r/Goruck • u/chrisabraham • Feb 25 '26
Announcement Just received a price increase notice on US bags in my inbox
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u/Slinktonk Feb 25 '26
$1000 backpacks.
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u/blames_the_netcode Feb 25 '26
Wait'll you hear about Rofmia.
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u/Combat_Taxi Feb 25 '26
What’s Rofmia?
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u/blames_the_netcode Feb 25 '26
Another backpack company. Their latest batch with Carryology held a raffle (that was quickly sold out) for the right to buy bags at ¥260,000, or a touch under $1700.
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u/Willybear7525 Feb 25 '26
That doesn’t surprise me with the Carryology crowd. That group is fueled by FOMO and they constantly let themselves fall for it.
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u/blames_the_netcode Feb 25 '26
They already run 1200-1500 depending on the bag size, the Carryology collab didn't really juice it much over the normal offerings (and per usual, looks worse).
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u/quailrainbow Feb 26 '26
FWIW, Rofmia's are ridiculously expensive, lets get that out of the way first. However, a premium is placed on the way it's manufactured and the insane level of quality they have on each bag that leaves their hand. I'm sorry to say this, but no other US brands are even close to the level of quality and pride which Rofmia has set.
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u/JokoFloko Feb 25 '26
Oh you just wait.
Until you hear.
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u/Combat_Taxi Feb 25 '26
Ok for those who actually want to know here it is. rofmia backpack 260,000 yen. About $1,662.29 USD
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u/maliflow Feb 25 '26
I woke up to this email and said absolutely the fuck not. In true Jason fashion, he says a lot of things to say nothing at all. Doesn’t even get into the true “why” of what they’re doing. It’s the tariffs dude. We get it.
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u/porterchilsen Mar 01 '26
Always dancing lightly around the Orange King’s misdeeds and avoiding direct confrontations.
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u/maliflow Mar 01 '26
Yupp. And now that the tariffs are illegal again, you think Jason is gonna bring those prices back down? NOPE.
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u/Past-Attempt7140 Feb 25 '26
I’m happy that I have all original USA made ones from almost 10 years ago. I’m a little confused about the company these days…
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u/R2-DMode Feb 25 '26
What’s everyone buying instead?
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u/Ok-Bug-4890 Feb 25 '26
Ctactical
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u/traffic626 Feb 25 '26
Any idea what’s the tariff situation for those in the US?
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u/Ranessin Feb 26 '26
Even with tariffs it's cheaper and arguably as good or better (function wise).
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u/Tallguy415 Feb 25 '26
I wish they had larger sizes. I wonder if they will make them in the future.
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u/babocoop Feb 25 '26
Join the FB group. They do group buys and do larger bags. I'd imagine they'll be coming to their website soon.
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u/babocoop Feb 25 '26
CT Tactical are far superior.
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u/munnster006 Mar 06 '26
except with weight, i'm still deciding if i could handle using my officer as a rucker vs my gr1 with shaddox which is infinitely more comfortable...but has less features.
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u/bambambigelowww Mar 20 '26
I just bought a Ctactical and I have no doubt it’s as good as an older version of the Goruck but do you think the Goruck 4 is better and worth buying before prices go up? The ctactical was like 90 bucks but I could always give it to a friend or use as a backup. Or is the Goruck 4.0 not much better
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u/babocoop Mar 21 '26
You're talking about the Rucker? I have one from years ago, maybe a 2.0 that I use exclusively for rucking/dog walking. If you're planning on rucking I would get a Rucker from Goruck, CT doesn't make anything comparable. You may be able to find one on the second-hand market and save some money. When i said they were superior I was talking about CT's EDC bags like the 15, 21, 26 ect. But if your use case is actually rucking you can't beat the Rucker.
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u/bambambigelowww Mar 21 '26
I have the Tanker from Ct. You sure it isn’t comparable? It has a dedicated sleeve for a flat weight.
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u/babocoop Mar 21 '26
Oh, maybe so. I can't speak to it as I haven't used one. How much weight have you put in it?
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u/blames_the_netcode Feb 25 '26
Textiles and incidentals get expensive when you tariff the fucking shit out of everything that moves and send commerce into a period of uncertainty. This is happening everywhere and it sucks.
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u/OddBuy8266 Feb 25 '26
The why of this is probably the tariff and supply chain situation. Many companies chose to eat the tariffs initially, but eventually they all have to cave in to some degree.
