This is the gear we are taking for our 24 day hike through Ladakh and Zanskar in the Himalayas. We’re packing for high altitude (up to 6000m), exposed camps and trails, and food carries of up to six days.
Some of our choices are conservative, as this is our first time in the region and there is limited information online about independent trekking conditions here.
Total weight in list: 8614g
Worn weight: 647g
Base weight: 7967g
Sleeping
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tent | Durston X-Mid Pro 2 (DCF floor + extra guylines) | 530 | 1 |
| Stakes | DAC J Stake (4 x 11g, 6 x 7g) | 86 | 1 |
| Inflatable mat | Exped Duo 3R | 810 | 1 |
| Twin quilt | EE 30F/-1C 7d 950fp w draft collar | 780 | 1 |
| Earplugs | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 2206 | 5 |
Clothes Carried
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active jacket | Zpacks Octa | 143 | 2 |
| Down jacket | Goosefeet Gear Custom with 155g of fill | 280 | 2 |
| Rain jacket | Rockfront Rain Hoody | 135 | 2 |
| Fleece pants | Zero G Gear Fuzzy Pants (Alpha Direct 90gsm) | 95 | 2 |
| Rain pants | Montbell Versalite | 90 | 2 |
| Gloves/mitts | Fleece. Touchscreen. | 30 | 2 |
| Rain gloves | Homemade muffin bags | 10 | 2 |
| Underwear | Spare | 18 | 2 |
| Buff | OR Echo | 20 | 2 |
| Toe socks | Injinji liner | 34 | 2 |
| Normal socks | Icebreaker Lifestyle | 30 | 2 |
| Total | 1770 | 22 |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack | Whippa Overland 60 Ultralight | 990 | 2 |
| Pack liner | Nylofume | 28 | 4 |
| Water bottle | 1L plastic 28mm thread. Woolworths 1L w pop top. | 33 | 2 |
| Second water bottle | HDPE Nalgene. Use for hot drinks. | 100 | 2 |
| Water bladder | HydraPak Seeker 3L | 92 | 1 |
| Water filter | Platypus QuickDraw | 63 | 1 |
| Toothbrush | Mini toothbrush | 3 | 2 |
| Plastic spoon | Sea to Summit | 6 | 2 |
| Comb | 2 | 1 | |
| Sun umbrella | Hyperlite Essential Umbrella | 193 | 2 |
| Bidet | Igneous Designs | 4 | 2 |
| Sit mat | Plastazote LD15. Doubles as inflatable protection. | 70 | 2 |
| Total | 3067 | 23 |
Electronics
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone | iPhone 17 Pro with case | 215 | 2 |
| Head torch | Nitecore NU25 MCT UL (own headband) | 37 | 2 |
| AirPods Pro 3 | 55 | 1 | |
| Powerbank | NB10000 | 150 | 1 |
| Wall charger | GaN 20W, 2 USB-C ports | 40 | 1 |
| USB-C cable | 5 | 3 | |
| Garmin cable adapters | USB-C to Garmin | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 770 | 12 |
First Aid + Repair
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini scissors | 5 | 1 | |
| Thread + Needle | 2 | 1 | |
| DCF tape | 2 | 1 | |
| Antihistamine | x10 | 3 | 2 |
| Imodium | x6 | 2 | 1 |
| Aquatabs | 1 backup tray of 10 × 5L tabs | 1 | 1 |
| Super glue | 2 | 2 | |
| Aquaseal UV | 8 | 1 | |
| Cord | Zpacks 1.3mm, Lawson 2.5mm | 3 | 1 |
| Cash | 2 × $50 | 2 | 1 |
| Cards | ID / Debit | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 40 | 13 |
General Consumables
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lip balm | 10 | 1 | |
| Aquatabs | 20 × 1L | 1 | 1 |
| Ibuprofen | 200 mg × 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Paracetamol | 500 mg × 8 | 3 | 1 |
| No Doz | 100 mg × 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Sunscreen | 15 | 1 | |
| Zinc | 6 | 1 | |
| Toothpaste | 4 | 1 | |
| Hand sanitiser | In 5mL dropper bottle | 5 | 1 |
| Toilet paper | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 59 | 10 |
Footcare Consumables
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gurney Goo | 10 | 1 | |
| Friction reduction tape | ENGO patches | 10 | 1 |
| Fixomull Stretch | 3 | 1 | |
| Kinesiology tape | 3 | 1 | |
| Tape adhesive | Friars balsam / tincture of benzoin | 5 | 1 |
| Rigid tape | Leukotape | 10 | 1 |
| Splinter probe | Puncture blisters. Individually sealed. | 1 | 1 |
| Duct tape | Makeshift ENGO patches amongst other things. | 3 | 1 |
| Joint Dressing | H Shape Livingstone – Small (3.8 × 7.6cm) | 3 | 1 |
| Gel toe protector | 2 × | 2 | 1 |
| Hydrocolloid plasters | For torn roof blisters | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 55 | 11 |
Clothes worn
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long sleeve hoody | Rab Pulse / OR Echo / OV Altitude with long chest zip added | 130 | 1 |
| Sun gloves | Temu | 20 | 1 |
| Underwear | Royal Robbins | 30 | 1 |
| Tights | XO Skin Midi | 65 | 1 |
| Socks | Injinji Liner Lightweight (Coolmax version) | 32 | 1 |
