I see it is recommend to have 2 x 120L+ duffels for the mules on the hike in.

I currently have a large 90L North Face Base Camp duffel that I would like to use. Would buying another one of these and using 2 x 90L duffels be sufficient? Would be a bit annoying that I have to buy ANOTHER 2 duffels just for this.

Any suggestions for backpack?

Recommendations for down pants?

Recommendations for Rain Shell Jacket?

I have always had issue with cold hands, recommendations for a good glove system?

Is the Mountain Hardwear Nilas a sufficient down jacket for Aconcagua?

It's nice to have two duffels so one can stay at a hotel (or with your outfitter) with your travel/city clothing. While the other one goes to basecamp with only what you need for the hill. I used a 150L First Ascent Duffel for basecamp and a 90L Gregory for my city stuff.

While all of your climbing gear may fit in the 90L bag, make sure you've got enough room to swim around a bit in the bag. Nothing is worse than a duffel that is packed so tightly that you have to empty it out just to find your toothbrush!

For the backpack, I used the Osprey Aether 85, with all the bells and whistles chopped off. It's nice to have a bit larger pack with a bit of wiggle room so you can just cram things in and not have to worry about how to pack your backpack. Once you head down from high camp, the only thing that will be on your mind is getting home.

I used Rab primaloft pants. Wore them out of high camp on summit night.
I think any mountaineering rain shell will do the trick.

Good luck!
Bill

Oh and one other thing about the backpack. Half of my team had the MH BMG 105 and everyone complained about lower back pain the whole trip!

(2) 90l's might get you by. Maybe look for a 120l. Nothing wrong with taking bags of different sizes. They will help you kind of sort out gear when you load and weigh for the mules. A couple smaller bags is also preferred because I know with INKA they will have you split all the fuel separate and your food separate. Also grab some of the bags they put your stuff in. They are big white potato sacks and will come in handy. They also save the wear on your gear while on the mules.

A thing with the bags to also consider is what are you hauling up the mtn? Is this semi, fully guided or solo? That will depend on the amount of stuff you may take with you. And don't underestimate the volume or qty of food for the entire climb. It can be a lot.

I also used an Aether 85 for the climb and wore it on the hike in. You will carry some stuff with you on the way in, sleeping bag, pad, some food, water, clothes, things like that. Your mules will more than likely go straight to BC so you won't have access to the stuff on them for the hike in and night at Confluencia. Unless you're skipping that night. Something to think about as you'll need a stove maybe? and other things.

I didn't really wear a down jacket on the climb and never wished I had put it on but conditions will dictate how much you wear. Brings lot of layers. I brought a hard shell but never used it the entire time on the mtn. It is a Patagonia Snow Bowl I believe. More of ski jacket but is pretty bullet proof. I also wore a pair of MH insulated. Not the big bulky down like a puffy jacket but insulated none the less with a thin base layer underneath and was toasty the whole trip. Again weather will dictate so be prepared.

I scored a killer deal on OR Alti mitts before I left so I wore those. They were a bit much but I would rather have too much than not enough on a climb like this. If you wanna talk more gear and stuff pm me and I'll share everything I can with you. The trip is sort of fresh from earlier in the year.

Remember to have fun too. This is a really great mtn and the people there were all wonderful.

So both duffels will be filled with gear and go to basecamp? as bkva seesm to suggest only one goes to basecamp and one stays at the hotel with normal gear?

Might look at the Denali Gregory pro for a backpack.

I am going fully guided, most likely with Grajales.

Thanks Herdbull I will definitely PM you.

I went with RMI at the beginning of this year. They use Grajeles for logistics. Their food at basecamp was incredible! We left a duffel at Grajeles HQ in Los penitentes. On the hike in we carried day packs with just what we needed for the day. Our mules stopped at each camp, so we had our duffels at night. I'm not sure how others do it but that's the RMI recipe. If I were to go again, I'd probably go with a local provider like inka or Grajeles.

I can't comment on the duffles as I carried all of my own stuff in since I was doing it low budg. You don't need down pants; pile pants are fine with a shell. As for a rain shell, it really doesn't matter, pick something light but durable. As for gloves, hmmm, I used a pair of $5 pile gloves that I bought at Target all the way to the summit of Denali. I had two pair to swap out, and preferred them over my fancy schmancy more expensive "climber" gloves. A pair of insulated Kincos would also be bitchin' (my preferred ice climbing glove), and will only set you back $20 bucks. I'm also partial to the old school Dachstein mitts, if you can find them. As you can see, I prefer to dirtbag it a bit. Good gear won't get you up shit.