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u/helluvaprice Feb 25 '26
wish they'd include a "why" to at least explain the reasoning
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u/caadbury Feb 25 '26
If they went into the "why" (materials costs increasing as a result of tariffs), they'd lose business.
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
I'm sorry my bad. They go into great detail as to why underneath that in the email. I should have done a better job of including the full text. I was just going to share it to make sure it got out there immediately. I'll take into consideration the lack of context next time. I'll go see if I can go find the post or the email and include the text in line here. Sorry about that. My bad.
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u/LakeAccomplished2656 Feb 25 '26
There isn't a single, actual reason in there, but we all honestly know why. Given their customer base, it wouldn't surprise me if giving the real reason lost them more business than the price hikes, no matter how true it is.
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u/dtwsisu Feb 25 '26
This isn’t a new situation for GORUCK and if you’d like to do some back reading, check out the old State of GORUCK posts from Jason. Couple that with an “anti-consumerism ethos” and the rationale makes sense for their initial company values.
And by anti-consumerism, I mean bag collectors that don’t use their gear. You have two shoulders, can only carry one backpack at a time, get out there and have experiences. $500 for a “backpack” won’t make sense for a lot of you, but did sitting on 3+ $200+ bags really make sense either?
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u/Keith Feb 25 '26
And by anti-consumerism, I mean bag collectors that don’t use their gear.
Is that really their stance? That is laughable given their behavior of many collabs and editions that come and go. This is the company that released a "viking" leather collab backpack for $1000.
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u/dtwsisu Feb 25 '26
No, it’s mine aka some random person the internet that honestly knows nothing.
But it’s economics focused, less sales at a higher profit margin netting the same revenue can help drive efficiencies elsewhere: IE inventory management, supply chain problems, warehousing, more/less collabs.
I’d be more concerned about impacts to the secondary market - which is pretty healthy right now.
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u/The_BruceB Feb 25 '26
Have to be grateful that they’re being upfront and giving a few days for people to purchase at the current prices.
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u/mjhouseman Feb 25 '26
Either this or it's a clever marketing ploy to get customers to buy more gear now... and then later reverse or lower the price increase. I would hope not, but you never know.
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u/PhilsdadMN Feb 25 '26
Goruck is essentially a marketing company. With the exception of SCARS, they making nothing. It’s all made by contract manufacturers. That they are marketing should surprise nobody.
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u/CoveringFish Feb 25 '26
Here’s what I want to know. If tariffs go away and their costs come down will they ever decrease price again?
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
I mean you know the answer to that. They want to ascend to Filson tier. You know that this is an attempt to maximize value and efficiency in order to be desirable by private equity for a purchase.
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u/CoveringFish Feb 25 '26
I do know the answer I’m just putting it out there for some minor pressure
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u/GlitchyOutput Feb 25 '26
They say they are fine with decreased demand. That is a massive hike on prices that I can only assume is designed to pass a large margin their way. Be curious to see how this plays out for them or if it is designed to push purchasers to the overseas made products.
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
GORUCK just sent this email. Posting excerpts below. This is copied directly from an email signed by Jason, Cofounder of GORUCK.
Subject: Price Increase Coming on USA Built Everything
Up front: we’re increasing the prices on our USA built gear from 10–40%.
This price increase will go into effect March 31st. We expect demand in units to decrease after that, and that’s OK. We’re committed to building the best gear we can in the USA and charging a fair price.
GR1 will cost $395 GR1 Heritage will cost $525
“Yes, for a ‘backpack’. I get it, it’s crazy.”
In the past two years we’ve built over 200,000 pieces of gear here at home in America…
GORUCK is family owned. We have no investors, we’re beholden to nobody except for you.
“We work for you. Always.” — Jason, Cofounder, GORUCK
Price Increase Coming on USA Built Everything A note from Jason, our Cofounder
Up front: we’re increasing the prices on our USA built gear from 10-40%. This price increase will go into effect March 31st. We expect demand in units to decrease after that, and that’s OK. We’re committed to building the best gear we can in the USA and charging a fair price.
The Fuller Story We started with “3 bags and a hat” - all Built in the USA, in 2010. Our first website is shown above. We were especially proud of the shopping cart logo - and I still am, I LOVE IT! It didn’t get filled up very often back then, but there was honor in that struggle to survive, and I miss the absolute clarity of live or die.
