£54.95
Who wants to be like everyone else, eh? Fortunately, there's no danger of that with Cotopaxi's Luzon daypack. Part of their Del Día range, it's made with remnant fabric – the scraps of high quality ripstop nylon left over from other companies' production runs. The machinists at Cotopaxi's factory in the Philippines come up with their own vibrant designs, and the only stipulation is that every pack has to be unique. The Luzon is an ultra-lightweight daypack with an unstructured design that makes it easy to roll up and stash inside a bigger travel bag. Featuring a cinch closure, an internal hydration sleeve and a comfy mesh harness with waist and sternum straps, it's the ideal companion for fast and light day hikes.
The Del Día line from Cotopaxi is a win-win kind of thing. It keeps perfectly good performance fabrics out of landfill, lets garment workers indulge in a bit of creativity, and means that each Del Día product you buy is one-of-a-kind.
So how does it work? Well, Cotopaxi realised that loads of other companies were chucking away odds and ends of remnant material from their own manufacturing runs. So they bought up all these leftovers and the folk at their factory in the Philippines started playing mix-and-match with the repurposed fabric – working up Cotopaxi's fully featured packs and jackets in whatever different colourways they fancied. The only rule is that they can’t use the same colour scheme twice.
The result is that no two products will ever be alike, making each one vibrantly and uniquely yours.
Cotopaxi’s tagline is ‘gear for good’, and before you roll your eyes at yet another outdoor brand making lofty claims about their eco credentials, these guys really do walk the walk. They’re certified climate neutral, with rigorous ethical manufacturing standards and even a grants scheme that supports organisations fighting global poverty.
They also prioritise the use of recycled and reclaimed materials, which includes some imaginative upcycling – like their ‘Del Día’ range made from repurposed fabrics. Other product lines make use of leftover fabrics discarded by other manufacturers. As well as reducing landfill waste, this also means that the vibrant patchwork-style colourways of many Cotopaxi garments and packs are totally unique.
And that’s the thing about Cotopaxi. Their kit doesn’t just tick the good-guy boxes, it also looks great too – with a retro-inspired aesthetic that channels the best bits of the 80s. Whether it’s a daypack, a bum bag, a windbreaker or a zip-up fleece, their range is built to last and stacked with well-thought-out features for conscientious adventure travellers.