ITS Tactical

GORUCK Ascent Loadout: 100 Hours in the Rocky Mountains

Mike Petrucci

GORUCK Ascent ITS Tactical Patch

If you’ve been following our progression as we get closer to the GORUCK Ascent, you’re probably wondering what gear we’ve decided to take.

When Bryan and I first committed to the Ascent, we knew almost nothing other than everything we’d be taking would have to be carried in or on a GORUCK GR2 and that we’d be climbing 14’ers. We didn’t receive the packing list until about a month after signing up.

Though the packing list set in place by GORUCK is strict, we have the freedom to choose exactly what pieces of gear we will be taking. Everything from what base layers to a tent (if you even want a tent). They were also adamant that if it wasn’t on the list, we wouldn’t need it; including food other than lickies and chewies.

Before getting too far in this article we’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Todd and Julie at Tactical Distributors for working with us as a liaison between many of the companies you’ll read about that are providing gear for our adventure to allow us to tell you all about how it performs for us.

Not your Average Pack

I heard that most hikers will recommend a pack with 2,500 to 3,000 cubic inches of space for a day hike, the GR2 holds roughly 2,900 cubic inches. This isn’t to show how much we plan to do without and “rough it,” or that we’ll be ill equipped. Instead it caused us to ask ourselves, what’s truly necessary? If it’s necessary, how can it be made lighter? Is there an alternative? All of these are excellent questions when you are trying to simplify your life and especially useful when attempting to lighten your load for backpacking.

Another feature of this bag people will ask about is why doesn’t there appear to be a sternum strap or waist belt. To quote Jason, the founder of GORUCK and designer of their bags:

“A couple questions we’ve consistently gotten deal with both the sternum strap and the waist belt. Or, in our case, the lack thereof. We approach our design with the philosophy that simpler is better, less is more. Whenever possible, we like to let people add on as they see fit. … A bag should not look like a gypsy camp, not ever. I prefer cleaner, simpler, and more functional, so that was our focus.”

The entire Ascent is planned to last 100 hours and we need to be self-sufficient with no planned resupply. Since details aren’t forthcoming, we don’t know how much time we will be spending actually reaching summits, moving between cities, or learning land navigation and survival skills. This means we need to pack so that we’re as fast and light as possible.

Bryan and I both believe that two is one and one is none, but in this case, we’re having to do with just one or even none. What can we really do without? Do I ‘need’ a six inch survival knife or will my Benchmade Mini Griptilian do well enough?

While an endless supply of money would help to better answer the question of what gear is best. Before we get into what’s in our personal loadouts, here’s the packing list we were working with from GORUCK.

GORUCK Ascent Packing List [opens in new window]

Mike’s Gear List

Maximum Pack Weight at Start: 28.62 lbs.

Note: While focusing on the main items, some ‘odds & ends’ were excluded from the above list. If you’re interested in viewing a full breakdown of every item with notes, check out this Google Doc. I’d like to thank Brian Green for the idea and template.

Bryan’s GR2 Gear List

Maximum Pack Weight at Start: 31.65 lbs.

Notes

By the time you read this we’ll be heading out to Colorado to start our acclimating and getting ready to shake the heavens with GORUCK and our Ascent teammates!

We’d like to again thank Tactical Distributors, Arc’Teryx, Outdoor Research, Under Armor, NEMO, Jetboil, Smart Wool, Princeton Tec and Contour for getting us some great gear to evaluate on the Ascent!

Stay tuned for our after action report with details on all of the gear we’ll be carrying and our honest evaluation of how it performed.

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