Trekking and Peak climbing trips need special arrangement of proper equipment besides the physical fitness. This also depends on weather and altitude of a certain area. For example, personal equipment for Poonhill trekking is not sufficient for Annapurna or Everest Base Camp trek. Similarly, peak climbing needs more equipment of better quality. Therefore, our comprehensive equipment list will be useful before you pack your backpack.
Generally, the trek routes begin from lower elevation with moderate temperature to higher elevations at freezing temperatures. So, it is a good idea to prepare dresses in layers as per the variation of temperatures. T-shirts and shorts are good outfits at lower regions during sunny days. Later, you may need more layers of cloths or warm gears such as gloves, down jackets, warm trousers as the temperature decreases.
In fact, this professional list of trekking equipment provides more information about mountain gears necessary for trekking in Nepal. It can be troublesome, eventually damaging your health or destroy the holiday due to inappropriate trekking gears. Another option is renting personal trekking gears from the local equipment shops in Kathmandu. Basically, they rent sleeping bags, down jackets and climbing gears.
Approximate Cost for Equipment Rental in Kathmandu:
- Sleeping Bag: $1 per day.
- Down Jacket: $1 per day.
List of General Gears
- One -20ºC to -30ºC down sleeping bag with liner
- One down jacket (-20ºC to -30ºC)
- Rucksack 40-70 liters capacity
Footwear
- Trekking boots
- A pair of flip flops or sandals
- Expedition grade plastic boots for expeditions
Headwear
- Sun hat
- Woolen hat
Gloves/Socks
- Light weight thermal gloves
- A pair of Gore-Tex glove shells with liner
- A pair of woolen gloves
- Five or more pairs of woolen socks
- Three or more pairs of cotton socks
Top/Layers
- One thermal layer
- One top layer
- One wind proof/water proof/breathable outer shell
- One light fleece
- One down vest
Bottom/Layers
- One thermal long underwear bottom
- A pair of climbing pants for expeditions
- One wind proof/water proof/breathable outer shell
- A pair of down pants
- A pair of shorts
Sundry Items
- A pair of sun glasses/glacier glasses
- Sun screen SPF 30
- Lip balm
Toiletries
- Towel
- Biodegradable soap
- Toothbrush/paste
- Toilet paper/tissues
Additional Useful Items
- A one liter water bottle
- Pen knife
- A pair of trekking poles
- Sewing kit
- Compass
- Map of the trekking region
- Altimeter
- Notebook/pens/pencil
- Reading materials
- Camera/batteries/charger/additional memory cards
- Head torch with extra batteries and spare bulbs
- Large plastic bags for lining rucksack and protecting garments
- Spare boot laces
- Baggage locks
Personal Climbing Gears for Expeditions
- Harness
- Crampons
- Figure 8
- Ice axe
- Ice hammer
- Safety helmet
- Ascender
- Descender
- Prussic Rope
- Short slings
- Ice screws
- Lock and Unlock Karabiners
- One pair of Gaiters
- Climbing ropes (Main & Fix)
Personal First Aid Kit Box (Please be advised to check with your doctor also)
- Insect repellent (Repel 100 or Jungle Formula)
- Antiseptic cream
- Throat lozenges
- Deep Heat or Tiger Balm
- Anti diarrhea
- Anti protozoan (Such as: Flagyl or Tineba – for treating Giardia)
- Re-hydration salts
- Antibiotics (for treating a variety of infections – a course of each)
- Mild pain killers (Aspirin, Paracetamol for headaches etc, Note: codeine based pain killers are not advisable as these suppress the breathing function especially at high altitude)
- Anti inflammatory ( Such as: Ibuprofen)
- Eye drops
- Plasters/blister kit/bandages/safety pins
- Iodine based water purification tablets
- Iodine for cleaning wounds
- Scissors
- Tweezers
Conclusion:
Nepal has a distinct weather condition and the Himalayan region is always unpredictable. Especially, the mountain expedition is more challenging. So, you should be prepared for your own comfort at harsh weather conditions. You should also make preparation for rain and snow during summer and winter seasons.
However, we advise you to pack the necessary items only and keep the weight of your equipment at minimum. Please note that the need of items listed above will depend on the season and trek duration.
Please feel free to Contact Us should you have further questions on equipment list.