Kit is always important on a trip, not just to have the right level of equipment and clothing but also for you to be comfortable in it. So I’ve listed everything (well everything I remember) I took to Nepal for the trek to EBC. Packing for a decent length trip the first few times is tough, you’ll over pack and take things you come back having not used. You’ll probably also be horrified by how much your kit weighs when it’s finally packed. Hopefully the list below will help.

Before moving onto the list, there’s a couple of important considerations to remember:

• Time of year: I went in the middle of November, which is considered the main trekking season. Conditions do change in the valley depending on whether you’re there chasing the snow up or it’s chasing you back down. We didn’t walk on any snow at all on our way.
• Porterage: The main pack was carried by porters all the way up the trail so we only needed to carry a daypack.
• Weight limit: I worked toward a weight limit of 15kg for my main pack.
• Accommodation: We stayed in the tea houses all the way up. Had we stayed in tents then obviously changes to items related to sleeping would’ve been different.

So the kit I took, from the top…

Head

• Thermal Hat – Mountain Equipment thermal beanie style hat
  I prefer not wearing a hat most of the time but when it got cold this was fantastic to have. Thermal liner inside is definite plus and helps keep your head nice and toasty when needed.
• Neck Gaiter – Berghaus thermal style
  Gave this a go after finding a balaclava uncomfortable. Really like the flexibility of the hat/gaiter combo. This works a charm and can be adjusted to cover more of your head in case it’s particularly cold or not wearing a hat (it can also be made into a hat). For Nepal it was handy on the last few days but given they’re pretty cheap, are worth it alone for UK winter walking.
• Sun Hat – I didn’t take one…
  Doh! Forgot to take one and paid for it on the acclimatisation day up above Namche (we’d also not taken enough water to compound it) and got pretty bad sunstroke, not ideal when you’re trying to stay 100%. So a decent hat to cover your head, if possible something light to cover the back of your neck is a necessity.

Body

• Long sleeve baselayers – Helly Hansen, 1x Polypropylenee, 1x Merino
  For their weight and layering potential (if it comes to it I can put both on at once) they’re indispensable. Beware that the active baselayers usually don’t shield you completely from the sun, put sun tan on under, or else you’ll burn.
• T-Shirts – 2 x Berghaus lightweight wicking
• Lightweight (100/200) Fleeces – 1xBerghaus (100 weight), 1xMountain Equipment (200 weight)
  Actually didn’t need to wear them out walking but they were great in the evening.
• Down Jacket – Mountain Equipment Vega Jacket
  Lightweight down jacket with decent loft worked a charm. I used it from around 4000m up at night in the teahouses and then on the final day going up in the morning.
• Waterproof Jacket – Mountain Equipment Kongur Jacket
  I’ll say it again, I love this jacket. As the final part of layering it’s fantastic and helps me to stay almost always at the perfect temperature. You’d be fine with a lighter alternative but a good waterproof jacket will be flexible for other trips/walks, I definitely believe this one is good value given the use I’ve had out of it.

Hands

• Glove liners
• Warm gloves – Mountain Equipment Guide Gloves
  Used only toward the top but they worked perfectly, and would have been fine without the liners.

Legs

• Boxers – 4x Polypropylenee (2 HH and 2 LoweAlpine)
  So much better/more comfortable than wearing cotton. Perhaps another pair or two would’ve been nice, but I coped.
  
• HH Merino Baselayer
  Used these on the final day over 5000m and found them okay but overkill really. In the morning I was glad of them but should have taken them off when I had the chance. Well worth taking in case the weather turned though.
• Haglofs Thin trouser/shorts
  My lightweight trousers for the trip doubled as shorts due to handy zips. The material was some special “clima-cool” that definitely made a difference on the lower sections of the trail. Shorts were also handy to have when it was warm under 3500m.
• Berghaus Standard Walking Trousers
  The main walking trouser I wore on the trip. Strong but lightweight material trouser with useful side vents high up on the outside leg for when it gets warm. Ideal.
• Berghaus Deluge Over-Trousers
  Waterproof over-trousers, used more than anything for extra warmth when protecting against strong winds on the final few days. We only had a bit of rain on the way down that didn’t merit them but still given weight/size and use as a shield from the wind/rain they’re essential.