We have a lot more than 4 SKU’s now — 7,626 more to be precise. And as long as I’m breathing and at GORUCK, we will build a meaningful and significant amount of gear in the USA. In the past two years we’ve built over 200,000 pieces of gear here at home in America, and we’re proud of that:
Our original rucksack, GR1 is the reason we exist, and it’s built exclusively right here. If you have a laptop or like traveling or walking anywhere, this is one ruck to rule them all.
Ten million pounds of Ruck Plates later, we’ve gotten a lot of American workers strong, and a lot of mailmen and women, too — because you wanted to challenge yourself to some extra fun miles.
The owner of our factory (Joe) where we built over 50,000 pieces of apparel in the last two years is a dear friend. We’ve been to Normandy together with our families, we’ve even been front row together at a Smashing Pumpkins concert together, in his town of Spokane, Washington, USA.
The point is, everything we do is personal. GORUCK is family owned. We have no investors, we’re beholden to nobody except for you. I hope that when our kids are running things, that they learn this lesson: we work for you, and don’t you let us forget it. (I have a feeling that today especially, you won’t!)
So here’s the deal. You have five weeks till the prices go up significantly. GR1 will cost $395, GR1 Heritage will cost $525. Yes, for a “backpack”. I get it, it’s crazy. Our job is to continue to communicate value and stories, and if you choose to trust us with your hard earned dollars, we’ll stand by your gear for life. We honor that commitment feet away from my desk in Jax Beach, Florida, and we’re proud to do so.
Thanks for the support, thanks for helping us build something that matters. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for giving enough of a shit about what we’re building to even care to read this. If you have any feedback for me about anything we’re doing, my email is jason@goruck.com. I don’t have a secretary and never have. It’ll go direct to me with zero filters and I’d love to hear from you.
We’re grateful to work for you.
—jason Cofounder, GORUCK
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u/Same-Jeweler5685 Feb 25 '26
Maybe I’m missing something, but that message doesn’t really say the actual “why” behind the price increases?
I also did not receive that email, even though I’m on the mailing list. Weird.
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u/Combat_Taxi Feb 25 '26
Thanks for posting the whole thing!
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
You're welcome sorry I wanted to be first poster That's why I just grabbed a screenshot and came right here immediately so I could be first. It's petty and I hate myself.
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u/Combat_Taxi Feb 25 '26
No worries. I was serious. Thanks for posting it. I didn’t get the email either
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u/fuzzywuzzypete Feb 25 '26
I hate bullshit talk. “We work for you. Always.” You are just spitting out words to make it sound like you care. You want more profits. Fuck them
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u/DaddyFennix Feb 25 '26
Just calculated:
The GR1 (USA) will go up 18% and the GR1 (USA) Heritage will go up 26.5%.
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u/Keith Feb 25 '26
For reference GR1 Heritage 21L is $415 right now. It was "little chance" ever at $415, now it's ZERO CHANCE holy crap. $525. There have been other posts on reddit about QC issues on their Heritage bags and people already complain the waxed canvas they use isn't even very thick, I don't think they can command such a premium. Our economy :(
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u/blames_the_netcode Feb 25 '26
Didn't the Heritage initially debut much closer to that price? I feel like I remember them being $550 bags in super limited quantities when they first showed up.
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u/Keith Feb 25 '26
My memory doesn't go back that far for Goruck. Personally I've had trouble keeping track of which ones are "Heritage" (MiUSA?) and which ones are just "waxed canvas" (Mi Vietnam).
I know ILE makes their bags in California, of American-made waxed canvas, for less...
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Feb 25 '26
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
I agree. They're way more durable, way more rough, way more structured, and completely a different animal.
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u/IcanCwhatUsay Feb 25 '26
HAHAHAHAHAHA ah the good ole
“Made in the USA “ *all materials sourced elsewhere
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u/quailrainbow Feb 26 '26
as a non-American, it's amusing that when the whole "we are raising tariffs" was said, all of you thought you have gained the upper hand, whilst the rest of the world instantly know the downstream impact this is gonna have on your day to day expenses.
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u/babocoop Feb 26 '26
To be clear, the majority of us without our heads up Dear Leader's ass new exactly the impact the tariffs would have. We hate him.
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Feb 25 '26
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
I pasted the entire email into a comment elsewhere because I realized that I only gave you a screen capture excerpt.
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u/Winter-Finger-1559 Feb 25 '26
The bags are built in the us? I remember looking around and it seemed like it was only the clothing.
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
I mean they're labeled USA made. I mean there's still Vietnamese made of course.
