New Gear-Weight Calculator available for testing

[WeighMyGear]

Hey All,

 

We just released a new online gear/pack weight calculator app. The app is connected to a fairly large database (> 6000 items) of outdoor gear weights, and its interface is in a simple checklist format. Click on the gear fields to open the gear lists in their respective categories. Then, just click on an item to add it to your virtual pack (or haul bag). These 6000 items are just a starting point -- we know it's just scratching the surface. We're expanding our database daily. The database is also user-contributed.

 

If you don't see your gear listed, no problem. You can enter your own gear and have it saved.

 

This app is totally free to use, and you don't need to register to use the basic calculator. However, if you do choose to register (still 100% free), you do get a few extra features.

 

As you'll see, we tried to have this app apply to a variety of activities, including mountaineering, backpacking, backcountry skiing, as well as both rock and ice climbing.

 

This app was just released for testing a few days ago, so we're looking for anyone willing to help us expose any bugs, as well as offer constructive criticism (i.e. suggestions for improvement). We're still adding dozens of pieces of gear everyday. So, who's a Gear Head enough to try it out??

 

http://www.weighmygear.com

 

Many thanks in advance!

Edited March 14, 2012 by WeighMyGear

[Dane]

Simple question...did you happen to weigh all 6000 items yourself or did you use the manufacture's published weights?

[Coldfinger]

By size?

[WeighMyGear]

Simple question...did you happen to weigh all 6000 items yourself or did you use the manufacture's published weights?

 

Good question. Roughly 80 - 90% of the weights came from either the manufacturers' sites. The remaining items were manually weighed by someone on our staff.

[WeighMyGear]

By size?

 

I assume you're asking if we've separated weights by size. If so, then yes, for many items, we have listed separate weights for different sizes. This can be seen among many of the "Main Packs", sleeping bags, skis and pieces of climbing protection.

[Water]

i absolutely love the idea.. but if you were to cross check the listed weights from manufacturer's sites with the actual, depending on the item it is off from an ounce to a pound.. I sometimes weigh my gear and a lot of manufacturers are notorious for having way off ball-park weights, whether due to laziness or weighing M vs owning L or S. I guess it helps to give you a ballpark weight of your gear but if you're really counting grams ballpark is kind of the antithesis.

 

glad to see some cottage industry gear there like ULA and tarptent

[WeighMyGear]

i absolutely love the idea.. but if you were to cross check the listed weights from manufacturer's sites with the actual, depending on the item it is off from an ounce to a pound.. I sometimes weigh my gear and a lot of manufacturers are notorious for having way off ball-park weights, whether due to laziness or weighing M vs owning L or S. I guess it helps to give you a ballpark weight of your gear but if you're really counting grams ballpark is kind of the antithesis.

 

Hey Water,

 

Thanks a ton for your comments. Yes, you're absolutely correct -- the manufacturers' listed weights can certainly be off from time to time. And, because of that, this app may not be for the extremely meticulous gram-counters.

 

Please keep in mind, though, that group can still simply ignore the factory-listed gear altogether, and still use it as a platform for entering, storing and managing their own gear weights. It has several advantages over, say, an Excel spreadsheet, including:

 

- Once you save a gear list, it becomes accessible from any online computer anywhere.

- Your gear lists can be cleanly printed and shared via email, for coordinating group gear lists.

- For novices, it serves as a decent online checklist to follow when putting together a "dream pack".

 

Anyway, aside from recognizing the limitations of its to-the-gram accuracy, any way to significantly improve? Let us know. Any other cottage manufacturers you'd like to see? We'll do our best to add them.

 

Thanks again for your comments!

[Dane]

Yes, you're absolutely correct -- the manufacturers' listed weights can certainly be off from time to time.

 

Actually very few manufacture's numbers are accurate in the 100s I have measured. Reason is they may measure a small or a med in garments or a 42 in boots sizes for example to lower their numbers. Since GRAMS actually do count in climbing gear some just plain cheat to make themselves look better than they actually are.

