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Travel Himalaya Nepal
Traction & Safety

Emergency & Comms

Satellite messengers and whistles.

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.

SOL Emergency Bivvy — For the day someone cannot walk further
Best emergency shelter

For the day someone cannot walk further

SOL Emergency Bivvy

Reflective bag, ~110 g

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.

Full body bag, far better than a foil blanket

Weighs nothing and costs little

Reusable, unlike a foil sheet

Condensation soaks the inside within an hour

Once opened it never packs as small again

Not a shelter you would choose to sleep in

Not for you if: Nobody. One per group, in the guide’s pack and one in yours.

Check price on Amazon
Fox 40 Pealess Whistle — Heard where a shout is notBest whistle

Heard 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.

Check price on Amazon
Tape and a small repair kit — Splits a boot, a pole, a mat and a duffel back togetherMost used item nobody lists

Splits 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.

Check price on Amazon