Packing List
The kit that actually matters on this route — what to buy, what to rent in Kathmandu for a fraction of the price, and what to leave at home.
By Laxman Rawal ·
Best overall
Columbia Silver Ridge Lite Long Sleeve Shirt
Covering up is cooler than sunscreen and a t-shirt on the exposed lower Annapurna approach; the fabric is loud and crinkly, and it will never feel like cotton.
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Covering up is cooler than sunscreen and a t-shirt on the exposed lower Annapurna approach; the fabric is loud and crinkly, and it will never feel like cotton.
Not for: High-altitude cold. This is a monsoon, jungle and low-approach shirt.
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Lightest liner
Sea to Summit Silk Blend Liner
Half the weight of a thermal liner and far nicer against skin, at the cost of adding essentially no warmth — the right choice for lower-altitude treks and hot lodges.
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Half the weight of a thermal liner and far nicer against skin, at the cost of adding essentially no warmth — the right choice for lower-altitude treks and hot lodges.
Not for: A cold trek where you were hoping the liner would close a warmth gap. Take the Reactor.
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Best value
Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pant
The zip-off is genuinely useful when you leave a 25 °C valley and arrive somewhere freezing; the zips sit right where a pack hip-belt or a knee bends, and some people never stop noticing.
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The zip-off is genuinely useful when you leave a 25 °C valley and arrive somewhere freezing; the zips sit right where a pack hip-belt or a knee bends, and some people never stop noticing.
Not for: Cold treks that never get hot. Buy a single warm pair instead of a compromise.
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Best value
Goodr OG Polarised
Genuinely good optics at a price where losing them off a suspension bridge is annoying rather than expensive; the frames are plastic and they will not survive being sat on.
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Genuinely good optics at a price where losing them off a suspension bridge is annoying rather than expensive; the frames are plastic and they will not survive being sat on.
Not for: Anything above the snowline. This is a low-altitude and spare-pair recommendation, nothing more.
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Cheapest useful insurance
Waterproof phone pouch (IPX8)
Costs almost nothing and saves the single most expensive item most trekkers carry — the touchscreen window works, but the camera through it does not, so you take it out for photographs…
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Costs almost nothing and saves the single most expensive item most trekkers carry — the touchscreen window works, but the camera through it does not, so you take it out for photographs anyway.
Not for: Autumn Khumbu trekking, where it will not rain on you once.
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Best synthetic
Under Armour Tech 2.0 Long-Sleeve
Dries in an hour and costs a fraction of merino, which makes it the better buy on a short trek — it will smell by day three and nothing you do changes that.
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Dries in an hour and costs a fraction of merino, which makes it the better buy on a short trek — it will smell by day three and nothing you do changes that.
Not for: A fortnight without laundry. That is exactly the case merino is for.
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.
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