At some point, we all wondered what to pack in our ruck for a GORUCK Challenge event. After a few events you will start to learn what you need and what you can do without.

A good saying you will hear often in the rucking community and great words to live by:

“two is one and one is none”

Unfortunately making a mistake when packing your ruck could make for a miserable day or days!

I don’t want that for you. It’s not fun. Trust me!

To help you with this and give you some ideas I made a video unpacking my ruck, post GORUCK Team Assessment. For a frame of reference, the event was in Ohio in Late September. During the 2 day event, we saw highs in the 70s and lows in the mid 30s.

Below the video, you will find links to all the items I packed in my ruck along with a brief description.

Let me know in the comments what you think of this video and if you have any questions.

You can also check out a full list of gear I recommend on my resource page

Ruck Packing List

• 33 Gallon Contractor Trash Bag – Used this as a blanket, ripped a hole in the bottom of the bag so I could stick my head through it but not let my body heat out.
• GORUCK Windbreaker – Helped to keep me warm
• Beanie for Head Warmth – Nothing fancy here just a beanie.
• Mechanix Wear Gloves – These held up great.
• Darn Tough Socks – I only used a single pair, I didn’t use any liners.
• 32 oz Nalgene Bottle – Kept my electrolytes in here. I like DripDrop brand. I didn’t quite finish my 3rd serving.
• DripDrop ORS Electrolyte Hydration
• Hoka Trail Shoes – A medium cushion shoe. Wore these for the entire event no issues besides a small blister.
• Black Diamond Headlamp – I always keep a spare headlamp that is ready to go, no messing with batteries.
• Altra Lone Peaks – Spare shoes
• Source Low Profile Bladder – I duct tape around the molding where it goes into the bladder. This just to gives extra protection if it were to get snagged coming in an out of my ruck.
• Blinky Lights
• Reflector Bands
• Ruck Wrap – This is a must-have. Its a compression band that helps push out the inflammation, swelling, and lactic acid. I did my quads and calves as much as possible. It definitely helped me stay fresh.
• PT Belt
• 30 lb Tall Ruck Plate – I always put mine in the laptop compartment of my GR1. The tall version fits much better. Duct tape extra weight to get to the 45lbs dry weight.
• GORUCK Hip Belt – Gotta have this
• Knotted Cords Shoulder Holds
• GORUCK Challenge Pants – Perfect for the job and they dry fast.
• GORUCK Training Tee
• GORUCK Long Sleeve Baselayer
• Summit 20 L Dry Bag
• Chem Lights
• Combat Ready – Great for blisters, stick on protection
• Aquaphor Anti Chafing Gel
• Summit 1 L Dry Bag 

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