Think my Atom is 400-something grams and new Mo is around 900, so not bad at all. Definitely scope for feature creep though... The instagram account has a lot of packs with the weights listed so easy to see how high or low you can go (if you go back far enough there is a 30l DCF pack that's 289g).
Not Atom but my SWD 50L (winter scrub basher) is 830 (strips to 650) all in VX21 and the equivalent SWD 40L (shown in mittencampers YT video) with VXO7 body and VX21 bottom is about 45 grams lighter. The removeable hip belt on the Atoms ( that I don't have and wished I did) is genius and very appealing.
Those weights seem good, my fully featured x21 pack is just over 600g @50l and my simple cuben/dgx packs same as his cuben.
I've just had an expensive visit to Tom at his workshop and ordered a 35l Atom in grey VX21 with extended pockets, two ice axe loops, HDPE back and a removable 25mm waist belt. I've just got to put it to the back of my mind for a few weeks now.
I've just paid an unexpectedly massive corporation tax bill, so I had to take my mind off that in an inappropriate way.
Good morning all, I’ve followed the online breadcrumbs to this here thread in my quest for the perfect pack. I’ve reached out to Tom already in order to get the ball rolling on my very own Atom, but I have a question for you lucky owners: what, if anything at all, would you have changed if you could go back in time and order your pack again with the benefit of hindsight? If you have any other advice for a new buyer, please do feel free to share this as well.
I have an Atom Prospector 40 litre, which was custom made. Its a cross between a standard Prospector and a MO. Any changes I would make are pretty minor. I would have liked the 'haul-strap' to have been a tad longer and a different colour, its balck the same colour as the shoulder straps, so a nice orange or similar would allow me to see it better. Occaisionally when I want to take more than say 3 days worth of food, its a bit of a tight squeeze, so an extension collar on the top would have been handy. I sometimes wish that the shoulder straps were a bit longer. The pack carries fine but the end of the shoulder straps only just come down to my armpits, which means that the sternum straps rides a bit high for me. Tom also provided a thicker frame-sheet from standard as the back panel was 'barrelling'. Apart from that its a cracking piece of kit, very well made and worth every penny. ATB, Phil
i think the only two things i would change on my prospector 50, Add shoulder pouches, i didn't because i've got a few dcf ones already (For Phone/Specs etc) and utilised them, but they now mess with my OCD,, they stick out and look wider than i like. i would also have got a 40l instead of a 50l, mine looks like a bag of tatties now as its far to big for what i'm carrying. (now looking for a 40l ish 5/600g pack) Things i'm glad i got, Flat Bottom, Bucket side pockets and Carbon stay
Don’t own an atom but I’m always tempted. If I could change anything about the packs I’ve seen posted on here I’d of had @edh pack delivered to my house rather than his And maybe slightly less orange
Thank you for your comments, @ZenTrekker and @Charlie83. I have been through this whole thread and Atom Packs’ Instagram feed and I have to say, @edh, your pack is a stunner. I’m absorbing ideas up as I’m going along and will likely end up with a Frankenstein Atom made up of all of the best bits!!
When I ordered I knew exactly what I wanted (a fairly standard Atom 40 with a few minor customisations) and Tom made it just right. I am considering an Atom+ which I'd add a y top strap and probably daisy chains above the shoulder pockets (got to kill the Exos 38 before I can justify that though).
The ATOM has a carbon hooped frame and foam back-pad. I've never held one in the flesh but I guess you have to be careful with packing it. The Prospector has various frame configurations (aluminium or carbon) with an HDPE framesheet (standard 1mm, optional 2mm) and foam padding. Slightly heavier (but not by much) and less hassle when packing. One thing I forgot to mention was that I had a bit of trouble with my pack sitting properly on my hips, more my wierd shape than anything to do with the pack's design. I found that stuffing some additional foam behind the lumber pad did the trick. So as and when I order another Atom, I will ask for additional lumber padding.
You remember I had an initial prototype Prospector from Tom @fluffkitten which was replaced by my current version. That original had Y Top-strap, which I really disliked, so make sure that's what you want!
Could anyone with an Atom pack do me a favour and measure the distance from the bottom of the front packet to both sides of the slanted top please?
