AllOutdoor Review – GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0
Patrik Orcutt 06.02.23
GORUCK is a company whose very DNA comes from U.S. Army Special Operations. The company was started in 2008 by Jason McCarthy who served as a communications sergeant in the 10th Special Forces Group and saw combat in Iraq. He met his wife, Emily McCarthy, who was working as a CIA case officer there. Focused on equipping his wife for any situation she might encounter, McCarthy designed a “go bag” for Emily. Their goal was pretty simple, “build a rucksack with life-or-death quality standards that would thrive in Baghdad and NYC.” Today, GORUCK is a globally recognized brand for building some of the toughest rucksacks in the world. They also offer training events where highly motivated individuals can test the limits of their rucks and physical strength. Personally, I have been yelled at enough while carrying heavy things in my military career so I couldn’t imagine paying money for such an activity, but to each is their own. GORUCK is a really interesting brand and I highly recommend jumping over to their website and reading their full story or checking out Ethan E. Rocke’s article “GORUCK: HOW A BACKPACK COMPANY BECAME A GLOBAL MOVEMENT;” it’s a good read. The focus of this review will be on the GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0 (60-Pound model).
The GORUCK Workout Sandbag was purchased by the reviewer and GORUCK has had no input on this independent review.
The sandbag was tested in a home gym environment over the course of the past eight months. It has been slammed into the ground of a concrete floor a thousand times at this point. I also used this bag on a trip to Florida to supplement not having a gym nearby.
Last August, I left the active duty Army and moved back to my hometown in Maine. One of the best parts about living on base is there is always a gym you can workout in. In stark contrast, the closest gym to my house is about a 35-minute drive and is not filled with the best equipment. I thought about building my own home gym, but I found how expensive that would be to have just a basic setup. I had seen the GORUCK workout sandbags before and actually used them in a “prison gym”/old office space at one of the bases I lived at in Germany. When I went onto GORUCK’s website to look at some of their workout equipment they were running a 50% off sale on some of their sandbags and I decided to pull the trigger on the GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0.
Specs – GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0
- Scars Lifetime Guarantee: This is the best guarantee on the market for Training Sandbags other gear
- Reinforced, Double pass stitching at every seam
- Primary Material: 1000D CORDURA®
- Triple Velcro Closure Filler Bags with reinforced nylon webbing
- 60LB Sandbag: 28″L x 8.5″D
- MSRP: $60
Durability – GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0
When picking a training sandbag, you definitely want to get one that is going to stand up to a beating. Whenever I train, I tend to throw my sandbag down on a concrete floor and after doing this action, several thousand times, I’m quite pleased with the overall durability of the GORUCK’S sandbag. This durability is no small part due to the material chosen for the sandbag.
Primarily being constructed of 1000D Cordura, and having reinforced double pass stitching at every seam makes this sandbag quite robust. On the top of the same bag, you will find a triple Velcro closure with reinforced nylon webbing which is where you fill the same bag with your preferred choice of sand. GORUCK recommends against using place sand for this bag. When I first received my sandbag, I filled it with plain old gravel from out behind my house. This works good for a while, but over time. The gravel turned into fine sand, and I began seeing some sifting its way out of the bag whenever I threw it on the ground. I then decided to fill it with play sand which again is not recommended, but this seems to work much better than loose gravel. I also did this to see if the play sand would break the bag.
Like all the right products, the same bag comes with the Scars lifetime guarantee which is one of the best warranties on the market for anything related to bags. Essentially no matter how you break something, GORUCK will fix it for you for free. This is really impressive and it means a lot to see a manufacturer stand behind their product in such a bold way. After close to nine months of thrashing the sandbag and throwing it on the ground, I see very little wear on the exterior of the bag and I’m very impressed with the durability of this product at this point in time.
Performance – GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0
One of the reasons I like this sandbag so much is that it pairs great for longer trips on the road. Often times I find it difficult to find a place to work out when I’m traveling, but if I take my workout gear with me, it’s not so difficult. Usually, I will take all the sand out of my bag. Then, wherever I end up staying for a few days, find some more play sand at a local hardware store to fill up my sandbag. This is one of my favorite features of the bag is that when not filled it is very light and compact and easy to travel with.
As mentioned before, in the nine months I’ve owned this bag I have had zero tears of any of the fabric so the durability is great. The handles on the top of the bag are easy to grip and are placed in a good spot for me to get a good purchase on the sandbag when exercising. GORUCK offers a companion app with all of their exercise gear. It’s not free, but every day you get access to a new work out and many of them incorporate sandbags. I use their training program every day as I like a variety in my exercising, I’d recommend the app to anybody who wants to get the most out of their sandbag, or who is relatively new to sandbag workouts in general.
Wrap Up – GORUCK Workout Sandbags 2.0
Overall, I think the GORUCK workout sandbag is a very solid piece of gear and relatively inexpensive. Coming in at only $60, it’s one of the more affordable pieces of gear that GORUCK produces. Also, being an incredibly versatile tool for home workouts. I love using this product when I’m traveling or when I don’t feel like driving to the gym. The durability is on par with everything else the company produces, and is backed by their amazing lifetime guarantee. If you were looking to start training at home more, I highly recommend starting with one of these sandbags.