| Shoes | Altra Timp 5 BOA, SG 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Gaiters | Dirty Girl | 30 | 1 |
| Hat | Sunday Afternoons Sports Hat | 63 | 1 |
| Sunglasses | Julbo Shield M. Photochromic cat 2-4. | 27 | 1 |
| GPS Watch | Garmin Forerunner 945 | 63 | 1 |
| Trekking poles | Zpacks Minimalist Trekking Poles | 187 | 1 |
| Total | 647 | 11 |
What We Thought of Our Gear After 24 Days
Overall, we were very happy with the gear we took. Because this was our first time trekking independently in Ladakh and Zanskar, some of our choices were deliberately conservative. Now that we know the conditions better, there are only a few things we would change.
Whippa Overland 60 Packs
The Whippa packs worked really well. One of our favourite features is the solid front pocket. Unlike a mesh pocket, it gives you somewhere to keep things you want accessible during the day while offering much better protection from the weather.
Whippa have also made some significant improvements to the packs recently, including softer foam and a stronger frame. Maddie actually found the Overland 60 more comfortable than the Durston Kakwa 55L she normally guides with.
The main downside is the shape. They are quite deep from front to back, which puts some of the load further away from your body and shifts your centre of gravity backwards. With bigger food carries, a slightly slimmer profile would be preferable.
Durston X-Mid Pro 2
The X-Mid Pro 2 was bomber.
We added extra guylines before the trip because we knew we could be camping in exposed locations and high winds. It handled the conditions extremely well while still being remarkably light for a two-person tent.
There isn’t much we would change here. It’s our favourite tent and we’d take it again.
Hyperlite Essential Umbrellas
For this trip, an umbrella felt close to essential rather than optional. There is very little shade across much of Ladakh and Zanskar, so being able to create your own shade made a huge difference during long, exposed days.
We’ve experimented with lighter umbrellas in the past, but they tend to flip or deform much more easily in wind. The Hyperlite umbrellas are wider and stronger, and the vented canopy allows some wind to pass through rather than catching all of it.
They’re heavier than the lightest options, but for this environment we think the extra weight is easily justified.
Active and Static Layers
Our active layers were spot-on. We were happy with the system and wouldn’t make any meaningful changes next time.
Our static insulation was more conservative. We took custom Goosefeet Gear down jackets with 155g of down fill, and they were warmer than we really needed.
Given we’d never been to the region before, we were happy to err on the warm side, particularly with camps at high altitude, but next time we’d be comfortable taking a slightly lighter down jacket.
Water Filter + Aquatabs
We liked having both filtration and chemical treatment because they served different purposes.
The Platypus QuickDraw gave us water immediately, which was ideal when moving through the day. Aquatabs were useful when we wanted to treat larger quantities of water at once, as well as providing a very lightweight backup if anything happened to the filter.
Rather than choosing one system or the other, having both gave us a good combination of instant water while hiking and high-volume purification at camp.
Why We Took a 3L Water Bladder
The HydraPak Seeker wasn’t primarily about carrying three litres of water all day. It was about being able to store water at camp.
We found that many of the glacier-fed streams became increasingly silty later in the day as meltwater flows increased, before becoming much clearer again overnight and into the morning.
If we reached camp before the water became heavily silty, we could fill the bladder and collect enough clear water for cooking, drinking and the night rather than having to return to the river later.
For only 92g, that extra storage capacity was very worthwhile.
Why We Didn’t Take a Satellite Phone
One unusual omission from our remote-area gear was a satellite phone.
India heavily regulates satellite communications, and foreign travellers cannot legally carry or use a satellite phone without prior government approval. For that reason, we did not to take one on this trip.
It’s an important consideration for anyone used to trekking in countries such as Australia, where carrying satellite communications into remote areas would normally be an obvious part of the safety system.
