What's It For?
Osprey has revised the brilliant Atmos 25 along with its 35 and 50-litre siblings for 2009. It's a lightweight, all-round hill and mountain pack with a ventilated back system for warm weather comfort and built-in flex and stretch to make for easy movement.
The Techy Bits
The Atmos range has always been unabashedly technical and the new version is mostly about refining the original and excellent Atmos 25 that scored a perfect five stars for performance when we tested it in 2005.
The most obvious change is to the back system. The 2009 version uses a new tensioned Airspeed back panel which has a much smaller air gap than before so the load sits closer to the back. The alloy frame is still flexible to allow the pack to move slightly with your body.
That's backed up with a harness and hip-belt with a small amount of built-in stretch. Like the original, shoulder straps and hip-belt use perforated foam, but the new version has bigger, Hexagon-shaped holes and is coverered in mesh.
The excellent stretch pockets are still present and correct, but the side ones are now slanted for easier access and the compression strap can run over or under the pocket. The hip-belt pockets close with a forward pull too, which is more intuitive than the reverse on the original and the zipped pocket has moved from the front to the top of the pack.
Finally, the new Atmos and Aura - women's - packs get Osprey's neat Stow on the Go trekking pole storage system that holds the poles at shoulder strap and pack base to allow quick and easy stowing without removing the pack.
How It Performed
Just like the original, the 2009 Atmos reeks of quality and careful design. Osprey's got the basics right yet again - everything on the pack does what it's intended to do and sometimes, as with the stretch side pockets, better than the original.
One significant improvement is that the shallower air space eats less into the internal volume of the pack which previously had a banana-esque sort of shape to it, which makes for much easier packing. It also allows for a shorter pack overall. Theoretically load-carrying should be more stable by moving the centre of gravity inwards, but with the 25-litre version, it wasn't detectable, though with the larger capacity ones, and particularly the Osprey 50, it may make more of a difference.
The original Osprey 25 had an absolutely sublime carry. You'd pick up the pack and heft the weight, but as soon as you put it on, the mass seemed to magically vanish. Almost like magic. The 2009 version still carries very well, but somehow isn't quite as magical. We think it's because the smaller air gap means that the suspended mesh has to be under slightly more tension and the pack doesn't quite melt into your back in the same way.
All of which sounds a bit princess and pea and maybe we are being a little precious, because the reality is that we're splitting hairs and the carry is still very, very good indeed.
The stretch pockets are still excellent - ideal for stowing surplus clothing and bits - the Ergo Pull hip-straps are easy to use, pull forward to tighten, and we like the ice tool loops, which are basically unchanged and use a neat shock-corded fastener. Compression straps which can be routed under or over side stow pockets are a nice touch too.
Finally, if you're a pole user, Stow on the Go is the best solution we've used so far to the trekking pole musical chairs game. It's neat and easy to use and puts the poles out of harm's way for normal walking, though not ideal for scrambly ground.
Verdict
A classy update of the original Atmos pack with some thoughtful revisions and refinements that still does a brilliant all-round job. The new back system makes for a more compact pack which is easier to load thanks to a less banana-shaped profile and one or two annoyances have been ironed out.
If you held a sharp, pointy trekking pole to our head, we'd probably say that the original carries ever so slightly better, but to be honest that's splitting hairs and most users will just appreciate the very comfortable, supportive back system and get on with enjoying their day.
Not cheap at £80, but you're getting a cracking good pack for your money.
Buy if... you want arguably the best all-round walking day pack out there with an excellent carry and a raft of well thought out features.
