I had posted about deciding between the Cotopaxi a 35 versus 42 liter backpack, about a month ago on this sub. I have now been gifted the Cotopaxi 35 and want to do a solid honest review based on a 2 week trip I took in the south east region of the United States.

I am a 5‘8“ female, and I’ve heard a lot of discussion about the comfortability of the backpack and its straps. Personally, with my build the straps were placed at a very good height on my proportions and I ended up not even using the hip belt, as my pack was light enough to not use it. The comfortability of the backpack and straps are very nice for me, but I know it fits very different based on your build.

Another complaint I’ve heard was about the organization of the bag. I was personally looking for a bag that opened like a suitcase and had multiple different enclosed compartments, so this bag was great for my needs. I used rectangular compressive packing cubes to organize all of my clothes and was able to fit everything nicely.

I definitely could’ve cut back on some items that were on my list, but I packed more for leisure than practicality. My clothing packing list consisted: 4 t-shirts, 4 tanks, 3 shorts, 2 pants, 1 skirt, 1 dress, 2 jumpsuits, 2 light sweatshirts, 4 socks, 10 underwear, 2 swimsuits, 1 hat. I also had items such as a microfiber towel, my electronics, toiletries, etc. And weirdly enough a small travel size board game to play with my friends at the beach (sentimental item).

I don’t have full photos of everything I packed, but trust me at all fit, I even brought a packable tote bag for souvenirs along the way. I received the color wine which is like a dark purple almost burgundy shade. The only negative I would say that it does pick up dirt easier than other backpacks I’ve used. It may just be because the color is darker, but the bag is mildly easy to clean.

The Cotopaxi 35l is quite expensive ($200) as for mine was a gift to me, but I do recommend anyone thinking about getting the backpack to go to a store that carries it and actually try it on, pack it up with some random items, and really walk around wearing it. Because comfort at the end of the day is the main issue for people with this bag. Overall, I really liked the bag and can’t wait to take it on more trips!

I'm looking for a good tote to travel with when I one bag with my 40L backpack. I bought the Cotopaxi Taal Convertible Tote, because it was big enough to hold my large tablet, a water bottle, and some tech stuff, could be used as a sling, and packs down pretty small for legs of the trip where I was traveling but didn't need a personal item and could stuff everything into my main pack. https://www.cotopaxi.com/products/taal-convertible-tote-del-dia?variant=2019612557322

However, when putting this idea to the test and using it on a trip, I found that I didn't like using it as a sling for long with the harsh strap digging into my neck when I had a lot of stuff in the bag. So I would often put it down a lot of chances I got, and then we'd briefly need to walk somewhere else in the airport - and I was really wishing it had shorter handles to also be able to easily pick up for short distances. So it made me realize I think I'm looking more for a tote. Same idea though - used as a personal item, could fit a tablet/water bottle/headphones, packs down fairly small when needed. The only difference here is I want to make sure it has both a large loop for being thrown over the shoulder, AND a shorter loop to quickly grab and put back down if needed. The Aer Go Tote 2 is almost perfect - it just doesn't have the shorter handles for a quick grab (I could maybe use the luggage strap on it though?). I also love the idea of the tablet being more vertical and having a more slim and narrow tote rather than the wide one. Does anyone know of something like the Aer Go Tote 2 that also has short handles?

Link to the Aer one for reference: https://aersf.com/products/go-tote-2?country=US

I’ve been looking at this online and it looks pretty perfect for me but I’ve got a few questions I haven’t been able to find.

How exactly does it convert to a back pack? Is the conversion easy/fast?

How large are the inner pockets? How are they organized? I can’t find a good picture of the inside so if you can post one, that would be awesome!

Does it have just one outer zip pocket?

Is it comfortable in shoulder strap and backpack modes?

Any other thoughts/reviews of it would be great.