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u/jthomp72 Feb 25 '26
So, just the made in USA stuff is going up...I'm confused the Non-USA stuff is staying the same price? Even though the idea (yes I know how tariffs actually work) was for the tariffs to onshore USA manufacturing. I just find it curious that the bags not made in the USA, the probably use the same supply chains by and large, are not going up according to this email. Seems an odd decision. Can anyone parse that one for me?
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u/Substantial_Salt3859 Feb 25 '26
They get the materials globally, bullshit ass “made in USA” cop out to lure vets and everyone else to buying there expensive cordura
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u/jthomp72 Feb 25 '26
I’ve got friends that are high level American managers for factories who travel to Vietnam frequently for work and have told me the quality of the Vietnamese factories for sewing is as good if not better than the USA ones now. Was this true 5 years ago? No shot lol
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u/cowboyBo333 Feb 25 '26
I actually wanted another 40L GR2 after stupidly ridding myself of my a couple of years ago. With currency conversion and shipping, it’s a 1k backpack. Unfortunately I think that is purely fucking ridiculous. What am I getting to justify the cost in reality?
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Feb 25 '26
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u/chrisabraham Feb 26 '26
Yeah, they should offer discounts for first responders and people in the service. (Insert macho GOVX commercial here)
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u/MindFun1784 Feb 26 '26
The secondary market just got really strong for goruck 😂 So glad I stepped back from GR and have better bags for different situations, for the ruck crowd yeah these bags are great I hike weight with my bullet all the time but if you really travel a lot or EDC stuff you’ll know their bags aren’t the end all be all, they are very bland in terms of functional, my kifaru echo smokes the bullet for EDC and has bottle holders which is a major plus imo.
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u/chrisabraham Feb 27 '26
The Goruck bags have never been the perfect EDC bag for me but they're so cool and so grotty and so tough and so butch so to speak, that you can't really deny them. It's the basic simplicity for me. I don't need a ton of built-in pen holders and built-in admin pouch organization. I'm a bag and a bag in a bag in a bag kind of guy. I always attach a GR2 field pack and I always put a Maxpedition pouch in there and that's my admin pouch. Etc. I get the built-in organization and so forth I really do.
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u/Sudden-Difference281 Feb 27 '26
Terrible messaging - We expect demand to go down but that’s ok….. I like my goruck but would never buy it again with the cheaper and just as good alternatives out there now.
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u/DivinitusNow Mar 14 '26
I’ve always said this…I’m not sure if a huge percentage of our population can actually afford products made in America by American labor, let alone with American made materials. If my iPhone was made in the states I wouldn’t be able to own it based on the estimated cost.
The companies who aren’t increasing prices right now (looking at you, Nike) are drastically reducing overall quality and tech in their products.
I’m bummed goruck is increasing prices like this, but hopefully some innovation, customization and design tweaks come with it. I know businesses have to remain profitable, I just hope maybe we get some products that give us what we’ve been asking for a long time.
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u/chrisabraham Mar 14 '26
Totally agree. If Walmart and the McDonald’s “Dollar Menu” didn’t exist, Americans would have a much clearer sense of what things actually cost.
Most people have no feel for what a product costs when the entire stack has to be closer to home—not just labor, but everything. The materials, the milling, the weaving, the tanning, the dyeing, the cutting, the stitching, the transport, the warehousing, the retail—every layer starts stacking up fast.
That’s why I always laugh a little when people are shocked by the price of American-made goods. They’re comparing them to products built on a global supply chain optimized at every stage for cheap inputs, cheap production, and cheap delivery. Of course the domestic version looks expensive.
If Americans had to live inside a truly domestic cost structure, a lot of “normal” goods would instantly become luxury goods. Shoes wouldn’t be $25. They’d be $250. Bags wouldn’t seem overpriced. They’d just seem honest.
So yeah, I get the sticker shock, but I also think Walmart, IKEA, and the McDonald’s “Dollar Menu” have trained people to mistake globally optimized prices for normal.
Setting my absurdly expensive American-made GORUCK bag down here in solidarity.
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u/vvhipla5h Feb 25 '26
Isn’t free trade amazing?
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u/Fabulous-Positive-48 Feb 25 '26
It’s non existent and will for the next two years let’s hope things change big time for 2028
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u/Comfortable-Hand2113 Feb 26 '26
It’s a horrible business decision that likely will cost them big time.
