Backpacking Food Weight Calculator

Work out backpacking food weight instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Backpacking Food Weight Calculator

Daily food weight is the energy requirement divided by the energy density of what you carry, and volume assumes about 550 grams per litre of packed food. Energy density is the whole game in food weight: moving from 4.0 to 5.0 kcal per gram saves nearly a kilogram over five days at the same calorie intake.

Formulas

Daily weight

grams per day = kcal per day / kcal per gram

Total weight

kg = grams per day x days / 1000

Worked example

With the default values below, Backpacking Food Weight Calculator returns Food weight to carry of 3.333. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Days on the trailminimum 1: 5
Energy needed per dayminimum 100 kcal: 3,000 kcal
Energy density of your foodminimum 0.5 kcal/g: 4.5 kcal/g

Results

Food weight to carry: 3.333 kg
Food weight per day: 667 g
Total energy carried: 15,000 kcal
Approximate pack volume: 6.06 L

Step by step

1Values used
2Daily weight
3Total weight
4Food weight to carry= 3.333 kg
5Food weight per day= 667 g
6Total energy carried= 15,000 kcal
7Approximate pack volume= 6.06 L

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Backpacking Food Weight figure worked out?

grams per day = kcal per day / kcal per gram. Daily food weight is the energy requirement divided by the energy density of what you carry, and volume assumes about 550 grams per litre of packed food.

Why does this matter?

Energy density is the whole game in food weight: moving from 4.0 to 5.0 kcal per gram saves nearly a kilogram over five days at the same calorie intake.

What do I need to enter?

Enter days on the trail, energy needed per day, energy density of your food. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.