I got up early and went through a bunch of clothing in my gear locker and put it all in a spreadsheet with columns for stuff like "base layer top," "base layer bottoms," mid-layer, insulation, shells, etc, etc.

This is so much different than listing just a selection in my all-round gear list for a trip. Very illuminating! If you go through the bother of entering *all* your stuff, organized by function and weight, you can immediately see the weak spots in your gear and where you have too much of one kind of clothing. Of course, the lightest in each category pops right out.

I'd like to have a flow-chart style arrangement where I could click on one item per block and get running totals as I go. Getting CLO values and a running total of the estimated temperature performance of your selection would be really wild.

Edited by dwambaugh on 08/07/2010 14:27:47 MDT.

My day job requires me to make heavy use of Excel and database files. My gear list can get out of hand since I have a lot of time to think about it and less time to use it.

I have all my gear listed in columns of:
Basic Category - Base Weight or Consumable
System - Packing, Shelter, Cooking/Hydration .....
Item Name - "name of item"
OZ - oz per unit
Quantity - how many (more useful on consumables)
Total OZ - Quantity x OZ

Then I have a column called "Select" where I place a 1 or 0. If I need it for a trip it gets a 1.

On a new tab I have a pivot table which neatly arranges everything by Basic Category/System/Name total OZ per item and grand total per system. The pivot is filtered to only show stuff I ticked with a 1 on the gear list.

It may sound complex but my Excel skills are crazy. It takes me minutes to build something like this (sans typing in the values).

Nice thing is that I can go down the list and mark 1, refresh the pivot table and have a ready to go list.

Here is how on eof the pivots look:

> On a new tab I have a pivot table which neatly arranges everything by Basic Category/System/Name total OZ per item and grand total per system. The pivot is filtered to only show stuff I ticked with a 1 on the gear list.

That's a sweet trick! Thanks for the idea.

acronym 8/9/2010 5:53 PM

Man, this is so powerful. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm using the OpenOffice Calc DataPilot (analog to pivot), and it's working great. What a sweet tool!

>Then I have a column called "Select" where I place a 1 or 0. If I need it for a trip it gets a 1.

I want to be able to handle quantities (2 bandannas, 2 underwear, 3 granola bars, etc.). Here's the tweak to your setup:

I changed your "Select" column to be the "Quantity" column, and then select where quantity >= 1. I then created a new column of "Quantity * Kg" to calculate the new weight with the entered quantity. Of course the pivot or pilot then includes the "Quantity * Kg" column (in addition to or in lieu of the weight column).

I knew keeping all this stuff in a spreadsheet format was the way to go!

Thanks again!

acronym 8/10/2010 2:56 PM

I have to try that "select" feature! Lots easier than moving items in and out!

For consumables, I use two columns. I have the weight per day and then a formula based on a fixed cell. That cell has the number of days for the trip. It works very well for me!

Edited by hikinggranny on 08/10/2010 14:15:21 MDT.

Instead of 'select' I do something similar and call it 'quantity' so I can carry 0, 1 or as many as I like. This work well for stuff that might carry a bunch of (ie. water bottles, batteries etc). It doesn't hide the stuff I'm not taking though, so I do have another page with 'other gear' listed that I manual add and remove but my list doesn't fluctuate much because I usually sell gear I don't use regularly. I can see how if you had a huge gear closet and you carry a highly different gear list everytime then making the gear disappear that you aren't taking would be very valuable.

Here's how I have it setup:

Edited by dandydan on 08/12/2010 01:43:54 MDT.

Can anyone give a tutorial on how to set this up in Appleworks? I've never done a spreadsheet in my life. Still have my gearlist in a binder.

Would you be willing to share this great spreadsheet page? I use Excel on a MAC.

I'm not sure who's you're asking for, but here is mine in case:

http://www.mediafire.com/?is8v6m34x3z6cym

I think that will work with both MAC and PC, but if you want it and that doesn't work then let me know and I'll save it differently.

Dan wrote, "It doesn't hide the stuff I'm not taking though, so I do have another page with 'other gear' listed that I manual add and remove but my list doesn't fluctuate much because I usually sell gear I don't use regularly. I can see how if you had a huge gear closet and you carry a highly different gear list everytime then making the gear disappear that you aren't taking would be very valuable."

I have a "master" spreadsheet that lists all my gear. Here's what I do before packing:

1. Add a new worksheet ("tab") and copy the master list to it. This new worksheet will serve as "working copy".

2. Using the working copy, indicate quantity of each item to bring -- and delete out all the rows of items to be left at home. Worksheet computes weights and all.

3. Save the file. The file now contains the pristine master list, the working copy of the current trip -- plus individual worksheets ("tabs") of all past trips -- a great gear record of what you had and used.

4. Print the current working copy and use as packing list.

Starting from a master list of all gear items and using it as a packing list will minimize the chance of inadvertently leaving something at home.

Edited by ben2world on 08/12/2010 17:26:41 MDT.

Gear Grams

Not a spreadsheet...but a neat little online tool for tracking kit and making up a gear list for a trip from a gear closet type concept. I have been using it for a bit and definitely find very handy.

(no affiliation with the website..just a user)

I do the same exact thing Ben does - with one slight modification. If I'm going on a trip very similar to a prior trip, I just copy that tab over to a new one and modify it from there.

Has anyone tried the spread sheet from backpacking.net by Chris Ibbeson. It is really easy to use and also has a tutorial. Here is the link.http://www.backpacking.net/featured3.html I've been using it for three years and I am really not very good on a computer.

Dan. That link does not work on my mac. I try to open it and it just makes a copy of itself on my desktop. I'm running OSX 10.411

"Has anyone tried the spread sheet from backpacking.net by Chris Ibbeson. It is really easy to use and also has a tutorial. Here is the link.http://www.backpacking.net/featured3.html I've been using it for three years and I am really not very good on a computer."

I have been using a version for years, very easy to use for equipment, not so much for consumables but I like it.

> Instead of 'select' I do something similar and call it 'quantity' so I can carry 0, 1 or as many as I like... It doesn't hide the stuff I'm not taking though

Sorry I mis-spoke. I just learned how to use the pivot table a couple hours before writing my post.

Don't select on quantity. Filter on quantity greater than or equal to (>=) 1.

If you add a filter, Mr. Durston, you won't have to make a middle-man sheet.

acronym 8/12/2010 11:32 PM

Just wanted to share for those interested.

Attempted to recreate the pivot table gear list setup that was mentioned above. I haven't been able to figure out setting it up so you can enter the quantity and have that reflected in the total weight. But consider this a work in progress.

-Adam

click here

Edited by adamallstar on 10/01/2010 11:05:53 MDT.

yeah, Im having a problem understanding the same. I've used excel lots, but this format is new to me. Perhaps a copy of the original page of data, showing how the set up is done would clarify? could we get that? then we can go and do our own with the formulas a bit more transparent to copy.
Thanks!

I've got the source data on the 'gear list' tab and the pivot table is on the next tab. You can click on the Pivot table in the 2nd tab and it should show you how the data is arranged.

You should be able to edit things in the gear list tab, click over to the pivot table, right click in it, click refresh and the new information will show.

There are some good basic tutorials about pivot tables online that will help you to get your feet wet in this area.

Adam,
I tried to access the data, but says its not available?