After a long time of asking silly questions, finally I can start giving back to the community... !

I summited Aconcagua earlier this year. Yay! Now, back to your questions:

(1) Bag-wise, you need:
-----one big duffel bag which can hold your main backpack inside and all other gear. I had the largest North Face Base Camp duffel bag and it did the job. Anything which is sturdy and which you wouldn't mind being dropped from 2 metres height should be fine.
-----large backpack; I used Osprey Aether 85l - beautiful piece of kit. You should be OK with 75l or so.
-----day pack - not a summit pack (you will not be carrying it to the top), just a simple lightweight pack for the approach. The mules (any reputable organisation will make full use of the mules on the approach) will be carrying your main duffel bag to the base camp.
-----duffel bag / suitcase / whatever - a container in which you can leave your non-climbing gear. Your organiser will provide an appropriate storage.

Mules will be travelling between each camp on the approach more or less "with you" (usually start later and arrive earlier), which means that you will have your big duffel bag with all the kit each evening.

(2) Pants
I would suggest primaloft pants with full zip. The options here are MH Compressor Pants (primaloft eco 120), Patagonia DAS Pants (primaloft one 100) and Rab Photons (primaloft eco 100). I went for the latter (due to unavailability of the others in Europe at the time) but they were sufficient IMO. Either of these pairs will serve you well.

(3) Glove system
If you go with Grajales they will not allow you to start the trip without proper down mittens. Unfortunately, there is a good reason for that - it can get really cold on the summiting night. My main mittens were BD Absolute Mitt (good alternative: OR Alti Mitts). My backup was BD Guide Gloves (how much are your fingers worth to you if you lose your main pair?). I carried also one pair of fleece gloves (BD Midweight) for lower altitudes.

You might also want to think about very thin liners/silk gloves for sun protection on the approach. I didn't... and I wish I did.

(4) Hardshell
When are you travelling? If it is in the *actual* season (mid-December to mid-January) then almost any "alright" jacket will do (no rain and statistically slightly lower chance of snow storms). If it is in the tourist season (December-March or so), then you might want to have something which you can trust (proper hardshell for the nasty days). If it is outside of these dates then... well... Arcteryx Alpha SV? Patagonia Super Alpine?

(5) Down jacket
It is IMO necessary - and, maybe contrary to the popular belief, I found it to be most useful... during cold evenings in base camp. You don't need Mount Everest-grade down. I went with RAB Neutrino Endurance and I was fine. However - it is important to have a good layering system. In addition to the down jacket I carried also:
----(a) heavy weight base layer (Arcteryx Phase SV)
----(b) fleece mid-layer (Patagonia R1)
----(c) primaloft mid-layer (Arcteryx Atom LT)
There are plenty of similar pieces of equipment on the market which will serve the purpose well - but, in general, I found the system to be working great. I found myself spending the time at base camp mostly in base layer + primaloft jacket, adding down parka in the evenings. On the ascent, I initially climbed in base + 2x mid. Later I would climb in base + 2x mid + hardshell.

Hope it helps - feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

*** Bonus: remember to bring a neck buff. Take a neck buff. Oh, and make sure to bring a buff. For the neck. A lightweight, stretchy one. For the approach. Guess who didn't take one?

Excellent info thanks!

I ended up with 1 big duffel and 1 smaller duffel along with all my food in another stuff sack. I also had 1 big carabiner that i used for all my fuel bottles. It kept them together and they (INKA) actually packed them in a plastic crate to keep them separate from everything else. My mules went directly to Mulas and I had a night in Confluencia so I had to carry somethings.

I did purchase 1 night lodging and 3 meals in confluencia so I didn't have to carry a tent, stove, fuel and all that gear. It's something you can work out with you outfitter. They will have many options available to you. I also left a smaller backpack and stuff in Mendoza with the Hostel I was staying at. But could have left it in Los Pen with INKA. You will have a little less to worry about going fully guided. They will take care of you both logistically and gear wise.

1 detail I remember which I overlooked was the bus. Luckily the woman at the hostel informed me I wanted to use Buninni? to Los Andes. It will stop in Los Pen and drop you if that's your drop point. There was a 6:30am and 10:30 am bus. I recommend the early bus unless you are staying in Los Pen for a night.

LOL @ theriel. Yes bring or buy a buff. Hands down an absolute must have for basically the entire trip. You will wear it down low to keep the sun off of you and the dirt out of your ears. The bottom half of this trip is bone dry, hot and windy. Good glasses that seal off your eyes were nice for the same reasons. You will find you will wear it around camp as it's just enough to keep the cooler winds from nipping at your ears. I was amazed at how hot the descent was even though it wasn't all that warm. I was fortunate to have a bright sun though for the entire summit day. It makes a huge difference there.

