Best Sleeping bag for an Everest Base Camp Trek

What's the best sleeping bag for the Everest Base Camp trek?

A warm sleeping bag is critical to keeping warm and having a good nights sleep on an Everest Base Camp trek. The nights on your trek, especially in the high mountain regions, can get extremely cold! I strongly suggest a duck or goose down sleeping bag if it's within budget. There are cheaper synthetic options out there which are very good and do the job but there's nothing that can really match up to the insulation qualities of duck and goose down.

When you are trekking above 4000m, the nights can get severely cold, especially towards the latter part of the autumn trekking season in November and in at the beginning of the spring season in March so I always recommend a 4 season down bag or a really good 3 season as it covers you for the entire trek. You can get away with a slightly warmer sleeping bag which is rated lower than a 3 season as there are duvets and blankets in each lodge but from my experience, having a warmer rated sleeping bag and having one that is a little overkill doesn’t do you any harm.

I've listed my top 5 recommended sleeping bags for an Everest Base Camp trek and any of these would be ideal for your trek. All of these are mummy design sleeping bags as I have found that they tend to insulate the heat much better than the rectangle versions.

#1 Rab Ascent 700

This is a sleeping bag I’ve used on multiple treks to Everest base camp and my ‘Go To’ sleeping bag in this list. It's rated as a 3 season but I've used this in temperatures around -15 and it was perfect. This is a mummy sleeping bag and great for keeping your head warm during those chilly nights on the trek.

Weight: 1290g. Down: Premium goose down 700g

#2 Vango Venom 600

The Venom is a great sleeping bag and super light which is ideal if you're trying to save some of those KG's when packing. It's rated as a 4 season but is really a high end 3 season from what I have found. I wouldn't use this on any 6000m expeditions like Island Peak or Mera Peak but it's ideal for the Everest Base Camp trek.

Weight: 1250g Down: Hydrobarrier duck down 700 fill

#3 Mountain Equipment Helium 600

Mountain Equipment make some quality sleeping bags and this one's up there with the very best. Similar to the Rab Ascent 700 in most ways although slightly lighter and with a couple of additional features like the cosy neck baffles keeping your neck and head warm.

Weight: 1070g Down fill weight: 582g

#4 Mountain Equipment Mens Nova IV Sleeping Bag

The first synthetic sleeping bag on this list and one of the heaviest but you won't go far wrong by taking this with you on the Everest Base Camp trek. Its comfort rating takes it all the way down to -13 which covers you for most of the year in Nepal. If you have some weight to spare then this one is for you.

Weight: 2200g Down: Synthetic Down

#5 Mountain Hardwear Hyperlamina Torch

This is one of the warmest synthetic sleeping bags that you can buy and super versatile. If you're a wriggler like me, this might be the one for you as it has a centre zip instead of the classic side zip giving you an easy escape for those nighttime dashes to the toilet.

Weight: 1474g Down Synthetic Down

There you have it. 5 sleeping bag options for the Everest Base Camp trek. Any of these sleeping bags are sufficient for the trek and it really comes down to budget and personal choice. If you decide that you don't want to purchase a sleeping bag or bring one along on your trek then no worries, EverTrek can organise one for free when you arrive in Kathmandu.

If you need more information around what equipment you need for the Everest Base Camp trek then check out this article where I have put together a comprehensive list of everything you need for the trek. You can also download the full equipment list HERE.