Feet

• Scarpa Mantas (older style B2 rated)
  I used these are my main pair of walking boots on the trip. Given the state of the trail and conditions they were overkill. Having ankle support was good at times but a much lighter weight boot would’ve been fine. Earlier in the year chasing the snow line they’d be much more useful. Still the most important thing was that despite being a too warm most of the time, they were comfortable as I’d walked in them a lot before Nepal. No blisters or other problems with my feet on the whole trek, so job done.
• Merrels
  No idea what model they are but they’re the standard lightweight summer trekking shoes you’d find in most outdoors shops. Wore them most at night but realistically would’ve been fine up until pretty high on the route given how warm it was.
• North Face Down Slippers
  Nice enough and keep your feet warm, but I wore them 2-3 times at most. A luxury, didn’t need them and weren’t practical in teahouses, too slippy.

Day pack
Berghaus Freeflow 20l

I’m a big believer in carrying only what is essential so was fine with 20l. My friend took a smaller pack and was also fine. Other members of the group opted for much larger packs… and managed to fill them with kit that they didn’t need. We were perhaps lucky with the weather so I’d probably advise 25/30l but I’d stick closely to what you’re comfortable with as long as it’s not wildly out from that. Somewhere on the outside of your pack to stow a water bottle is really handy.

Main pack
Berghaus Mule 80l

A hold all was the main pack style of choice. It makes getting to kit easy given the wide opening and was a lot easier for the porters to carry with the less rigid design. Not having lots of strapping/support also cuts on the weight of the pack so you can pack the same… but lighter.

Equipment

• Head Torch – Petzl Zipka
  Definitely take a head torch. Any should do you fine, but do try it out before going. Saw people unwrapping them on the trip and not knowing how they worked and struggling in the dark.
• Knife – Leatherman Knife
  My mate I travelled with assured me a knife was essential. I used it once to prize apart chocolate digestive biscuits. A decent knife is always handy so take one and perhaps be happy if you use yours in a similar way.
• Water Bottles/Bladder – 3ltr Platypus and 2x 1ltr Nalgene Bottles
  Platypus first. Not ideal in my opinion… it’s great in the UK on day walks, in Nepal I found that it took on the taste of Iodine despite using neutralising tablets, was harder to keep check of how much water I was drinking and finally the pipe froze despite having fitted insulation. My advice, go with the Nalgene bottles. Why 2? Use one for your water, there’s plenty of places to fill up on the trail and mark the 2nd one as for in the night if you don’t want to get out of your sleeping bag to go toilet. Just make it obvious which is which!
• Water Purification – Iodine drops/Neutralising tablets
  You can buy bottled water but most people stuck to the Iodine route. Your stomach will probably hate you and show its displeasure on this route but it’s part of the trip, no? Just make sure you’ve got enough so that you’re not rationing Iodine and not drinking enough.
• Waterproof Stuff Sacks
  It was dry so the waterproof side wasn’t needed but it’s well worth having anyway. Fairly standard to pack using these. Knowing how best to pack with them, so that you don’t empty them each and every day to get clothes/kit, is the hard bit!
• Medical Kit
  Key parts to the kit… blister plasters, wet wipes, pain killers and well I took some Diamox in case. I got a bad head at Orsho, took some Nurofen and felt fine, then woke up that night in Dingboche feeling awful. In the morning half a Diamox and I was perfect again. At base camp before going up Kala Patthar I had to take another half tablet which made me again feel a lot better. Definitely take pain killers and talk to your doctor about Diamox, there’s so much conflicting advice/opinions about it that I’m going to put together an article on it. For now, know I took some with me and it worked fine.
• Hand sanitizer
  You’ll definitely want some of this. It seemed that it was more stomach complaints that hit our group and not the altitude. Trying to adapt to radically different environment, food, altitude is bad enough so try to introduce some hygiene by keeping your hands clean.
• Reading Material – “The Climb” – Boukreev
  Not that you’ll finish it, but good to take a book along to pass some time. I like to take something related and there’s plenty of material on the regio!

Casual clothes

Interesting one this, I took some clothes with me to wear in the evenings to get out of my walking kit and keep it as fresh as possible (actually to not smell so much at night). Couple of t-shirts made a difference, as did some warm jogging bottoms. But beyond that the walking kit got used in conjunction. So forget hoodies/jumpers, your fleece/down jacket are perfect for this.

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And that’s about it, any questions about kit you’re thinking about taking then feel free to ask and I’ll try to help.

Cheers, Ian