Review – Spec Ops Brand, Recon Ruck Ultra by Alpha
I wanted a rucksack; however, I don’t know anything about rucksacks. Like an intrepid young lad, I headed over to Google for a quick search. Much to my dismay, the search uncovered very little in the way of rucksack reviews or recommendations.
Luckily, I had just stumbled upon a nice tactical gear shop—Texas Tactical Gear (www.texastacticalgear.com)—so I sauntered over there to see what they had in stock. Like a blind man in a gentleman’s club, I was going to feel my way around the shop until I found something I liked.
After chatting with the shop’s owners, I settled on the Recon Ruck Ultra, from Spec Ops Brand (www.specopsbrand.com). Manufactured in the USA (in Monahans, Texas specifically), the Recon Ruck Ultra is modeled after the classic ALICE rucksack that the US Armed Forces have been using for many years. Of course, I use the word “modeled” because the Recon Ruck Ultra contains a significant number of improvements on the original ALICE design.
When I first picked up the ruck, I was amazed by the weight and feel of the pack. Made from 1000D Cordura nylon, this pack is tough! Complementing the strength of the material is the quality of the stitching on this pack. Double, and even triple, stitching is used throughout the pack and heavy duty nylon webbing is used to backup all the attachment points for the shoulder straps and waist belt.
Another new feature of the Recon Ruck Ultra is the inclusion of PALS webbing across the upper flap and down both sides. PALS webbing is rapidly becoming the standard for attaching pouches and pockets and is fully compatible with current MOLLE and MOLLE2 accessories which are circulating through the surplus market. Personally, I plan to attach a bevy of Tactical Tailor 3-Mag M16 pouches that I have laying around to the sides and top for additional storage space.
The three exterior pockets feature both Velcro and Fastex buckle closures, a significant improvement over the old ALICE pack. Each pocket also features a Velcro silencer, allowing for silent operation in high-tension situations.
The final innovation included with this pack is compatibility with most water bladder systems—Camelback, Hydrastorm, etc. There is a thin pouch in the back of the pack that allows for the storage of the water bladder and you can run the drinking tube up through the pack opening and down the shoulder strap.
Of course, since the pack is modeled after the classic ALICE pack, it fits on a standard pack frame. These pack frames are readily available on the surplus market for very little money. I plan to wear the Recon Ruck Ultra as a frameless assault pack, but I might pick up a frame, just in case.
I got the chance to use my new rucksack this weekend in an albeit diminished capacity. My nice new ruck was the gear-toting mule for the evening. Loading the Recon Ruck Ultra up with various tidbits of gear—gas canisters, goggles, gloves, tools, BBs, etc—I discovered that this pack has enormous capacity! I didn’t think that I was ever going to fill this pack up!
Throwing the pack over my shoulder and carrying it from the car to the staging area revealed that this pack is extremely comfortable to wear. Even when loaded with approximately thirty pounds of gear, the pack distributed the weight evenly across my shoulders and waist, allowing me to carry the load comfortably and without strain. I have to give kudos to Spec Ops Brand for including extra padding in the shoulder straps—this was one of the main disappointments in the original ALICE pack.
Although I haven’t gotten to put the Recon Ruck Ultra through a real torture test yet, I have no doubts that it’ll pass with flying colors. If you’re in the market for a quality rucksack, I strongly recommend the Recon Ruck Ultra from Spec Ops Brand. Suggested retail price is $149.95 but I procured mine for $110 plus tax from Texas Tactical Gear.
Also, I'm going to recommend Texas Tactical Gear and Spec Ops Brand for all your tactical gear needs. The owners are excellent people and extremely knowledgeable about tactical gear. They have a tremendous amount of products in stock and if they don't have it in stock, they can most likely order it and get it to you ASAP! For everyone in the Houston-area, I would strongly suggest making the road trip down to the shop for a little hands-on tactical gear experience.
Right now, Spec Ops Brand is a relatively new company on the tactical gear scene, but I have heard rumors that they'll be releasing many new products (read: Tactical vests) in the near future. I wouldn't hesitate in the future to buy more gear from this exciting new company.
Related Links:
Texas Tactical Gear (www.texastacticalgear.com)
Spec Ops Brand (www.specopsbrand.com)
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