 

Cool idea and a nice start but if 90% of your data is more than likely flawed some more work to do I suspect.

[RafalA]

Very cool idea. Guess I'll need to actually weigh all my stuff now!

 

As others have pointed out, I'd like to see (more) user-verified weights.

 

Also, it would be cool to have editable and multi-category tags, and be able to select multiple items. For example, the Arc Atom LT / SV / Kappa Hoody are listed under insulated jackets, so I can only select one. I typically take two of these with me, so one is left out from the calculator.

 

Finally, and I can't quite sort this out, what is your end goal for this site? How will you maintain it? Ads? Membership fees?

 

Keep us posted on the progress!

[RafalA]

One more thing: would be great to create your own 'database' within the database, so that I can just have a separate collection of everything I own, then just select the items into a 'pack' that I'm actually taking with me on a given trip.

[RafalA]

More: ropes show up in 1M lengths, showing only weight g/m.

 

[RafalA]

The amount input for carabiners, quickdraws, etc. doesn't work...

[WeighMyGear]

...and be able to select multiple items. For example, the Arc Atom LT / SV / Kappa Hoody are listed under insulated jackets, so I can only select one. I typically take two of these with me, so one is left out from the calculator.

 

Finally, and I can't quite sort this out, what is your end goal for this site? How will you maintain it? Ads? Membership fees?

 

Keep us posted on the progress!

 

Hi RafalA,

 

Thanks for your feedback. I hope I'm understanding your question correctly... Are you carrying 2 of exactly the same item? If so, then that's an easy one... Once you add the item to your pack, you then select its quantity. So, in the case of most clothing items, you can take up to 10 of the same item.

 

Now, if you're carrying 2 different models of insulated jackets, that's a bit tougher. As you've seen, we only have 1 slot for "Synthetic Insulated Jacket" in each checklist. But, it's easy enough for us to add another slot -- it does make sense for some activities. Which checklist, in particular, were you thinking needed that second slot?

 

Since you're curious about our monetization strategy, let me just say that we want to always keep this 100% free, meaning no membership fees! As you may have noticed, we're displaying a few ads -- hope they're not too annoying!

 

Thanks, again, for contributing your ideas!

[WeighMyGear]

One more thing: would be great to create your own 'database' within the database, so that I can just have a separate collection of everything I own, then just select the items into a 'pack' that I'm actually taking with me on a given trip.

 

Good idea -- you're not the first to suggest it. We'll definitely be adding that feature in a near-future release. Keep your eyes on it!

[WeighMyGear]

More: ropes show up in 1M lengths, showing only weight g/m.

 

RafalA,

 

Exactly... measuring rope weights in g/m is the industry standard. So, when adding a rope to your pack, first, click on it within its list to select it, just as you would any other item. Then, once it's in your gear list on the right side of the screen, select its "quantity". For ropes, you can select lengths in increments of 5m, and the system will automatically calculate its total weight.

 

I hope that answers your question.

[WeighMyGear]

The amount input for carabiners, quickdraws, etc. doesn't work...

 

Hey RafalA,

 

I'm afraid you were a little vague on this one. Are you saying the quantity selectors within your right-side gear list don't work? And are you saying they specifically don't work for the 'biners and 'draws, but they do work for other items?

 

Just in case it's the cause of the confusion, I'll be extra clear on this... the 5 slots for, say, carabiners is for 5 DIFFERENT TYPES of 'biners. Once you select one type, you can then select a quantity of that type -- up to 10, to be exact. So, with 5 carabiner slots, you can actually carry 5 x 10 = 50 'biners... and that's just for non-locking. You can also carry an additional 50 locking 'biners.

 

I hope that addresses your concern.

Edited March 14, 2012 by WeighMyGear

[RafalA]

Hm, perhaps my browser is not allowing me to update the 'amounts' - I figured this is what that box is for, but whenever I enter a value it doesn't 'save' into the form.

