Gear List Project: FEEDBACK Appeciated!

"2) Gear weight auto-population: Adding your backpack could be as easy as using a drop down that lists backpack makers and their products, pulling the weight automatically from a database. "

I think that you will find more weight variability than this.

You will get more consistent results if each individual uses his or her own scale.

–B.G.–

I hear you bob, but I think the option makes the tool attractive to less serious backpackers.

I love figuring out my base weight, and I only use manufacturer specs, but I still get a ballpark and I have a great time. I would love a MF specc database.

Agreed … the idea was that it could simplify the process but it certainly will not do any favors to accuracy …. hear you loud and clear.

Maybe also have a clean directory where all Gear Lists can be seen, once central place…. That way it would be really simple to view others' lists …. Also maybe a compare option where you could easily compare two lists. If you see someone's list that you like, you could then compare with yours side by side to see where you can improve in relation to their list …. could be really helpful for beginners and those of us that just want to see how other's are approaching their lists relative to how we approach ours …

"Also maybe a compare option where you could easily compare two lists. If you see someone's list that you like, you could then compare with yours side by side to see where you can improve in relation to their list …. could be really helpful for beginners and those of us that just want to see how other's are approaching their lists relative to how we approach ours … "

You will have Nick Gatel turning over in his grave.

–B.G.–

I've also added some things to my Gear List linked to in my first post such as the ability to set the amount of days my trip will be in the upper left hand side ("Gear Weight # of days" section). This automatically sets my food and water tabs and sometimes fuel weights carried ( I set how much food per day I expect to carry at bottom of spreadsheet and it's automatically added to appropriate section in spreadsheet) based on how many days my trip will be. … so it's easy to see what I'm carry on a 3 day trips vs a 9 day trip If I carry 2 lbs of food per day and the spreadsheet is set to 3 days, then 6 lbs is what shows up in food under consumables section…… this would be a no brainer function as well

First, it's great to see another option in development, and thanks for working on it. I, too, have used several different applications/programs and haven't found anything that has worked well for me. Here's a quick description of what I think is the perfect work flow.

1. Go to web based site or mobile app and log in.

2. I just bought a new pad, so I go to "Add New Gear" and drop down "Therm-A-Rest -> X-Therm -> Small" can click "Add To My Gear." Now that item is saved to my gear complete with weight.

3. I also just bought a custom Z-Packs backpack. So I add it to My Gear but I click "Edit" and change the weight to what my scale says.

4. Now I go to "Create New List" and I name it "Wonderland Trail 9-14-2014" and I start dragging or clicking from everything I own (saved in My Gear). As I do it gets auto categorized (with user customization) into "Shelter," "Clothing Worn," "Rain Gear" etc. Each category has a running weight total and the whole list has a running total.

5. I save that list, revise it, share it, etc. I can make as many as I want. I might have a broad list like "Snow Camping" or a very specific list like above.

6. Then I start my "PCT 2017" list by importing Hiker X's "PCT 1997" list and make a few tweaks based on what I plan to do differently.

7. Finally, I decide I'm going to start bringing an extra band-aid in my "First Aid" kit. So I update my "First Aid" kit to include my extra band-aid and every other list that has "First Aid" kit included is updated to reflect the change.

The hurdle for me has been the database. I have a ton of gear, for all different types of things. I haven't weighed everything. I'm not going to. My Snow Peak 700 will never sit on a scale. I'll take the manufacturer's specs on that one. But if I buy a new lid, I want to be able to add/modify that value. I just don't have the time to input all of that data for 1,000 items from a backpack to an ear plug.

Not sure if that's helpful at all. But this has been on my mind recently, so there you have it.

I love it…. awesome ideas and extremely helpful. Love the idea of dragging items and then go to the section they belong in automatically and the ability to have multiple lists with customized components in them such as a first aid kid …. that will update across lists …. makes sense …. yeah, this is all about the database, which is why having the architecture defined before anything is done …. easier to plan ahead and build out instead of going backwards and adding functionality after the fact ….

"You will have Nick Gatel turning over in his grave."

"The report of my death was an exaggeration."

IMO…

Gear lists should be used to make sure you do not forget to take an important item.

That's all.

Forgetting your titanium spork is not a disaster. Forgetting your sleeping bag and down jacket in winter is.

In the "old days" when BOTH Bob and I were alive, we backpackers generally just weighed the whole pack, consumables included. This is because we chose our gear as systems. We understood how certain pieces of gear were integrated to do what we needed them to do. This cannot be learned from spreadsheets or gear lists. It requires knowledge that can only be obtained through experience and the requisite skills gained from that experience. And there is no better teacher than mistakes; of which I made many and continue to do so today.

Long ago, most of us didn't have scales. We weighed and compared gear at REI, in the days when REI had scales and people who could provide useful advice. We got the Campmor paper catalog, which had fairly accurate weights for everything they sold. Today I have a scale. When I purchase an item, I enter the weight in my master sheet, in the gear workbook. I do this just because I can, it really isn't important once you have spent your hard earned money on it. You bought that piece of gear because it is something you need, not because it weighs xxx ounces; xxx ounces is important, but not as important as function — at least that is what I hope we do.

The fact that a spreadsheet can do calculations is just a sidebar. Using a spreadsheet is easier than constantly typing on a Remington Rand. Besides, typewriter ribbons are difficult to locate these days and typewriters are a pain as carry-on luggage on airplanes.

If you pick the right gear for your trip based on the location, time of year, terrain, weather, etc., etc.; then what is weighs, is what it weighs. A spreadsheet can't make it lighter.

