Osprey Men's Atmos 65 Pack

“Maybe its Spamalam................Linville Gorge???

(just stirring up trouble......carry on)”

“marko,
what about linville gorge?”

“Bonecrusher, I realize he's just a troll but (rides151) I want the Gregory because I had a "Shasta" a couple years back and love the suspension system and know that Gregory is pretty much bombproof (at least from my perspective) and that I carry 40+ pounds when bp'n. I need a pack I can believe in. However, I have never had an Osprey but my bp'n buddy has one that we had out on a 3 day hike. He didn't complain and I thought it was a good lookin pack with no issues I could see............carried all he had with no problems. Rides, maybe you are a bit conservative on your weight estimates? My first thought was that you might have more weight than you are thinking you have. I'm the same way...........unless I stand on the scales and weigh out........”

“rides151 now has entered North Carolina as his State of residence.

rides151 - I should be in NC in 5 to 10 days. Send me an e-mail and tell me where I can try to meet you. I'll buy you some coffee. I do have some questions for you about the "Mountains to Sea Trail." Thanks.

AKA bonecrusher”

“NOWSLIMMER! you damn troll.......LOL.......”

“Nowslimmer-you can find me in the morganton/hickory area. MTST is very nice!

chappy and others-
I have had myself and all my gear on the scales. I am now at the lightest weight i have ever carried for a 3 day trip. 34lbs (give or take a lb or 2 depending on extras i decide to add at last minute) thats with 1 32oz nalgene bottle full, 1 20 oz. sigg full, and 2 500ml nalgene full, 3 days of food. The Gregory just handles this weight better, and the room in the pack is better then the atmos, due to atmos having the large intrusion in the back panel. I swear to everyone when i loaded 28lbs or more into the atmos it gave me fits! The pack seriously started failing. Maybe my idea of a packs working like it is suppose to (for me) is the weight is 90% (at least)on the hips and the rest on the shoulders. Are some of you spreading the weight to be more like 60/40?? If I had put that atmos on and spread half the weight to my shoulders it could not have started bending, but am i correct, that for backpacking trips, u want most of the weight on the hips? It would kill my back for alot of weight to be on my shoulders. But i can see how if you tightened that pack into your body with wieght on your shoulder it would be a nice snug fit, but then you have to worry about being constricted.
last edited: 4/15/07 8:54:15 PM”

“not a bunyip!”

“with all that water, perhaps you need a water filter......seriously though, I just like Gregorys susp. systems, they let me adjust the weight as needed for different times of the day depending on how long I'm hiking in a day.....9 miles or 15+......but I do like the weight on my hips mostly with 'load lifters' tightened to pull the shoulder straps into my chest more than onto my shoulders.”

“that water is my maximum I would carry, most cases i would only carry 1 32 oz. nalgene and 1 20 oz. sigg (water taste better out of sigg). I do have a filter. In the mountains here, sometimes you may be in the land of a million streams or on mountains where there isnt water for miles. so you never know.
But that is exactly how i carry my weight. load lifters pulled snugg so that the sternum strap is tight on my chest. So the shoulder straps are mainly used to pull the back into my back.”

“I was kiddin', Rides.

There is a TT'er named SPAM who hikes Linville Gorge and lives fairly close.”

“Jeez, you folks are brutal:-) Hey, with all the Atmos talk and questions about loads, why hasn't anyone just upgraded the suspension to an Aether 70? Less than a lb heavier than an Atmos and will take loads on up to 60+ lbs if you are so inclined. It does not have the frame curvature that cuts the pack bag space, has a mesh backpanel (that works), and costs retail $20 more.

rides151, if you are legit and not just trolling for giggles, yeah, the weight should be carried on the hips rather than the shoulders. Try cinching your load lifters tight going uphill and loosening them on down hill stretches. Puts the pack weight in a vertical plane and rides very nice on the hips giving your shoulders a rest. The sternum strap is there only to keep the shoulder straps from sliding. Should be worn fairly loose. The only thing a tight sternum strap will do is give you a sore sternum.”

“I also have the Atmos 50, making it my second Osprey and most favorite pack. Weighing in at under 3lbs and having a great suspension, not to mention the way the back breathes. I've even overloaded it on occasion like here in Yosemite when I added a bear canister total packweight around 43lbs.



If you use a water bladder and put it in the airspace it will cool your back....I love that feature on a hot day.”