BC is truly a great place. You can find most everything you want and the people were fantastic. I was there over Christmas and New Years so maybe that's why everyone was so festive but all in all it was a great experience with wonderful people.

I will allow myself to throw in a bunch of other unsolicited pieces of advice which I found important with regard to Aconcagua, in case somebody finds them helpful... :

(1) Travel to Argentina with lots of USD in cash.
In Argentina there are 2 exchange rates: official (roughly 6 pesos per USD) and unofficial (10 pesos per USD when I was there). If you pay by a credit card or if you withdraw any money, you will be charged the official rate. You can exchange USD in cash into pesos by the unofficial rate almost in any exchange place. Thus - unless you want to pay x2, you need to come with lots of USD. GBP and EUR exchange rates are laughable (10 pesos per USD, 12 pesos per GBP, yeaaaah). You will need pesos to pay for the permits, BUT on the mountain USD is the king. A shower in base camp (you cannot put a price on it!) will cost you 10 USD (if I remember correctly). 30 min access to the (extremely slow and painful) Internet costs 20 USD. Porters (in case you need them) will cost you 100s+. If you decide to take the (False) Polish Route you will need to cross the river - in exchange for letting you do it on a mule (much better than walking in freezing river), the gauchos will expect a small tip... etc. etc. Unfortunately, both Grajales and Inka (two major companies which provide full service in both base camps) will insist that you pay on the spot in cash (for whatever reason they are unwilling to "just add to the bill" or to take a credit card number). Bottom line - bring lots of USD to Argentina and make sure to carry some of it to the base camp.

(2) If you go on an organised trip - make sure you go with Grajales or Inka.
It doesn't matter if you go with some US or UK company, as long as they use Grajales or Inka on the ground. These two companies have the biggest bases in the base camp, often have separate designated areas in the camps on the mountain (usually the nicer ones!), have their own mules etc. This does not only mean some nicer facilities (e.g. Grajales have a permanent dining tent in Condores, camp 2 on the normal route) but also in case of any problems they have the biggest amount of resources (inc. guides) to use if necessary. Don't plan for the best case scenario, plan for the worst case scenario...

(3) Solar battery and other "nice to haves"
On the way to the base camp you will use mules. Thus, it doesn't cost you much to take a few "nice to haves" which you can leave there (unless you are intending to traverse and go back via False Polish Traverse). Although both Grajales and Inka will allow you to use their chargers, it is always nice to be able to recharge your mp3, kindle etc., especially if you end up a few more days in the base camp than originally expected... Thus, I would recommend taking either a solar batter or a portable "battery pack", some books etc.

(4) Hydration system (CamelBak, Platypus)
Take it. You might hear some people telling you that the pipe freezes etc. Still take it. Just remember to blow the water from the tube into the bladder after you use it, and you will be fine. It will be your best friend on the approach, and a very good friend on the way up. I would recommend platypus as I found it really easy to refill from the river (more of a problem when coming from the Plaza Argentina than Plaza de Mulas).

(5) Thermos
Many climbers recommend against taking a thermos due to its weight and this was the advice I received before departing. I decided to follow the advice of Grajales, though, which turned out to be helpful. I found the thermos very useful (one per tent, if you are travelling with somebody else) and, if you end up travelling with an organised group, the guides will likely refill it with hot water in higher camps which you will then be able to use to make tea etc.

(6) Protein bars, energy gels, snacks.
Do take a few protein bars and energy gels or some sweets which you love at sea level (which means you will be able to stand them at 6000m). On Camp 3 you will not be wiling to eat anything and that's when you will need it the most. A protein bar can make or break your trip. A pack of sweets or an energy gel just before Canaleta will be equally useful. I saw people hitting glycogen wall just 2h before the summit. So close yet so far away.

(7) Polish Traverse Route (aka False Polish Route aka Aconcagua 360)
The approach to the Plaza Argentina is so much more beautiful than going to the Plaza de Mulas via the normal route... though, admittedly, the climb from Plaza Argentina to Camp 1 sucks, whereas the climb from Plaza de Mulas is much more direct/quicker.

Just to address your other thread - yes, you can do it. The truth be told, it is not your fitness which is most important here but acclimatisation. I spent on Aconcagua more time than I would have liked to (courtesy of the weather), but thanks to that I felt much stronger while summiting. If you climbed Elbrus without problems, you should be able to climb Aconcagua - as long as the altitude sickess doesn't stop you... Drink water, eat a lot, stay fit before the climb and you will be fine.