The Team Sherpa Blog

I was asked by one of my work colleagues this week for some advice about kit to take on a trip up Kilimanjaro. It got us talking about favourite bits of kit so I thought I’d share some of my ideas!

I advised her to spend her money on decent boots. Without good footwear, a trip can be made uncomfortable, painful or impossible. My next expenditure would be a decent rucksack with adequate built in support so that it is as ergonomic as possible. A good fitting, well structured rucksack will enable you to carry your kit without it feeling as heavy (particularly if you are hiking for several days in a row.)

My favourite bit of kit though, is my sleeping bag. Whilst I love the outdoors, I’m actually a bit of a wooss (i.e. coward!) when it comes to the cold, and my second favourite hobby after trekking is sleeping! If you can get a good night’s sleep whilst camping, you will feel far more refreshed the next day, so for me, investment in sleeping gear has always been a priority. I currently have the best bag I’ve ever found. Its made by Macpac (New Zealand company) and is called a Neve. It’s made of down but the clever bit is the sleeve that lies on the ground-side of the sleeping bag. Insulating materials such as down work by trapping air which your body then warms up. However, any down or fluffy stuff that you lie on gets squashed and therefore doesn’t work very effectively. On the Neve sleeping bag, there is no insulating material on the ground side, just a sleeve that you slide a sleeping mat (such as a Thermarest) into. This is designed to be slept on, so works well at insulating! You lose 3 times as much heat to the ground as you do from the rest of you when you are lying down, so having a good sleeping mat is important. There are 3 real benefits to this design: 1. It keeps you warmer, 2. It is might lighter and smaller to carry and 3. you don’t get knotted in your sleeping bag and roll off your sleeping mat!

Having spent literally thousands of nights under canvas, I have tried and tested many bags, but this design wins hands down. I know other companies make similar designs (I think Macpac may have sadly stopped) so if you are looking for a good sleeping bag, try to track one of these designs down. I personally prefer down, but there are some good synthetic insulating materials around which are often cheaper, but heavier. The “downside” to down, is that it is useless when it gets wet, and is never as good thereafter. My last piece of advice is always use a liner (silk one if you can afford it) and air your sleeping bag regularly. And sweet dreams!