Updated August 8, 2025 01:48PM
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Deal of the Week: Our Ultralight Columnist's Top Budget Pack
The Granite Gear Virga 2 is an affordable frameless pack, and right now it's on sale for 30 percent off.
Granite Gear Virga 2 (Photo: courtesy)
When we asked Backpacker’s ultralight expert Nathan Pipenberg to put together an ultralight kit for under $500 in 2022, he chose Granite Gear’s Virga 2, a 54-liter, 19-ounce, frameless roll-top, to fill the pack slot. Three years later, the price on the Virga has gone up—but a sale from the manufacturer is dropping it down to even cheaper than when we first picked it. While it doesn’t have a toplid or hipbelt pockets, two side pockets and a stretch pocket at the front make up for it. Compression straps on the side of the Virga keep it from barreling. (Like all frameless packs, you’ll want to slim down the rest of your kit—Pipenberg recommends you keep your total load under 25 pounds—to avoid overloading the suspension.)
Looking for something a little more full-featured? Granite Gear’s Blaze 60L adds on an internal frame, hipbelt pockets, a side zipper, and a toplid, bringing the weight up to an even 3 pounds. It’s currently on sale for $165, or 45 percent off, at Backcountry.
