Tracking your pack weight used to mean a spreadsheet or LighterPack and nothing else. That's changed. A new wave of gear list apps has launched in the past few years, each with a different philosophy about what backpackers actually need.
This comparison is honest. I've used most of these tools. Where I haven't, I've read through their actual feature sets carefully. The goal is to help you find the right tool — not to declare a winner.
Why Your Gear List App Matters
A gear list isn't just bookkeeping. It's the difference between showing up to the trailhead with the right kit and realizing you forgot your sleeping pad pump 50 miles from the nearest town. A good app makes gear planning faster, more accurate, and reusable across trips.
The questions to ask:
- Do I want something simple or do I want features?
- Do I care about sharing lists with others?
- Will I use this on my phone on trail, or only at home?
- Do I have gear across multiple lists I want to reuse?
Your answers should drive your choice.
LighterPack
lighterpack.com | Free
LighterPack is the incumbent. It launched in 2012 and has been the default tool for the ultralight community ever since. Its strength is simplicity: you add items, assign weights, organize by category, and get a pie chart showing where weight lives.
What it does well:
- Completely free, no account required to start
- CSV export/import that most other tools have learned to support
- Shareable list links that work reliably (huge for community use on r/ultralight)
- Worn/consumable categorization is clean
- Extremely lightweight — loads fast on any connection
Where it falls short:
- No native mobile app — browser on mobile is functional but not great
- No gear library across lists — you re-enter the same tent every time you build a new list
- No community features — you can share a link but there's no discovery or following
- No photos or purchase links on items
- UI hasn't meaningfully changed since 2014
- No collaboration — can't build a list with a partner
Best for: Ultralight hikers who want the fastest possible tool, who share lists on Reddit, or who've been using it for years and have no reason to switch.
MyPacks
mypacks.co | Free + Pro tier
MyPacks launched more recently with a fundamentally different philosophy: your gear is an asset that you manage across trips, not just a list you rebuild each time. It's built mobile-first, which matters more than most apps acknowledge — you're checking your gear list at the trailhead, not at your desk.
What it does well:
- Persistent gear library — add an item once, use it across every list
- Mobile-first design that actually works on your phone
- Social layer — follow other hikers, discover public lists, share gear setups
- Trip-based organization so you can track what you brought on each trip
- LighterPack CSV import (switch without losing your data)
- Photos and notes on individual items
- Visual weight breakdown with per-category analysis
- Public gear profiles that other hikers can browse and learn from
Where it falls short:
- Smaller community than LighterPack (for now) — fewer shared public lists to browse
- Pro tier required for some features
- Newer, so the gear database is still building
Best for: Hikers who do multiple trips a year and want to stop re-entering gear, anyone who wants to share their setup and engage with the community, and anyone for whom the phone experience matters.
PackWizard
packwizard.com | Free
PackWizard positions itself as a LighterPack alternative with a cleaner interface. It supports the basics well: items, categories, weight totals, and a shareable URL.
What it does well:
- Clean, modern-feeling UI compared to LighterPack
- Gear database with searchable items (you can add from a catalog rather than always typing)
- Decent mobile browser experience
- Free with no apparent feature limits
Where it falls short:
- No native mobile app
- Limited community features
- Smaller gear database than established tools
- Less battle-tested than LighterPack
Best for: Hikers who want something cleaner than LighterPack but don't need the full feature set of MyPacks.
Hikt
hikt.app | Freemium
Hikt has been growing in the trail running and fastpacking community. It's built with a stronger emphasis on route integration — you can associate your gear list with an actual route, which gives you context like weather and distance.
What it does well:
- Route + gear integration is genuinely unique
- Good mobile experience
- Active development team
- Weather integration for listed routes
Where it falls short:
- More fastpacking-focused than traditional backpacking
- Gear list depth is shallower than dedicated tools
- Community is smaller
Best for: Trail runners and fastpackers who want route context alongside gear planning.
OutPack
outpackapp.com | Freemium
OutPack leans into collaboration. It's built with the idea that gear planning is often a group activity — you're coordinating with two or three other people about who's bringing what.
What it does well:
- Collaborative list building is the best of any tool here
- Partner gear coordination
- Clean interface
Where it falls short:
- Less useful for solo hikers
- Smaller community
- Export options are limited
Best for: Group hikers and couples who plan trips together.
Packstack
packstack.app | Free
Packstack is the newest entry and the most minimal. Think of it as a lighter version of LighterPack — even simpler, even faster.
What it does well:
- Extremely fast to use
- No friction to get started
- Clean weight display
Where it falls short:
- Fewest features of any tool listed here
- No gear library, no sharing community, no mobile app
- Still in early development
Best for: Someone who wants a one-time, disposable list and nothing more.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | LighterPack | MyPacks | PackWizard | Hikt | OutPack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Full | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Gear library | No | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Social/community | No | Yes | No | Partial | No |
| LighterPack import | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Route integration | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Photos on items | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Which Should You Use?
Use LighterPack if: You're already on it, you share lists on Reddit regularly, or you want zero friction with zero features.
Use MyPacks if: You do multiple trips a year, care about mobile access, want to reuse gear across lists, or want to connect with other hikers.
Use PackWizard if: You want a cleaner LighterPack alternative with no commitment.
Use Hikt if: You're a trail runner or fastpacker who wants route context.
Use OutPack if: You plan most of your trips in groups.
The honest answer: LighterPack owns mindshare but hasn't evolved. The hikers I know who've tried MyPacks don't go back — the gear library alone is worth it once you've been through the frustration of rebuilding the same list for the fifth trip in a row.