Group Gear Weight Split Calculator
Add shared group gear items (tent, cooking stove, water filter, etc.) and divide the total weight evenly among your hiking group so no one carries more than their fair share.
How the split is worked out
Shared items are added up and divided by the number of people, with no weighting for size or strength:
total shared weight = sum of item weights
weight per person = total / people sharingThe three items loaded here - tent 4.5 lb, stove and fuel 2.5 lb, water filter 0.7 lb - come to 7.70 lb, so four hikers carry 1.93 lb each. Drop to two people and it is 3.85 lb each, which is the real argument for a bigger party on any trip with a heavy shelter.
What counts as shared, and how to hand it out
Anything the group uses once: shelter, stove, fuel, pots, water filter, first aid and repair kit, bear canister, rope. Sleeping bags, pads, clothing and personal food stay out - they do not divide.
- Typical weights: two-person tent 4-5 lb, four-person 7-9 lb, canister stove with a full canister about 1 lb, pot 0.5-0.75 lb, filter 0.7 lb, group first aid kit 0.5 lb.
- Split items that come apart. Tent body to one person, poles and pegs to another, and the flysheet to a third.
- Fuel and group food shrink as you go, so give them to whoever carries the heaviest fixed item and the loads even out by day three.
An even split in pounds is not an even split in effort, so groups with a wide range of sizes often share in proportion to body weight instead.
Frequently asked questions
What gear should a backpacking group share?
Tent, stove, fuel, cookpot, water filter, and one first aid and repair kit. Two people rarely need two of any of them.
Who should carry the tent?
Split it: body, poles and flysheet travel separately, so a 5 lb tent becomes three loads of under 2 lb. Keep the poles with whoever pitches it.
Is an even split fair?
Only when the group is similar in size and fitness. Otherwise share by percentage of body weight, so everyone carries the same proportion rather than the same pounds.