Incorporating a trail worthy set of features, unique adjustability and a good storage ca-pacity,
the Lowe Alpine Atlas 65 strikes a good balance between performance and af-fordability.
Let’s take a closer look at its features.
I am going to turn the pack around so we can take a closer look at its suspension system.
Lowe Alpine is using their axiom two suspension system in this backpack.
It is a highly adjustable suspension system that is pretty easy to operate.
You have two closures or two tabs at the bottom of either side.
Pull on one and it releases the suspension system.
And you pull on the other and it will raise or lower the pack depending on where you need
the suspension to sit.
So it is very adjustable for multiple wearers.
It gets its support through two aluminum stays that travel through the back panel here.
They are really going to help to transfer the load and make it sit comfortably on your
lower back and your hips as it is supposed to.
We have ample padding and cushioning that is very breathable, that is going to allow
for some comfort and enhanced fit and that is extended all the way through the shoulder
straps down into the hip belt.
You have got load lifter straps at the top here.
You have got an adjustable sternum strap with a buckle that has got an integrated emergency
whistle, so some added value there.
And just a clip belt at the bottom.
So good suspension system, really adjustable on the Atlas 65.
Turning the pack back around we are going to take a look at how we access the contents.
The main access point for this pack is the lid.
It is a top loading pack so we have got two clips here that will undo and it will open
up the main body of the pack.
It is just a simple draw cord.
Undo that and it will open up.
It is a very wide opening so you can get into your pack nice and easily and there is a lot
of room to access the items that you may want to get to that are on the top here, a very
simple and efficient design.
Inside the main com-partment there is a lined hydration sleeve.
The bladder is not included, but it is compati-ble with hydration systems.
And there is a port on the top of the pack to allow the hose to come out so you can access
your water.
So going down to the bottom we do have a lower access point as well.
It is a lower sleep-ing bag compartment or just simple bottom access if you will.
There is... are two clips here.
So undo those and there is a zipper that you can undo and that will come all the way up
across the front and that will be reveal that lower compartment.
Now there is a divider in here that is going to separate the top and bottom compartments.
You can unzip that liner.
There is just a zipper in there.
So if you wanted to have a single compartment, you could do so, or if you prefer to have
them divided there is the option for that as well.
So two different access points for the Atlas 65 make it pretty easy to get to the gear
that you need to get to.
Some other pockets on the Atlas 65.
You do have a front access pocket here.
So this front panel is a small pocket.
You can store some gear there, store some emergency or quick access things.
I have got a first aid kit, some blister supplies, just things you might want to get your hands
on pretty quickly.
We do have two side pockets, so one on either side.
Underneath these compression straps there is a zipper and we have got a nice, sizable
pocket there and another one on the other side.
So you can store some other gear there if you would like.
Here is the other one there.
There is two side pockets.
They are pretty nice pockets.
Up on the hood we do have a hood pocket as well.
It is a great place to store maps, guide books, anything that you may want to access quickly
if you need to put emergency sup-plies in there or maybe some snacks you can do so.
So another pocket up there.
And we have two stretchy mesh water bottle pockets on the sides.
So you can store water bottles there or any other gear that you may want to throw in those
pockets.
It will fit there pret-ty nicely.
We do also have two pockets on the hip belt.
One is a zippered pocket on the right hand hip wing.
On the other hip belt there is just a simple mesh stretch mesh pocket.
So if you wanted to throw something in there, you probably could, maybe another snack bar
or something like that.
So a nice small pocket there, cool zippered pocket on the right, so some nice hip belt
feature as well.
There is one more pocket.
It is kind of hidden.
So on the underside of the hood you do have another pocket there.
So it is just kind of a hiddenish pocket.
You can store some extra items on the underside of that hood.
Another nice feature that adds a lot of value to this pack is a built in rain cover.
So on the bottom of the pack there is a zipper on the back hand side, just under the lumbar
section.
And if you unzip that, there is actually a removable and detachable rain cover.
So that is sized for the pack.
You can take it off if you need to in order for it to dry out, but in the event that bad
weather hits, you do have a nice conveniently placed rain cover.
So that adds a lot of value to the pack.
Some other additional features on the Atlas 65 include some trekking pole attachments.
So we have got some loops here that will go down and there is a nice trekking pole tip
attachment here so you can actually store your trekking poles right in there and they
will keep them nice and sturdy and then attach them to those bungee loops.
So that is a pretty neat feature.
There are a few lash points on the outside of this pack, so you can attach some extra
gear if you need to hold it down.
We do have a few compression straps as well.
So on the top here we have got a compres-sion strap and underneath each of the mesh water
bottle pockets there are also compres-sion straps.
So that will really help to cinch down the load.
And then on the bottom we have got some sleeping pad straps that also double up as compression
straps.
So you can attach a sleeping pad here.
And if you don’t, you can just keep that nice and tight and, again, help to compress
the load.
So we have got some really nice features in play on the outside of the pack as well.
So there you have it.
It is the Lowe Alpine Atlas 65.
A unique suspension system and trail worthy features make this a great balance between
performance and affordability.