I got a KR1 – Kid Ruck in last week and had a chance to take a look at it. (Also, you might want to hurry, there are fewer than 40 left at the time of writing.) This is not a review, but rather my initial impressions of the bag, since I won’t have had enough time with it before the school year to weigh in on it more.

First, a comparison picture:

It’s almost identical to an Echo in size. The key differences are: lack of MOLLE, no laptop compartment, and no box nylon web detail at the top of the straps. If your budget allows, there’s no reason to buy a Kid Ruck over an Echo, but there are differences.

Some thoughts:

• The lack of MOLLE makes this look far better for kids, and the embroidered logo on the black nylon is not noticeable.
• The straps are the same as the Echo, minus the GORUCK stitch detail at the top connection. The main reason here is price, that’s a signature look GORUCK seems to save for the more expensive GR-line bags.
• The interior has a bunch of loop area for attaching Velcro backed items, or more patches, it’s very nice. I wish this was an option on all the bags.
• The back padding, is detailed differently from the backs of the GR bags. I’m sure it is fine, but it looks more plain.

Like the Echo, it fits my daughter just fine. It’s still big for my 4 year old. I think it is fine for the 4 year old, but only because she wears size 6 clothes. My oldest, in size 8, fits the bag well, and will be able to grow into it. My current plan if all goes accordingly is to have them stay with the Echo until it is time to move to a GR1. (Heh.)

A lot of people think these bags are too small, but I don’t see it. GORUCK bags always look small and carry big. This is perhaps the nicest bag you can buy for a kid, that’s readily apparent just from handling it. But you pay the price for that. Oh, any my oldest thinks it is very cool now that I swapped out the zipper pulls with pink paracord for her. (I swear I gave her the option of buying another color, but she wanted black.)