Granite Gear Virga Backpack

Great pack - very lightweight, but rides like an internal frame pack as long as you stay below 20 pounds. Webbing hipbelt lets your hips move freely, not constricting like a padded belt. Nicely padded shoulder straps, too. Fold your Thermarest short pad in half lengthwise, then width-wise, and insert it along the back of the pack lock it in place by stuffing your sleeping bag in the bottom - voila! instant framesheet! Put your tent poles or a folded chair kit along the inside edge of the pad, and you've got a pack with stays - and it will now carry almost 25 pounds comfortably. The load lifters really make this pack most frameless packs don't have them, and pull away from your shoulders the

For the backpacker with a light, but not ultralight mentality the Granite Gear Virga should be taken into serious consideration when purchasing a new backpack. It dwells in a class with only a handful of other packs on the market that fall into the 1 lb. frameless category. I have spent the past year thoroughly researching and purchasing other packs all of which I've turned around and sold in an attempt at getting just-the-right-one. The Virga is my latest test and in my initial opinion am very pleased. Firstly I highly suggest Moosejaw as an outfitter for a number of reasons. Price: met or undersold all competitors by around 10%. Service: Excellent communication with

This one does a good job of keeping the pack weight down but providing a reasonably burly and quite comfortable harness to haul your goodies. Keep it under, say, 25 or 30 pounds and you're good. Go heavier and you may wish for more support. In all, this is a highly recommended pack -- and the one I actually use for 3-season camping.It does have a couple of oddities, though. the compression straps run right over the side pockets, possibly making certain objects hard to get in or out. And the buckle on the minimalist weight belt wouldn't stay closed. (Granite Gear replaced it.) But overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

My 10 year old son carried an 18 pound load in this pack to Barr Camp from the trailhead and back over a long weekend. While the pack was a little lumpy due to the lack of a frame and probably from my lack of skill in packing a frameless pack, it did save him around 4 extra pounds in using this pack versus an internal or external framed pack. While still an effort due to the 11% grade and altitude, the pack made the trip easier and held-up well under the conditions.

I brought this pack on a 10 day backpacking trip in New mexico, and i had the lightest pack in my crew (12 people). Although extremely lightweight, it does lack hip padding which i would have liked to have, i put about 28 lbs in this pack for my trip and on day 6, one of the seams ripped, fortunately i had my sewing kit and was able to sew it back up, but after that trip i will only use this pack for light loads. (20 lbs or less)

It is light and hold a lot of crap!!! Seriously, I am using this for a thru-hike of the Appalachian this year. It is a rugged pack that barely feels like anything fully loaded. It is low profile and stayed on in all conditions so far, including bush whacking. It is mostly water proof except when getting hit by rouge waves at the beach. I tested it in extreme conditions and only one item got wet, and it was an item that was directly hit by the wave.

This is a great product for lightweight backpacking! The pack, as long as the weight is kept around 20-25 lbs, feels terrific. I actually like the thin waist strap as it gives me a lot more mobility at the waist. It feels very comfortable while hiking at steep inclines for long distance. I found I could slip my Camelbak into the folds of my z rest, and this gave plenty of support.

My son wore this pack on a trip to Barr camp on Pike's Peak with around a 20 pound load and it worked well. Packing the load to help with stability is a must as there is no frame or padding for the back of the pack.

This pack is very light, well made and perfect for ultralight backpacking. The straps are heavily padded which I don't like and the extension collar is taller than the pack itself but these are easily modified. So all in all a great pack.

This is great pack for day hikes and fast trecks. It rides on the back well and doesnt bounce around much.