Energy consumed by weight of gear on a multiday hike

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Estimating the additional calories burned during a 600km hike with a significant elevation gain involves considering the weight of the gear carried. A rough calculation suggests that every additional kilogram of gear adds approximately 200 kcal burned over a six-hour hiking day, which includes three hours of uphill hiking and additional energy for flat and downhill sections. Over a 24-day hike, this could translate to an extra 4,800 kcal needed for each kilogram of gear. However, variables such as individual efficiency, terrain, and gear packing can significantly affect these estimates. Proper logistics and safety margins are crucial for long hikes, as improper gear or footwear can lead to inaccuracies in calorie calculations and impact overall hiking performance.
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Trying to estimate the amount of extra food eaten per unit of gear weight on a long hiking trip
I'm trying to figure out how many extra kcal I would burn on a 600km hike with a 30,000m (30km) positive gain for every additional 100g (or 1kg, whatever) of gear in my backpack.

It would obviously be a quite rough approximation, as there are significant variables such as the efficiency of a human body which must be around 20% and the fact that the weight is not only lifted vertically but also swinging around.

Any idea of a calculation that wouldn't be too wrong?

Thanks
 
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It looks like every additional kg on a 6h hiking day (3h going up, plus some energy for the flat parts and downhills) with a 10% grade would add ~200 kcal, which doesn't sound totally off, but I expected more.

That's another interesting calculator
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdo...acking/ultimate-backpacking-calorie-estimator

So, if the trip lasts about 24 days, every additional kg of gear would potentially require 4800 additional kcal
 
It also depends whether you want to lose weight on your hike.
 
freeelectron said:
It looks like every additional kg on a 6h hiking day (3h going up, plus some energy for the flat parts and downhills) with a 10% grade would add ~200 kcal,
Just for the log: simply by a wrong packaging or an inconvenient shoe you'll be off to the calculation by lot.
Not really an issue for a short hike but you also mentioned 24 days, and that makes safety margins a really tricky problem...
 
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