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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1318513
Cotopaxi is a perennial favorite at MacDirectory thanks to their bold style, bright colors, and thoughtfully designed bags and outerwear. This year they’ve refined some classic items, expanded their line of clamshell-style travel backpacks, and even introduced pants to their lineup. Fuego Hooded Down Jacket The Fuego Hooded Down Jacket should be one of the staples of Cotopaxi’s collection. It is an insanely lightweight mid-layer jacket packed with 800 fill, RDS-certified goose down. The RDS stands for Responsible Down Standard, an independent, voluntary global standard that aligns well with Cotopaxi’s overall Gear for Good ethos. There is plenty more to this coat than its moral stance on goose feathers, though. The Fuego feels warm as soon as you slip into it, you can instantly tell it is retaining your body heat. The high 800 fill down—most coats are in the 600 range—is packed into narrow channels around the coat, making it a great three season jacket or mid-layer for the winter. Though I will say, it almost seems like a sin to hide something this good looking in a mid-layer. The Fuego is a super sharp coat to look at, and the colorways are some of my favorite offered on any Cotopaxi item in recent memory. I tried the Dark Forest Stripes, which features a rich hunter green for most of the coat, with lighter green, neon orange, and teal wraparound stripes to provide just the right accent. I seriously stare at this thing on my coat rack. The other options look equally striking, like the Cayenne Stripes or Graphite Stripes. And Cotopaxi even offers an all-black option for you purists out there. Beyond looking good, the Fuego features a scuba hood that provides excellent warmth without being bulky, getting in the way, or even requiring drawstrings. Lightweight zippers are used throughout the coat, including the main front zipper, the two zippered hand pockets, and an internal stash pocket, keeping the Fuego ultra-light and able to be packed into its own internal pocket for easy travel. Elastic cuffs and a form fitting waist keep the Fuego close to your skin, leaving you warm and dry through most conditions. Allpa 42L Travel Pack I have been waiting to get my hands on the Allpa since it was first funded on IndieGoGo. Patience seems to have paid off, as the success of the original 35-liter Allpa has led Cotopaxi to expand their line of bags to accommodate different sizes—from 28 liter to a behemoth 70-liter version. In truth, I had been using the Allpa’s canvas baby brother, the Nazca, for years and really loved the flexibility and versatility it offered. The Allpa 42L Travel Pack has added capacity, is foul-weather proof, and includes several thoughtful upgrades to deal with the additional size and weight. If you aren’t familiar with the Allpa family, it’s a brilliant concept that combines the clamshell design of most hard-shell roller board carry-ons (you know the ones) with a backpack. It opens like a book, giving you two full sides to pack all your gear. For me, the Allpa is a great balance between a backpack with one high capacity compartment that requires you to dig through your entire belongings every time you need something, and the more technical bags that have 80 million pockets and you never know where anything is! Even if you’re good at staying organized with other bags, when you get to where you are going, you are usually stuck unpacking everything. The Allpa design means you can really live out of the bag without emptying it. Of course, to keep you organized, there are plenty of pocket options. The right side (closest to your back in backpack form) is mostly a large open compartment for all your clothes, along with a narrow-padded section that accommodates a laptop, tablet, and even a separate phone pocket, all at the same time. The left side includes a few different compartments for shoes, toiletries, and other items, with an ample use of mesh to keep the contents visible and breathable. Most of the enclosures, except for the smallest ones, feature zippers on both ends, and the exterior zippers all feature security loops to make it harder for strangers to get into your bag. The 42L comes with the added benefit of a TPU coated polyester exterior that feels like it would withstand a monsoon—if that’s not enough, a rain cover is included with each Alpa 42L just in case. It’s larger size also accommodates a couple of different load bearing straps, including a detachable, adjustable, and generously padded hipbelt. There are 4 sturdy handles, lash points for external carry, and an exterior water bottle pocket.