Doesn't everyone know how to build a spreadsheet? Seems like today this should be part of the 4 R's: read'n, 'riting, 'rithmetic, and spreadsheets.

Geez, VisiCalc was released more than 30 years ago. Followed by Multiplan, Lotus 123, Excel; and a host of others. I've been using spreadsheets since I first used Visicalc on an Apple II in 1980 or so, and it became my flat file data base. At the time I was an auto mechanic and taught myself. Didn't learn it in school, didn't need it for work, didn't have someone teach me. I saw it as a tool that could save me time. Think I paid something like $79 for it, which was a lot of money back then.

Folks, spreadsheets are freak'in old technology and have worked extremely well for decades.

Learning on your own is the best teacher.

For what it's worth, this is what my gear list application looks like. I built it in Excel 2000. The buttons are VBA code to perform certain functions. Taught myself how to program MS Office programs using Visual Basic for Applications too…

…the point of all of this is to teach yourself almost everything you need to know; this is the mindset I think is important; learning how to take care of yourself. Teaching yourself. Learning from your own experience. Might come in handy someday in the wilderness. You know, the self-reliance thingie. Copying someones gear list isn't going to teach you much — especially if you cannot see how each piece of gear is utilized in the field. How the gear is used is of utmost importance — efficiency is the key.

Other than that, I don't have an opinion :)

Satire. Don't panic.

Once again Nick displays his wisdom. This is the visual gear list I used in 1970.

>> This is the visual gear list I used in 1970. >>

That one really made me laugh!! In the early 70's, my gear list looked exactly the same. I used to carry it with me so that I could remember where I packed everything.

Wow. Never realized you guys got that elaborate! My spreadsheet is quite feeble by comparison. 3 columns; gear, grams, lbs/ozs. Gear and grams are entered, lbs/ozs and totals are calc'd. I keep it narrow, because I keep it on my android device. I use the ThinkFree app to edit it on there, and it will display 27 rows for my perusing pleasure.

Now you asked for desired features, so here's my 2 cents. The top 4 rows of my sheet are BPW, w/Worn, w/Consumables and FSO. I have FROZEN them in excel, so that as I scroll down the list making changes, they remain at the top and I can see the impact without scrolling back again.

Probably not a big deal with a wide, multi columned sheet on a computer monitor, but you mentioned phone app functionality, and, yeh, that's all I got lol

I would love a data base that auto populates weights, but I know that many of us change guy lines, mini line locks or no line locks and with so many variation in the market this could be very time consuming. If you have all of your gear weights I have been using an app that I have found pretty handy called Qrambler which allows you to save all of your gear into a number of categories and then "grab" what you want to add to any list and there you go.

his info can be found at http://qrambler.wordpress.com

YMMV

Jeff

"Long ago, most of us didn't have scales."

It depends on the era. In the 1970's, I would just load up the pack and then step onto the bathroom scale.

In the early 1980's when the ultralight revolution hit, I found it necessary to use three different scales.

For little dinky stuff, I used an analog spring-type postal scale that went up to 16 ounces. Once I got parts of my gear together, I used a spring-type baby scale. Once the pack was fully loaded, then I used the spring-type bathroom scale. Sometimes I kept a 50-pound fisherman's scale in the trunk of my car for those last minute weigh-ins. Digital scales were way too expensive for mere mortals.

–B.G.–

Many years ago, the wife would set up gear lists for us. I would pack. Invariably, I would need to shuffle gear from pack to pack to get things to fit. She never considered the volume of a piece of gear. Her pack would be huge, but weigh about 12-13 pounds. My pack looked about half her size but weighed about 35 pounds. We really didn't weigh anything except on the bathroom scale. If it made a dent in the weight, we swapped it. Otherwise we stayed about the same for 10 years or so, till the kids could actually carry all their clothing and bedding in the mid-80's. The point is volume needs to be added somewhere. If you go with a partner, distribute the loads equitably by weight and volume. Likely, you will need a list for partnered (or group) hiking and one for Solo hiking.

The latter 60's and 70's was a great time, but the public campsites were badly trashed. We often returned as heavy or heavier than when we left. It seemed we could never clean up even one camsite. We carried out 2-20 gallon garbage bags of trash from one site, still leaving a crap load of cans we simply could not carry. Always include a clean-up kit. For example, in my MiniPosa, I use a 1-gal heavy duty ziplock in the upper right pocket. This takes up about 240ci or about a day/two worth of food space and weighs about 3pounds full of crushed cans, bottles, aluminum foil, plastic, etc. (You can burn broken bottles to take the "edge" off them where fires are allowed.) The kids still do that, too.

An interesting project…have fun!

May have digressed a bit, but, whatever. Great thread, gentleman. Thank you.

Closest program Ive seen that meets my needs is Qrambler and it addresses many of your requirements. But you still need to manually imput all weigths which I agree does get tedious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-WzFp0WlHw

Good luck on your gear list and looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

"It depends on the era. In the 1970's, I would just load up the pack and then step onto the bathroom scale."

That's how I did it. But not on every trip. After a couple times I knew what my pack weighed.

When I discovered this forum 3 years ago the idea of weighing all my gear and writing it down was a novel
one. However it helped me pare my gear down to a much more manageable weight. Last year I realized that all my gear was lightweight and the need to keep weighing everything was kind of ridiculous. So I made a simple check list of what I need to bring, one that varies depending on the season or my company and I pack accordingly. I have found that just as liberating.

"Gear lists should be used to make sure you do not forget to take an important item."

I'm supposed to have a fricking list? NOW you tell me. Well, there goes Saturday….

Next you'll be telling me I need to weigh stuff. It's always something…..