Comparison

Packstack vs TrailWeight

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Gear inventory management
  • Trip-specific packing lists
  • Reusable gear kits
  • Base weight and calorie calculation
  • Hiker profile creation
  • Trip planning tools
  • Gear catalog search
Features
Read full description

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

About

TrailWeight

Features
Read full description

TrailWeight helps ultralight backpackers track every gram and dial in the lightest pack that still keeps them safe and comfortable on trail. YOUR GEAR, CATALOGED • Build a personal gear inventory with weights, categories, and notes • Track each item once and reuse it across every trip • See where your weight really goes PACK LISTS THAT ADD UP • Assemble a pack list from your gear closet • Mark items as worn or consumable so the math reflects reality • Watch base weight and total weight update as you pack KNOW YOUR NUMBERS • Base weight, worn weight, consumables, and total pack weight at a glance • Break weight down by category to find what's worth cutting • Compare setups and trim toward your target SHAKEDOWN • Run a shakedown to spot the heaviest items and easy wins • Make confident swaps before you hit the trail Syncs across your devices with iCloud. No account required — just sign in to iCloud and start weighing.

Screenshots

Packstack4 screens
TrailWeight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Packstack at 15.1 against TrailWeight's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Packstack ships an update fortnightly, TrailWeight every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Packstack versus TrailWeight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPackstackTrailWeight
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJerad MaplethorpeNorthstave LLC

In-app purchases

None

Packstack

No in-app purchases

None

TrailWeight

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Packstack free?
Packstack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TrailWeight free?
TrailWeight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Packstack or TrailWeight have ads?
Neither Packstack nor TrailWeight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Packstack or TrailWeight?
Packstack ships an update fortnightly, and TrailWeight every 2 weeks. Most recently, Packstack was updated on October 18, 2026 and TrailWeight on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons