Comparison

Backpacking List vs Smart Packer

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

Head to head
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
Read full description

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!

About

Smart Packer

Create reusable packing checklists, organize gear, and track pack weight for any trip. Avoid overpacking and ensure you never forget essentials again. Save your gear once and reuse it for future adventures.

Highlights
  • Reusable Gear Bank
  • Smart Packing Checklists
  • Weight Tracking
  • Built-In Templates
  • Packing Progress
  • CSV Import & Export
  • Offline First
Features
Read full description

Pack smarter. Never forget the essentials again. Smart Packer helps you create reusable packing checklists, organise gear, track pack weight and prepare for every trip with confidence. Whether you're travelling overseas, heading off on a camping adventure, preparing for a hiking trip, organising a family holiday, packing photography gear or planning a road trip, Smart Packer makes packing faster, easier and more organised. Stop rebuilding packing lists from scratch. Save your gear once, reuse it across future trips and always know exactly what you're carrying. FEATURES • Reusable Gear Bank Save your frequently used gear once and quickly add it to future packing lists. • Smart Packing Checklists Create organised packing lists with sections, categories, quantities and reusable items. • Weight Tracking Track individual item weights and total pack weight with support for metric and imperial units. • Built-In Templates Get started quickly with templates for travel, camping, hiking and more. • Packing Progress Quickly see what's packed, what's remaining and what still needs attention. • CSV Import & Export Import and export your packing data with CSV support. • Offline First Use Smart Packer anywhere, even without an internet connection. • Fast & Simple Designed to be lightweight, responsive and easy to use. AVOID OVERPACKING Know exactly what you're carrying before you leave. Track luggage weight, hiking pack weight, camping gear and travel essentials to avoid overpacking and stay organised. NEVER PACK FROM SCRATCH Save your regular gear once and reuse it forever. Store clothing, toiletries, electronics, camping equipment, camera gear, first aid supplies and travel essentials in your Gear Bank and add them to future trips in seconds. FREE VERSION Get started with Smart Packer for free. Create packing checklists, organise gear, track pack weight and save frequently used items to your Gear Bank. Experience the core features of Smart Packer before upgrading. SMART PACKER PRO Unlock Smart Packer Pro for: • Unlimited packing lists • Unlimited checklist items • Unlimited sections • Unlimited Gear Bank categories • Full template library • Custom templates • CSV import & export One-time purchase. No ongoing subscription. PERFECT FOR • Travel packing checklists • Camping trips • Hiking & backpacking • Caravan adventures • Road trips • Family holidays • Business travel • Cruises • School camps • Photography gear • Everyday organisation Build once. Reuse forever. Pack with confidence.

Screenshots

Backpacking List4 screens
Smart Packer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Smart Packer at 5.0 against Backpacking List's 4.6. Backpacking List's advantage is ratings volume (34 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Backpacking List sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Smart Packer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smart Packer 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backpacking List ships an update every 9 days, Smart Packer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Backpacking List versus Smart Packer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackpacking ListSmart Packer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (34 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings34 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.617.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel LubbersWedgetail Creative Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Backpacking List

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

Smart Packer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
1 purchases

Smart Packer

One-time1
  • Smart Packer Pro$3.99

Questions

Is Backpacking List free?
Backpacking List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smart Packer free?
Smart Packer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Backpacking List or Smart Packer?
Smart Packer is rated higher. Backpacking List averages 4.6 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while Smart Packer averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Backpacking List or Smart Packer have ads?
Neither Backpacking List nor Smart Packer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backpacking List or Smart Packer?
Backpacking List ships an update every 9 days, and Smart Packer weekly. Most recently, Backpacking List was updated on October 8, 2026 and Smart Packer on September 29, 2026.

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