The mid-layer you wear every single evening
Rab Cirrus Insulated Jacket
Synthetic keeps insulating when it gets damp, which in a Himalayan spring matters more than the extra warmth-per-gram of down — it is noticeably less warm than a down jacket of the same weight, and that is the deal.
Skip it ifSub-zero evenings at 5,000 m as your only warm layer. This is the mid-layer under a down jacket, not a replacement for one.
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The rest of the shelf
Best down jacket to ownFor people who will use a down jacket at home too
Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket
Warm, well-cut and light enough to carry all day — but understand what you are buying: a rental shop in Thamel will hire you a warmer expedition jacket for a few dollars a day, and we earn nothing telling you that.
Skip it ifOne trek and then a wardrobe. Rent a −20 °C jacket in Kathmandu for a fraction of this and spend the difference on boots.
- Rent, do not buy
The big parka for two cold nights of a two-week trek
Expedition down jacket (−20 °C)
You need this for perhaps three evenings of an Everest Base Camp trek. Buying one costs several hundred dollars; renting one in Kathmandu costs a few, and the shops keep them in good condition because their business depends on it.
Skip it ifAnyone who trekks or climbs regularly. If this is your third Himalayan trip, buy your own.
Rent it in Thamel — about usd 1-2 per day in thamel or lakeside. We take nothing.