Hiking & Camping Tools
Trip-planning tools for hikers and backpackers, built on the formulas the field actually uses — Naismith and Langmuir for how long a route will take, the Shenandoah rating for how hard it will be, and honest arithmetic on what all of it weighs.
The Ten Essentials plus what your specific trip adds — tickable, printable, and saved while you pack.
Thru-Hike Resupply PlannerTurn resupply points into legs, days and food weight — and see which carries are too long before you are standing in the shop.
Altitude Acclimatization PlannerA night-by-night ascent profile that respects the 1,600 ft rule, plus how to recognise AMS, HACE and HAPE.
Layering System BuilderWhat to wear for the temperature you will actually feel — effort and wind included, not just the forecast number on its own.
Pack & Trekking Pole SizerPole length from your height, pack volume from your trip, and frame size from your torso — with which of those measurements actually matters.
Water Purification Method ComparisonWhich treatment actually covers what — filters miss viruses, iodine misses Cryptosporidium, and boiling covers everything. The gaps are the point.
Bear Bag Hang CalculatorThe 12-6-6 hang checked against your actual branch, with the rope length you need and a scale diagram — plus where hanging is no longer accepted.
Map & Navigation ToolkitUTM and latitude/longitude conversion both ways, map scale distances, bearings with declination, and pace-count calibration.
Hammock Hang Angle CalculatorThe 30-degree rule with the physics behind it — strap force, sag, hang height and ridgeline length, so you can see why a tight hang is a bad idea.
Sleep System PickerBag rating and pad R-value for the forecast low — with an honest check on whether the gear you own is actually rated for the night you have planned.
Tent & Shelter Size PickerWhat tent rating you actually need, with a scale diagram showing whether your sleeping pads genuinely fit inside the floor.
Backpack Base Weight & Gear ListBuild a gear list and get an honest base weight, skin-out total and a breakdown showing where the weight actually is — usually not where people think.
Trip Consumables PlannerHow much food, water and stove fuel to carry, with calorie density, dry-stretch water maths and the fuel figures people habitually underestimate.
Hiking Time EstimatorNaismith's rule with Langmuir's descent correction and Tranter's fitness scaling, plus a turnaround time so you finish the walk in daylight.
Trail Difficulty CalculatorThe Shenandoah National Park difficulty rating for any hike, with bands and average grade — a numeric rating that travels between trails.
About these hiking & camping tools
Distance is a poor predictor of how long a walk takes, and elevation is a good one. Naismith’s rule, which has survived since 1892 because it works, allows one hour for every five kilometres of distance plus one hour for every 600 metres of ascent. The striking part is the exchange rate: 600 metres of climbing costs the same time as five kilometres of flat ground. A route with 1,200 metres of ascent over eight kilometres is a four-hour day, not a ninety-minute one, and parties get benighted every year by planning from the map distance alone. Descent is not free either — it is faster than ascent but harder on knees, and on steep or loose ground it can be slower than going up. The second thing worth knowing is that water is usually the heaviest thing in the pack and the least negotiable. It weighs a kilogram a litre, and an active adult needs roughly half a litre to a litre an hour in warm conditions, so a hot day without resupply means carrying three or four kilograms of water alone. That single fact drives more route planning than gear choice does, and it is why knowing where the reliable water is beats owning a lighter tent. The third is that being wet matters far more than being cold. Water conducts heat away from the body around twenty-five times faster than air, so hypothermia in mild conditions is not only possible but common — the classic case happens at eight to twelve degrees in rain and wind rather than anywhere near freezing.