About WikiGear

WikiGear is a small, independent, ad-supported site built around six free outdoor calculators, a set of gear guides, and a museum of the outdoors — nothing more claimed than that.

How the Tools Are Built

Each calculator is a straightforward piece of arithmetic wrapped around a method that hikers already use, not a proprietary formula we invented:

• Backpack Weight Calculator adds up the items you enter, converts the total to kilograms and pounds, and shows that total as a percentage of your body weight so you can see how heavy your load really is.
• Base Weight Calculator subtracts consumables — food, water, fuel — from your total pack weight, then places the remainder into the ultralight, lightweight, or traditional bands that backpackers commonly use to talk about base weight. These bands are informal community conventions, not an official standard.
• Hiking Calorie Calculator uses MET (metabolic equivalent of task) values — a standard exercise-physiology way of scoring activity intensity — combined with your body weight, pack weight, time on trail, and terrain to estimate calories burned.
• Water Needs Calculator works from your hours on trail, exertion level, and temperature, with an added allowance for hot weather, to estimate how much water to carry.
• Hiking Time Calculator applies Naismith’s rule — one hour per 5 km of distance plus one hour per 600 m of ascent — a 19th-century rule of thumb still used by hikers today to rough out how long a route will take.
• Trail Food Calculator divides a daily calorie target by your food’s calorie density to get a packing weight, shown in grams, kilograms, and pounds for a multi-day trip.

Where the Numbers Come From

Naismith’s rule, MET tables, and the ultralight/lightweight/ traditional base-weight bands are all long-standing, publicly documented conventions from hiking and exercise science — we did not invent them, and we do not claim any special authority over them. They are rules of thumb, not lab measurements: none of them account for your personal fitness, the actual weather on the day, or the real condition of a specific trail. WikiGear is not affiliated with any gear brand, retailer, trail authority, or standards body, and no tool on this site is endorsed by one.

What This Is (and Isn’t)

WikiGear is supported by ads, which is how the tools stay free with no account or paywall. Every result is an estimate for planning purposes, built from the inputs you give it — treat it as a starting point, not a guarantee. This site is general informational and educational content, not professional outdoor, wilderness-safety, medical, or survival advice; always check the actual conditions, carry appropriate gear, and use your own judgment before heading out, since the outdoors carries real risk. Beyond the calculators, the site also has trip and gear guides on the blog, background reading in Learn, and The Great Outdoors Museum, a set of galleries on hiking and camping gear, survival and navigation tools, landscapes, and outdoor activities, drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons — browse it at /museum.

Questions, corrections, or a tool you think is missing? See Contact.