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GearMan
Mar 10, 2012, 1:21 AM
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Hey All,
We just released a new online gear/pack weight calculator app. The app is connected to a fairly large database (> 6000 items) of outdoor gear weights, and its interface is in a simple checklist format. Click on the gear fields to open the gear lists in their respective categories. Then, just click on an item to add it to your virtual pack (or haul bag).
If you don't see your gear listed, no problem. If you happen to know its weight, you can enter your own gear and have it saved.
This app is totally free to use, and you don't need to register to use the basic calculator. However, if you do choose to register (still 100% free), you do get a few extra features.
As you'll see, we tried to have this app apply to a variety of activities, including backpacking and backcountry skiing, as well as both rock and ice climbing.
This app was just released for testing yesterday, so we're looking for anyone willing to help us expose any bugs, as well as offer constructive criticism (i.e. suggestions for improvement). We're still adding dozens of pieces of gear everyday. So, who's a Gear Head enough to try it out??
http://www.weighmygear.com
Many thanks in advance!
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jt512
Mar 10, 2012, 1:34 AM
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GearMan wrote: Hey All, We just released a new online gear/pack weight calculator app. The app is connected to a fairly large database (> 6000 items) of outdoor gear weights, and its interface is in a simple checklist format. Click on the gear fields to open the gear lists in their respective categories. Then, just click on an item to add it to your virtual pack (or haul bag). If you don't see your gear listed, no problem. If you happen to know its weight, you can enter your own gear and have it saved. This app is totally free to use, and you don't need to register to use the basic calculator. However, if you do choose to register (still 100% free), you do get a few extra features. As you'll see, we tried to have this app apply to a variety of activities, including backpacking and backcountry skiing, as well as both rock and ice climbing. This app was just released for testing yesterday, so we're looking for anyone willing to help us expose any bugs, as well as offer constructive criticism (i.e. suggestions for improvement). We're still adding dozens of pieces of gear everyday. So, who's a Gear Head enough to try it out?? http://www.weighmygear.com Many thanks in advance!
This is awesome. Almost as awesome as those machines you put a quarter into to tell you what your pulse is.
Jay
(This post was edited by jt512 on Mar 10, 2012, 1:39 AM)
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Normanras
Mar 10, 2012, 1:44 AM
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Takes out a lot of the work and weighing that I do at home. Awesome for estimating your pack weight and improving your pack system. Nicely done! Just saved my first pack.
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GearMan
Mar 10, 2012, 2:00 AM
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Thanks for the feedback, guys. Certainly, let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement.
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TonyB3
Mar 10, 2012, 2:43 AM
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jt512 wrote: This is awesome. Almost as awesome as those machines you put a quarter into to tell you what your pulse is. Jay
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csproul
Mar 10, 2012, 1:41 PM
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Are the weights taken from the manufacturers listed weights or are they actual weights?
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sp115
Mar 10, 2012, 1:49 PM
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TonyB3 wrote: jt512 wrote: This is awesome. Almost as awesome as those machines you put a quarter into to tell you what your pulse is. Jay (cat with most awesome coat hanger hat that I can't seem to re-post)
Generally, I promote unity and get-alongness, but you two are pretty damn funny. Please continue.
(This post was edited by sp115 on Mar 10, 2012, 1:53 PM)
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bill413
Mar 10, 2012, 2:54 PM
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Somehow, this photo
being in the "Gear Heads" forum seems appropriate.
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sp115
Mar 10, 2012, 3:16 PM
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Yeah^^
(the Interweb is a twisted knot of confusion to me on some days)
(This post was edited by sp115 on Mar 10, 2012, 3:19 PM)
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GearMan
Mar 10, 2012, 3:55 PM
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csproul wrote: Are the weights taken from the manufacturers listed weights or are they actual weights?
Good question. Roughly 80 - 90% of the weight values are taken from the manufacturers' sites. The remaining items have been personally weighed by our staff.
Please notice, though, that this is also a community-contribution site. Registered users are encouraged to enter any outdoor-related gear they'd like, and, upon approval by our staff, the user-submitted gear will be ultimately added to the community database.
