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Backpack weight calculator

Base weight, consumables, worn, skin-out

A backpack weight calculator is a packing list with a scale. Base weight is the gear that is not food, water, or fuel. Consumables are the things you will use up. Worn weight is clothing and shoes that are not in the pack. Pack weight here means base plus consumables. Skin-out weight adds what you wear. The categories are labels you choose for each row. The page does not decide that a jacket is worn unless you say so.

Inputs

Result

Add items with a weight in ounces.

Disclaimer: A sum of the ounces you enter. It does not include the weight of the pack itself unless you add a row for it. Weigh items; do not copy someone else’s list.

Water volume is planned separately from pack categories. Use the water planner, then add the liters here as a consumable.

How to use

  1. Add a row for each item. Name it so you can audit the list later.
  2. Enter the weight in ounces. There are 16 ounces in a pound. A kitchen scale in ounces is enough.
  3. Mark food, water, and fuel as consumable. Mark the clothes and shoes you will wear as worn. Everything else is base weight, including the pack itself if you add a row for it.
  4. Press Calculate. Remove a row with its Remove button. Reset leaves a single empty row.

How it's calculated

Base = sum of base-category ounces
Pack weight = base + consumables
Skin-out = pack weight + worn
Pounds = ounces ÷ 16

The splits are bookkeeping, not a rating of whether the pack is light. People publish “base weight” targets online; this page does not repeat a target, because a target without your trip length and conditions is a slogan. Water is heavy and it is a consumable, so it stays out of base weight and inside pack weight. If you will carry water, add it, or plan the volume on the water planner and convert liters to weight yourself (1 liter of water is about 2.2 pounds, since 1 kilogram is 2.2046 pounds and a liter of water is about a kilogram).

The ten-essential groups, as a checklist rather than a scale, are on the gear checklist.

Worked example

A shelter at 28 oz, a stove at 3 oz, and a quilt at 20 oz, all marked base, total 51 oz, or 3.19 lb. A liter of water marked consumable is about 35.3 oz and does not enter the base weight. Shoes at 24 oz marked worn do not enter the pack. Pack weight is 51 + 35.3 = 86.3 oz (5.39 lb) before any other food. Skin-out adds the shoes.

Assumptions and sources

Sixteen ounces equal one avoirdupois pound. The water note uses 1 liter ≈ 1 kilogram and 1 pound = 0.45359237 kg, so 1 liter ≈ 2.20 lb, or about 35.3 oz. Item weights are yours. The page never fills in a catalog weight. Base weight excluding consumables is the usual backpacking definition; if you prefer a different split, change the category on the row.

FAQ

Does the pack itself count as base weight?

Yes, if you add a row for the empty pack and leave the category on base. The form does not add a pack you forgot.

Where does water go?

Mark it consumable so it stays out of base weight. It still counts in pack weight, because you are carrying it.

What is skin-out weight?

Everything: the pack, the consumables, and the clothes and shoes you wear. It is the total of all three categories.

Why ounces instead of pounds?

Small items are easier in ounces. The result is shown in pounds as well, using 16 ounces per pound.

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