Add up your gear category by category and get your base weight — with an ultralight / lightweight read and a per-category breakdown.
Switching this converts every item to that unit and sets the default for new items — you can still change any single item's unit below.
Post your gear list and get an honest shakedown from thru-hikers who have shaved real pounds on the HikingGear Forum — real hikers, real trips.
Enter each item category by category and the calculator adds up your base weight and shows where it's going. Here is what the number means and where to cut.
Base weight is the gear you carry in your pack that you do not use up — shelter, sleep system, the pack itself, spare clothing, cook kit, and the small essentials. By convention it leaves out two things: what you wear or hold while walking (boots, the shirt on your back, trekking poles) and consumables that shrink as you hike (food, water, and fuel). To read this tool as a pure base weight, just list the gear that stays in your pack and leave worn clothing and food/water off. Base weight is the number hikers compare because it stays fixed trip to trip, while consumables change with every resupply.
The common bands describe base weight: ultralight under 10 lb (about 4.5 kg), lightweight 10–20 lb (4.5–9 kg), and traditional above 20 lb. Kits under 5 lb are sometimes called super-ultralight. There is no single correct number — it depends on trip length, season, and how much comfort you want to carry — but under 20 lb base is a comfortable goal for most three-season backpackers, and getting under 10 lb takes deliberate, often pricier gear choices.
Start with the Big 3 — pack, shelter, and sleep system. On most kits they are half or more of base weight, so a lighter tent, quilt, or frameless pack saves far more than shaving grams off small items. After that, work down your heaviest items (this tool lists your top three) and question anything you carry "just in case." Weigh gear on a kitchen scale rather than trusting listed specs, and remember the cheapest weight to lose is the gear you leave at home.
Base weight is your pack and everything in it that you do not wear or use up — shelter, sleep system, the pack itself, spare clothing, cook kit, and the small essentials. It leaves out worn weight (what you have on your body or in your hands) and consumables (food, water, and fuel). Hikers quote base weight because it stays the same trip to trip, while consumables change at every resupply. To get a clean base-weight number here, list only the gear that rides in your pack.
The common bands are ultralight under 10 lb (about 4.5 kg), lightweight 10–20 lb (4.5–9 kg), and traditional above 20 lb; sub-5-lb setups are sometimes called super-ultralight. There is no single right number — it depends on trip length, season, and comfort — but under 20 lb is a comfortable target for most three-season backpackers, and getting under 10 lb takes deliberate gear choices.
Not if you want a base-weight figure to compare with other hikers. Food, water, and fuel are consumables and the clothes and boots you wear are worn weight — both are real weight you carry, but neither counts toward base weight, because base is meant to be the stable core of your kit. Leave those items off your list (or at zero) and the total shown is your base weight. If you'd rather see your fully loaded pack, add them in and read it as total weight instead.
The Big 3 are your pack, shelter, and sleep system — usually the three heaviest items in a kit and often half or more of base weight. Because they are so large, upgrading them (a lighter tent, quilt, or frameless pack) saves far more than trimming small gear, which is why weight-cutting advice always starts there. This tool shows your Big 3 as a percentage of base weight.
Use whatever your gear scale reads and what your local hiking community uses. In the US, items are usually weighed in ounces and pack totals quoted in pounds; most of the rest of the world works in grams and kilograms. You can enter each item in oz, lb, g, or kg independently and switch the total's display unit any time — the math is identical, only the presentation changes.