Osprey Atmos 65 AG Review

The Osprey Atmos AG 65 is the pack that changed the game forever by popularizing the trampoline back panel. To this day, it remains one of our favorite backpacks. It is the real deal for any length of backpacking trip. Its overall design is user-friendly, with well-thought-out pockets to stay organized. The Anti-Gravity suspension is extremely comfortable, even after hours on the trail.

Comfort

The Atmos is an incredibly comfortable pack. The AG or Anti-Gravity suspension uses a suspended trampoline mesh. This feature is fairly common, but the AG takes it one step further. Not only is the entire back panel suspended, but the hip belt is also adding to that hip-hugging feel.

The results impressed us. Despite some initial skepticism, most of our testers agreed that this design distributed weight across our backs and waist quite well for moderate loads. This eliminates hot spots, pressure points, and other high-friction areas. The shoulder straps also have effective padding. They are thicker around your shoulders, tapering to a thinner, more perforated design around the mid-chest.

Not only is the padding thicker, but it is also pleasantly cushy. It strikes a delicate balance of being soft enough to conform to the wearer's shape (a good thing) without being too soft. However, the shoulder straps are a bit too cushy when the weight is over forty pounds. We then noticed an obvious lack of weight distribution.

The back panel is exceptionally well-ventilated. It's an excellent choice for warmer adventures or for folks who are just plain sweaty. The AG or Anti-Gravity suspension is used on the back panel and the hip belt, creating exceptional breathability and setting the Atmos apart from most other contenders.

The LightWire tensioned peripheral frame is moderately stiff and extremely effective at transferring loads up to forty pounds. However, above 50 pounds, it gets a little “mushy” and doesn't feel as comfortable as a handful of other models, nor does it carry the overly heavy load as efficiently. We found that packs with a more traditional suspension perform better with heavier loads.

Ease of Use

The Atmos has one of our review teams' favorite all-around designs. It has a rich array of pockets, adequate access, and many other great features. The oversized zippered hip belt pockets were a favorite feature and some of the biggest in our review.

The Atmos has plenty of access to the main compartment, through the top, the bottom sleeping bag compartment, and even through long side zippers. The waist belt pockets easily accommodate items like a smartphone and snacks and feature a design that makes opening and closing them while hiking easy.

Our reviewers' opinions were mixed on the dual-sided mesh water bottle pockets. On the one hand, they allow you to insert water bottles either vertically or angled forward, making them accessible without having to remove the pack. On the other hand, tall bottles encroach into our natural elbow path of motion, and they require two hands to load them, which is slightly tricky.

One of our favorite features was the stretchy mesh “stuff it” pocket. This pocket is perfect for spare layers, camp sandals, fuel bottles, and other awkwardly shaped items. Wrapping around the mesh beavertail pocket, you'll find two decent-sized zippered pockets. These pockets add to this pack's ability to keep us organized. It also features a lower zippered sleeping bag compartment with a removable divider. The two compression straps that cover the sleeping bag compartment are big enough to hold a large, closed-cell foam pad.

The top lid has two zipper pockets, and its floating design makes it removable, so it can be left behind to save weight. However, if you do this, you won't have anything to cover the cinch-top opening, so we don't recommend this strategy for saving weight with this particular pack.

Weight-to-Volume Ratio

At just over four and a half pounds, the Atmos is about the average weight for packs in our review. Compared to its carrying capacity of 65 liters, it still doesn't add up to an impressive weight-to-volume ratio.

While the Atmos is hardly “ultralight,” it has a respectable weight and gives up virtually nothing in comfort or features. The suspension system is also far superior in many ways when compared to some of its competitors. Still, it isn't the lightest pack by any means, especially considering the amount of gear it carries. If you are looking for the lightest pack that can carry forty-plus pounds, others outperform it.

Adjustability

The Atmos is available in three sizes and features Osprey's Fit on the Fly adjustment system. This system offers a good vertical range when adjusting the shoulder straps (around four inches of vertical play), which lets you dial in the perfect torso length for your specific needs.

This pack also features a hip belt with up to six inches of adjustment to fit a wide range of waist sizes. This range maximizes the comfort of the hip belt and ensures appropriate coverage of the wearer's iliac crest to reduce hot spots. However, when loads get above the forty-pound range, the hip belt isn't quite rigid enough to support the added weight.

Several of our testers used the Atmos AG 65 in the field, and we talked to several local outdoor shops about their luck fitting folks with the Atmos. All the shops we spoke to confirmed our initial reaction, in which we found that the Atmos fits most people fantastically, regardless of their body shape. The ability to dial in the fit is one of the reasons so many of our testers found it to be one of the most comfortable packs in our review.

Should You Buy the Osprey Atmos AG 65?

The Osprey Atmos AG 65 is an exceptionally comfortable and well-ventilated pack that has most of the features our testers love. For moderate weights of forty pounds or less, it is one of the more comfortable packs in our review. For warm-weather hikers, this pack also brings an unprecedented amount of ventilation and is worth looking at if you log many days in hot climates.

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