For the day someone cannot walk further
SOL Emergency Bivvy
A hundred grams that keeps an injured or exhausted person alive while help walks down for them — you will almost certainly never open it, which is exactly the point.
Skip it ifNobody. One per group, in the guide’s pack and one in yours.
About the links on this page.Some go to Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend: every card here also says who the item is not for, and a few things we think you should simply rent in Kathmandu or Pokhara instead, which earns us nothing.
The rest of the shelf
Best whistleHeard where a shout is not
Fox 40 Pealess Whistle
Carries across a valley when a voice does not and works when you are too cold or too winded to shout — pealess means it still works soaked or frozen, which the corked kind does not.
Skip it ifNobody. Clip it to the chest strap, not inside the lid.
Most used item nobody listsSplits a boot, a pole, a mat and a duffel back together
Tape and a small repair kit
A metre of tape wrapped around a trekking pole has salvaged more trekking days than any other single item we carry — it will not fix a delaminated sole permanently, but it will get you to the next village.
Skip it ifNobody. Wrap a metre round each pole before you leave home.