Atlas Packs Athlete vs Tortuga Outbreaker 45L Backpack

Important: Choose the Adventure or Athlete hip belt – otherwise you will have literally no padding on your hips. I don’t recommend using the bag without a hipbelt either. The Adventure belt is more comfortable as it provides two layers of foam padding and a wider webbing and buckle – it’s also bigger and bulkier.

On the shoulder straps, there’s an adjustable (if only we had a dollar for every time we say adjustable in this review) sternum strap. This can be moved up and down to find a comfortable position across your chest. Part of the sternum strap is elasticated, which gives some wriggle room as it flexes when you walk and takes off some of the pressure. There’s also some strap management on this harness system, so you can wrangle any loose ends or hide away the sternum strap when not in use—#danglefreeexperience here we come!

I also purchased a Capture Clip from Peak Designs which allows you to fix the camera to the shoulder strap in place while hiking – a great addition to this pack.

Now onto that organization! In the main compartment, there are two slim pockets down either side of the pack. These are handy for smaller items like sunglasses or even your socks and underwear.

We must note that the straps on the hip belt are longer than we would expect, so you’re left with a lot of leftover straps. We found that they could be tucked behind the pockets on the waist pack to keep them out of the way.