Sandakphu in Winter

sandeepbwn

@arkadeep
The latest info reg. the Phalut hut is, it is officially closed but the caretaker allows guests in lieu of money. This news is confirmed

babuchand

try ubac or alpine they sell rent feather & holofil jackets.
ubac : 033 23512628 / 23543627 ,34 MG rd Kol 9 (near puravi cinema)
Alpine : 9830194296 (Mr Hazra) near bondel gate

__________________
Njoy

babu
visit : http://www.webmania.co.za/travelmania/babu/index.shtml

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

IceX

Buy online buy.com they ship in a week...

arkadeep

Still the trekker's huts are under repair as told by the kolkata office and not sure when it will open.

arkadeep

Thank you very much for the information and adive.

One of my friend told me good jackets are available in Sigma Mall, bangalore, all branded, so going to make deep cut in pocket.

Local jackets are also available in brigade road @ around 1500/- 2000/-, I've to check.

Otherwise I've to contact my kolkata friends to buy it for me.

Does any one have idea about the sleeping bag duckback sells. They told me that they have two qualities, one @1000/- another @1400/-. The later one for high altitude.

sandeepbwn

The trekkers' hut is officially closed but u can stay there as the caretaker allows to stay in lieu of money. Phalut hut will not be a problem.

hemarprasad

hi,

i am not sure what your budget for gear is, but if you are doing sandakphu is december, i would strongly advice you to invest in a good jacket and a high altitude sleeping bag (preferably with an extreme limit of minus 15 and a comfort rating of plus five at least).

frankly, bangalore is a terrible place to buy gear... cal would be best if you are stopping over there. i can put you in touch with a cmompany called u-bac - they manufacture good quality hiking gear at affordable prices and are very popular with bengali trekkers. unfortunately, they don't have an internet precence.

the other option is avi industries in bombay. it's run by a father and son team and they sell good imported gear (brand called rock empire), though the prices can be slightly steep. i have bought a sack, a sleeping bag and some other gear from them in the past and have been pretty happy. this is their website - http://www.aviindustries.com/. you could look up the numbers and call them and speak to avinash kamat. he can have the gear you need shipped to bangalore and you can deposit money into their account.

as an aside, i strongly suggest keeping away from wildcraft sleeping bags and jackets at all costs. their gear used to be pretty good long ago, but the quality and finish has progressively gotten worse over the years and that makes them completely unsuitable for serious high altitude trekkers.

arkadeep

I called U-BAC today. They have varied range of sleeping bags.
The minus 15 would cost 1580/- and teh minus 20 costs 1850/-

They have holofil jacket at 1060/-

Thanks Babu.

amitsankrani

However, I cannot trust these cheap quality ones, who sell sleeping bags for mere 1800 bucks and claim to live upto -15 degrees. A bad quality sleeping bag will lead to chilling body and frostbite, which can be dangerous. After a long tiring day what you will feel like being in heaven is a good night sleep which can be possible with a comfortable and quality sleeping bag. You need to trust the pioneers who have been dealing with these and can advice you even if U ask them at 2.00am midnight. I strongly recommend Avi Industries.

hemarprasad

I agree with Amit. When I went to Sandakphu is January two years ago, it was mind-numbingly cold even when i was sleeping inside one of those trekker's huts. And yes, since the room temperture was -15, i was shivering despite a GOOD sleeping bag from Avi Industries with an extreme rating of -15 plus an inner. If I was not completely comfortably even inside a good bag, imagine what a low quality one would have done to me! Do invest in a good sleeping bag even if it's expensive - when you are reasonably comfortable on a -10 night, you will be glad you spent that money.

luckyindian

Please understand the European Certification EN 13537 which is mentioned on all sleeping bags sold in Europe.

Every sleeping bag now have 3 or 4 temperature ratings given on it.

The following link will give you an idea on how to choose a sleeping bag to suit your requirement. The ratings also depend on a lot of other factors which is listed in the link.

http://www.bask.info/info/papers/hea...tings_for.html

Happy trekking.

arkadeep

Thanks Amit & hema.

I've contacted Avi. Sleeping bag (-19) @3500 and (-28)@4750. Mr. Avinash recommended me the later one for temp around -15.

I think I've stretch my budget.

They have single layer holofil jackets @1800.

arkadeep

I'm planning to buy the sleeping bag from AVI, however I think I can get good jackets in cheaper price in Darjeeling itself. Can any one suggest any authentic shop in Darjeeling ?

arkadeep

Hey, I need the following info to plan my trek.

is it possible to start from NJP and reach Maneybhanjan via darjeeling in the same day ?

Or is it fine to start from Darjeeling Early morning, reach Manabhanjang by jeep, arrange guide/porter and start trekking ?

amitsankrani

Hey Arkadeep.
I have purchased my sleeping bag of -28 degrees Artikta by Rock Empire from Avi itself last week. An awesome one of black & blue color. Yeah the price I paid was Rs. 4,750. But I think in the long run it will serve my purpose for Everest base camp next year. Planning to yet use it sometime early december in sahyadris mumbai . And to add some spice to to the excitement, I plan to open the sleeping bag at home and fall inside it