The Cotopaxi Allpa:
Ergonomic and Thoughtfully Designed OUR Go-To Backpack
for URBAN Day Trips and Short Travel
I strongly recommend the Cotopaxi Allpa Travel Pack because it is the perfect backpack for a day in the city, an afternoon on a moderate trail, or a two-night trip. It features multiple compartments, it distributes weight well, and it performs like a hiking pack while looking good enough to be brought to a meeting or a first date. Not that I’ve been on a first date in two decades…
I say this to people all the time: when it comes to the outdoors, function must always trump form. Which is to say that in any activity where safety is even a remote part of the equation, it does not matter how your gear or apparel looks, what matters is how it performs. Thus my easy endurance of my wife’s occasional ribbing when I leave the house for a cold weather run with socks pulled halfway up my calves or for an evening bike ride wearing a neon green jacket and so on. Sure, I may look, um, not… hip, shall we say, but I’ll be warm or safe or whatever matters from a functional point of view.
Now, does that mean I eschew the chance to look good while also using or wearing something that performs well? Why, by all means no! Thus my strong endorsement of this Cotopaxi pack, which really does work and look great.
I have used this backpack as a briefcase of sorts during dozens of days bouncing from meeting to meeting to drinks to dinner in New York City, I have used it as my carry-on luggage for numerous family trips, I have made it my only suitcase on many one- or two-night business trips, and I have worn it while logging many a mile on day hikes, too.
What makes this pack so good? If I was only allowed two words, they would be these: informed design. But as I can allow myself as many words as I damn well please, let’s take this out a bit farther that that.
First, let’s talk capacity. This is a 35-liter pack, which means at full complement, its cargo potential is at the larger end of what you should ever bring on a day hike. In other words, this is a bigger bag than you need for that five-to-nine-mile loop (or out-n-back) but hey, no need to fill the thing fully, right? On the other hand, packed carefully and assuming you don’t need to bring a tent and camp stove (and fuel) and bear spray and such, this pack could well be large enough to carry the light gear and apparel you’d need for a weekend in the woods.
But it’s not really designed for long treks. It works for an overnight or two-night outing if you have cabins ready or your buddy has the shelter, but it’s better as a larger day pack.
Now let’s talk compartments. This backpack has a divided laptop and tablet sleeve that protects your tech and makes them easy to access even when it’s wedged down by your feet on the plane or up on a rack on the train. And it has a divided top compartment that’s easily accessible and perfect for plenty of snacks, your toiletries, a book, a charger, a clean pair of boxers, and a mid-sized bottle of water, too. And no, I didn’t mean “or,” I meant “and,” I have fit all that stuff and more in the easy access upper pocket of mine.
In the main compartment, you actually find multiple compartments. There is one large pocket, as in big enough for two pairs of pants and two shirts, if you fold carefully, a mid-sized pocket, perfect for a tee or two, socks, underwhatnot, and so on, and then there are two small pockets into which you can tuck a wallet, a passport, vitamins or medicine, a razor, or whatever else.
All in all, there is, in other words, plenty of room in this bag for everything you need for a day or two completely off the grid or several days where you will still have the benefit of civilization at your disposal.
And now for the details, like the fact that you can easily adjust or completely stash the ergonomic and supportive waist belt or shoulder straps. Or the fact that the pack has carry handles on both sides and its top. Or that it comes with a high-vis rain cover. Or that the back is made from a highly breathable foam and mesh. Or that anti-theft straps cover the zippers and make them harder for a thief to open. Or that it has multiple gear loops for attaching sundries via carabiner. OK that’s what I have to say about that.
A removable waist belt makes the Cotopaxi Allpa a versatile choice for a smooth transition between trail and city
