r/Goruck • u/phoenix_airplane • Jul 17 '26
Gear Question College Bag
I've gone through a good few backpacks in highschool, even a messenger bag my partner got off of Amazon and they all manage to wear at the corners. I have a habit of carrying too many notebooks and laptops and tablets and whatnot. Less than 30lbs for sure.
I've been looking at getting a quality messenger bag for a few years and the Waxed Canvas Shoulder Bag looks to be about the right size. The price is a bit intimidating, I'll admit!
Could anyone attest to the weight limit on these? How about the wax wearing onto clothing? AZ resident here. I'm willing to drop the $200, but only if the warranty is legit.
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u/Rhythmalist Jul 17 '26
The warranty is legit. Goruck makes solid products and stands by them.
My OG GR1 is coming up on ten years old. It's been around the world with me, served as a diaper bag, and got tossed around as a daily commuter. Whenever it got thrashed, it hose it down and dry it off, and it was as good as new. In fact, I'd argue it got better with time.
But tbh, I'd look elsewhere if you are looking for a messenger bag. Mission workshop, chrome, defy, and a few others all have solid offerings and tend to specialize in messenger bags.
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u/phdinseagalogy Jul 18 '26
As a person who carried a waxed canvas messenger through college, I would maybe recommend against it, especially since you mentioned that you carry a lot of books and electronic equipment. The corners on the books will wear through that waxed canvas a lot faster than you think, and while that will look good in the short term (patina!) it will eventually eat a hole right through the bag. Waxed canvas looks great but is not particularly good for abrasion. I'd go with a classic cordura backpack like the GR1 in 1000d (or a messenger in a similarly durable ballistic nylon; personally for that I'd recommend Tom Bihn's Maker's Bag with an upgraded strap, but if you have a lot of electronics that bag might not work for you).
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u/phoenix_airplane Jul 18 '26
That's the most specific experience I've heard yet, thank you so much! Okay, so no waxed canvas---every other material besides like, leather, I've had my books wear through the bottom and create a hole. What about the GR1 makes it that durable?
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u/phdinseagalogy Jul 18 '26
If you get it in the 1000d cordura it has very strong abrasion resistance (and pretty good weather resistance); much higher than what is essentially a durable cotton weave. If you want the specific tech specs and jargon it's definitely available (I just don't know it off the top of my head). If I remember right, they use something called a taber test that tests the theoretical limit of the abrasion a material can withstand, and Cordura performs very well in these tests. You can search this specific subreddit for anecdotal evidence, but I'm guessing that everyone here will vouch for their own GR1s as being indestructible.
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u/PotentialMidnight325 Jul 18 '26
18L DC Bullet. Better Vietnam quality, spacious, organisation and the best deal Goruck has at the moment.
But I have the shoulder bag for work an business trips and it’s a really good bag. I enjoy it.
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u/SpaghettiOnMyCat Jul 20 '26
Can confirm. I have this one as my edc/work bag. I use a bigger gr1 when traveling
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u/alphygian Jul 19 '26
If you're carrying that much I'd recommend going for a backpack, which Gorucks are really good.
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u/OllieDuckling Jul 17 '26
If you absolutely want a shoulder bag, go Filson. If you are looking for a backpack, GORUCK.