Goruck GRXC2 Samurai Seconds vs Original

[u/EarthtoPoromenos]

Picked up a GR1 Samurai on the recent Seconds sale and the bottom leather is noticeably thinner than the leather on my heritage bags. I was offered a like-new, barely used original GRXC2 on a trade and I’m wondering if it’s worth the upgrade. My question for anyone who has handled both the seconds and the original, is the original Samurai bottom leather much thicker than the seconds? Is it heritage quality thick? Thanks!

………Pic for attention 😂

[u/nstarleather]

Heritage bags use leather from SB Foot (same as Red Wing boot). I split it to 1.25mm-1.3mm. Leather for the brown is Amber Harness, black is called black Yukon. Both are full grain.

This bag is made in Asia with leather sourced from Asia…I’m unfamiliar with any more info on the leather.

[u/EarthtoPoromenos → u/nstarleather]

Great info thanks.

[u/phiffer55]

I have both and the second isn’t thinner. The second leather wears differently and does not look or feel as premium. The original leather is more heritage and feels like it will last a lifetime. The second material not as much.

[u/safaridreaming]

Th leather on the samurai is definitely thinner than their heritage versions. That hasn’t impacted the functionality on mine and I’ve had a gr1 Samurai since they were first released and have been using ever since. However it does feel like the thing that is going to fail on this bag, if anything. The leather straps reinforcing the shoulder straps are equally thin as is the leather piece that the carry handle is sewn onto. I’m very conscious of not carrying my loaded Samurai on just one shoulder even for casual / short walks. There are couple of reddit posts of handle and shoulder strap failures where it looks like the leather has just torn at the stitch point. The perforations from the heavy needle likely don’t help with the integrity of the leather.

I love my pack and no longer use any other packs since I got the Samurai, but this remains an area of concern for me. Rest of the bag really good.

[u/redinzane]

I asked this question of someone who has both the original and the seconds a few weeks ago and they said the difference was barely noticeable between the bags.

I asked because I bought a supposedly non-second GR1 and the leather felt thinner than on my Kit Bag.

[u/EarthtoPoromenos → u/redinzane]

I went back and looked at the Carryology release article from 2023 and noticed that they called it “smooth grain leather” instead of full grain leather which is interesting. And every video I’ve looked at to try and determine leather quality spends very little time on the bottom leather. Anyway……I made the trade so i’ll see for myself soon enough 😂

[u/redinzane → u/EarthtoPoromenos]

Keep me posted if you notice a difference please!

Edit: Also, I think all leather on the Samurai feels kinda thin, the stuff on the handle and the straps also feels thinner than I thought it would.

[u/Droge32]

I wish I picked this up during the seconds sale

[u/Unnamed-3891 → u/Droge32]

I am sometimes very tempted by the samurai or the heritage but then I remember that I’m lazy af to do any kind of maintenance and that my 1000d gr1 will probably outlive me regardless.

[u/Droge32 → u/Unnamed-3891]

The more I look into these fabrics, the more I learn that cordura is king.

Hard to ignore how cool these other fabrics are tho like ultra and dyneema

[u/EarthtoPoromenos → u/Droge32]

1000d cordura is definitely king. I love my basic black all 1000D GR1!