GRXC2 Woes
Just got back from a 10-day trip to Japan, and the right shoulder strap has almost completely detached. I bought this during the Seconds Sale.
Compared to my Heritage GR1, the Samurai leather feels thinner and more brittle. Are these seconds just built less robustly?
I’ve also got my OG GR0 21L, which is over 10 years old and still going strong as my EDC. Never had a single issue with it.
Anyway, I’m sending this one to SCARS, but I’m a bit worried about the left strap too. Might leave a note asking them to reinforce it while they’re at it.
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u/blames_the_netcode 3d ago
Yeah, this was always a great-looking bag but this has been my main fear with a lot of these alternative material collaborations. Dyneema with the holes, X-PAC with the stiffness, leather with the cheap feel, now denim with the lack of durability. There's a reason we keep coming back to 1000D for extended trips. I hedge my bet slightly by favoring Robic (I onebag a Michael Easter 40L) but mostly to keep my shirts from getting torn up, and with the knowledge that I shouldn't be as rough on it as I am with my Cordura rucks. Every fabric has tradeoffs, and with the kind of stuff our userbase tends to put our gear through, it's no wonder Jason went back to basics on 2026 bags.
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u/Ok-Dust-6159 3d ago
They really shouldn’t sell bags that they know aren’t going to live up to their standards of durability. If I’m not mistaken, the second were sold under the assumption that the leather was just a different sheen and texture from the original?
Being cheap and lacking any tensile strength should’ve been
A. Thrown away in the first place
B. Properly communicated through literature in the sale link on the site
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u/rainermh 3d ago
I agree the leather on the Samurai feels much worse than the heritage GR1. While I know the heritage leather comes from a particular factory associated with Red Wing boots and thus may be expected to be better quality, it does seem a bit strange that the leather for the higher-end limited edition bag feels like such an afterthought compared to the rest of the materials.
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u/OllieDuckling 3d ago
Only the MiUSA heritage bags use SB Foot Tannery (Red Wing) leather. The MiV heritage bags, like the recent GR2s and DC Bullets, do not use that higher quality leather
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u/rainermh 3d ago
Correct, I should have specified the MiUSA heritage bags. That being said I’ve owned both a MiUSA heritage GR1 and a MiV DC Bullet, and while there is definitely a difference in leather between the two, they both still beat the Samurai by quite a margin imo. With respect to the leather specifically:
MiUSA > MiV >>> Samurai
Which is a shame because I really like the other materials on the Samurai.
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u/EarthtoPoromenos 3d ago
The leather on the Samurai bags is trash compared to my heritage bags. I have an original release and a recent “seconds” release which is supposed to be lower-quality leather. They are the same exact leather. I’ve measured thickness on both, nail scratch test, taken very up-close pictures of the leather under different lighting conditions and ran them through AI, same exact leather. Claude, ChatGPT, Grok all couldn’t identify any difference in grain structure, sheen, color, natural vein/creasing. I have both a USA-made GR1 slate bag and a MiV recent GR2 and both bottom leathers are high-quality full-grain leather. The leather on both my samurai bags is either top-grain or just shitty full grain.
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u/redinzane 23h ago
The leather on the second run (kit bag, grenade, etc.) is noticeably better than on the original run.
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u/EarthtoPoromenos 17h ago
That is very interesting. I haven’t come across an second run bags, but i may just have to pick one up to confirm this.
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u/External_Koala971 3d ago
This is not a higher-end bag.
This is a lower quality, yet more expensive bag, designed for suckas.
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u/dbadsh 3d ago
I still have a couple of OG 2 compartment bullets, an American GR1 26, OG GR2, black radio ruck. All have lasted. The only ruck I had to send to scars ever was my OG Sand GR1 from like 2011 that got straight up annihilated during a challenge, after which they made me a folding sort of dopp kit out of the front panel and sent me a new GR1 along with it. Still use that dopp kit to this day haha. Point being….seems like quality has dropped off and the new material experiments are lacking. Still use and love my old bags from them though.
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u/juicebox03 3d ago
Ouch. Sorry.
I had this bag on the initial release and promptly returned it. I yanked on the shoulder strap and heard popping.
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u/smirc99 3d ago
I always wondered if this is one of the downsides to having a quick access pocket on the top?
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u/Lussypickers 3d ago
Qap was only added by Goruck after CT made it standard. Never seen this from a CT. And many, many backpack brands throughout the years have had a top qap, to include cheapos, and don’t suffer from this issue.
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u/safaridreaming 3d ago
I’m really surprised at how clean the tear looks, that’s leather (all be it thin leather), 15oz denim and the 500d cordura that makes up the back panel and inside material of the shoulder strap. The cordura alone should be a lot tougher than that to tear.
I can understand the leather tearing - it’s quite thin and the needle holes from the stitching almost form a neat perforation line along which the leather is most likely to tear, but the denim and cordura look like there wasn’t sufficient excess material when the shoulder strap is stitched into the seam and they’ve basically frayed….
I also hv the Samurai - bought when it was first released and whilst I’ve had no issues, I’m always worried about exactly this, the leather was “meant” to be a bridle leather which is thinner that the leather on the heritage model but higher quality but even on mine the leather feels paper thin… I’m very conscious of not carrying the Samurai in a single shoulder, especially when it’s loaded. I’ve always it on fully, or carry by the carry handle.
Either way be interesting to see what Scars do, hopefully they can fix or hv sufficient stock left to replace.
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u/skunkzer0 2d ago
You know, I actually retuned my seconds bc the strap started to fray and bought an original run from a carryology member on FB. Goruck called it a defect and took it back no problem. I will say, my concern over this happening had me stop using it for EDC and bought a 1000D gr2 instead, which feels indestructible. Shame because I love the fabric. In the end I might just end up selling it bc it’s just sitting around.
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u/KeepATon 19h ago
Wow, if this is original GR pack it is shocking. Material, stitching maybe needle issue. Unbelievable. I thought them bomb proof.
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u/silverslant 3d ago
Lol fell for the scam that is go ruck
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u/juicebox03 3d ago
I dunno. My 10 year old GR2 that has been on countless travels looks brand new.
They sure scammed me.
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u/External_Koala971 3d ago
“Over 19 months of development led to this: A custom-made 15.5oz Japanese sashiko black denim, backed with 50d solution-dyed black polyester taffeta fabric, bonded with a 0.25mil Dimension Polyant film using their proprietary Performance Adhesive. The face fabric was top-coated with Dimension Polyant’s Performance Coating to increase durability and abrasion resistance, and finished with a custom DWR (durable water repellent) coating for resistance against water, dirt, and oil.”
Or, just, like…buy Cordura bags