2005 Backpacking Light Trip Planning Spreadsheet Contest Entries

[Ryan Jordan]

Companion forum thread to:

2005 Backpacking Light Trip Planning Spreadsheet Contest Entries

Use this thread for open discussion and evaluation of contest entries.

[Ryan Faulkner]

after skimming the entries, I see that many people included their gear. Were we suposed to do this? I thought it was ment to help people to plan their lists?

everyone did a nice job, good luck.

P.S. this was my first experience with this software so I dont really expect to win :-) so good luck to all…again

[John S.]

Meir Gottleib and Ben Tomsky links seem wrong?

[Carol Corbridge]

Wow! Lots of work went into these. On first review I really like David Lewis’s sheet. It’s simple elegance appeals to me. And I am appreciate the nod from Alice P. Neuhauser. I’m glad my sheet was of use.

One thing I like to see in a gear spreadsheet is the ability to do (2) people side by side. The one I currently use can do this. I often backpack with a partner and so we share cooking and safety items.

Anyway, impressive work by all. I’m sure 100’s of hours were put into this task.

[David Johnston]

Ryan F:

I had the same question as I was preparing my spreadsheet. So I cheated and submitted both a blank one and an example one with my gear filled in.

Yes, there does seem to be a problem with the links to the last two entries. Some great ideas to borrow from, and some very skilled execution went into these. Kudos to everybody!

Dave

[kevin davidson]

I also like the David Lewis submission for it’s simplicity
and easy metric to imperial conversion. Works well in NeoOffice which is rapidly becoming my favorite alternative to MicroSquash.

The Jim Woods submission isn’t opening properly from the link but do have it from another source.

John Shannon’s isn’t downloading at all–I get a screen full of code.

update–Alles schön, at this point all links work.

[John S.]

Kevin, are you using a mac? If so, try dragging the file onto the icon instead of double clicking the file. See if that works.

[kevin davidson]

John–it won’t download at all. Same as the 2 entries below you. I can’t bring it to the desktop. Nothing to drag.

Yes–on a Mac running Tiger.

[John S.]

I see what you mean. It does the same thing on mine if I click the file name. Try right clicking and saving or press the option key before clicking to force a download to the hard drive.

[Kenneth Knight]

If you just get code on a page (e.g., John Shannon’s files) try right-clicking (control-clicking) on the link and downloading directly to a file. The “problem” some of you are having is that your browsers don’t recognize the file extension and so get confused.

The broken links for Meir Gottleib and Ben Tomsky should work now.

[kevin davidson]

Thanks John and Kenneth. Got it.
Nice SS, John.

[Mark Cooper]

Thanks for the hard work guys. There are some great ideas in these spreadsheets.

I don’t see my entry listed here. Did I miss the cutoff or is it for members only?

[Kenneth Knight]

We’ve added zip files (.zip) versions for the larger spreadsheets and those that came in bunches.

[Bob Gabbart]

Thanks Ken! That’s a big help.

Bob

[John S.]

Thanks Kevin.

---

Kevin said,

Thanks John and Kenneth. Got it.
Nice SS, John.

[kevin davidson]

Is there a NeoOffice equivalent to the Excel feature–
“Analysis ToolPak”?

The Gottlieb spreadsheet has some very desirable features but I really want a spreadsheet that works in the NeoOffice environment. I have not been able to take advantage of the best parts of Meir’s entry.

[kevin davidson]

John, working in NeoOffice, how do I add additional rows and maintain full functionality in the cells? Such as weight conversion and adding?

[John S.]

Adding a row:

1. Insert row- Place cursor (highlites the cell) in area you want to add a row. The row will be added above where you place the cursor. Then go to insert menu and select row.
2. Copy correct format- Since the added row won’t have the appropriate formatting, choose a nearby row (preferably blank), select that row from columns B through K, and copy using either the edit menu or command-C on the keyboard.
3. Paste correct format- Paste the copied cells into the newly added row by selecting the new row from columns B through K and using either the edit menu or command-V on the keyboard.

That should automatically update the the unit conversion and total formulas. Make sure it does though.

[kevin davidson]

John–I really like how straight forward your spreadsheet is. But with useful metric/imperial abilities and displays of the various weight summaries
we UL’ers are most concerned about.

One improvement I would like to see is the ability to see quick subtotals for each individual category (cooking, xtra clothing,etc.). How hard would that be to implement?
Also, the weight summary would be better expressed in exact lbs.-oz./ kg-g. units. I prefer measures more exact than rounded to nearest tenth of the larger unit of measurement.

[Meir Gottlieb]

Kevin,

I don’t have NeoOffice, but this thread might help:

http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2141

Looks like the CONVERT_ADD function may do the trick.

[kevin davidson]

Meir, thanks. I’ll give it a try but I think the Excel add-in acts more like a filter and CONVERT_ADD more like
a specific operation. Well, there’s always using Excel (sigh).

[David Lewis]

Thanks for the comments guys :) I haven’t had a chance to look at any of the other entries… but I must say… I’m blown away by the number of entries?!?! Wow! I thought there’d only be a handful of entires. Looking forward to checking them all out.

Just a couple of things…

1. I did include my gear… just as sample content. Nice to have some actual weights to play with to see how the sheet works. I figured it’s easy enough to overwrite my gear… delete rows… add rows… etc.

2. I did NOT test my sheet in NeoOffice. It’s only guaranteed to work in Excel. As I recall… there were one or two errors in NeoOffice. I was originally trying to install Open Office and unless you’re some kind of UNIX geek it seems pretty daunting… so I gave up :) By the time I heard about and downloaded NeoOffice… the deadline was a day away… so I didn’t have time to test it. If I win any of the three prizes… I’d be happy to try and fix and NeoOffice bugs.

3. Carol… the shared idea is neat. But someone still had to carry it right? So it has to be added to either your pack or your partners? I guess the solution would be to double up my columns (so like two lists side by side) and add a “Shared” total? The shared total would still count to your pack weight… but you would know what’s shared and what’s not. You could use an “S” much like I use a “P” for pack and a “W” for wear/consume.

BTW… I like the “database” like approach as well… but it was just a little too much work for me I think… plus I wanted a sheet that was super simple to modify. That was one of my main goals. It works fine for someone like me who’s fairly new to backpacking and doesn’t have a room full of gear :) I don’t really need an “inventory” system.

Dave

[John S.]

Kevin, I added in the subtotals for ounces/grams in an updated spreadsheet that is a bit better than my contest submission. Is that what units you wanted for it? As for the lbs-oz thing, that would need a more complicated (for my abilities) formula that would take a while for me to figure out. Others might hack it out in no time. Email me at rhd101 at aol dot com for that file. Maybe we need to make another thread for comments on updated files not included in the contest?

[kevin davidson]

>>Maybe we need to make another thread for comments on updated files not included in the contest?

And add a user support hotline…. ;-)>
Thanks, John, will do.
K.

[marc valley]

David Johnston, Your spreadsheet looks great. One this I noticed is that you use a complex formula to convert from grams to ounces, etc. Check out mine I used the CONVERT function, so much easier. I think your will be the winner. Great job.

Marc Valley

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