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EVA cases for Phase Gear

algrove

Well-known member
Looked on B&H site, but nothing came up RE Atlas Athlete pack. Where did you get yours? Thanks. Don't tell me you're staying at Murphy's.
 

Smoothjazz

Active member
Drunkenspyder,

You have almost the identical gear that I have, which I agree is just about all that I can possibly carry. I have an F-stop bag now; do you feel like the Atlas is a better bag for our load of gear? If so, specifically how- more comfortable or ergonomic?
Thanks,

John
 

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
Drunkenspyder,

You have almost the identical gear that I have, which I agree is just about all that I can possibly carry. I have an F-stop bag now; do you feel like the Atlas is a better bag for our load of gear? If so, specifically how- more comfortable or ergonomic?
Thanks,

John
John:

As I have mentioned, I am a satisfied customer of both F-Stop and Shimoda. I say "satisfied," because I believe if I was truly happy, I wouldn't still be seeking "the perfect bag." Anyway, as we've discussed elsewhere, one of the very advantages of the F-Stop/Shimoda system—the removability and interchangeability of the ICUs—is also a disadvantage. And in my experience, that disadvantage becomes more significant when the gear is heavier or denser, as it is in the case of Phase and other MF gear. The beauty of the Athlete—and the Adventure, as can be seen in Andy Lerman's superb review—is that the camera storage compartment is not removable, and thus the gear's inertial mass is much lower than it can be in a pack where it can move independently of the actual backpack. I will be the first to admit this difference might not be huge, especially if one packs, straps, and cinches an F-Strop/Shimoda carefully, but even "not huge" is more than zero. And for these old bones, those little differences add up.

When Dave and Andy and I discussed the Adventure review, I speculated that the Athlete might be a good car shooting bag. When I travel by air, I use the ICU interchangeability feature to put my camera gear in a robust roll aboard and the flattened backpack into my checked luggage for use at my destination. But the Atlas Athlete, which doesn't flatten as well, because it's never an empty shell, was ideal this week up at Mono Lake in a "grab & go" capacity [pics below]. In the future, I think I would skip the S-K 150, and instead pack an alternate format backup camera, e.g., the Hassy X1D, Nikon Z7, or even my Sony bridge.

Ergonomically, I found the Athlete quite comfortable, and its waist belt and shoulder straps at least as effective as my Shimoda 40, if not slightly more so. In order to assess differences honestly, I would need to load the same gear into an ICU and try each on, hike around a little, etc. I have not done that, so would be cautious about making judgments. Things I observed:
1. The Athlete panel zips open clamshell style like the F-Stop. I prefer the book style of the Shimoda, but it's not a deal-breaker. Because of the arrangement of the removable waist belt, the last couple of inches of zipper travel, when opening the panel, are somewhat more difficult to achieve; I found it easiest to simply finish pulling open the panelizing the waist belt itself. This is difficult to describe, but it's not a problem, just something slightly different.
2. The waist belt has a couple of nice pull-out pouches that can hold a variety of things, including small-to-medium water bottles, but the pouches are located towards the back, somewhat difficult to reach when one is wearing winter gear.
3. The shoulder straps are snug under the armpit [for me] when everything is cinched down, perhaps slightly more so than the Shimoda. It would be nice of the cinch straps had the same robust pulls as the zippers.
4. Zipper pulls are very nicely done, better than either the F-Stop or Shimoda.
5. I wish the Athlete had a little more functionality on the shoulder straps like the Shimoda, where I can locate my binoculars, a small water bottle or any one of several small items.
A feature of the Athlete I came to admire is the oft-mentioned adaptability of its internal dividers. Don't know what they are made of, but they are significantly better than any other divider I have used.

More to come I am sure.

Greg

IMG_1193.jpgIMG_1195.jpgIMG_1194.jpg
 

Pemihan

Well-known member
We’ve had some discussion about the Atlas packs in other threads. I have been a Shimoda/F-Stop/Pelican/Phase case guy. But just for sh*ts and giggles, I decided to see how my new (anything but unobtrusive yellow) Atlas Athlete pack would work as a Phase carrier. The Athlete is pitched as suitable for smaller systems, but somewhat to my surprise, it accommodates a built XF 3-lens system. Now, in candor, “built” means with the WLF, not the prism, though the prism is packed with it. But I am up at Mono Lake with the Athlete holding the XF, 35, 80, and 150/3.5, plus an anamorphic lens, ECC filter system, etc. Couldn’t use it to carry much else, but I don’t have much else. This is not exactly a daypack with an X1D system inside, but it’s very comfortable. I’m impressed. I have a photo but can’t seem to get it uploaded from my phone.

On some of my trips like for instance river trips I need both a Pelican 1510 for protection when moving from place to place or when on the river as well as a backpack for hiking. I put a F-Stop Large Pro ICU in the Pelican and then I can just take it out when needed and put in the backpack. No need to move the gear piece by piece. The F-Stop packs are great but they have one flaw in that it doesn't open up fully making it very hard to get gear out which are packed along the sides of the ICU. Atlas Packs doesn't have that problem.
I had an email conversation with Allan Henry from Atlas Packs about this and the conclusion was that when you take the dividers out of the Atlas Adventure pack the F-Stop Large Pro ICU will fit nicely in the pack. Problem solved :D
Now I just need to put an order in for the Adventure Pack :grin:
 

algrove

Well-known member
Drunken
My back hurts just looking at that load!

Strange to me that Andy talks about his f-stop bag limiting his access from the sides as mine does not even though he posts the photos. Perhaps its due to different f-stop models. I use the Loka which has now been replaced by the Ajna.
 
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drunkenspyder

Well-known member
Drunken
My back hurts just looking at that load!

