Cotopaxi Allpa Review

When it comes to traveling, packing and keeping your travel essentials organized can be an absolute nightmare, particularly if you’re trying to avoid checked baggage fees. But, you can’t simply wander on the plane with a small suitcase and a backpack, you have to choose one or the other. 

Everyone needs a backpack on the road, especially if you want to explore the wilderness around you but backpacks never offer much when it comes to luggage capacity or keeping things easily accessible and organized. If you need to get something out of the bottom of your backpack, chances are you’re emptying the whole thing. 

Enter the Cotopaxi Allpa 35 liter backpack, which is designed to solve all these problems. Join me in this Cotopaxi Allpa Review as we dive into all the details so you can see if this is the perfect travel backpack for you. 

Materials, Durability, & Weight

Materials

The Cotopaxi Allpa is designed to be incredibly durable and this starts with the materials used to build it.

This backpack is made from  TPU-coated 1000D polyester with 840D ballistic nylon paneling. I don’t know if you know about denier ratings which denote the thread count and thus thickness and durability of a material, but these ones are off the charts.

You’ll be able to take the Cotopaxi Allpa pretty much anywhere, leave it on rough terrains, and have it bouncing around the trunk of a car without any worries.

The stitching is also of excellent quality so these materials stay together without a single thread coming awry.

How Are The Zippers?

The Cotopaxi Allpa uses YKK zippers with a large gauge. YKK zippers are some of the best zippers on the planet and they run as smooth as silk on this backpack.

You won’t have your zippers catching or parting mid-hike with this backpack and it will last a lifetime of fun adventures around the globe.

How Heavy Is The Backpack?

One downside that always tends to come hand in hand with the thicker materials that provide great durability is some extra weight and this kind of the case with the Cotopaxi Allpa.

This backpack weighs around 3.6 pounds when empty which is quite heavy for a standard backpack, but when compared to similar backpacks which use similar durable materials, it came out very well.

The intelligent interior design uses mesh to bring the weight down allowing the Cotopaxi Allpa to have durable materials on the outside, where it actually counts.

Water Resistance

Technically, the Cotopaxi Allpa is not waterproof and it will not keep your things dry if you were to say, drop it in the sea by accident. But, the materials on the outside are pretty water-resistant.

The Cotopaxi Allpa will handle the odd shower but you should note that neither the zippers nor the canvas are waterproof so water will eventually seep in through the cracks.

Luckily, the Cotopaxi Allpa backpack comes with an included stashable rain cover that is also high-vis so you can be seen in heavy rain.

Carrying Comfort

Carrying comfort is one of the most important considerations when buying any backpack, especially so when you’re looking for a backpack to travel the world with.

Luckily the Cotopaxi Allpa has this box ticked in a big way and here is how.

Back panel

The Cotopaxi Allpa backpack features a very generous breathable foam back panel that makes it super comfortable to carry around, even when packed full.

The breathable fabric ensures you don’t end up with a sweaty back while hiking around and the foam padding ensures that your back stays healthy, strong, and comfortable on your travels.

Shoulder & Sternum Straps

The shoulder straps on this backpack are contoured to ensure a comfortable fit and they are also padded so they don’t dig on those tough uphill climbs in the mountains.

With the shoulder straps come adjustable sternum straps that are key to balancing the weight across your two shoulders and removing any extra back strain.

Waist Belt

This backpack also comes with a breathable, padded waist strap that provides additional support overall by moving some of the weight to your hips and waist instead of leaving it all on your shoulders.

Extras

All the straps can be unclipped and tucked away behind the back panel for a more suitcase-style use of the backpack and there are extra grab handles on the sides and top for these moments.

This means you can load it into the overhead compartment of a plane or into the trunk of the car with ease and without the straps flailing around in transit.

Compression Straps

You’ll also find internal compression straps which allow you to fasten the heavy things down and keep everything close to your center of gravity which makes carrying heavy loads a lot easier.

Overall, the Cotopaxi Allpa offers some pretty amazing carrying comfort even when you’re wearing it fully loaded for extended periods of time!

Organization & Accessibility

Main Compartment

I love the layout of the Cotopaxi Allpa and believe that pretty much all backpacks need to take note of what they have done here.

The main compartment of the backpack opens up just like a suitcase and offers a large amount of packing space on each side. On one side, you have a large mesh compartment with zipper access that is perfect for large clothing or bulky items.

On the other side, is the exact same size mesh compartment but split into 3. You have one half-size compartment along with two quarter-size compartments, all with YKK zippers and mesh.

This makes organizing the bulk of your gear about as easy as it can be, and the accessibility is off the charts too. By having the backpack open like a suitcase, you can see and access pretty much everything very quickly.

Laptop & Tablet Sleeve

Tucked behind the comfy back panel is a padded laptop and tablet sleeve that is accessible through a zipper on the side.

You can comfortably slide both a tablet and a 15-inch laptop into this handy compartment and access couldn’t be easier.

There is even a color-coded zipper to remind you which side of the backpack your laptop & tablet are on. The zipper also comes with ties to make theft much harder.

Front Compartment

On the front of the Cotopaxi Allpa is a small stash compartment with two internal zipped pockets at the top.

The small zipper pockets are ideal places to keep small electronics such as a power bank or phone and charging cable as well as your wallet and passport.

While the small compartment is a great place to keep a handy light rain jacket or windbreaker that you might want to access quickly when the off rain shower comes through.

This compartment’s zipper is also protected by ties that make it hard for pickpockets to open without you noticing.

Capacity

The Cotopaxi Allpa backpack has been designed to be the maximum size possible while being allowed as carry-on baggage on an airplane.

With the 35 liters of the total storage space that the Cotopaxi Allpa provides, you will have more than enough space to pack lightly for a month’s worth of traveling around the world.

Between the large main compartments with the dividers, laptop & iPad sleeve, as well as the small front compartment, everything has a spot and there are enough spots for some serious time away from home.

One thing I will say about the Cotopaxi Allpa is that it’s not designed for spending say a week in the wilderness. There are no gear attachment points so carrying a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat with this backpack is out of the question.

Value For Money

When you first see the price of the Cotopaxi Allpa, it seems a little expensive. But, once you start looking into it a bit further, the price starts to make more sense.

When you take into account its durability, functionality, and awesome style, you realize that you’re going to get a lot out of this backpack for many years at which point, it’s worth the investment.

Also, it’s nice to know that Cotopaxi donates 1% of its profits to adding poverty and community development around the world.

Rating

The Cotopaxi Allpa has done very well on our rating system, getting an awesome score of 88/100. The only category it dropped some points in was for value for money, as it is a little pricey and thus got an 8/10 instead of 9/10.

Otherwise, the backpack performed exceptionally well in all the other categories.

Verdict

Our overall verdict on the Cotopaxi Allpa is that it’s a backpack worth buying, especially if you like to travel. Yes, it is a little pricey but its superior durability more than makes up for this as it will be with you for years.

I love the suitcase-style opening with the mesh compartments which makes packing, unpacking, and keeping all your things organized about as easy as possible. It’s also the perfect size for a long trip but you can still get it in the overhead!

The laptop and tablet sleeve is well-positioned for quick easy access while being secure. The padded shoulder, waist, and sternum straps provide incredible carrying comfort while also tucking away behind the super comfy breathable back panel, so you can store it without any straps flying around.

To top it all off, this backpack has some great style that is timeless and will look on-trend, even if you are wearing it 10 years later.