Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket
700FP recycled down, hooded
4.2 on Amazon
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.
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Do not buy this if: One trek and then a wardrobe. Rent a −20 °C jacket in Kathmandu for a fraction of this and spend the difference on boots.
Not every route needs it. These are the ones where our guides would put it on your list.
Everything else we recommend in insulation & down, including the ones we think suit a different trekker.
Best overallRab 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.
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.
Rental shops in Kathmandu and Pokhara carry this — about usd 1-2 per day in thamel or lakeside. We take nothing from that.
