Get the Osprey Farpoint 40 if the bag has to be carried any real distance; get the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L if the packing and unpacking is the part that annoys them. Both are genuinely good carry-on backpacks and neither is a mistake. The Farpoint's advantage is its suspended mesh harness and five extra litres, plus a warranty with no expiry date. The Allpa's advantage is the full-perimeter zip that opens it flat like a suitcase, a TPU-coated weatherproof shell and an included rain cover. Distance carried versus frequency of packing — that is the actual trade.
Side by side
| | Osprey Farpoint 40 | Cotopaxi Allpa 35L |
|---|
| Published capacity | 40 L | 35 L |
| Main access | One large main compartment | Full-perimeter zip, clamshell |
| Carry system | Suspended mesh back panel, stowaway harness | Padded harness, stowable straps |
| Shell | Nylon, no coated weather shell | TPU-coated weatherproof panels |
| Rain cover | Not included | Included |
| Women's-fit sibling | Yes — the Fairview 40 | No separate fit |
| Warranty | Osprey All Mighty Guarantee — no expiry | Cotopaxi Guaranteed for Good — repair, replace, credit or trade-in |
Capacities, materials and warranty terms above are from each brand's own product and warranty pages, linked in Sources. We have not printed comparative weights or external dimensions, because the two brands do not publish them on a like-for-like basis and we are not going to estimate numbers that decide a purchase.
Five litres is a real difference, and it is not the main one
40 against 35 litres sounds marginal and is not: it is roughly the difference between a week of clothes and a long weekend plus a pair of shoes. If the recipient is the kind of traveler who lands and stays for ten days, the Farpoint is the safer buy on volume alone, and our travel backpack roundup ranks it first for that reason.
But capacity is the easy comparison. The harder one is that these two bags make opposite assumptions about what happens between the front door and the hotel. The Farpoint assumes you walk — a suspended mesh back panel moves air behind your spine and spreads the load the way a hiking pack does, and the harness zips away behind a panel so the straps do not get eaten by a baggage belt. The Allpa assumes you arrive, open it on a bed and live out of it for a few days.
The clamshell argument, honestly
The Allpa's full-perimeter zip is the feature people buy it for and it deserves the reputation. The bag opens flat, both halves are visible at once, and the internal mesh divider means the clean side stays clean. Nothing gets excavated. If someone is still packing a backpack by stuffing things down a tube and then digging for a charger, this will genuinely change how trips feel — and it is also why the Allpa needs fewer packing cubes than a top-loader does.
The Farpoint has one large main compartment, which is more flexible for odd-shaped loads and more prone to becoming a rummage. Whether that matters depends entirely on whether the recipient is organized. For someone who packs in cubes it is a non-issue; for someone who does not, the Allpa does the organizing for them.
Weather, and the thing nobody mentions
The Allpa's TPU-coated panels and included rain cover are a real capability the Farpoint does not match out of the box. Osprey sells rain covers separately; Cotopaxi puts one in the bag. On a trip that involves a monsoon season, a scooter, or a twenty-minute walk from a bus stop, that is the deciding feature and the rest of this page is noise.
The thing nobody mentions is color. Cotopaxi's bold colorways are the most divisive thing about the brand — and they are also the reason an Allpa is instantly identifiable on a gate-check pile, which is a small anti-loss feature in its own right. If the recipient would be embarrassed carrying it, that is a legitimate reason to buy the Osprey, and we would rather say so than pretend taste does not count.
Fit beats both of them
The most common mistake in this comparison is treating it as brand-versus-brand when the real variable is torso length. Osprey builds the Fairview 40 as the same 40-litre bag on a harness sized for a shorter torso, and for many people — women especially, but anyone short in the body — it is simply the more comfortable version of the Farpoint. Same capacity, same lifetime guarantee. If you are buying for someone under about 5'6", start there rather than with either bag on this page. The two Osprey harnesses side by side, and how to measure a torso before you commit, are in Osprey Farpoint 40 vs Fairview 40.
That is also why we do not frame this as a bag for men and a bag for women. Fit, not gender, decides which harness works, and the travel gifts for women list makes the same point about every piece of carried gear.
Both are carry-on size, but check the airline
A 40-litre pack fits most major carriers' cabin allowances and a 35-litre pack fits more of them, but cabin limits are set by each airline rather than by any regulator, and the budget European and Asian carriers are the strict ones. A full 40L bag can measure over a sizer that the same bag packed loosely would clear. Our guide to carry-on size rules has the method; the short version is to check the specific airline before a trip, not the bag.
So which one
Farpoint 40 for the one-bag traveler who walks, for the week-long trip, and for anyone who will still own this bag in fifteen years — the All Mighty Guarantee has no expiry and no receipt drama. Allpa 35Lfor the organized packer, the rainy destination, and the person who wants a bag that does not look like everyone else's. Fairview 40 if the torso is short, because the right harness beats every other feature on this page.
Quick answers
Is 35L enough for a week?
For a packing-cube user traveling somewhere warm, yes. For a cold-weather week, or anyone who brings a second pair of shoes, 40L is the honest answer.
Which carries more comfortably when full?
The Osprey. The suspended mesh back panel is a hiking-pack feature and it shows on a long walk. The Allpa's harness is good; the Farpoint's is better.
Which is the better gift?
The Allpa, slightly — the colorways and the clamshell make an impression when the box opens, and the included rain cover reads as thoughtful. The Farpoint is the better bag to own.
Do either need packing cubes?
The Farpoint benefits from them more, because a single compartment becomes a pile without them. The Allpa already divides itself.
What you should spend
These two sit close together in price, which is why the decision is about shape and fit rather than budget. Every button on this page carries a live price, and where we have no verified price we show none rather than a stale number.
