Kilimanjaro Gear: What I did and didn’t need
Packing for Kilimanjaro can feel overwhelming. Do you need this? Will you regret leaving that behind? Now that I’ve completed my climb, I want to share an honest review of what I actually used, what I could’ve done without, and the surprising things that came in handy. Hopefully, this will help future climbers pack smarter and lighter!
Preparing for Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is a multi-day trek through various climate zones, from rain-forest to rocky plains and freezing summit conditions. I did the Northern Circuit 9 day route, which I struggled to find packing lists for but I knew that packing smart is essential and I needed to be prepared for all types of weather, but also mindful of carrying too much weight. Here’s what I learned from my experience.
What I Absolutely Couldn’t Have Done Without
These items made a significant difference during my climb:
Trekking Poles – We rented these when we arrived in Moshi and I was only expecting to use them for the descent because I had heard that it can be tough on your knees. However, I ended up using them every day from day 2. They were a great help for the higher steps and I did the Northern circuit route which included a bit of rock climbing where these can be especially helpful to stabilise myself whilst climbing.
Sun Hat & Sun Cream– I didn’t cover up until it was too late and I paid the price with my burnt nose! This is the only time that I have ever burnt and let me tell you, the mountain sun is no joke! Sun hats should be worn throughout the hike to protect yourself, as well as covers on legs/arms if you can.
Items I Packed but Didn’t Use
There’s a fine line between being prepared and overpacking. These items mostly stayed in my bag:
Trekking trousers/ ski pants – I brought two pairs of trekking trousers but only used one. My ski pants came out for summit night, but I probably could have done without them. More leggings would’ve been a better choice.
If you are planning on using ski pants, I would advise getting a light pair that won’t take up too much space in your duffel bag and won’t cause heaviness on your legs during summit night.
Fleeces – I packed three but ended up re-wearing the same one. You’ll wear more layers than you expect, but you’ll also repeat outfits more than you think!
Overall, I believe that you can get away with taking less than you are anticipating because you will likely rewear clothes a lot more than you expect to.
The Surprising Things That Came in Handy
Some unexpected items turned out to be lifesavers:
Pee bottle – This is so useful for the night time toilet users (like me). I appreciated the handiness of not having to leave the tent during the night when I needed a wee and if you’re using diamox, chances are that you’ll need the toilet more than once during the night. However, please know that if you don’t properly wash your bottle, it will begin to smell out the tent, so bring some necessary (but light and small) cleaning equipment.
Poncho – I bought a poncho last minute due to the rain forecast and I was extremely grateful that I did. Not only did it keep me dry during the hikes, we used our ponchos as tarpaulin that were placed under our mats to keep our sleeping equipment dry.
Below is an example of what our ponchos look like and the sheer size of them. As you can see, they’re quite large as they are designed to fit over yourself and your back pack.
Clothing: What Worked and What Didn’t
Below is my overall experience with layers, footwear, and weather-appropriate gear:
Gloves – Summit night is colder than you can imagine and layering up gloves is a great idea. I used liners and mittens and my hands were only cold when I took the gloves off to take pictures. I would advise trying on your gloves beforehand to ensure that the layers are comfortable and you have flexibility to more your hands and grip onto trekking poles.
Gaitors – My partner skipped these for the first few days and ended up with shoes full of stones. I wore mine the entire time and had zero issues.
Sitting Mat – This was suggested to me by a redditor shortly before I left for the mountain. Due to the large amounts of rain on the mountain, the idea for the sitting mat is to have a dry place to sit during breaks and around camp. Whilst I only used the sitting map a few times, I’m genuinely really pleased that I brought it and it did come in handy for multiple uses. I also used it as a prop underneath my pillow at night to raise my head whilst sleeping and I found this very comfortable.
Hiking Boots – breaking them in before the climb was one of the best things I did. Comfortable, well-fitted boots are crucial to reaching the summit without foot pain and blisters. Similar to this, I would advise bringing blister plasters just in case. Luckily, myself or my partner Chris, didn’t get any blisters but I felt happy knowing that the plasters were available, just in case.
Food and Snacks: What Was Worth Carrying
Water bottles – These were perfect for ease of access. I didn’t take a water bladder but instead took 3 water bottles with 2 of them placed in my side pockets in my backpack and one placed within my back pack to top up my others when I was running low on water. This worked really well and I don’t feel that I missed out by not taking a water bladder. For summit night, I would advise filling at least one of your water flasks up with hot water to hopefully avoid your water freezing during the summit hike.
Snacks – I would advise packing all your favourite snacks that you KNOW that you will eat. You get fed a lot of food on the mountain but having your favourite snacks will motivate you to fuel yourself when you’re struggling with the mountain food. I took crackers, which were a good idea at the time but it turned out that I rarely ate them because I was a little fed up of having so many carbs, so I ended up giving the majority of them to the porters. The snacks that I enjoyed were the sweet protein bars and dried fruits. I also took snickers bars and some of my favourite sweets but to my surprise, I didn’t have an appetite for sweetness when I was on the mountain. I normally have such a sweet tooth so this was a particular surprise for me. My snack MVP were the cliff gel blocks. These were perfect at giving me a little surge of energy during the breaks and our guides really enjoyed them too.
Tech Gear and Gadgets
Lantern for tent – (and clip to hang it to the tent). We ended up hanging ours with a hair scrunchie so if you don’t have a clip, there are definitely other ways around that! The lantern perfectly lit up our tent at night time and meant that we were able to get ready for bed comfortably.
Power Banks – I brought 2 but only ended up using one of mine and I charged my phone twice and my watch once. For treks that are 7 days and under, you can likely get away with one if you have light usage of your phone. Although, if you are using your phone heavily each day, I personally would recommend 2 to be safe.
Phone vs Camera – We took a small camera as well as our phones but honestly, the majority of good footage came from our phones. As long as you have a decent phone camera, this will likely be enough to take some incredible pictures. The views are unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced before and I honestly believe that they’re breathtaking enough to appear nicely on most phone cameras.
Tips for Future Climbers
My top advice based on what I learned during my personal experience:
Digging out a moat around the tent – This may sound a bit OTT but by digging a moat around your tent, it helps prevent rain coming into your tent and your belongings getting wet. Your porters will likely do this for you if it has rained on the mountain but we found that the weather can change fast on the mountain and even if it looks like a sunny day at camp, it’s still worth digging a trench in case of a sudden downpour. Also, when you have dry days at camp, use that time to dry out any wet sleeping bags/mats for a more comfortable sleep.
Get a private toilet – We were prepared to not have one of these and even told our tour operator that we didn’t need one. However, they decided to bring one anyway and we were SOO grateful that they did! The camp toilets can be rough at the start of the climb when there are a lot of people in the camps. They do get better the further you go up, depending on what route you are doing and the popularity of the camps, however having a toilet that is specifically for you and your team is a feeling like no other! You know that it’s going to be clean throughout and it also comes with toilet roll, which I know you won’t believe me but having toilet roll is a real luxury on the mountain!
Below is a picture of what our private toilet looked like:
Watch out for the bugs in the rain forest! I got bitten by so many small bugs during the first couple of days which left me itchy throughout the rest of the climb so I would advise some bug repellent or wearing long sleeved clothes to avoid getting bitten.
Final Thoughts on Packing for Kilimanjaro
Looking back, I definitely overpacked. The reality is, you’ll re-wear clothes more than you expect, and some “just in case” items will never leave your bag. If I could do it again, I’d take fewer bulky clothes and more lightweight layers.
Below is a success picture of us at Summit 🥰 We climbed with Adventure Alternative and there will be a full review of the company coming soon✨