Strange to me that Andy talks about his f-stop bag limiting his access from the sides as mine does not even though he posts the photos. Perhaps its due to different f-stop models. I use the Loka which has now been replaced by the Ajna.
Yes, well . . .. Looking at it hurts I think more than carrying it. Mono Lake is at 7000 ft, but mostly flat, thank goodness. What impressed me though was that the Atlas Athlete could accommodate the rig. I could easily have skipped the 80mm and 150mm for this trip, and it would have made that quite an easy load. Its an impressive pack, and for local work, I expect to use it quite a bit.

I am not quite sure what "limiting access from the sides" means, as I don't recall trying to access equipment from the sides. I'll have to check those pictures again. How would one do that anyway? Wouldn't the the walls of the ICU prevent side access?
 

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
On some of my trips like for instance river trips I need both a Pelican 1510 for protection when moving from place to place or when on the river as well as a backpack for hiking. I put a F-Stop Large Pro ICU in the Pelican and then I can just take it out when needed and put in the backpack. No need to move the gear piece by piece. The F-Stop packs are great but they have one flaw in that it doesn't open up fully making it very hard to get gear out which are packed along the sides of the ICU. Atlas Packs doesn't have that problem.
I had an email conversation with Allan Henry from Atlas Packs about this and the conclusion was that when you take the dividers out of the Atlas Adventure pack the F-Stop Large Pro ICU will fit nicely in the pack. Problem solved :D
Now I just need to put an order in for the Adventure Pack :grin:
River and/or airplane, sounds like a similar use case. That's essentially how I use my Shimodas right now, but without putting an Adventure side-by-side, and seeing whether it's significantly superior, I would be hard=pressed to see the need to replace the Shimoda . . . with one exception: the Velcro® dividers. The dividers inside the Atlas packs are just better than anything else.
 

dchew

Well-known member
I am not quite sure what "limiting access from the sides" means, as I don't recall trying to access equipment from the sides. I'll have to check those pictures again. How would one do that anyway? Wouldn't the the walls of the ICU prevent side access?
I interpret that to mean the f-stop frame kinda gets in the way of removing things that are up against the edges of the ICU. The ICU is a bit wider than the opening because the pack runs its internal frame rails down the edge of the pack. I do find it sometimes difficult to pull out certain items along the outside edges, and in fact have arranged things in a way that minimize that problem.

Dave
 

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
I interpret that to mean the f-stop frame kinda gets in the way of removing things that are up against the edges of the ICU. The ICU is a bit wider than the opening because the pack runs its internal frame rails down the edge of the pack. I do find it sometimes difficult to pull out certain items along the outside edges, and in fact have arranged things in a way that minimize that problem.

Dave
OK, I completely grok that. Very true. Especially if one has shoehorned the large DSLR ICU into a Shimoda.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I interpret that to mean the f-stop frame kinda gets in the way of removing things that are up against the edges of the ICU. The ICU is a bit wider than the opening because the pack runs its internal frame rails down the edge of the pack. I do find it sometimes difficult to pull out certain items along the outside edges, and in fact have arranged things in a way that minimize that problem.

Dave
Exactly. I have this with my F-Stop bags where if a lens is at the edge of the ICU they sit slightly behind the edge of the frame and I have to wiggle them in/out.
 
I have the Atlas Adventure backpack and like it better than the two F-stop bags I have. Allan Henry was extremely responsive when I had some questions during the ordering process. The bag is extremely well-made and fits the PhaseOne XF plus lenses or the Cambo plus lenses.
 

algrove

Well-known member
Yes, well . . .. Looking at it hurts I think more than carrying it. Mono Lake is at 7000 ft, but mostly flat, thank goodness. What impressed me though was that the Atlas Athlete could accommodate the rig. I could easily have skipped the 80mm and 150mm for this trip, and it would have made that quite an easy load. Its an impressive pack, and for local work, I expect to use it quite a bit.

I am not quite sure what "limiting access from the sides" means, as I don't recall trying to access equipment from the sides. I'll have to check those pictures again. How would one do that anyway? Wouldn't the the walls of the ICU prevent side access?
Yes I know Mono Lake having been there at least 4 times. Sorry, guess I should have said edges instead of sides. That being said its the the thin alu frame that gets in the way at the edges of my Loka, but for some reason lenses don't get hung up along the edges since I always pack lenses toward the center of ICU's with other goodies on the outer areas of the ICU in order to buffer the lenses. When I have 2 small ICU's in my backpack, its most often the top one that is a bit covered by the top curved part of my backpack that I find annoying at times. With my tech cam I most often use one ICU at the bottom with clothing, filter cases and misc photo items in the upper portion of the backpack.
 

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
Yes I know Mono Lake having been there at least 4 times. Sorry, guess I should have said edges instead of sides. That being said its the the thin alu frame that gets in the way at the edges of my Loka, but for some reason lenses don't get hung up along the edges since I always pack lenses toward the center of ICU's with other goodies on the outer areas of the ICU in order to buffer the lenses. When I have 2 small ICU's in my backpack, its most often the top one that is a bit covered by the top curved part of my backpack that I find annoying at times. With my tech cam I most often use one ICU at the bottom with clothing, filter cases and misc photo items in the upper portion of the backpack.
I use my F-Stops/Shimodas similarly, and I completely understand the edge access issue. Often frustrating.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I put smaller items I don't want falling out on the sides of the ICU - batteries, WA lens hoods, filters.

Sadly, no matter how good a new backpack is, the weight it carries is constant. :(

M
 

Smoothjazz

Active member
I calculate the Atlas pack is about 2 pounds lighter than my current F-stop bag with ICUs-I have the Sukha model. Each pack has a capacity of 70L. I decided to go ahead and order the Atlas pack- 2 lbs is important in the high mountains!
I will let you know how it goes.
 
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