Our approval process is 2 steps: Step 1. Our staff quickly scans user-submitted entries to filter out the obvious inaccuracies, such as 100lb sleeping bags, profanity, etc. The gear that makes it through this quick filter is added to the public database, but it appears at the very bottom of the list, in yellow. This indicates it is a non-verified user-submitted item/weight. Then, Step 2, once our staff has the time to verify the user-submitted weight with the manufacturer, we'll bump it up into the main list.
Hope that answers your question.
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acorneau
Mar 11, 2012, 8:57 PM
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GearMan wrote: Good question. Roughly 80 - 90% of the weight values are taken from the manufacturers' sites. The remaining items have been personally weighed by our staff.
What are you doing about different versions of the same thing?
For instance, I have the older Metolius Power Cams before they became "ultralight". Do you have the different weights for the different versions of the same item?
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shotwell
Mar 11, 2012, 11:41 PM
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TonyB3 wrote: jt512 wrote: This is awesome. Almost as awesome as those machines you put a quarter into to tell you what your pulse is. Jay [image]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/funny-pictures-i-got-a-bit-carried-away-with-my-napoleon-complex.jpg[/image]
Could you stop the childish, personal attacks? Pretty lame, honestly.
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GearMan
Mar 11, 2012, 11:41 PM
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When applicable, we are including any distinguishing terms to the name of the item, to distinguish it from, using your example, an earlier generation.
So, in your case, if you'd like to enter your own Metolius Power Cams, I'd suggest adding "(1st Generation)", or whatever they are, to the end of the name.
In some cases, I've seen users use the "Size" field for a similar purpose, which can, sometimes, be appropriate.
Hope that answers your questio.!
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antiqued
Mar 12, 2012, 3:18 AM
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Very few climbers go anywhere with 5 or fewer carabiners. Needs a quantity option. There are quite a few gear options already entered, but many, many more are missing. I can't imagine this will go at all quickly without a search option for gear in the database.
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GearMan
Mar 12, 2012, 4:50 AM
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Hi antiqued,
Many thanks for your feedback, but I'm afraid you're mis-understanding the interface. The slots for 5 carabiners are actually for 5 different models of carabiners. There already is a quantity option. First, you select the item to place in your pack, and then, once it's in your pack, you can adjust its quantity. So, in the Climbing checklist, you can add 5 x 10 carabiners, for a total of 50 -- and that's just non-locking. You can then add an additional 50 locking carabiners.
Yes, we're aware that we're still missing a lot of gear in the database. We just released this test version 3 days ago, so we just started with 6000 items for testing. We just want to make sure all the functionality is working, more than anything, at this point. We have an additional 15000 items (yes, 15000) already in the database, but still needing their weights entered. Our staff is still adding (and will continue to add) up to 100 new pieces per day. Plus, this is also a user-contributed site. Yesterday, alone, members added over 100 new pieces of gear (across all activities).
Regarding the search you suggest, again, I'm afraid you didn't dive into the app far enough. Each item slot has its own search for all items (with weight values) within that category. By simply clicking on an empty slot, the app generates a list of all related items for that slot. To narrow the list, simply start typing any part of the item name, and it will be found. If I misunderstood you, and you were suggesting something different, please clarify -- we really want to continually improve this.
I hope this addresses your concerns.
(This post was edited by GearMan on Mar 12, 2012, 5:59 AM)
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ecade
Mar 12, 2012, 1:40 PM
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This is really cool, thanks for creating it.
Question though,
what if I wanted to bring more of an item that is only listed once, for example, two pairs of shoes. How can you enter this information into the calculator, can you add extra fields?
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GearMan
Mar 12, 2012, 3:13 PM
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ecade wrote: This is really cool, thanks for creating it. Question though, what if I wanted to bring more of an item that is only listed once, for example, two pairs of shoes. How can you enter this information into the calculator, can you add extra fields?
Hi ecade -- good question. At this point, the checklists, themselves, are not user-defined. So, you can not add a new slot for shoes, yourself. However, that's why we're still in the testing phase -- to take and implement good suggestions, like yours.
