Apparently, I’m on a tear, reviewing bags like a man possessed. A few weeks ago, I put out the call, and now UPS is practically a fixture at the studio, delivering a steady stream of contenders. In the past few weeks, I’ve taken in shipments from GORUCK, Evergoods, Peak Design, and a few other usual suspects. And I’ve been testing them, putting them through the wringer—and I’ve been genuinely, shockingly surprised.

Let’s rewind for a second. Here’s how my typical setup looked:

Camera Bag: GORUCK Kaidan Bullet. Perfect in every way for what I do, and you couldn’t pay me to switch it up.

Sub-25L Travel Bag: GORUCK Dual Compartment 18L Bullet. Just the right size for a weekend jaunt—enough room to carry the essentials without bogging me down.

Over-25L Travel Pack: GORUCK Kaidan GR2. My go-to for one-bag travel. Beautiful, rugged, and tough as nails.

The logic behind sticking with GORUCK was simple: their bags share a cohesive design language. Whether I’m lugging the compact 18L Bullet or the behemoth 34L GR2, I know exactly where to find my gear in each one. Predictability and reliability—two things you can’t put a price on.

But then, a few months back, during some hellish trip with my Kaidan GR2, things went south. I overpacked the damned thing—rookie mistake—and the experience was a slog. It got me thinking: maybe it was time to downsize. I started shopping for a smaller GR1 to cut down on my tendency to overpack. But when I waded into the market, I found myself in a labyrinth of limited editions, hype, and enough chaos to drive a man to madness. I wasn’t about to chase some unicorn of a bag, so I did the unthinkable—I jumped ship.

I took delivery of an Alpha 31 and decided to give it a real shot. I’ve always been drawn to the look of these things, but they were as elusive as Bigfoot the last time I checked. This time, I got lucky, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago.

One trip was all it took to hit me like a sledgehammer—I’d been missing the point of a good backpack all these years. I was so fixated on having a bombproof bag that I never stopped to consider one that actually fit what I was carrying and stayed comfortable, no matter the load. I didn’t need two “rucking” packs—I needed one versatile bag that could flex with my needs. And that’s exactly what the Alpha 31 is. It handles both heavy and light loads with grace, staying comfortable no matter what I throw at it.

So now, my entire packing philosophy is turned on its head. I sold off my GR2 and my 18L Bullet because the Alpha covers both bases. But I’m hanging on to the Bullet as a camera bag—that’s irreplaceable. I’ve still got some pouch configurations to work out, but otherwise, I’m off to the races.

And here I am, eating my own words just weeks after swearing that my GORUCK setup was the only way to go… Figures.

Anyway, more details here.