This is a list of gear required for the climb together with the reasons for the selection. I have included brands because it did not really make sense without them and all of this gear worked well for me but please choose your own brands if you wish as these are not necessarily the lowest cost.
| Make | Description | No | Comment | |
| Base layers (bottoms) | Rohan | Superfine Merino Leggings | 2 | Essential to keep warm especially on the last day or two! One pair may be enough but I took 2 to keep one pair dry in case we got very wet. |
| Trousers | Rohan | Waterproof and windproof. | 1 | These act as outer waterproof trousers as well as keeping you warm with leggings underneath. Used on final climb. |
| Striders – trekking trousers – slightly lighter weight and windproof. | 1 | Wore these every day except the final climb. | ||
| Safari trousers | 1 | Used on Safari so not needed just for climb. | ||
| Travel trousers | 1 | Light weight with zipped secure pockets for travel. | ||
| Base layers (tops) | Rohan | Superfine merino Crew Top | 2 | Essential when it gets cold – as per leggings 2 pairs to keep one dry in case. |
| Superfine Merino Zip | 1 | Kept this for evenings and sleeping in – ideal. | ||
| Ultrafine silver t shirts | 4 | Wore these every day apart from the final climb. Easy to wash and keep the BO under control! | ||
| Shirts | Rohan | Overland long sleeved with anti-bite and sun screen. | 3 | Wore one of these every day on the climb apart from the last final climb. Plus useful for the safari and travel. |
| Jackets | Rohan | Daybreak down jacket | 1 | Wore this each evening and when in camp to keep warm. Took to summit as a back up but did not actually need it. |
| Pinnacle Jacket – outer waterproof | 1 | True mountain gear – waterproof and windproof – used this on final climb and essential to have something of this nature. | ||
| Canopy Cape – poncho style over cape for really wet conditions. | 1 | Used this when it really poured down and it proved invaluable as it covers your rucksack and you could use walking poles as well and keep dry. | ||
| Gradient Fleece | 1 | Wore this a great deal and the down jacket fitted under this so kept me warm when it mattered. Wore on the final climb. | ||
| Transition Top – pullover by any other name! | 1 | Kept this for use on camp and for sleeping in! | ||
| Gloves | Rohan | Weather System Gloves Winter Waterproof | 1 | Wore these most of the time when needed gloves. |
| Fleece gloves | 1 | Needed these on final climb with Artic Mitts on top! | ||
| Weather System Gloves Inner | 1 | Wore these when not too cold but needed gloves. | ||
| Terra Nova | Extremities Artic mitts | 1 | Used on final climb – without hands would have got too cold so essential if, like me, your hands feel the cold. | |
| Headwear | Rohan | Mountain Guide Cap | 1 | This works really well with the cape and Pinnacle Jacket when it is very wet and cold. |
| Superfine Merino Beanie | 1 | Wore this in camp and to sleep when it was very cold! Perfect. | ||
| Superfine Merino Neck tube | 1 | Wore this most days and especially in camp and to sleep in – keeps you snug. | ||
| Pilkington Wide Brim Safari Hat | 1 | Wore this pretty much the whole time (see pictures) to keep sun off. | ||
| Outdoor Designs | Balaclava | 1 | Did not actually use this but glad I had it as a backup. | |
| Thinsulate | Thinsulate thick woollen hat | 1 | Wore this on final climb – this is very warm and essential for final climb. Too hot for the rest of the trip. | |
| Footwear | Scarpa | Mountain boots | 1 | A really good pair of boots is ESSENTIAL! These were great but even with these on the way down my feet did suffer! |
| Trailwise | Gore-Tex Gaiters | 1 | I wore these the whole time to keep dust and grit out and legs dry when it rained. | |
| Rohan | Inner & Hot Socks | 3 | Wore thin socks most of the time. | |
| Cool & Cold Socks | 2 | Final climb you need thick socks with inner socks otherwise your feet will get cold! | ||
| North Face | Hedgehog trekking shoes | 1 | Lightweight to change into in camp. | |
| Spare boot laces | Just in case. | |||
| Misc. Gear | Rohan | Stravaig 35 rucksack | 1 | A really good and comfortable rucksack with waterproof outer is essential. |
| Platypus | 2 litre water reservoir with insulated cover and drinking pipe | 1 | Vital and one with insulation will help but mine froze on the final climb! | |
| Nalgene | .6 litre water bottles | 2 | Vital so you can have at least 3 litres of water with you each day. | |
| Leki | Trekking Poles | Pair | Essential – I used this pretty much all the time except when climbing the Barranco Wall. Would not have made it up or down without. | |
| Fit Over | Sun glasses – fit over anti UV | 1 | As I wear glasses having these fit over glasses were essential but whatever you do you must have proper UV protection sunglasses with wrap round as the sun is very strong. | |
| Petzl | LED Head light | 1 | Essential for round camp and on the final climb. | |
| Spare batteries | 10 | Likewise – you cannot do the final climb if your batteries have run out. | ||
| Water proof main duffle bag | 1 | I bought mine from Private Expeditions and it was ideal. Between this and my rucksack I carried all my gear for the whole trip. | ||
| Inner duffle bag to leave at hotel | 1 | You will need to leave some gear at the hotel during the climb so you need something to put it in – I just had a simple lightweight bag. | ||
| Ultra lite waterproof stuff sacks | 8 | Different sizes – make packing really easy and keep everything in its right place and dry. | ||
| Dollars for tips etc. | LOTS! | Between Jim and I we took about $1500 for tips, meals etc. Do not underestimate this because when you have done the climb you will want to reward the guys! And buy beer… | ||
| Insurance – British Mountaineering Council | I used BMC insurance for the whole trip and you do have to have high altitude insurance – normal holiday insurance will not do. | |||
| Note: Sleeping bag and matt hired on trip. | I hired both sleeping mat and bag to save having to carry them the whole way and this worked out well. Private Expeditions gear was fine. | |||
| Inner Sleeping Bag and Pillow | I did take a small travel pillow and inner sleeping bag and these were very welcome. | |||
| Travel Towel and wash | Took a travel towel and small bottle of travel wash and these proved very useful. |