So, let's get a second "shoes" slot added. Please clarify, though, in which checklist(s) you'd like to see the additional slot added. Also, just to be clear, please clarify if you're referring to "hiking shoes" or "climbing shoes".
While you're at it, let us know if you think any additional slot should be added.
Thanks again!
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ecade
Mar 12, 2012, 3:33 PM
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Hey Gearman,
what about making it so that Users themselves could add fields to whatever list? I was talking about climbing shoes, but I guess also for hikes you may want a second pair (don't know, i rarely go for multday hiking trips)
But being Canadian and from Ontario, there is another sport i'd love to use this for, flat and whitewater canoe tripping. I have a few a lists from another iPhone App i used to use, I had to build the database myself, but i work for a camping and clothing company and almost all my gear is from them, so I had access to the raw data. If you are interested happy to send you the databases they are in excel. I don't know how many people in the USA (I'd assume only Minnesota cause they have the lake system like we do) enjoy the sport, but I know in Canada it is much more popular as the almost the entire country has whitewater playgrounds, remote rivers, and lakes just begging to paddled.
Trip or Die, its the secret Canadian National Anthem.
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GearMan
Mar 12, 2012, 4:04 PM
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ecade,
We're definitely going to add the flexibility of creating your own checklists in a future release, if all goes well with this initial version.
For now, though, I've added a slot for a second pair of climbing shoes to both the "Day Rock Climbing" and the "Big Wall Climbing' checklists. Hope that helps.
Yes, paddling gear and checklists have definitely crossed my mind, but frankly, I think they're at the bottom of the list. Next, we're just about to release a "Mountaineering/Expedition" checklist, which will be the most comprehensive, yet. Then, I'm thinking about moving into cycling, both road and mountain. Then, paddling. But that order may depend upon feedback, too.
Thanks, again, for contributing your ideas!
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TarHeelEMT
Mar 12, 2012, 10:24 PM
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Cool program, but your "big wall" section doesn't include any haul bags under packs.
(This post was edited by TarHeelEMT on Mar 12, 2012, 10:24 PM)
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GearMan
Mar 12, 2012, 10:32 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: Cool program, but your "big wall" section doesn't include any haul bags under packs.
Hey TarheelEMT,
Thanks for taking the time to offer your feedback. As you may have read, we're still in a test phase, and so we're still testing the waters in many areas, including how gear should be organized. At this point, we included haul bags under the "Climbing" gear in the "Big Wall" checklist. I think there are slots for at least 2, maybe 3, of them.
Thanks again!
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TarHeelEMT
Mar 12, 2012, 10:36 PM
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Gotcha. I'll take another look.
Aw man, my stuff isn't in there. FISH products are popular for wall climbing.
On first glance, other brands to add are Misty Mountain and Yates.
(This post was edited by TarHeelEMT on Mar 12, 2012, 10:54 PM)
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GearMan
Mar 12, 2012, 11:19 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: Gotcha. I'll take another look. Aw man, my stuff isn't in there. FISH products are popular for wall climbing. On first glance, other brands to add are Misty Mountain and Yates.
Sorry to hear that your stuff isn't in the database already, but providing us with brands you'd like to see, as you did, is great feedback. We'll add FISH, Misty and Yates very soon. Bear with us while we improve!
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ChessRonin
Mar 13, 2012, 1:45 PM
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It would be nice if the database was not limited in each outing category. For instance, I use a 68L Osprey Kestrel for "Day Rock Climbing," but your list only goes up to the 48L model in that outing category.
I checked, and your database does include the 68L model, but for some reason you have the database restricted to what you think people will use for a given outing category?
Any chance that you could change this? I don't really see the utility of the design as described.
Thank you!
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GearMan
Mar 13, 2012, 5:12 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: Aw man, my stuff isn't in there. FISH products are popular for wall climbing. On first glance, other brands to add are Misty Mountain and Yates.
Hey TarheelEMT,
We just entered the vast majority of Misty's "Recreational" line and roughly half of Yates' line, but we got bogged down on FISH's site -- it lists very little weight data. So, we've already sent emails to both Yates and FISH to request comprehensive data sheets from them.
Keep the suggestions coming! Thanks!
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