Finally, you took the jump and signed up for that hike to Kinabalu, Malaysia’s tallest mountain. You feel nervous, you feel worried and most of all, you hear all the things that your friends tell you. “Must bring this, must bring that”. Eventually, you get confused, you start searching around and lucky enough, you come across our writing at PTT Outdoor.

We have experienced climbing Kinabalu ourselves and made it to the top, so, here’s our 6 must-have items that you must prepare before hiking up (aside from the common bags, hiking boots and bottles, that one, common sense)

At the end of this article, we also included you a list of common items that you need for your Kinabalu hike (you’re welcome)

1. A freaking Hiking Stick

You know, the thing about Kinabalu is, going up is hard, coming down, is MUCH HARDER. Please, for the love of god, bring a hiking stick during your Kinabalu hike. Unless you want to walk like a crippled the next day, please, bring a hiking stick to support your descend. Coming down Kinabalu takes hours and the impact on your knee is crazy. Everyone who hiked Kinabalu before would remember the pain and those who didn’t bring their stick, usually, they would regret it. So, yes, bring a hiking stick, if can, two.

2. A pair of Water-resistant gloves – like these ones

Why? Because, during the summit attack (second day), you will be going up by holding ROPES and WET handrails. And yes, its 4am in the morning, so it’s gonna be freaking cold. We have seen people who did not have gloves on and they just can’t hold the rope for that long, having to stop every 10 steps or so. With proper water-resistant gloves, you get more support and yes, you don’t have to freeze your hands off when you reach the summit (which is freaking cold as well)

Bonus: Wear it during your sleep the night before. You will thank us

3. A bright, bright, Headlamp

During the summit attack on the second day, you will start around 3am, so yes, a headlamp is a must. It’ll be dark and usually slippery, so you want to know where you are stepping on or else you will only be at the mercy of the light of the person behind you. So bring a headlamp during your Kinabalu one, either rechargeable or battery-powered is fine, both will work well. Make sure it’s bright and make sure you charge it the night before. Oh and it also helps for better photography at night

4. A proper Windbreaker ( not the one you wear to class/office please )

My god, seriously, we have seen people with their ass almost frozen off near the summit because they are wearing a freaking jacket that they wear to the office! Hello! It’s sometimes almost 10 degrees up there, get proper apparel for the summit or else you will be suffering in the cold! What’s the point of hiking all the way up there if you can’t enjoy it properly? What’s worst, you might even Hypothermia! Jokes aside, it’s deadly. So, please, dress properly for the mountains. Get windproof and water-resistant windbreakers that is made for the outdoors, it’s one essential that we can’t stress enough about

5. Urine disposal bag (yes, seriously)

Yes, we know nature calls. And yes, we know its only human. We make if easy for you ladies out there with our Outdoor Urine Disposal Bag. We know how troublesome it is for us females to answer nature’s call and thats why we created something for you!

Bring some of these, you can thank us later.

6. Sleeping bag – a lightweight one

Why is it important? For a better sleep before your summit attack, period. It gets quite cold at Laban Rata at night and sometimes, the comforter itself is not enough. A lightweight sleeping bag will help you keep warm and get you a better sleep because trust us, you really, really need the energy for the second day. Make sure you get a lightweight one, you don’t want to hike with that much extra weight behind you.

Also, here’s a checklist for your reference: