6 Tips for Buying Cheap Trekking Gear in Kathmandu

Kathmandu is a great place to buy camping equipment and outdoor wear if you are not looking for major name brands. The same down jacket that you might buy in the United States for $300 can easily be obtained for $50 in Nepal. In fact, I always wait until my next trip to Nepal to shop for these types of things. That said cheap knock-offs abound and the quality of the gear varies quite a bit from shop-to-shop. If you do buy a jacket that is labeled North Face or Patagonia it’s almost guaranteed to be fake unless you are buying it from the actual outlet in Kathmandu. For the best shopping experience forgot about the labels and focus on the quality of the actual product you are buying. Here are a few things to look at; 1. Zippers – Test the zippers on whatever you buy carefully by open and shutting them a few times. Make a careful visual inspection as to the strength and ask yourself if it will hold up after use. Bigger zippers are usually stronger but not always. Lots of loose stitching around the zipper is also a bad sign. 2. Stitching – Carefully inspect […]