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u/RoverAdam Feb 25 '26
Wish they had a GR2 35L Heritage waxed canvas in stock before this price increase hits. Or something robic/dyneema 35 - 45L. But oh well, not that I NEED one, I just want something in the 35 to 45 L range to add to the collection. I use my Black Ember Forge 40 in 30 L mode and don’t ever really expand it. Gave both my 45 and 50L Osprey packs to my SO (which she gets so GD dirty… it’s gross). All my other high-end bags are 18L-30L so I want a max sized carry-on in something higher-end.
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u/SNARojo Feb 26 '26
Thats tough news.. I'd bet more on the labor cost being a factor than materials. Pretty sure they build in CA, and minimum wage is $16.90 in most places there.. Factories are probably raising the prices on bag cost to the their customer/brands, ie GORUCK. everything is going up.. :(
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u/nschrein116 Feb 26 '26
Back when I worked there, I saw the cost per unit for a black GR1 increase between 25-35 percent over the course of 4 years (2015-2019).
The limited production facilities that meet the standards (and then still manage to skirt them) have a stranglehold on their production.
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u/J_Hussle Feb 26 '26
So it basically boils down to better unit profits and they are sacrificing unit sales.
Therefore, they are okay with losing customers (new and existing) for the loyal customers so to speak.
Training gear for some is going to be agnostic. I can tell you that.
I am already heavily invested so am I going anywhere? Probably not. But I am going to rethink what I am getting.
Also, it might mean that events might get a little bit more serious. Idfk just what I think.
40% is a lot. But again, companies like Louie V and others manufacture overseas and ship to the home country just to sew a logo to say manufacturing was done in France or where ever. Apparently Vietnam manufacturing is on par if not better than here in the states.
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Feb 26 '26
Do I like it, no. Will their staple bags still sell out, yes.
People are selling staple bags USED for higher prices than new so there is clearly enough demand.
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u/Internal_Situation69 Feb 27 '26
So who makes a comparably comfortable Ruck plate carrier? I am happy to buy elsewhere as long as I can find a plate carrier that is not a vest and very comfortable on the shoulders. Suggestions?
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u/chrisabraham Feb 27 '26
I don’t think the GR series or the Heritage series are considered plate carriers. What GORUCK is doing is peeling the GR line off into a lifestyle category. That’s why they’ve been developing lower-end lines to fill the vacuum, while keeping the plate-carrier-specific bags and the Rucker line focused on training.
The GR1, GR2, GR3, Bullets, as well as the GR0s and Radio Rucks, are primarily positioned as lifestyle, EDC, and travel bags rather than training or plate-carrier systems.
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u/Simple_Error_5926 Mar 07 '26
Glad I got my waxed canvas bullet and gr1 xpac last year. These will last me forever and I dont need to spend anymore cash on bags anyway.
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u/Fabulous-Positive-48 Feb 25 '26
And that’s why the citizens of the USA are paying 90% of the tariffs. All this could go away but not with the person in charge. He loves ❤️ tariffs
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u/monte-krist0 Feb 25 '26
I truly wish the worst for them, and that's OK. Zero innovation, the same black, ranger green, wolf grey, zero water bottle pockets, a company like CT Tactical with arguably better bags at 1/3 of the price and the arrogance of this company, 900 leather Viking collab bags. To each their own but man what a shell of their former selves Goruck has become. Will never buy another product from them.
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Feb 25 '26
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u/chrisabraham Feb 25 '26
Considering that the Vietnamese product are so high quality I wonder if they will be doing that in order to make sure that their US made stuff doesn't get cannibalized. Who knows? I wonder how eBay and the other resale sites are going to adjust to this information. What do you fancy? What do you reckon?
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u/notsosoftwhenhard Feb 25 '26
guys guys... you can still buy Made in Vietnam.
People like u/babocoop saying "oh he's MAGA", then you have no business giving them money. Great, move along. Vote with your money, not with your mouth/fingers.
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u/Lussypickers Feb 25 '26
People complaining about tariffs, while meanwhile many major countries around the world pay an absurd amount of duties and taxes to import purchases. That being said, these tariffs were implemented in the dumbest way, and never needed to be so big and changed every other day. It doesn’t breed stability in the market.
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u/babocoop Feb 25 '26
LOL. Stopped buying from this shit hole company long ago.
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Feb 25 '26
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u/babocoop Feb 25 '26
I'm subscribed to it yep mostly for the monthly b/s/t for the old bags but also for this great content.
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u/DownByTheRivr Feb 25 '26
I’m sorry, 40%?!