university, which gave me more time to dedicate to Substack. Creating and consuming media always costs something. For awhile, media brought on crappy advertisers and gave everything away for free—and look what's happened to local news, magazines, etc. We're now in a correction period, and you're seeing more media outlets offer paid subscriptions and working with partners/advertisers (NY Times, WSJ, WaPo, Major Magazine publishers, etc, etc, etc).

2. I'm sorry to hear you thought this post felt like an infomercial. I'd mentioned in past posts that I was working on a collaboration with GORUCK and Huckberry and the volume of inquiries I received about the collab was exceedingly high (five to ten inquiries a week about the collaboration since I first mentioned it a year ago). That suggested to me broad appeal across the Two Percent readership. I.e., You may not like this post, but many more people expressed interest in this post. My hope is that I'm not shouting at you to buy this bag, but rather explaining to you how I think about travel gear and its features so you can adapt your own gear and make decisions on future travel gear, be it this bag system or another (I could have spelled that out more clearly, in retrospect).

3. Substack currently does not offer a way for Members to not see partner spots. The problem, too, is that many Members do seem to appreciate and use the discounts (I see the data, and I think it's likely because I am choosey with partnerships). A related example: I considered killing Gear Not Stuff about a year ago. But I sent out a poll—and it turns out that Gear Not Stuff is one of the most popular columns on Two Percent. Not every post will resonate with every reader—an inevitability when you write for a large audience. My hope is that although you didn't like this post, you like most other posts. And if you don't, that's why Substack makes cancelling your paid subscription easy.

I hope that provides context and all seems fair enough.

Expand full comment
Dom Sutton's avatar

That desert scenery looks very familiar. One request for any possible future iteration would be tuckable shoulder straps. I have a Cotopaxi I use to travel and it is nice to tuck the shoulder straps away so they don’t get caught on stuff especially if you have to check the bag. Overall, looks like a great travel set up.

Expand full comment
Richard Kolkovich's avatar

That would be a killer feature for packing the Bullet inside the GR2, too. I haven't tried this, but you probably could get away with stashing the straps inside the laptop compartment on the GR2 (assuming if you want to stash the straps, you don't have a laptop in there).

Expand full comment
Traci's avatar

Will we be able to purchase just the patch?

Expand full comment
Mike Collins's avatar

What about the one on the new pack? Different logo.

Expand full comment
William Bett's avatar

Dunno, I hope it will be available separately at some point 🤞

Expand full comment
Paxton Shell's avatar

When I saw this release I had to get it. Goruck makes the best bags and having a system like this is incredibly useful for travel. Thanks for making it!

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Epic! Let me know what you think and please use and abuse the living hell out of it.

Expand full comment
Paxton Shell's avatar

It arrived today. So far, they’re beautiful! I’m going to give them a run around and see. I’m expecting them to last based on initial impressions

Expand full comment
Kevin Hein's avatar

What’s your thought on the 40L in someone who is 5’4”? I have heard this bag will swallow me, however I am in need of a larger backpack. Also it would be cool to see this backpack fully packed out like you are going to travel and showing how much it can hold with this system

Expand full comment
Pat Jernigan's avatar

Does the bullet have enough space for clothes…. I typically take 1 night travel trips but pack light- just need a set of workout gear, shoes and one change of clothes….. would that fit in there….. is it a good set up for an everyday work back pack?

Expand full comment
Marshall R Peterson's avatar

I love the set up. I’ve had a GR2 for many years. I remember writing GoRuck after I received it suggesting many of the upgrades that you’ve managed to get them to implement. GoRuck recently introduced a very lightweight bullet that’s a bit easier on the pocketbook and is more packable and lighter than the standard Bullet. https://www.goruck.com/products/packable-bullet-ruck-ripstop-robic

Expand full comment
Sam W's avatar

This is awesome!!

Expand full comment
Ryker's avatar

Does it come with a more adventurous lifestyle as well??

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Haha if you use the packs as I intended, they indeed do.

Expand full comment
Ryker's avatar

I think the un-military-ness of the pack is what makes it really unique. I'm not a military guy and I don't want to "play pretend" just for the sake of looking cool. I really like my GoRuck setup for workouts, but I don't really travel with it for that reason. I'm sure actual veterans and active duty get a little annoyed with civilians using tactical-core gear for their daily office commute. Haha.

Really liking the appearance and utility of the pack! Definitely shows how intentional you were about each design choice. Would love to get one someday!

Expand full comment
Josiah's avatar

Is there an easy way to get SCARS to modify my existing pack with these? Cause I want the extra pockets in my current pack.

Expand full comment
Robert's avatar

The only modifications SCARS will do are the ones listed here: https://scars-custom.paperform.co/

Expand full comment
Marshall R Peterson's avatar

Given that the backpack is for adventure, as well as travel, I think it would be nice to have a built-in small first aid kit and a rapidly accessible tourniquet

Expand full comment
Michael Easter's avatar

Sounds like something you could easily add! We of course could go mad adding extra outside house features, so we kept this all in our wheelhouse of bags.

Expand full comment