Hold-all. A large duffle bag that can withstand yak and porter transport is needed. About 100 litres is the most useful size. Take a padlock for international travel and for local transport. We recommend The North Face duffles.

The North Face L Duffle

Day trekking rucksack. A small size rucksack is required as you will not be carrying loads. Simple and light is the key here. The Osprey Talon 33, Kestrel 38 and the Pod Cragsac are ideal.

Light Weight Rucksacks

Dry bags are very useful. Look for Outdoor Designs or Ortlieb.

Dry Bags

Plastic Climbing Boots Scarpa Omegas are good to about 7000m. Correct fitting of these boots takes at least 1 hr so allow the time for this. When fitted correctly they are brilliant. An alternative fit is the Asolo AFS 8000. A design classic.

Trekking Boots that are durable enough to cover rocky and snowy ground up to base camp: Asolo, Aku, Hanwag or Scarpa or Meindl have several suitable models depending on fit.

Hill Walking Boots

Socks for trek boots. Take plenty. Thorlo are very comfortable, warm and non itchy. Take a new pair for summit day as a treat.

Thorlo

Base Layer. The choice is between Merino wool which is warm and light and doesn’t smell even if worn for several days or fast wicking and drying synthetics such as polypropylene.

Base Layer

Mid Layer. Mid layer fleece jackets/ soft shells. One with a hood is more versatile.
Rab Photon Hoodie, Generator Smock, Haglofs Barrier or North Face Optimus make great second layers. A Mountain Cap and Powerstretch balaclava are also musts.

Photon Hoodie Mid Layer

Shell clothing. Jacket and pants/salopettes. Full specification mountain jacket such as the Mountain Equipment Pro Shell Ogre, Arcteryx Alpha LT or Montane Superfly XT and pants are needed. Go for bright colours to improve summit posing photographs.

Shell Clothing and Waterproof Pants

A down jacket  makes life in camp more comfortable and is sometimes worn late in the season on summit day. It is not a luxury. We recommend the Rab Summit. Down booties are a luxury and a great comfort in the tent but are NOT designed to be worn outside.

Rab Summit

Hands. Gore-Tex/fleece mitts, light inner gloves, fleece inner gloves. The OR Verglas mitts are warm, hard wearing and great value Black Diamond Guide gloves give warmth and extra dexterity.

Gloves

Gaiters. Regular gaiters are adequate. The best of these are the OR Crocodiles and Mtn Eqpt Matrix Gaiters. Better protection is given by the all round Eiger gaiters which are warm and easier to use in the cold.

Gaiters

Crampons. 12 point crampons such as the Grivel G12 are the most versatile. Either step in or strap on systems work well on high altitude boots and are easy to use even with gloves/cold hands.

Grivel G12

Ice axe. An axe such as the Grivel Air Tech Evo or DMM Cirque are good all rounders. They are light weight but still good on steep ground. A leash will prevent the axe being dropped at the critical moment

Ice Axes

Trekking Poles are very useful on glacier approaches and can help a lot on easy slopes such as Mera Peak in Nepal.

Leki Poles are recommended

Climbing harness. Black Diamond Alpine Bod or DMM Alpine are best. They are simple and light and you can remain tied on when answering the call of nature.

Alpine Bod or DMM Alpine

Helmet. A helmet that can accommodate a hat or balaclava is needed, so the adjustable Petzl Ecrin or Black Diamond Half Moon make a good choice. Lightweight foam helmets may not survive a yak journey.

Helmets

Sunscreen. Factor 30-40, and lip block.

Eyes. Good quality Glacier glasses and Sun glasses. Snow blindness can not only ruin your trip, but can permanently damage your eyes.

Hat. A sun hat such as a Tilley is good. A baseball hat will not protect your neck, so a Buff or equivalent is essential.

headwear

Sleeping bag. A good nights rest or even sleep can make a big difference to your chances of success or not. A good down sleeping bag will also last many years. The Rab Summit Range is excellent.

Sleeping Bags

Sleeping mat.  Thermarest /Ridge Rest. Insulation from the ground is even more important than the sleeping bag. Thermarests are softer to sleep on, but the latter can not get punctured. The best combination, especially for sleeping on snow is to take both. Do not buy a Thermarest that is too short so your feet hang off the end.

Therm-a-Rest

Head Torch, bulbs and Batteries. Taking two is a good idea. One for use in the tent and Base Camp etc and one for on the mountain. The Petzl Tikka and Zipka led models are great, but on the mountain a Myo XP or BD Icon would be a better solution.

Petzl

Water bottles. Nalgene is best especially if an insulated jacket is used. A steel thermos flask is also useful but a bit heavy. Avoid drinking bladders as the pipe will freeze and the drinking end  is likely to drop in the dirt occasionally.

Nalgene

Knife. Swiss Army knife or a Gerber or Leatherman mutitool.

Pocket Tools

Pee bottle. Nalgene is the best for this too, as for obvious reasons you must have one that does not leak!

Nalgene

Passport &Visa, Tickets, Money, Passport photos, Personal first aid kit - a money belt from Life Venture is a useful accessory

Life Venture Money Belt