Hajj Essentials: Four Things You Really Don't Want to Forget

Most Hajj packing lists are 80 items long, half of them overlap, and somehow the four things that actually save you on the ground are buried at the bottom. The truth is that the small, unromantic items are the ones you'll be most grateful for at 2am in Mina - and the easiest to overlook when you're stressed about Hajj.

This is a short list, not a comprehensive one. Four items, every one of them low-cost, every one of them earned a place on this list because we wished we'd packed it ourselves. None of them is a luxury. All of them quietly fix a specific problem you'll meet on the days of Hajj.

1. Vaseline. Unscented.

For the men, especially.

Ihram is two pieces of unstitched cloth. The five days of Hajj involve roughly 30,000 steps a day in 40-degree heat. Those numbers combine into a problem that no one warns you about until you have it: serious chafing on the inner thighs. By the second day it starts to hurt to walk, and walking is mostly what Hajj is.

Vaseline solves it. Apply it to the thighs before every long walk - before leaving for Mina, before Arafat, before each Jamarat session. A small tub from any pharmacy is enough for the whole trip. Opt for the unscented one. It is also non-negotiable.

2. Instant cold packs

The core Hajj days will fall at the end of May this year. We're talking 40 degrees Celsius of dry desert heat. Heatstroke is the single most common medical complaint pilgrims face during the rituals - more than blisters, more than dehydration, more than fatigue.

Instant ice packs, the kind you squeeze or crack to make cold instantly. And no, they don't need to be in a freezer beforehand. Use them on the back of your neck while walking to Jamarat, or on knees and feet at the end of the day to bring down the swelling. A second use, often forgotten: a pack pressed against the inner wrist for fifteen minutes lowers your core temperature surprisingly quickly. That can be the difference between pushing through and needing the medical tent. Pack a handful - they're light, and you'll get through more than you expect.

3. Strap slippers. Broken in.

Open-top slippers are typically the recommended choice in Ihram (check the requirements of your madhab before travelling - there is some variation). Within that constraint, the question becomes which slippers, and the answer is whichever pair you have already worn for several weeks before you arrive.

New slippers and 30,000 daily steps are a combination that produces blisters by lunchtime on day one. Buy your Hajj slippers a month before you travel. Wear them around the house, on errands, on long walks. By the time you reach Mina they should feel like an extension of your foot - not a piece of gear you're learning to use under pressure.

4. Disposable towels

Showering in Mina is more functional than it is comfortable. Bathrooms are shared. Towels should not be, of course.

Bring a few packs. You'll get through more than you expect across five days of back-and-forth between Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, and back to Mina again. They take up almost no room in your bag and weigh almost nothing.

What we left out

This is deliberately a short list. There are obvious essentials we haven't included - a Quran app, a power bank, a small medication kit, a copy of your visa - because they're already on every list you've ever seen. The four items above are the ones we know can really make a difference.

If you've been to Hajj and there's a fifth item you'd put on this list, we want to hear it. We update this article each year ahead of the season - what would you add?