Cotopaxi Allpa vs Patagonia Black Hole
One of these is a suitcase that wears like a backpack. The other is a sack that survives anything. They are not competing on the same axis.
By Michael W. · Last updated October 6, 2026
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Buy the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L if you want your clothes organized and visible and you are mostly moving between hotels and apartments. Buy the Patagonia Black Hole 40L if the bag is going to be thrown on a roof rack, dragged across gravel or rained on, and you would rather it survive than stay tidy. The Allpa is structure; the Black Hole is armour.
They get compared because they overlap in capacity and both get called carry-on bags, but the designs are philosophically opposed. The Allpa opens like a suitcase, with a mesh-fronted compartment system that means you can see everything without unpacking. The Black Hole opens like a duffel - one big mouth, no internal architecture, a laminated shell that shrugs off weather and abrasion.
Both can work as a carry-on if you pack them to the envelope rather than to their capacity. The Allpa's 35 liters is closer to a safe carry-on volume than the Black Hole's 40, and a soft duffel will compress at a gate in a way a structured pack will not. How many liters is a carry-on has the volume arithmetic.
Quick picks
The short list. Tap any row for the full write-up, including what each one is bad at.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack A clamshell with a mesh compartment system, so the bag stays legible all trip. | City trips | |
| 2 |  Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 40L A laminated shell and a single big mouth - almost nothing on it can break. | Rough handling | |
| 3 |  Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Pack A proper harness on a 40-liter clamshell, which is what a long walk needs. | Long carries |
The one that lets you find a shirt without unpacking
Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack
Travelers moving between hotels and short-term rentals who never properly unpack. The mesh-fronted compartments turn the bag into a small chest of drawers, which is the single biggest quality-of-life difference between a travel pack and a duffel.
The specs that decide it
- Capacity: 35 liters - near the safe end of carry-on volume
- Opening: Full clamshell, packs like a suitcase
- Organization: Mesh-fronted compartments - contents visible without unpacking
- Harness: Shoulder straps and hip belt that stow behind a panel
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The compartment structure costs usable volume and weight compared with an empty sack, and the fixed internal divider is the wrong shape for anything bulky or oddly sized. The hip belt is airport-grade, not hiking-grade.
The one that does not care what happens to it
Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 40L
Anyone whose bag gets thrown into a truck bed, left on wet ground or stuffed into a bus hold. The laminated fabric is genuinely weather-resistant rather than nominally so, and with no frame and no telescoping handle there is very little to fail.
The specs that decide it
- Capacity: 40 liters - pack under it for cabin use
- Shell: Laminated ripstop - weather and abrasion resistant
- Carry: Removable shoulder straps plus grab handles
- Structure: None - it packs flat when empty
Flaws but not dealbreakers
No internal organization at all, so everything ends up at the bottom unless you add packing cubes. There is no dedicated laptop sleeve and the shoulder straps are a compromise rather than a real harness over a long walk.
The one to buy if you actually walk a long way with it
Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Pack
Travelers who cover real distance on foot between stations and accommodation. Of these three, the Farpoint has the suspension closest to a hiking pack, which is what makes 25 lb bearable for a mile rather than a block.
The specs that decide it
- Capacity: 40 liters - a week or more with one laundry stop
- Harness: The most supportive of the three, and it stows for check-in
- Opening: Clamshell, so it packs like a suitcase
- Weight: Light, which matters on a 7-10 kg cabin limit
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Less internal organization than the Allpa and much less weather resistance than the Black Hole - it sits in the middle on both. No dedicated laptop sleeve either.
Allpa 35L vs Black Hole 40L
| Cotopaxi Allpa 35L | Patagonia Black Hole 40L | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Clamshell travel pack | Duffel with pack straps |
| Capacity | 35 liters | 40 liters |
| Organization | Mesh compartment system - see everything | One main compartment |
| Weather | Water-resistant fabric | Laminated, highly weather-resistant |
| Abrasion | Good | Excellent - the design brief |
| Carry | Harness with hip belt, stows away | Removable shoulder straps, grab handles |
| Laptop | Dedicated sleeve | No dedicated sleeve |
| Carry-on fit | Closer to the envelope at 35L | Fits when packed under volume |
| Best for | City trips, hotels, visible packing | Rough handling, weather, gear |
Structure versus a sack
The Allpa's compartment system is the reason people buy it. Unzip the clamshell and the contents are behind mesh, in defined blocks, visible without lifting anything. On a trip with four stops that saves repacking four times, which is a real amount of friction removed.
The Black Hole's answer is that you should supply the structure yourself. A duffel plus packing cubes gets you most of the Allpa's legibility with none of its fixed geometry, and you can take the cubes out when you need to carry something bulky instead. Are packing cubes worth it argues that case properly.
The cheap version of this decision
If you already own a duffel, a set of cubes costs a fraction of a new bag and fixes the organization complaint directly. Buy the Allpa for the clamshell and the harness, not for the compartments alone.
Weather and abuse
This is where the Black Hole wins outright and it is not close. The laminated shell is designed for exactly the conditions that ruin a conventional pack: standing water, grit, roof racks, boat decks. A travel pack's water-resistant fabric is a coating that wears; a laminate is a layer.
It is also the bag to pick if it is going in a hold. Fewer moving parts means fewer things for a baggage system to break - no frame, no telescoping handle, no spinner wheels. Luggage vs duffel bag covers the wider version of that trade-off.
Which one is more likely to clear a gate
The Allpa at 35 liters is closer to the carry-on envelope by volume, and its structure means it holds the same shape whether full or half-empty - predictable at a sizer, but unforgiving if you have overpacked.
The Black Hole at 40 liters is over the comfortable volume if you fill it, but being frameless it compresses. Pack it at two-thirds and it goes in a sizer without complaint. That flexibility is worth a lot on European low-cost carriers where the free bag is small - international carry-on dimensions has those figures.
- Allpa: predictable shape, visible packing, best on trips with several stops.
- Black Hole: compressible, weatherproof, best when the bag is handled roughly.
- Farpoint: the harness compromise, best when you walk a long way carrying it.
The verdict
City trips, several hotels, a laptop in the bag: Allpa. Gear, weather, rough transport, or a bag that lives in a car: Black Hole. Long walks with a heavy load: Farpoint. If you are not sure the pack format is right for you at all, travel backpack vs suitcase is the decision before this one.
Both brands make larger versions, and the 70-liter Black Hole is a popular checked bag - see best checked luggage and best travel backpacks for the wider shortlists.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cotopaxi Allpa or the Patagonia Black Hole better for travel?
Is the Patagonia Black Hole 40L a carry-on?
Does the Cotopaxi Allpa have a laptop sleeve?
Which is more comfortable to carry?
Can you use packing cubes in a Black Hole duffel?
Read next
- Best travel backpacks
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- Luggage vs duffel bag
- Best packing cubes
- How many liters is a carry-on?
- Best carry-on backpacks
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