Set your trip length, body weight and effort level, and get your total food weight, calories per day, and a suggested packing list — so you carry enough to keep going without hauling dead weight.
Body weight and effort level set a suggested calorie target — edit the target directly to override it. The plan updates as you type.
| Item | Amount | Weight (oz/lb) | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enter trip details above to generate a plan. | |||
Simplified estimate from a sample food database and basic meal allocation. The algorithm stops adding food once your daily calorie target is met, prioritising calorie density within each meal and rotating items for variety. Real needs vary — always check nutrition labels on actual products and adjust portions.
Share your resupply list and get real-world portion and calorie advice from thru-hikers on the HikingGear Forum — real hikers, real trips.
Enter your trip and this tool estimates a daily calorie target, then builds a sample packing list toward it and totals the weight. Here is the thinking behind the numbers.
On the trail you burn far more than at home. Most backpackers plan somewhere between 2,500 and 4,500 calories per day — a rough starting point is your body weight in pounds times an effort factor (about 16 for easy days, 19 for moderate hiking, 23 for strenuous days, and 28 for very strenuous winter or heavy-pack days). A 160 lb hiker on a moderate trip lands near 3,000 calories a day. Short overnights barely dent your reserves, but on long trips the deficit adds up, so err toward the higher end when the miles and elevation climb.
The rule of thumb is about 1.5 to 2 pounds of food per person per day (roughly 700–900 g). A week of food is therefore around 10–14 lb before you add the pack — often the single heaviest thing you carry after water. The way to cut it is calorie density: aim for at least 100–125 calories per ounce. Fats pack the most energy per gram — nuts, nut butter, olive oil, cheese, and chocolate — while fresh and canned foods are mostly water and weigh far more for the same calories, so leave them behind for anything longer than a day trip.
Start from a daily calorie target, multiply by your trip length, and split it across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Favour a few calorie-dense staples over lots of light, bulky items, and build in a little variety so you actually want to eat on day four. Weigh your food bag on a kitchen scale before you go, set a max-weight limit if you are watching pack weight, and remember the calculator gives you a planning estimate — appetite, weather, and terrain will shift the real number.
Most backpackers plan for 2,500 to 4,500 calories a day, well above a rest-day intake. A quick estimate is your body weight in pounds times an effort factor — roughly 16 for easy days, 19 for moderate hiking, 23 for strenuous days, and 28 for very strenuous winter or heavy-pack days. A 160 lb hiker on a moderate trip lands near 3,000 calories. Big-mile days, cold weather, and a heavy pack all push the number higher.
A common rule of thumb is about 1.5 to 2 pounds of food per person per day, or roughly 700 to 900 grams. That means a week of food is around 10 to 14 lb before the pack itself. You can trim that by choosing calorie-dense foods rather than eating less, since going under about 1.5 lb per day usually means you are short on calories.
Aim for at least 100 to 125 calories per ounce; the lightest kits push toward 125 or more. Fats are the densest fuel — nuts, nut butter, olive oil, hard cheese, and dark chocolate — so they carry the most energy for their weight. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and canned goods are mostly water and weigh far more for the same calories, which is why dehydrated and dry foods dominate a trail menu.
Yes. Tick the Vegetarian box and the planner drops meat and fish items — beef and turkey jerky, tuna and salmon pouches, chicken pouches, hard salami, and meat dehydrated meals — and builds the list from plant-based staples, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and veggie dinners instead. It stays a calorie-first plan, just without the animal-protein items.