Loadout: Joint Forest Ruck
Here a joint loadout from Saturday where my son and I explored a local forest he’d not seen before.
- PDW SHADO Pack with:
- Pack Config Adapt Patch
- Ru-Titley Marker
- Stick!
- SHADO Frame Sheet
- SHADO Waist Belt
- PDW Gear Trap
- PDW AO2 Pouch with self assembled First Aid/Trauma kit and another Ru-Titley Marker!
- EDCO Panel with:
- ITS Tactical Patch (for morale!)
- Thyrm Cell Vault with spare batteries
- Leatherman Wave BO
- Homemade loop organiser panel with safety whistle, FOURSEVENS Torch, Petzl Headtorch and Oscar Delta Go Tube
- PDW SP1 Pouch with my everyday first aid items (patches from Pack Config and Into The Wild)
- Another SP1 with Leatherman Bit Kit, Gorilla Tape, homemade fire making kit
- Klean Kanteen (beat-up adventuring edition)
- Matador Camera Base Layer (currently being tested out)
- iPhone 6 with Magpul Case
- Snacks inside a metal lunch box compartment
- Paracord
- Son’s bear cup
- Metal lunch box
- Baby wipes – so many uses! We get them through Amazon Subscribe and Save which is worth looking into!
- () with:
- PDW All Terrain, DRB and Lego patch
- Cool Elephant zipper pull
- Various Carabiners
- Not shown, Stealth LT with Pack Config Risk Patch
While most of this kit is unnecessary (we could have just taken a plastic bag with our picnic in!) navigating through the fallen trees, holly bushes, mud, steep valleys and rivers with a pack on our backs with a few items to be prepared for the unexpected (even if that’s the sticks we have to take home!) is all part of the fun for my son and I.
Carrying him back through the undergrowth after we’ve gone as far as his legs will take him is what makes it a “ruck”, rather than simply a walk in the woods.
The EDCO Panel is really worth highlighting here. I’ve attached all my everyday items to it and sit it inside my GORUCK Bullet day to day, but when we decide to head out into the wild, I can just lift it out and switch it over to any pack I like.
The 28L of the SHADO Pack was ample room to fit in lunch and 2 sets of extra layers to accommodate for our fickle UK weather, plus the Gear Trap was great for holding those sticks you always end up carrying when you head out with a 3 year old!
Classic picnic on a fallen tree!
Below is my loadout including my Stealth LT waterproof layer and the new Pack Config – Risk Patch!
Editor: Nothing helps our pack choices more than learning from others. Whether it’s your tried and test combination of items or something new you’re trying out, we want to see it. Click below to get started or click here for help on what to send us.
Nat Wagstaff Editor-in-Chief
While I was researching packs for a 100km endurance hiking challenge, my interest in how we organise our gear gave birth to Pack Config, a place that inspires its readers to improve their own packs. What I carry, either daily or out on a hike, is constantly being refined as I discover new methods and products. More…
Do you have instructions or a link to how you made the loop organizer panel?
Hi Doug, thanks for asking! I haven’t actually put out any info on how I made it. It’s not particularly stunning but it does the job. It’s basically a piece of cordura, backed with hook and a 1.5″ (or possibly 2″!) and 1″ strip of elastic that’s stitched down like PALS. Hope that helps until I feature it a bit more!