Suitable pack for Nepalese porter to carry for me?

[David M]

I am thinking of walking to Everest Base Camp from Lukla and will hire a guide/porter to carry my pack.

My situation is that I do not currently have an overnight bush walking pack but was going to get one of the AARN series.

However, such a pack might not be suitable for general travel use - the pack I use will be my general travel bag for this trip as well and everything I take will be either in this pack or my day pack which I will carry.

I am looking for something that is reliable and not too expensive and ideally has a smallish compartment in which the porter can keep the few items he carries for his own use.

What suggestions might you offer?

[wayno]

do you know what volume pack you'll need for the gear you want to take ?

[David M]

do you know what volume pack you'll need for the gear you want to take ?

No, I haven't compiled a gear list but there will be no food, cookware, tent or sleeping bag or mat. I will carry in my own pack all electronic devices e.g. GPS, camera, batteries, torches and snack foods.

I suppose the porter's bag will contain clothing, toiletries and any souvenirs purchased on the way (although I'm sure there will be more than just that...).

[wayno]

if you intend to accumulate stuff then you are looking at a big pack.. 80 litres or more

[frenchy_84]

No, I haven't compiled a gear list but there will be no food, cookware, tent or sleeping bag or mat. I will carry in my own pack all electronic devices e.g. GPS, camera, batteries, torches and snack foods.

I suppose the porter's bag will contain clothing, toiletries and any souvenirs purchased on the way (although I'm sure there will be more than just that...).

So that only leaves clothes to carry. you sure you need a porter to carry clothes?

[Franco]

Our guides (not porters) had a 30-40L pack for their stuff.
So add about that to the volume of your stuff.
I don't see the need for a GPS, but if you like to add your waypoints (for your journal) then go ahead...
I highly recommend to have a guide/porter.
For a start for very little you employ someone but really it is a lot safer that way.
(safer from been taken advantage by enterprising locals)
BTW, Nepalese tent to be between small and medium in size.

[Moondog55]

I recently had a friend do a similar trip, the girls hired a Sherpa guide and the guide hired porters along the way, it was apparently cheaper that way and the money in wages was distributed evenly along the way. They carried their own warm clothing and personal items in a little day pack ( about 25 / 30 litres) and the porters carried the big packs. From memory they said that the sleeping tents and sleeping bags and mats were purchased at a market over there ( I guess at the end of the trek they became part of the guides wages and got resold back to the market- that is normal practice in many parts of the world) which leads me to think that a decent sized travel pack with a detachable daypack may be the best option.

[Hallu]

Depending on the size of our clothes, a 60 L might be enough if you don't have tent/sleeping mat... But don't worry about the porter, they can carry up to 80 kg of stuff. MainPeak is currently doing some sales on Black Diamond packs, I suggest you look into it (this one for example : http://www.mainpeak.com.au/clearance/bl ... k-75l.html ).

[johnrs]

Hi David
Less is more.
Just a very light down bag and silk liner as you will be sleeping inside.
(Your own bag will give some protection from bedbugs and fleas)
A very light down jacket if you are there in winter
one set of polypro and a change of underwear, sox and shirt.
Light shell, overpants are not required.
Maybe some thongs or crocs for the evening
Hat, gloves and minamal first aid kit, elastoplast, antibiotics x1 course, imodium, diamox and puritabs.
Crushable waterbottle , maybe some poles if you are over 40.
It should not be much over 10kg.
Most stuff can be bought along the way.
A GPS would be completely superfluous, there are 800 people a day on this route in the season
Porters do not like shoulder straps, your pack, whatever it is, will get a headband tied around it.
60l would seem large,get your iouvenirs in Lukla or Namche or bettter Thamel at the end.
For yourself a robust decent sized day pack for the days clothes,water, maybe some lunch and camera.
Have a wonderful trip
John

[ninjapuppet]

I just spent 4 days in kathmandu a last month trolling around pretty much all the outdoor shops in Thamel. Prices will fluctuate wildly between shops and when you think you've got a bargain, you still might be conned.

but let me tell you, prices there are really cheap. I picked up a 95L pack for my porter, for about $30 (fake north face)
However he ended up not wanting to use it! They preferred strapping 2 of my XL north face 140L duffels together and wacking a piece of cloth around it to use their foreheads.

porter.jpg (101.79 KiB) Viewed 4223 times

If you are part of a organised tour, porters generally are limited to carry 25kg (but rules are often broken) but if you get your own porter along the way, then ive seen them carry 100% of their bodyweight.
You can also buy fake north face 150L duffels for $12 made of heavy canvas.

basically dont stress too much about what you bring over. just grab a $12 massive duffel and they'll happily carry it for you. I would stress more about the airline carrier surchages!

[ninjapuppet]

A little off topic for you, but might be useful to know prices of some of the things i bought. spent about $500 and filled up 140L of my duffel for presents back in australia.
[To convert to AUD, divide by 89]

fake mammut softshells: 3000 NPR bargained down from 5000 NPR
~ 600 fill down jackets 5000-8000
~800 fill down jackes 6000-10000
Gas cannisters 230g 600NPR / 450g 1200NPR (i think i got ripped off there)

i wrote down a long list somewhere. just PM me if you need to know any specific prices

and heres a few prices from a typical guest house at around 2-3000m. prices got much steeper once I got above 4000m like $10 bucks for a pot of tea! would have been cheaper to get the porter to carry extra gas cannisters and spare tea.

Note that a room is often cheaper than a plate of food. makes no sense to drag my tent out and deal with condensation in the morning if such cheap rooms are around.

[wayno]

are those just ropes he's pulling on to stop the load falling back?

[ninjapuppet]

are those just ropes he's pulling on to stop the load falling back?

Yeh i would say so.

I did try to carry a porter's 50kg load for about 10 minutes .Definitely feels easier to carry it using my head than a traditional backpack but its also much easier to get tipped off balance because the center of gravity seems to be higher.

[wayno]

saw a documntary that said nepalese have genetically adapted to altitude over 10,000 years to have superior circulation, greater blood vessel development than lower altitude people.... they need less red blood cells to function than outsiders adapted to altitude, thinner blood, less risk of pulmonary and cerebral edaemia...

[Franco]

Some confusion here (I think...) between guides and porters.
The typical Nepalese porter will carry the weight tumpline style but that is all he/she does.
A typical guide (usually called 'Sherpa" and most of them are) will carry his own backpack, talk to you, pay fees,does the booking, route planning and negotiate for you and hire and supervise the porter/s.
He does not carry your load.
You pay your guide about twice as much as the porter gets.
You can get porter/guides too.
That could be a Sherpa guide that is prepared to carry your load (in a larger backpack not tumpline style) but most likely he will be a porter aspiring to be a guide.
A qualified guide usually has better communication skills and understanding of Western requirements than a porter/guide.
Most porters only understand a few words of English or almost none.
Nepali is the second language for most, English comes well after that.