Dont Forget The Spoon vs Packstack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dont Forget The Spoon
This app helps hikers and backpackers create custom packing lists for any trip. It features a personal gear locker, pack weight statistics, calorie tracking, and the ability to share your lists with others. Never forget essential items again with smart reminders and analysis.
- Personal gear locker
- Custom pack creation
- Pack weight statistics
- Calorie tracking
- Mark and track packed items
- Sub-packs for organization
- Shareable pack lists
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Don't forget the spoon was initially thought up in Yosemite National Park, sitting in the cold near Half Dome and Clouds rest one chilly February night. My wife and I forgot to packs spoons and we were trying to eat dinner in outside our tent in the cold snow! Don't Forget the Spoon allows you to create your own packs for simple day hikes or multi day overnight backpacking adventures. Check out all our features: - Personal Gear Locker: You can add all your gear to your own personal gear locker saved online, or search for gear from our community gear locker to save to your own. - Create custom packs: You can create custom packs for simple day hikes or multi-day overnight backpacking adventures. You can add items to your pack by searching for gear from the community gear locker or adding your own gear to your personal gear locker saved online. - Pack weight statistics: You can add your gear to your own packs to see pack weight statistics. This feature allows you to identify where your excess weight is. - Calorie tracking: You can track calories for your trip, based on all the snacks and meals you have in your pack Mark and track items packed: You can mark and track items packed, so you never forget that spoon at home! You can also swipe right on items in the pack to mark them as packed to ‘tick’ items off quickly. - Sub Packs: You can create sub-packs for your personal bag, toiletry bag, food bag, etc. and then add them to the main packs. This feature helps you create packs more efficiently, by allowing you to add multiple items at a time with one tap - Photo Capabilities: You can take photos of your gear and add them to your packs. Share Your Pack: You can share your pack with friends and family, with a simple link. You do not need the app installed to view a shared pack, any web browser will work! - Browse Public Packs: Browse a list of public packs created by others for inspiration. Packs are sorted by different tags. - Pack Analyzer: Analyzes the gear in your pack to provide helpful tips and reminders when planning a day hike or multi-night adventure. It will help you not forget more than just your spoon! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/"
Packstack
This app helps backpackers and hikers meticulously track gear, organize packing lists, and calculate essential trip details like base weight and calorie needs. It offers a comprehensive gear inventory, reusable kits, and detailed trip planning features. Syncs across devices and allows sharing of setups.
- Gear inventory management
- Trip-specific packing lists
- Reusable gear kits
- Base weight and calorie calculation
- Hiker profile creation
- Trip planning tools
- Gear catalog search
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PACKSTACK: GEAR LISTS & PACK WEIGHT TRACKING FOR BACKPACKERS Packstack is the gear list and pack weight app built for backpackers, hikers, and ultralight gram-counters. Build your gear closet once, spin up a packing list for any trip in minutes, and know your base weight before you hit the trail. Looking for a LighterPack alternative with a real mobile app? This is it. GEAR CLOSET All your gear in one searchable place. Log brand, product, weight, price, and category for every item — or skip the typing and pull verified specs from the gear catalog. Wishlist the gear you want but don't own yet. GEAR RESEARCH Browse thousands of outdoor products by category, sorted lightest to heaviest. Compare any product against the category median, dig into full specs, and add it to your gear closet in one tap. PACKING LISTS Build a list for each trip by pulling from your gear closet. Everything stays organized by category — shelter, sleep system, cookware, clothing — with total, base, and worn weight at a glance. Build multiple packs per trip to compare loadouts. CHECKLIST MODE When it's time to pack, flip any list into a checklist and tick items off as they go into the pack. Nothing gets left behind. WEIGHT TRACKING Automatic totals for pack weight, base weight (everything minus consumables), and worn weight. Switch between imperial (oz/lb) and metric (g/kg) anytime — every number updates instantly. SMART TRIP DETAILS Type a trail name and Packstack researches the rest: distance, elevation gain, terrain, and expected temperatures for your dates. It only fills in what you haven't set yourself — your local knowledge always wins. CALORIE CALCULATOR (PACKSTACK PRO) Estimate daily calories from your trip's distance, elevation, terrain, pace, and temperature — combined with your hiker profile. Take the guesswork out of food planning and know exactly how much to carry. HIKER PROFILES Set up profiles with height, weight, age, sex, and body type. Assign a profile to any pack for personalized calorie estimates — perfect for couples, families, or group trips. REUSABLE KITS Group the gear you always pack together — cook kit, first aid, camera setup — and drop the whole bundle into any list in one tap. Your first kit is free; Packstack Pro unlocks unlimited kits. SHARE YOUR SETUP Every packing list gets a public link anyone can view on the web, no account required — perfect for shakedown feedback. Or export a trip summary card with your weight breakdown, sized for Instagram Stories. IMPORT & EXPORT Switching tools? Import from LighterPack or any CSV in seconds. Export your gear back out anytime. Your data is never locked in. CROSS-PLATFORM SYNC Plan on your laptop, pack from your phone. Your gear closet, packing lists, and trips stay in sync across web and iOS. FREE TO START An unlimited gear closet, three packing lists, your first kit, imports, and sharing — free, with no credit card and no ads, ever. Packstack Pro unlocks unlimited packing lists, unlimited kits, and the calorie calculator. Sign up with email, Google, or Apple and start in minutes. Whether you're an ultralight gram-counter or a weekend camper, Packstack is the modern LighterPack alternative. Questions or feedback? Reach me at jerad@packstack.io — I'd love to hear from you. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.packstack.io/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Packstack at none against Dont Forget The Spoon's 2. Packstack also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Dont Forget The Spoon's advantage is ratings volume (34 vs 4). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dont Forget The Spoon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Packstack asks for nothing beyond the download.
Packstack holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dont Forget The Spoon has 34 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Dont Forget The Spoon's written reviews are positive against 100% of Packstack's.
Dont Forget The Spoon ships an update every 2 weeks, Packstack every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dont Forget The Spoon | Packstack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (34 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #193 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Jones | Jerad Maplethorpe |
Customer experience
Dont Forget The Spoon
Packstack
In-app purchases
Dont Forget The Spoon
- Annual Subscription$14.991 Year
- Lifetime Upgrade$99.99
Packstack
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dont Forget The Spoon free?
Is Packstack free?
Which has better reviews, Dont Forget The Spoon or Packstack?
Do Dont Forget The Spoon or Packstack have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dont Forget The Spoon or Packstack?
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