Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack Review: Redesign, Features, and Performance

I recently tested the newly redesigned Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack. I found it roomy and made from high-quality materials, but also super comfortable when loaded with heavy camera gear, especially when hauling you-know-what across the airport to catch a flight you’re late for.

However, there were some quirks we thought could be changed. Let’s check out Cotopaxi and the Allpa 35L Travel Pack’s features.

Who is Cotopaxi?
Cotopaxi does a lot of things for the greater good. “Gear for Good” is the company’s agreement to manufacture high-quality products as sustainably as possible, using their profits to support different areas experiencing poverty.

The company created the Cotopaxi Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which gives at least 1% of Cotopaxi’s corporate (PBC) revenue in the form of philanthropic grants. It also accepts donations to their foundation, aside from buying gear from them. All that supports its programs.

Cotopaxi’s founder and chairman, Davis Smith, grew up all over Latin America. He saw how hard it was for people to live because of unequal access to opportunities. Because of this, he decided to use his business, Cotopaxi, “as a force for good in order to address the inequality he witnessed during his childhood.”

This outdoor gear company supports people suffering from poverty all over, especially in Latin America. According to their website, they dedicate 1% of annual revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which supports nonprofits with proven track records of reducing poverty through health care, education, and livelihoods.

To date, they’ve helped 4.25 million people since 2014 and provided malaria interventions to 100,000+ people in South America. They have even kept 2,745,000 yards of fabric out of landfills since 2014 with their Del Dia Collection that uses recycled or leftover fabrics to make one-of-a-kind backpacks that’ll last a long time. Trust me—I got one years ago.

Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack
Cotopaxi’s backpacks aren’t the least expensive on the market. But you get what you pay for. My Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack tester came in a recycled multi army green “Woods” colored fabric that’s water and abrasion resistant. This new Allpa variant includes improved weight distribution, along with an air mesh shoulder and hip straps.

This travel-ready backpack also has a single exterior water bottle pouch holding up to one liter (the other side has a heavy-duty side-carrying strap). On the rear, a snug-fitting luggage pass-through strap, with the words Gear for Good, holds a roller bag’s handle. According to the company, the entire Allpa backpack line is made with 100% recycled fabrics.

My Allpa 35-liter Travel Pack is 22 x 12 x 10 inches in size and weighs two pounds, 15 ounces when empty. It has many features. These include a clamshell-like opening with a heavy-duty full zipper with a three-zipper interior pocket configuration that holds a surprising number of items.

The front of the backpack has a top-zippered compartment for medium-sized things like my BioLite Charge 100 Max Portable Power Bank. A small, zippered slit in front of it is great for essentials. The front also has four exterior small, flat loops for carabiners. The top and bottom of the backpack includes two additional stout grab handles.

As for tech, the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack includes a generous 15” fleece-lined laptop sleeve and internal area for a tablet in the same zippered area. This is located just in front of the backpack’s rear in an easy-to-get-to location.

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack’s shell is made from 100% recycled 840D TPU-coated nylon and 100% recycled 840D ballistic ripstop nylon. The lining is made from 100% recycled ripstop polyester.

Allpa 35L Travel Pack Impressions
The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack is durable, can take a beating, and houses lots of gear. Even though it’s made from 100% recycled fabric, you’d never know it as its high-quality feel, sewing, and attention to detail is abundantly apparent.

Plus, it’s better for the environment. The shoulder straps are extremely comfortable, even when fully loaded with heavy items, like my camera gear in my Peak Design camera cubes. Note: The hip straps can be neatly tucked away if not used, a great feature I accidentally found on my latest trip with it.

Exterior: The Allpa 35L’s YKK zippers glide easily and stay in place once closed. However, the elastic loops to hold the excess hip straps together are too big. One fell off with its first use and is somewhere at the Chicago O’Hare airport.

I thought the water bottle allowance would be too short height wise, but it snugly held every type of container I put in it. I didn’t use the front corner straps for gear, but it’s good to know they’re there in case I need to attach extra stuff to it. The thick exterior front is water resistant and withstands most scuffs when overlanding or flying to different destinations.

Interior
The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack’s interior is spacious with wide-opening compartments. You can pack clothing in it or leave the main mesh flap opened and rolled to the side when packing bulky gear in it. Works like a charm.

Note, the gussets on either side of the interior compartments are deep and keep items away from the main zipper when closing the backpack. Care must be taken to close it if you wish to pack taller items within it.

I wish the Seco 35L Rain Cover was sold with the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack versus being sold separately. It’d round out an otherwise solid traveling backpack.

Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack
MSRP: $225.00

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