Trek gear discussions

 We have a growing collection of gear discussions, do have a look thru for the one most appropriate for your trek, and for your accessories. Here are a few details relevant to all.

Trekking

Trekking is a journey, not a race. While you should be reasonably fit, you don't need to be an athlete. See the Nepal with us and the India with us sections.

Packing

On all treks you carry a day pack with your camera, extra clothing, water and snacks, so ensure your day pack is comfortable and a suitable size. In general we recommend a pack with real waistband, plenty of support, and a minimum size of 30 litres, although 35-45 litres/2000-3000 cubic inches is more usual for less fanatical packers. The porters (or sometimes yaks) carry everything else, so pack this in a duffel/kitbag rather than backpack.

Do not bring a roller duffel for trekking unless you plan to leave this in the hotel, frames tend to break. You can store gear to leave behind at the hotels we use, no problem. There are plenty of duffels/kitbags out there, you can even buy on arrival, but I prefer the Patagonia Black Hole series, waterproof and surprisingly light and tough.

Digital cameras

Do bring a digital camera, and the charger. We recommend an extra battery on all our trips, regardless of whether we have a charging system on board or not. Some copy batteries do well but to be sure of good performance do use the original manufacturer's. For best performance buy in advance and use three times, charging and discharging them fully, and this will push the Lithium Ion battery to give the longest life on subsequent uses. It is not necessary or useful to discharge them fully after this, jsut charge when the opportunity arises.

Do bring plenty of memory, a couple of big cards. You will take 500 to 2000 pictures probably, and do shoot at the highest resolution, highest image quality. It is extremely rare for cards to fail, I haven't see it happen; operator error is far more likely, so having one or two big capacity cards is better than multiple cards.

See our more comprehensive Digital cameras section too.

Mobile phones

Your mobile will probably work in cities and towns in India, Nepal and Tibet, and so is perhaps worth bringing. Texting/SMS's are a good way to stay in touch with family. There is little or no mobile coverage while trekking.

Satellite phones

We carry a phone for emergencies, not necessarily for general communication. Do note that the satellite service is not 100% guaranteed, Thuraya has occasional service issues.

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