Create Your Own Backpacking Gear List With My Custom Spreadsheet

The new cloud-based version of my Gear Calculator Spreadsheet is available now! You can use this free tool to design your own custom backpacking and hiking gear list, automatically calculate weight and costs and see how different gear will affect your pack weight and budget. This version is designed to work with Google Sheets, so you no longer need Excel or any special software.

The new spreadsheet is designed to work with Google Sheets, a free cloud-based program. You will need a Google Account to use the spreadsheet. Click the link below (you may have to log in to Google first), then follow the prompt to to copy the file to your Google Drive, where you you can use it to design your own custom gear list. 

IMPORTANT: Please do not send me a Google request asking for permission to modify the spreadsheet. That would change the file on the server and then everybody who downloads it after you would see your changes. Instead, click the link below to make a COPY of the spreadsheet to your Google drive. Then you can make your modifications without affecting the original file.

The spreadsheet comes pre-filled with the most common types of backpacking gear items, divided into seven categories. All you have to do is enter a description for each of the items you plan to use, along with it’s weight and price. The spreadsheet does the rest automatically. It will calculate the total weight for each item along with weight/cost subtotals for each category.

As you enter data in the spreadsheet, it will calculate the total weight and cost of your gear, your base weight, full pack weight and skin-out weight, along with pie charts showing the weight and cost for each category. You can use this data to evaluate what you are currently packing and see how changes will affect the overall weight and cost of your gear.

There are several ways you can customize the spreadsheet. To the left of each item is a drop-down menu containing a check and an X. The check activates an item. The X deactivates an item and removes it from all calculations (without requiring you to delete the data, so you can easily turn it back on later.) If you are not satisfied with the pre-filled items, you can rename them to whatever you like. At the bottom of each category are three blank rows (labeled “custom”), which you can use to add additional items.

Your gear list will be automatically saved to your Google Drive every time you make a modification and you will be able to access it from all of your web-connected devices. When it’s time to go gear shopping, or create a pre-hike packing checklist, click the Print icon to make a hard copy. In portrait mode, the entire list will print on three 8.5×11 letter-size pages.