Comparison

Pak Mule vs Backpacking List

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pak Mule

This app helps hikers organize their gear, manage multiple packs, and track their adventures. It features a hike journal, peak bagging tracker, and offline functionality for seamless planning and documentation.

Highlights
  • Gear inventory with weights and categories
  • Pack design and weight visualization
  • Detailed hike journaling with progress graphs
  • Peak bagging checklist and achievement tracking
  • Offline functionality for any trail
  • Clean and intuitive user interface
Currently charting
Read full description

Pak Mule: Your Ultimate Hiking Companion! Pack smarter, hike better, and track your adventures with Pak Mule! Whether you’re optimizing your gear setup, tackling your next peak, or planning a thru-hike, Pak Mule has everything you need—all in one app, and without subscriptions or ads. Key Features: • Gear Inventory: Create a detailed inventory of your gear, complete with weights, descriptions, and categories. Stay organized and lighten your load! • Pack Manager: Design and manage multiple packs with ease. Visualize pack weights using dynamic graphs to ensure you’re perfectly balanced for your next adventure. • Hike Journal: Document your thru-hikes with detailed logs. Track your progress and elevation over time with interactive graphs that bring your journey to life. • Peak Bagging Tracker: Conquer popular mountain peaks with confidence. Use the checklist to record your achievements and set your sights on the next summit. • Offline Functionality: No signal? No problem. Pak Mule works offline, so you’re always ready no matter where the trail takes you. Designed for Simplicity: Pak Mule features a clean, intuitive interface that makes planning and tracking your adventures effortless. Stay focused on the trail without distractions or complicated menus. Why Choose Pak Mule? • One-time purchase: No subscriptions, no hidden fees. • Ad-free experience: Focus on the trail, not distractions. Pak Mule is built for hikers, by hikers. Download today and make every step count!

About

Backpacking List

This app helps organize outdoor adventure gear with smart checklists and reminders. It allows cataloging items, tracking food and supplies, and calculating pack weight. Share or export your lists for any trip.

Highlights
  • Essential gear warnings
  • Customizable packing reminders
  • Detailed gear cataloging
  • Food and supply tracking
  • Automatic weight calculation
  • Shareable and exportable lists
Features
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THE ULTIMATE BACKPACKING COMPANION. PACK SMART. ADVENTURE CONFIDENTLY. Simplify your outdoor adventures with the most intuitive gear management app ever created. Whether you’re preparing for a quick day hike, planning a weekend camping trip, or organizing your ultralight backpacking setup, The Backpacking List keeps your gear organized, your pack optimized, and your mind at ease. ESSENTIAL GEAR CHECK • Get warnings if critical items like fuel, lighting, spoon, first-aid kits, or something as big as a sleeping bag are missing in your pack list.
 • Custom warnings you set for any personal items you absolutely can not forget. Ex: Glasses/Contacts, mouthguard, braces, etc • Ideal for thru-hikes, remote treks, or just keeping your minimalist pack list dialed. PACKING REMINDERS • Schedule packing notifications so you don’t forget gear before hitting the trail. • Schedule charging notifications within 24 hours of the trip so you don't leave with a dead headlamp or GPS. • Perfect for trip prep, itinerary check-ins, or final camping checklist reviews. EFFORTLESS GEAR MANAGEMENT • Catalog gear with brand, model, weight, price, notes, and custom details • Instantly search or filter by type, weight, brand, color, or category • Track backpacker meals and general food availability and consumption with best‑by dates and color‑coded labels (fresh, best‑by soon, expired)—perfect for resupply & meal planning • Add bear spray expiration dates and get color coded labels when it's near expiration or expired • Drag-and-drop sorting, swipe-to-delete, and quick inline editing • Built for backpackers, day hikers, weekend campers, and ultralight minimalists SMART, DYNAMIC PACKING LISTS • Build unlimited hiking and camping checklists with trail info, elevation, mileage, and custom trip notes • Monitor your progress with checkmarks and completion bars
 • Automatically calculate base weight, food, water, pack total, worn weight and complete totals • Track multiple systems like backpack, daypack, or secondary chest pack
 • Visual breakdowns help dial your loadout efficiency
 • Built-in brand library includes popular gear manufacturers like Arcteryx, Patagonia, Nemo Equipment, MSR and many more...
 • Ideal for everything from a 3-season hike to a winter expedition SHARE OR PRINT YOUR PACK LIST • Export your checklist as a clean PNG — great for sharing with friends or printing out to manually check gear items off your list.
 • Ideal for group trips, trail meetups, or custom route planning. BACKUP, EXPORT & CUSTOMIZATION • Export full lists and gear data via CSV or JSON
 • Dark mode, light mode, and system themes
 • Metric & imperial support built-in TRUST • No Ads • No user tracking UNLOCK PREMIUM FEATURES: Try all premium features free for 2 weeks with the annual subscription. + Monthly, annual, or lifetime membership
 + Cancel anytime before trial ends to avoid charges Note: After the 2 week free trial, your annual subscription plan will automatically begin unless canceled through your App Store account settings. TERMS OF USE (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ CONNECT WITH The Backpacking List: Checklist Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebackpackinglist From overnight trips to far out remote backcountry expeditions, The Backpacking List App helps you gear up faster, smarter, and packlighter. Your outdoor adventure travel prep has never been easier!
 • Packing gear list? Covered.
 • Camping gear checklist? Easy.
 • Ultralight backpacking setup? Streamlined. Download now and elevate your outdoor adventure experience!

Screenshots

Pak Mule4 screens
Backpacking List4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backpacking List at Free against Pak Mule's $0.99. Backpacking List also leads on ratings volume (34 vs 2). Pak Mule's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On review sentiment, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Backpacking List is free to download; Pak Mule costs $0.99 up front. Backpacking List sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Pak Mule asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pak Mule holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backpacking List has 34 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pak Mule ships an update daily, Backpacking List every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on July 6, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Pak Mule versus Backpacking List: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPak MuleBackpacking List
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.6 (34 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings234 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
Best chart rank#167 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.617.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMark DeloreyDaniel Lubbers

Customer experience

Pak Mule

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Backpacking List

All ratings34 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pak Mule

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Backpacking List

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium14 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$49.99

Questions

Is Pak Mule free?
Pak Mule costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backpacking List free?
Backpacking List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pak Mule or Backpacking List?
Pak Mule is rated higher. Pak Mule averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Backpacking List averages 4.6 from 34 ratings.
Do Pak Mule or Backpacking List have ads?
Neither Pak Mule nor Backpacking List shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pak Mule or Backpacking List?
Pak Mule ships an update daily, and Backpacking List every 9 days. Most recently, Pak Mule was updated on July 6, 2026 and Backpacking List on September 6, 2026.

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