Osprey Atmos 65AG
Price: £180
Weight: 2,270g
Colour: red
Rated capacity: 65 litres
Country of manufacture: Vietnam
The Atmos 65AG is a big pack, standing 84cm high, and is comprehensively equipped for a serious backpacking trip.
Construction of the main body of the rucksack is a combination of 100D and 210D and 630D nylon. The base of the pack is reinforced 420D nylon. The whole thing feels very sturdy and this is reflected in its 2,270g weight.
There are lots of adjustments possible to make the pack fit and it also comes in three sizes: small, medium and large, with capacities of 62, 65 and 68cm respectively. The women’s version, the Aura 65AG, is sized XS, S and M, with 60, 62 and 65cm capacities.
The Atmos 65AG gained our best buy rating
The harness length can be matched to the user’s torso length by a slightly fiddly process of reaching into harness back and pushing down each side’s cams while sliding the top of the harness up or down. There are marks on the pack to make sure both sides are aligned evenly.
The hipbelt can also be adjusted using a Velcro-secured section, again with markings to ensure symmetry.
The women’s version is narrower and deeper and the hipbelt is shaped differently to take account of anatomical differences.
The whole back and harness are quite a radical design, but we’ll come back to that.
The main compartment is roomy, with enough space for a lightweight tent, stove, inflatable mat and all the clothing food and other bits and bobs that you would expect to need on a multi-day trip. There is a divider which separates the lower section, useful for your sleeping bag or similar sized item. This has its own zipped opening, with good big plastic loops in its pullers. The opening is nice and wide too, and there was no problem getting our sleeping bag in and out.
The main compartment is accessed from the top, and has an inner compression strap at the top which would double as a rope strap. There is then a drawcord with spring toggle fastener. Over this goes Osprey’s FlapJacket, a panel that covers the top opening and has concealed buckles that interlock with the main lid retaining straps. What this means is, you can take off the removable lid if you don’t need its space and want to lose weight from the pack. It will also give a bit of extra backward clearance for the user’s head if you’re tackling a route that means you need to look up a lot.
The lid can be removed and the top opening is then covered by the FlapJacket
The lid is a floating design that is completely removable. Extra space, if needed, can be provided by extending the top opening neck beyond the top edge of the pack’s back and then lengthening the retaining straps on the lid which can then be refastened and still cover the opening.
The lid itself has a fairly capacious zipped pocket and on top of that sits the separate pocket in which lives the rain cover, which is tethered by a webbing strap when in use. This can be removed completely if required using a Velcro fastening. There is also a key clip in this smaller compartment which will also accommodate a couple of small items even with the raincover in place.
Within the main compartment of the Atmos AG65 is a pouch to hold a hydration reservoir, and there’s also a suspension clip. Exit is central, so a tube can be directed down either shoulder strap.
On the front of the rucksack is a big stretchy open pocket for stuffing in such items as wet clothing or other gear that doesn’t need keeping dry. This is secured by a webbing strap and plastic buckle that sits under a little cowl to keep things neat.
Also either side of the front of the pack are long zipped pockets that go almost the full length of the pack. We found these useful for keeping in items you might want to get at more quickly, without having to unfasten the lid and top opening.
The Osprey pack also has stretch mesh pockets at the hip, which have openings both at the top and back. It’s a nice feature to have an extra opening, and means you don’t have to contort as much to try to get things in and out. The only drawback is that you can’t really put smaller items in, as they’re likely to slip out of the side opening.
The hipbelt also has a zipped pocket on each side. All the pack zip pullers have good big plastic loops which we found easy to use while wearing gloves.
The Atmos AG65 has two good big ice-axe poles that can also be used for walking poles. There are bungee fasteners at the top of the pack to keep them in place.
The harness can be adjusted to fit different torso lengths
Walking poles can be temporarily stashed if you need to use your hands on a scrambly section, using the Osprey Stow-on-the-Go fittings. This is a lower stretch plastic covered loop you slot them through, with another plastic stretch loop on the left shoulder strap that has a spring toggle to tighten it round the poles and keep them in place.
Compression of the pack comes via a doubled lower pair of straps and two single ones at the top. There are also compression straps for the lower compartment, which also double as attachment straps if you can’t fit everything in this big rucksack.
There are lots of nice design points which indicate Osprey has given thought to the needs of the long-distance backpacker, and quality is good throughout.
But what makes this a remarkable pack is how comfortable it is when carrying a big load. We’ve undertaken in the past long, multi-day walks where we’ve, quite frankly, come to hate our rucksack. But we think we’d make big friends with the Atmos 65AG.
The AG stands for anti-gravity, and it’s all about the unusual back and harness system.
The harness and trampoline section of the back both aid ventilation
The pack has a LightWire peripheral frame, with stays down either side, along the top and bottom of the body of the pack. These bear the pack’s load and keep it rigid, essential in something with the capacity of this Osprey model.
It’s how it transfers this load to the wearer that makes the Atmos 65AG a step forward for comfort.
The Anti-Gravity back panel is a trampoline-type mesh which ensures there’s a good supply of air to the back when using the rucksack. We were sceptical a pack of this size would manage that, but it did, surprisingly well.
This back section merges into the similarly designed harness, with the same mesh surface and a big, wrap-round hip section that literally embraces the user when you put it on. In fact, we found that the best way to get the pack on your back was to get into the hipbelt, which is sort of spring-loaded so you have to part it to get it on. Then, once you’ve got the hipbelt fastened, slip into the shoulder harness and tighten everything up.
The harness then has two ‘load-lifter’ straps which pull a sliding section at the top of the harness, which are attached to the top element of the pack’s frame, to come down into a sleeve on the harness straps. This directs any force from the pack’s weight directly down on to the harder section of the user’s shoulder at the front, rather than the softer top part which, when under prolonged load, can lead to shoulder and neck ache.
In use, most of the weight feels to be borne by the hip belt, which is easily tightened. All the belts, shoulder and hip, are comfortable, with ventilated soft foam elements.
With a typical combined pack and contents weight of 18kg (40lb) during testing, we felt very comfortable. There was very little perspiration build-up at the back, even when heading up our test hills. But more importantly, apart from the fact that our legs were having to lift an extra load equivalent to almost three stones, it was easy to forget you were carrying such a mass on the back.
On level sections, the Atmos 65AG was as comfortable as a daypack. We were concerned having the weight set away from the back by the suspension system, there would be instability, but this wasn’t a problem. The Osprey rucksack caused no more instability when on easy scrambles than any big-weight pack we’ve previously used.
The hip belt length and fit can also be adjusted
If we undertake any multi-day expeditions in the future, we think the Atmos 65AG will be on our back. It’s not cheap, but a good pack can make a trip and bad one can make every day a trial. This Osprey rucksack enabled us to get on with what we were there for: enjoying the great outdoors, without the niggles many big packs cause.
For carrying a big weight over difficult ground, the Atmos 65AG was as good as we’ve found. It comes with the usual Osprey quality and attention to detail, and felt very robust too.
Pros:
Comfort
Back ventilation
Design detail
Cons:
Price
Performance 32/35
Comfort 32/35
Features 8/10
Quality 8/10
Value for money 6/10
Total score: 86/100
This gained the Osprey Atmos 65AG rucksack our 
rating.
More details are on the Osprey website.
