As of writing this GORUCK has not restocked the Kid Ruck for months which begs the question… what’s a kid to do? What many people don’t realize is that the GORUCK Echo is very similar in size to the larger of the Kid Rucks. If your little one is itching for a GORUCK pack then hopefully this will help you determine if an Echo would be right for them.

Here we have the two GORUCK Kid Rucks on the left and the Echo (in black) on the right. The smaller of the two Kid Rucks is 8 liters while the larger is 13 liters. The GORUCK Echo comes in at 16 liters giving it twice the space as the smaller Kid Ruck but only 3 liters larger than the larger Kid Ruck.

The backs of the packs are fairly similar… both the Kid Rucks and the Echo have webbing on the shoulders. The Echo has the standard back panel that you see on the GR1 and GR2 while the Kid Ruck has three panel set up.

We’ll be comparing the 13 liter pack with the Echo for the rest of the post. The 8 liter and 13 liter are identical (besides size) and it’s easier to tell the difference when comparing the larger version. If you’re curious about the Kid Rucks you should check out our 8 liter vs 13 liter Kid Ruck Comparison post.

Looking closely at the front of the two packs you’ll notice that the Echo is slightly taller than the 13 liter Kid Ruck. Both have the patch area and the slant zip pocket however the Echo has two rows of MOLLE webbing.

The bottom of the packs are fairly similar but you’ll begin to notice that the Echo zips the entire way to the bottom while the Kid Ruck does not.

Here you can see exactly where the Kid Ruck zipper ends while the Echo zipper continues to the bottom. For a kid’s school bag it’s kind of nice that the zipper doesn’t unzip the whole way… that way it’s much harder for your child to accidentally dump out their entire pack.

Looking at the top of the pack you can see that the Echo has the standard GORUCK padded handle while the Kid Ruck has a 1″ strap of webbing. While the Kid Ruck handle isn’t as comfortable as the Echo it is designed to easily hang off a coat hook… which is something most kid packs grow accustomed to.

Underneath the padded handle on the GORUCK Echo is the standard hydration port with Velcro closure. The Kid Ruck does not have a hydration port under the handle.

The Echo has a laptop compartment (very similar to the GR1 and GR2) while the Kid Ruck does not have a laptop compartment. Neither of the packs have a framesheet (thanks /u/micha_x!) so you’re not missing anything there.

The inside of the two packs are fairly similar however the Echo has two rows of webbing while the Kid Ruck does not. Both have a nice pocket that can be used to store documents and folders.

It’s tough to get good shots on the inside of the Kid Ruck as the pack doesn’t open completely but here’s what the front looks like. Both of the packs have the top zip pocket while only the Echo has the Mesh zipper pocket. The Kid Ruck also has a nice section of loop Velcro for displaying your favorite patches.

Since the Echo opens completely it’s fairly easy to try and fit the Kid Ruck inside of it.

It’s a tight fit but with a little wiggling…

… you can make it fit completely.

Back to the outside of the pack you can see that neither the Echo nor the Kid Ruck have webbing on the side.

Both packs feature very similar hardware and use the batwing to attach the shoulder strap to the pack. You can see the false bottom in the GORUCK Echo in this picture which isn’t included in the Kid Ruck… which makes sense. The false bottom exists to protect your laptop if it’s inside your pack and your pack drops.

Overall the GORUCK Echo and Kid Rucks are very comparable in size. If you’ve got a kid who wants a GORUCK pack, and you’re willing to splurge on an Echo for them, then it could be a great option. In addition, they’ll be able to grow into the slightly taller Echo and get many more years of use out of it compared to a Kid Ruck. Hopefully you found this comparison useful and if you have any questions or want any additional pictures please leave a comment!