ERE Marching Meetup Series

[jacob]

GoRuck packs are an almost exact ripoff of the standard Army issue pack.

Well, you did say "standard Army issue" but which one is that?

[Ego]

Well, you did say "standard Army issue" but which one is that?

viewtopic.php?p=268531

[jacob]

@Ego Ah ok, I'd say that looks/is somewhat different insofar that not all assault packs are the same. The 34L Goruck is boxier and weighs 4.1lbs compared to this one at 30L and 2.5lbs. IIRC, the GR and its ability to open out flat was inspired by a medic pack.

@theanimal - If you have one, you could bring it in January and we can compare.

[Ego]

I've owned and sold both. They are very similar. If I were trying to do it on the cheap I would go for one of the damaged USMC FILBE packs on ebay ($25, free ship, not me!) and repair it. The guy who drives the dozer at the dump frequently shows up with bags full of them. Almost all are torn at the point where the shoulder straps connect at the top.

If money were no object, the Mystery Ranch 3-day assault is the best of the bunch with the tri zip. The MR military packs go up in value after they are discontinued. Same for some of the Gorucks.

[Ego]

GoRuck put a hidden Easter Egg in their Black Friday deals.
https://www.goruck.com/collections/black-friday-sale
Create a new account.
Choose a rucksack and put it in your cart.
Then put one of their Black Friday deals in your cart and it will automatically trigger a 50% discount on the rucksack.

[theanimal]

Thanks for sharing!

To be clear, I believe the 50% discount only works with the GR3 pack. I tried a couple others with no luck.

[Ego]

Ah, shoot! I thought it was for all of the bags. It took me a few tries of putting things in the cart and then deleting them to get that result. I probably should have made the purchase as the GR3 sells for more than the retail price on ebay when Goruck runs out of stock.

[theanimal]

That’s my plan. I bought the pack and a couple pairs of pants with the intention to sell the pack on eBay. If I’m able to sell it, the pack will pay for the pants. That’s good to know that it goes for more when they sell out. I’ll have to be picky as to when I decide to list it.

[jacob]

Haha, you sneaky bastards.

Even if you're never going to use the packl, I would be interested in a review/opinion. I know that @DSKla(SP?), who is no longer active here, traveled the world with a GR3.

[Slevin]

I had one briefly and returned it back in 2018, I think I put a review somewhere? Gist being, I love built in internal organization and water bottle carriers. You can add one to the outside of the GR3 but it makes the dimensions awkward and doesn't stay on well enough. Adding internal organization to the GR3 is fine, but for $400 why didn't you just give me it already. 2x overpriced for the value, would consider actual worth about $200, and would purchase it at such a price (like in the current sale). Also, the front opening of the pack makes it great for travel but awful as a daily backpack. You want daily backpacks to have top entry.

I think any normal traveler would be drastically better served by something like the Topo Designs global travel bag, which comes with internal organization, has better shoulder padding and hip belt, and also allows you to clip on a smaller pack for daily usage, while being half the price. Its also some decent cordura fabric, so wear shouldn't be a problem in the long term.

[theanimal]

Well, it was too good to be true after all. I got an email this morning from GoRuck saying that the 50% discount is for gym partners only and not for public usage. They are cancelling my order but are giving me a $50 gift card for the inconvenience. Something from nothing?

[jacob]

The Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve might be a good option. It's right on the Wisconsin/Illinois border.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/illi ... serve-loop

Still on for next Sunday? @Smashter? @Dave?

Plan is further/lighter?

Closest weather forecast I could find says 47F/29F/Partly Cloudy/0.0": https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/il/antioch

[Smashter]

Count me in. I'm still up for going further with lighter weight. 8am start?

[Dave]

Same. Further/lighter sounds good to me.

8AM works for me, but we had talked about 930AM before. I am good with either, but would lean earlier if it was just up to me. Still prefer 930 Jacob?

[jacob]

8AM works for me, but we had talked about 930AM before. I am good with either, but would lean earlier if it was just up to me. Still prefer 930 Jacob?

I'm okay with 8am.

[Dave]

OK, so we're all good with:

-Sunday 12/17 @ 8AM
-Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, let's meet at the parking lot with restroom facilities along the southwestern part of the lake with 2 piers, see: https://maps.app.goo.gl/PrjfA2FhmXvjVRJF9
-going a little further and lighter, can evaluate how it's going but probably closer to 18 miles this time
-I'll bring some fruit again. Their website lists drinking water as available.

Any other considerations?

[Dave]

Guys, I am very sorry to do this but I am going to have to back out of the walk this coming weekend. My FiL had a health incident and while he is OK, I need to be around to help with the situation this weekend.

I apologize that it is so last minute and for any disruption to everyone's plans.

I am still on board with the January walk, and I propose we do another march at the Van Patten Woods either for the formal March in March, or as the next training walk later in 2023.

One step at a time, though. The weekend of January 6 is coming soon. I know @Scott 2 wanted to come and prefers to stay locally, so let's do that one in Chicagoland. I have no preference on the 6th or the 7th...does one work better for any of you guys? @theanimal @jacob @scott 2 @Smashter

I'm open to new areas, but I also liked both of the last two locations. Do you guys have a preference? Particularly @Smashter given his distance?

[jacob]

Alright, lets cancel this one.

1/6 and 1/7 are both good for me. If there's snow (unlikely given El Nino = warm wet winter), Elk Grove is less icy/muddy than Fullersburg. The latter can end up borderline unwalkable.

[Smashter]

Sounds good! No need to apologize Dave, I hope your FiL makes a quick recovery. I should be able to make Elk Grove on those days, but I’ll see how I’m feeling re: long-ish distance winter driving as we get closer. I might save those journeys deep into Chicagoland for the warmer months.

[Scott 2]

I'm unfortunately out of any marches for the forseeable future. I saw a podiatrist recently, and her strong recommendation was to go zero impact until we get my foot problems sorted. Like most things medical, that is not a fast process.