Field notes / Weight planning
Base weight vs. departure pack weight
Separate fixed gear, worn items and daily consumables without losing sight of what is on your back.
A list can show a low base weight while the departure pack is still heavy. Both numbers are useful, but they answer different questions. TrailCarry shows them side by side so an accounting choice does not hide the load you intend to carry.
Start with three buckets
Base is fixed equipment in the pack. Worn is equipment on your body. Consumables are items whose amount you model as being used each day. The departure pack is base plus the full trip's consumables. Worn items are recorded separately and excluded from that pack total.
A worked example
Suppose fixed gear totals 5,900 g and daily food and fuel total 675 g. For three days, consumables are 2,025 g. The departure pack is 7,925 g. If clothes worn on your body weigh 850 g, the recorded total of everything is 8,775 g, but that is not the number labelled “Start pack.”
Count containers once
An empty bottle, fuel container or reusable food bag can remain after its contents are gone. Put that container in base and its contents in consumables. Weighing a full bottle and also entering the water separately counts the water twice. Enter an explicit note when a measured weight includes packaging.
Make your classifications honest
An extra layer that starts in your pack is packed clothing, even if you may wear it later. This tool does not move items between categories during the day. A personal target is a comparison value you enter, not an assessment of what is suitable for your body, route or conditions.
Open the planner, load the illustrative weekend example and change one item from base to worn. Watch the departure total change while the recorded gear itself stays the same.