software

For those of us who are light or ultralight backpackers or even those who grumble on the trail thinking, “why on earth did I bring so much stuff”. Erik the Black has something that might help.

Erik is an ultralight backpacker with several books to his name (including “ultralight backpacking” and “How to hike the pacific crest trail”) so someone that talks from experience.

Anyway, he put together a spreadsheet download it here. It allows you to enter your gear by category including cost and weight and then presents you with your totals for each by category. What I like most about it is that it shows the totals as a pie chart. I’m not a huge fan of pie, but the chart shows what categories are weighing you down the most, or breaking your budget.

I would recommend it for those of us who want to start ultralight backpacking and haven’t bought the gear. It will give you an idea of how much you will be spending and where you should be looking to save money ($10 sacks are light, but add up quickly). You might look for cheaper alternatives (look for a good price on sil nylon at a fabric store and make your own bags, sleeping, tent or pack).

It will really help planning your budget and keep you looking for things that you can leave behind.
Go to his blog: at blackwoodpress.com (Link takes you right to the post) and take a look at his video on how to use the spreadsheet. Even if you don’t have Microsoft excel, try it with openoffice, a free alternative.

Check out the video here.