 

With regards to jackets, yes, I meant that I carry two insulated jackets with me, i.e. the Atom LT Pullover as a mid-layer and the Kappa Hoody as a belay jacket (for the day ice climbing pack).

 

Hope this explains my comments!

[CaleHoopes]

This is really well done. I like the site greatly and will give it a spin for organizing my Denali expedition gear.

[Plaidman]

This is cool. But now I can't just pick up the packs and subjectively weigh them and guess that my partners pack is obviously lighter than mine. O.K. I guess I still could by not using this application.

 

Seriously this is really cool. Glad to see that you included Big Wall Climbing as an activity. Damn! My haul bag weighs 8 pounds empty.

Where are the portaledges? I didn't see them listed in the shelters.

 

Nice job guys! Great idea.

[Plaidman]

How do you edit your pack after you save it? For instance say I want to keep the list I have saved but I want to change the tent. One way I did it was to put the counter to 0, but I could not select another tent if I do that. I could trash the pack and start over but if I have put time into making the list I thought I should be able to edit it by removing the item and selecting another.

 

I will keep playing.

 

Edit:

I figured it out. Just remove the text from the field and the blank space will allow you to select something else.

You guys are rocking.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Plaidman

[WeighMyGear]

This is cool. But now I can't just pick up the packs and subjectively weigh them and guess that my partners pack is obviously lighter than mine. O.K. I guess I still could by not using this application.

 

Seriously this is really cool. Glad to see that you included Big Wall Climbing as an activity. Damn! My haul bag weighs 8 pounds empty.

Where are the portaledges? I didn't see them listed in the shelters.

 

Nice job guys! Great idea.

 

Plaidman,

 

Many thanks for all the feedback and compliments. First, I had to laugh about your first comment -- you do that too?

 

Yeah, I suppose portaledges could/should certainly be under "Shelters", as well. But for now, you'll find them under the "Climbing" list.

 

Really glad to hear you're enjoying the app. We're very eager to improve it, so always feel free to send your suggestions.

[WeighMyGear]

Edit:

I figured it out. Just remove the text from the field and the blank space will allow you to select something else.

You guys are rocking.

 

Yep, it sounds like you got it. You can always type over any value, in any field (name, size or weight), to place a custom version of it in your pack.

[WeighMyGear]

This is really well done. I like the site greatly and will give it a spin for organizing my Denali expedition gear.

 

CaleHoopes,

 

I'm really happy to hear such positive feedback. Since we're still in a testing phase, nothing is set in stone yet. We just published the "Mountaineering" checklist a day or two ago, so I'd be eager to hear your suggestions on it... what does it need?

[WeighMyGear]

Hm, perhaps my browser is not allowing me to update the 'amounts' - I figured this is what that box is for, but whenever I enter a value it doesn't 'save' into the form.

 

With regards to jackets, yes, I meant that I carry two insulated jackets with me, i.e. the Atom LT Pullover as a mid-layer and the Kappa Hoody as a belay jacket (for the day ice climbing pack).

 

Hi RafalA,

 

First, the good news, we've added a second "Synthetic Loft Jacket" slot in all of the winter activity checklists. I hope it helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Now, about that quantity bug you seem to be experiencing, I'm a little perplexed. You've been the first to report it. So, just to be overly clear, we're talking about the quantity (or amount) selectors on the RIGHT side of your screen, right? For most items, the options should be 0 - 10, but for ropes and accessory cords, it goes from 0 m - 100 m in 5 m increments. Are you saying the cumulative item, category and pack weights don't change when you change that quantity value? If so, hmmmm...

 

Which version of which browser are you using?

 

Thanks for your time in helping us work this out!

[RafalA]

Ok, so I got it to work. Not sure what I was doing wrong before, but it's all working now - thanks! Maybe just needed to restart the browser :-)

 

Now time to weigh all my gear you don't have in the database!