Best way to track gear weight

[Dan K]

What is the most efficient way to track and organize gear weight for specific trips with different parameters and time lines?

[Bob Kerner]

Not sure what you mean by time lines. I use(d) a simple Excel spread sheet until I really understood what things weigh and how to make choices about what to bring when. I don’t use them anymore because I have my kit more or less optimized for what I need and the amount of money I’m willing to invest to get lighter.

I tried Gear Grams and LighterPack and both were too finicky for me. I’d log in, make adjustments only to have my existing lists corrupted or lost. I did that 3 times and realized my time was being wasted by what was a hobby for some software developer. IIRC both are labeled as “beta” when you log in. I don’t think LP is even supported anymore, it just exists.

[Matthew / BPL]

Short answer: I think I prefer a spreadsheet (Apple Numbers in my case) to lighterpack but I don’t go nuts with either any more.

Long answer: I carry what I like to carry and have a couple scales when I am choosing this vs that. I weigh food pretty carefully because that’s an easy place for me to accidentally go overboard and I have learned how much food weight I am likely to eat. Also I know that I’m really comfortable with a total pack weight at maybe 18# on my handheld luggage scale so I like to weigh the whole kit with water and food a few days before a longer trip and then adjust accordingly if I’m over the weight I’d like to be at.

[Dan K]

Thanks for the response Bob. I was referring to the length of the trip when I said time line. What’s really happening is that I have everything entered into Gear Grams (no small task) and now my browser says it’s not secure and won’t let me log in. Your experiences are enlightening. I finally got in but it’s not secure so I’m not comfortable with it. Appreciate your feedback. I’m just looking for alternatives. I used to use your spreadsheet method and like you, it worked OK for my needs.

[R L]

I’m old school taking pencil to paper in a spiral binder.  In the end, after a few weigh-in sessions, I have the mindset that with whatever I end up with in the pack is within a pound or two for a given combination.  Funny how the sum can differ from the parts.  Weighing each item can differ from a completed pack.  Weighing my body and pack can also differ from standing on the scale while wearing the pack. Things that make ya go,  hmmmm

[Bill K]

I have a spreadsheet (Apple Numbers) that has every piece of gear (desc, oz, qty, lbs, notes) organized into sections like Cooking, Clothes, personal, etc.

I create a new spreadhseet for each trip and copy/paste from the master sheet to fill in what I might take.

Simple, easy, fast even if you have basic spreadsheet skills

[AK Granola]

I use Lighterpack for specific trips. You can easily download the info into Excel, very easy. I’ve never lost any lists in LP. They’re really nice for sharing with group members.

I have an Excel list of everything I ever use – winter, summer, fall, paddle trips, ski trips, day hikes, etc.-  and then extract from that for a specific trip. Length of trip is not really important, since I use the same gear for an overnight that I would for a 5 day trip, just more food. But for different conditions I do choose different gear. For example, if I know there is plentiful good water, like the JMT, a simple filter like BeFree is adequate. But that filter fails miserably in silty rivers, so for those trips I take a homemade prefilter, then a Steripen. For trips where all the water comes from mucky tundra ponds, I bring multiple prefilters, plus the Steripen. I always have a tiny bottle of bleach – like really really tiny – in my 1st aid kit, in case I need it due to filter/steripen failure.

If I’m doing a winter cabin trip, it’s different gear (like no water filter needed since we’re melting snow) but it all comes from the same master list, which has all my weights on it. If I’m bringing all my own gear versus sharing with my husband or a friend, I choose different stuff. Will it be hot like the Sierra? Or always a bit chilly, like Alaska? Different layers needed (or no layers). Do I need a bear canister or just a food bag?

I do these different types of trips every year, so I pretty much know which changes I need to make from my master list. It takes time to create the very first master list, but then it’s easy to pull from as needed. I’ve tweaked it a few times when I find something that is so much better that it will permanently replace something else on the list. I usually get rid of anything I know I won’t use again; I hate clutter. The unused stuff goes to charity or friends.

Not everyone has a poor memory like me! I need my lists or I will definitely not bring essential gear. The list saves me a ton of time, and I don’t have to sit and mcgyver stuff in camp; I can relax and enjoy myself instead.

[Seth]

Like others I have an excel sheet with one row per item with a column for the weight and a column that serves as a grouper for similar items (packs, sleeping, kitchen etc). I have several additional columns (proposed replacement, proposed replacement weight, proposed replacement cost, $/oz saved, total weight savings) that allow me to analyze what replacement items are the most cost efficient vs largest overall weight savings. I find this is a good way to rationalize additional gear purchases. Having just gotten back into back packing now that my kids are old enough, I have added a column for “assigned load out” and enter in the family member’s name who will be carrying each piece of gear. You can pivot by name and get a personalized analysis of what they will be carrying, the weight, and how much weight you can save if money were no object.  I suppose that you could add food items to the same sheet and do a similar analysis.  Would probably add a column for calories (or calories/oz).

[David Hartley]

Another spread sheeter here. I use Google Sheets so I can access it via my phone or PC (I am guessing that the Apple Numbers provides similar benefits).

I have every piece of gear I own weighed in grams and converted to ounces, organized by different categories, with a column where I indicate if it is planned for a particular trip or not, and another column that brings the weight over so the a trip specific total weight can be calculated. There is also a column (usually with red text) where I indicated if is has been packed (and where) for the trip so I don’t forget anything.

I create a new tab/sheet for every trip so that gives me a record of what was taken on different trips going back years. When I acquire new gear I just add a row to the appropriate category (or delete a row when gear is retired) – so I have kind of a history of my hiking gear. I never edit the earlier sheets after a trip – just copy the most recent trip and start a new sheet and start editing for the next trip.

One thing I have noticed over time – years ago there were lots of changes from trip to trip, but the last few years things have really stabilized as the majority of my kit has been dialed in for me. Mostly just changes based on if I am going solo or with my brother, and insulation/sleeping bag based on expected temps.

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