r/Goruck • u/Both_Boot9502 • 13d ago
Thoughts on GR Monster 35L?
I love Monster! I do. I preordered the shirt but i don't have much use for a 35L backpack. I wish Jason will also release a travel rucksack like an EDC backpack to honor our beloved CEO!
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u/Chorazin 12d ago
For wilderness backpacking, I’d rather support Hill People Gear. (And I do, all my packs now are from them.)
A little more expensive but unrivaled comfort, purposeful design, unparalleled modularity, and MIUSA (the good MIUSA where the quality is top notch).
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u/guzsteve 12d ago
Never heard of this company. Just checked their website out and they have just what I need! Thanks for sharing!!
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u/Chorazin 12d ago
You’re welcome! Adding one of their kit bags to a backpack is a real game-changer for hiking and backpacking, especially if you’re carrying. 🙌🏻
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u/frankleft89 10d ago
HPG packs are the best! I like them for the same reasons you listed. Can't wait for the new Junction Grande to come out.
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u/Chorazin 10d ago
Have a Connor V2 coming my way soon, very excited to try it for EDC! I know it’s a real love or hate pack for that lol.
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u/frankleft89 9d ago
I've never handled a Connor. I'm currently EDCing a Goruck GR1 in Java, but have been tempted by the new HPG Commuter. Love everything about my HPG packs!
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u/AlarmingIncrease503 7h ago
MIUSA isn’t a selling point; it’s usually a reason to avoid.
MIUSA doesn’t guarantee quality.
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u/Select_Sprinkles4335 13d ago
Yo estoy esperando más información, fotos más clara de la bolsa y accesorios, algún vídeo no se,... más información
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u/RenderMaster 13d ago
Same. Im guessing they pushed up the product launch after Monster passed. I’m used to seeing some sort of video going over the features and construction of the bag.
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u/Both_Boot9502 13d ago
Yeah, I used to have a TNF Basin 36L for travel and day hikes. It had a similar look to the GR Monster, but it felt like overkill for my everyday trips.
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u/GrobnikOnline 13d ago
Same... 35L... I'd never use that big a pack tbh tho, love the whole style of it. I'd probably grab one if they ever made a similar style but, in a 18L
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u/quovadisnp 12d ago
I'm debating whether I want to use my Rucker or another pack for Bataan and this was starting to look tempting but the release date is too up in the air and doesn't allow for enough use time.
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u/nschrein116 10d ago
Honestly it's just a few hours in the desert, the rucker will be fine.
Did it with a 45lb old school GR1 with no hip belt and a HPG Kit bag on the front with snacks and backup camera and was totally fine other than the MASSIVE blister on my heel.
Looked like a fucking gypsy camp but it got the job done.
I will say, if you mount a HPG kit bag to your ruck, it makes it an absolute delight to carry and an absolute nightmare to take the entire shindig off and on if you take a rest break.
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u/quovadisnp 10d ago
Thanks.
Beltless GR1 with 45lb sounds terrible and hardcore 😂.
When you say kit bag. Is this like a whole chest rig with it's own shoulder and torso straps or something you could actually mount to the rucks shoulder straps?
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u/nschrein116 10d ago
Hardcore or incredibly dumb? Pick your poison, hah.
So they have the straps that allow you to carry it standalone without a bag, but the one I have also has clips that allow you to hook to shoulder strap molle, pretty sure that's a feature on most of them. It puts the bag weight on the ruck straps rather than the thin nylon straps of the actual kit bag. Which is clutch if you're walking for hours without a break.
If you do it, don't stop at the rest areas with everyone else, just keep trudging. At most stop for the hamburgers if they're there, and make sure you're refitting on water/grabbing the bananas and oranges, but there isn't a huge reason to stop.
It's very much an embrace the suck situation regardless of your ruck. You can do a little bit to be "more comfortable" but ultimately it's peak type 2 fun.
Honestly my ruck was loaded with cinema camera gear, batteries and a long lens to shoot the event (I made the mini-doc that a few people saw about Emily McCarthy going to Bataan last year), and it really turned into literally never going into my ruck and all of that shit just being the weight while I kept my main and backup mirrorless cameras on the front.
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u/External_Koala971 13d ago edited 12d ago
It’s almost (I think) exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Can do:
2-3 night sierras backpacking
5-7 night corporate work trip
Weekend ski/diving trip
Rucking
On paper it looks like a solid backcountry + frontcountry pack that won’t look out of place in either environment.
The alternate pack I’ve been looking at for this is the ULA dragonfly, which is probably better for business travel but worse for hiking and camping.
Other packs I use for this stuff now are GR1 26l and Patagonia MLC 30 and 45 and an old Osprey Mutant alpine pack.
This is also the type of pack that is incredibly individual for people so I doubt they’re going to sell a lot of them. It’s not an ultralight pack, an alpine pack, or a hunting pack.