Nepal is open for the autumn season, and glad you are coming.
Everest, Annapurna and Thorong La are open. Langtang treks stay paused while the Rasuwa road is rebuilt; Mustang and Manang roads are still being repaired.
Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket
Pertex Shield, ~180 g, packs into its own pocket
3.4 on Amazon
Light enough that you actually carry it, which is the only property that matters in a shell — the trade is a thin fabric that will not survive being dragged across rock.
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Do not buy this if: Monsoon-season trekking where you will be in rain for hours daily. Take a heavier three-layer shell with pit zips.
Not every route needs it. These are the ones where our guides would put it on your list.
Everything else we recommend in waterproof & wind shells, including the ones we think suit a different trekker.
Best in sustained rainArc'teryx Beta Jacket
Keeps working after six hours of rain when lighter shells have wetted through; you carry the extra weight every dry day too, and the price is genuinely hard to justify for one trek.
Skip it ifAn October or November trek in the Khumbu, when it barely rains. The Helium is the better buy for that season.
