Virga Cliffrose 55L

[talagnu]

chris, how are you handling the lack of side pockets for water bottles?

[Chris K]

Take the pack off :)

I know it’s probably not what most people like to do but for some reason I don’t mind. Could be a flexibility thing – I just can’t seem to do the reach on typical packs very easily – and I kinda like taking a short break to drink and look around.

I just picked up a couple of their new shoulder strap pockets and I plan to carry a 500 ml soft flask w/ filter in one of them.

Going in another direction, I know they are testing a hipbelt bottle holster, taking after the Nunatak Bears Ears. The holster on that pack is bar none perfect IMO. Superior to side pockets for water carry and access.

[Murali C]

Does a Bearikade (blazer is what I have) with a 8.7 inch diameter fit inside?

[Chris K]

Not sure about the Blazer, but a BV500 fits vertically inside with wiggle room for padding around it as desired. If you drop a BV500 straight to the bottom of the pack (sorry, don’t know the height off hand), the top of the can comes to about halfway up that square mesh panel on the front.

[Thomas W]

Just wanted to post a quick update here with my experience with this pack, since I haven’t seen many previous posts on BPL about Virga Packing Company and I think they deserve to be on a lot of folks radar.

Here’s a few highlights of the pack for me:

For some background, every pack I’ve ever owned has always been “good enough”. I’d get them, I’d use them, and I’d find myself scouring the internet for the next one. But, I have not spent any time looking at other packs since I got this one 15 months ago. I have used this pack for 1000+ miles in California, predominately the Sierra Nevada, and I see very minimal wear. I just hand washed it and it came out looking nearly brand new. The hip belt is for sure the stiffest I’ve ever used in the UL industry, and it works really well for me. I don’t experience slippage or sagging and I haven’t had any bruising or pressure points. I did spend some time breaking it in with shorter wears before long days/trips. I was very nervous about the lack of load lifters based on previous experience with framed packs that didn’t have them, but it’s turned out to be completely unnecessary for me with this pack. Haven’t missed them yet, and heaviest starting pack weight I’ve had was north of 40lbs. I think the shaping of the side/back panels gives it some curve and this back hugging design with the frame top bar works well to keep the weight nicely balanced. The articulating shoulder straps work really well for me, they eliminated a common chafe point I typically get on my traps. I also really like the side pockets. They hold a ton of stuff and keep it tight, and it’s easy for me to access water bottles on the go by reaching over the top (ymmv).

The one I have is an earlier version of the pack they are selling today (I think the main difference is vertical stays on the frame have been improved).

TLDR; I would highly recommend the Virga Packing Company Cliffrose to a friend

[Alex Wallace]

Thanks, Thomas. I’ve had the Cliffrose on my radar since day 1. I’d love to get my hands on one, but every time I looked to purchase, my size was “out of stock.” Anyways, I’ve signed up for stock notifications so hopefully I can get one soon.

[Ben Kilbourne]

Thomas, thanks for the write-up! I can’t remember which foam you have. We started out with a 6lb foam that was indeed stiff but broke in nicely. We are now using a 3lb evazote laminated to a 6lb crosspoly backer. It’s super comfortable and doesn’t collapse.

Yep, the original version was an I-shaped frame, we moved to two vertical stays only a few inches apart and then in September 2023 or thereabouts we moved the stays out to the edges of the back panel. This keeps them away from the body and increases comfort dramatically. Other than little tweaks here and there, that’s probably the biggest difference between your pack and the latest one.

Alex Wallace, sorry for being perpetually out of stock. I do believe that will be changing this year, I just don’t have an exact ETA.

[Alex Wallace]

No worries, Ben. I appreciate what you and Porter are doing with these packs and if that means I have to wait a bit, so be it.

[Ben Kilbourne]

Hey folks! Just wanted to drop a low-key announcement for those in the BPL community who might be interested: https://www.virgapacking.com/backpacks/p/cliffrose-50l-backpack-v1 We’ve opened a presale. We’ve found a shop here in Utah that will be making packs for us and a batch of 50 will be dropping in April. 13 Medium Black, 12 Small Black, 13 Medium White, 12 Small White.

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