Trek Guide
Flights to Lukla allow 10kg checked plus 5kg hand luggage, strictly weighed. How to fit an Everest trek into 15kg, and what to leave in Kathmandu.
By Prakash Tamang · Oct 8, 2026
Flights to Lukla, the start of the Everest Base Camp trek, allow 10 kg of checked luggage and 5 kg of hand luggage, and the weight is checked. That 15 kg has to hold everything for two weeks at altitude. It sounds tight and it is not, once you know two…
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15 kg across two bags, and the heaviest things are allowed to be on you. The checked bag is your duffel, which your porter will carry once you land. The 5 kg is your daypack. Boots, trousers, fleece and your down jacket can all be worn onto the plane, and a…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
On our treks one porter carries for two trekkers, with a maximum load of 18 kg, so aim for about 9 kg in your duffel. That is also comfortably inside the 10 kg the airline allows. A soft duffel of 60 to 70 litres, and nothing with wheels. Suitcases do not…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Best overall
Mountain Hardwear Camp 4 Duffel 65 L
Weatherproof, takes a bus roof in rain without complaint, and 65 litres is the size that keeps you inside a porter weight limit. Take this rather than the 95 L version: the big one is a…
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Weatherproof, takes a bus roof in rain without complaint, and 65 litres is the size that keeps you inside a porter weight limit. Take this rather than the 95 L version: the big one is a trap, because you will fill it.
Not for: Anyone tempted by a 95 L duffel. Our porter limit is 15 kg for two trekkers combined — a bag you cannot fill is a feature, not a compromise.
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Best to carry yourself
Osprey Transporter 65
The harness is good enough to walk a kilometre with, which the North Face straps are not — you pay for that in weight and in a slightly less bombproof shell.
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The harness is good enough to walk a kilometre with, which the North Face straps are not — you pay for that in weight and in a slightly less bombproof shell.
Not for: Porter-carried loads, where the harness is dead weight and something to snag.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Pays for itself once
Digital luggage scale
Domestic Nepali flights have a 10-15 kg allowance and they enforce it at the desk in cash — a scale costs less than one excess charge and settles the argument in your hotel room instead of…
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Domestic Nepali flights have a 10-15 kg allowance and they enforce it at the desk in cash — a scale costs less than one excess charge and settles the argument in your hotel room instead of the queue.
Not for: Trips with no domestic flight and no porter.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Best organisation
Packing cubes (set of 4)
The difference between a duffel you can work out of and a heap you dig through by headlamp — cubes add a little weight and they do not compress anything, whatever the marketing says.
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The difference between a duffel you can work out of and a heap you dig through by headlamp — cubes add a little weight and they do not compress anything, whatever the marketing says.
Not for: Minimalists. Dry bags do this and keep water out as well.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Rent the heavy warm things in Kathmandu, and do not pack for every possibility. A rented sleeping bag and down jacket still count towards your 15 kg, but you are not also carrying the ones you might have brought from home. Toiletries in small bottles, two…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Best overall
Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Sack (set)
Colour-coded bags turn a duffel from a heap into something you can find things in at 5 a.m., and they keep your down dry when the duffel spends four hours on a bus roof in rain — they are…
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Colour-coded bags turn a duffel from a heap into something you can find things in at 5 a.m., and they keep your down dry when the duffel spends four hours on a bus roof in rain — they are not submersion-proof, so a river crossing still needs care.
Not for: Anyone on a tight budget. Two heavy-duty bin liners do eighty per cent of this for nothing.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Flights, fares and alternatives. The full checklist. What you carry every day. Without buying twice. The verdict: a soft duffel, packing cubes, a luggage scale, your heaviest clothes on your body, and the rest stored in Kathmandu.
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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