Is OutPack Better Than LighterPack?

Ultralighters are well-known for their backpacking gear obsession. When they’re not on the trail, ultralight hikers can often be found organizing their gear shed, researching the latest products from Durston Gear, or using LighterPack to figure out how much their base weight will drop if they bring a razor blade instead of a pocket knife on their next hike.

LighterPack, which allows hikers to log packing lists and pack weights, isn’t the only organization tool used by ultralighters, but it was one of the first, and remains the most popular. Other apps and websites—and there are many to choose from—simply can’t rival the clean, intuitive user interface of LighterPack.

So when I heard about OutPack, a new web-based app that promises to do everything LighterPack can and more, I was skeptical. But after a few days of setting up my new OutPack profile, I think I’m ready to make the switch. Here’s why.

What Sets OutPack Apart?

Like other packing apps made for ultralighters, OutPack is a passion project rather than a business. It was created by Andrew Carmichael, a Scottish hiker and software engineer. It’s free to use and web-based, but it does work well on mobile.

Carmichael’s vision is to combine the packing lists of LighterPack with features to catalogue trips, add notes, mark waypoints, and upload photos. Think LighterPack mixed with Strava and Trail Journals.

To start, there are the standard gear organization features. You can create an inventory of all your gear and then add items to different packing lists. As with other packing apps, OutPack generates a graph that breaks down your pack weight into categories like shelter, sleep system, and clothing.

Those packing lists can then be added or modified for your trips. Pre-trip, there’s a handy packing checklist feature to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. After multiple trips, OutPack will provide a “gear history” that shows you how many times you’ve packed each piece of gear. This section also lets you add a cover photo, waypoints, and notes. These features aren’t exactly standouts—you can’t upload an entire album of photos here, and it certainly isn’t actual mapping software like Gaia GPS, but it’s still useful.

The pantry section stores all your food. Here, you can add things that you bring on most trips, like your favorite freeze dried meals, or Snickers bars. There’s a barcode scanner to add packaged meals easily—though it doesn’t always work. Several items I scanned popped up with inaccurate weights and calorie counts. It’s a fun feature, but probably easier to add food stats manually.

Finally, although OutPack is far from a social media platform, there are some basic search and share functions.  You can search for other users by name, and generate links to share your trips. Carmichael’s own profile is a good example of what a fully fleshed-out OutPack profile might look like. You can also elect to make your info and trips private instead.

Why I Like It

For many users of LighterPack, the simplicity of the interface is a big part of the appeal. LighterPack helps you make packing lists, and it doesn’t try to do anything else. If you’re hyper-focused on baseweight, LighterPack remains a fantastic, free-to-use tool. OutPack is also excellent as a simple packing list. The inventory and pack lists are easy to navigate, and if you’re not interested in the trips and pantry sections, these features alone make OutPack a viable LighterPack alternative.

But for myself, baseweight hasn’t been a primary concern in many years, and I’ve gotten more interested in keeping track of where I’ve been and who I’ve gone hiking with. OutPack is really good at this, and I’m hoping it will make it easier for me to jot down some quick thoughts about every trip I take. After years of hiking and gear testing, my hiking-related digital footprint does not spark joy: several packing lists and spreadsheets, half a dozen mapping and planning apps on my phone, and photos in countless folders on several different computers. OutPack can’t replace all of these things, but it can help organize some of it.

It’s especially useful if you’re planning a trip with friends. I can send them my OutPack trip, add a few links in the notes, and my buddies have a packing checklist, trail map, and trailhead directions all in one place. Afterwards, I can add a few notes to remember what happened on the trip.

Finally, OutPack is pretty easy to adopt, since it gives you options to import and export data. This is crucial, since most LighterPack users aren’t interested in recreating their packing lists from scratch. Given how easy it is to transfer your info, OutPack is worth a look, even if you’ve already crafted your perfect gear list in another app.