The single biggest money-saver on a two-week trek
Four-season down bag (−15 °C), rented
A bag you would buy costs several hundred dollars and you need it for perhaps five cold nights. Kathmandu and Pokhara rent good ones for a couple of dollars a day, and we make nothing from telling you that — take your own silk liner and the hygiene question answers itself.
Skip it ifPeople who camp at home, or anyone doing three Himalayan trips. Then buy once, properly.
Rent it in Thamel — about usd 1-2 per day in thamel or pokhara lakeside. We take nothing.
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
Buy this even if you rentHygiene, plus about 8 °C of extra warmth
Sea to Summit Reactor Thermolite Liner
The one sleep item everyone should own: it solves the rented-bag hygiene question and turns a borderline bag into a warm one — the warmth claim is optimistic, so treat 8 °C as nearer 5 °C in practice.
Skip it ifNobody who is renting a bag. This is the item that makes renting work.
Best bag to ownSynthetic, for people who will use it at home too
Marmot Trestles 15 Sleeping Bag
Synthetic keeps working when damp and costs a third of equivalent down — it is also twice the packed size, which on a porter-carried duffel matters less than the internet thinks.
Skip it ifA single Himalayan trip. Rent, unless this bag will see use at home.