@@GearSkeptic Great stuff. One consideration you missed ... how much of the total food you can get out of the package and into your system. This is especially an issue with nut butters in jars and squeeze packets with the rigid screw-caps.
@@GearSkeptic Your videos are very well thought out, and you take the time to discuss and explain. Don't worry about the video lengths; you cannot rush quality.
Yes! Heck of a video! I can’t even begin to imagine how much time and effort went into making it. If he ever decides to publish it, in book form, let me know; I want to be first in line to buy it!
There's a video game called "The Long Dark" in which you play a downed pilot trying to survive in the northern Canadian wilderness, but really it's just Hiking Simulator. It's very detailed with random variables like weather, temperature, wildlife spawns, resources, and gear condition affecting your chance of survival. What's funny is you're optimizing caloric densities of food to figure out what goes best in your pack the exact same as I do when I play. Art imitates life. Thank you for cataloging this, it's a phenomenal tool!
I've been out of the video game scene for a long time. But when computers first came to the classroom decades ago, the only good software was life simulation games like Oregon Trail. Where can I get the game you're speaking of, thanks.
@@rschmot It's on Steam, PS4, Xbox live, etc. I play on PC, it's the original platform the game was developed for and I prefer it over the xbox version I played. Be aware, it's an incredibly challenging game and each "run" can save progress, but if you get injured the game autosaves, if you die your run is over forever. Just like life, there is no chance of going back and fixing a mistake. Better luck in the next life. Let me know how you like it!
I'm simply...blown away! The hours and months of work that went into this presentation boggles my mind. This is my Go-To list for all my hikes. Thank you so very much!
This has to be one of the most underrated UA-cam videos I've ever watched... Thank you so much for taking the time to do this research and break this down in such a convenient format.
Jesus Christ the amount of work you must've spent on this, and then made everything available for free alongside an easy to digest presentation. Completely changed the way I pack my food bag. And ontop of that you already provide the metric conversions. Thanks so much!
Pardon my French. This is absolutely the best goddamn thing that I have ever seen. I mean seriously, the amount of effort and the amount of care and raw intelligence that goes into this is something that is severely lacking in today's social sphere and there is a lot of money that needs to be thrown at people like you so you can further produce this kind of content. If you don't have a patreon you need to make one pronto. I'm not going to get into it right now but you are potentially saving people's lives with this kind of information by getting rid of ignorance and by showing people what kind of good reasonable options that they have. Because you want to know another great thing about ultra light food? It's cheap. And they're found in a lot of stores in major metropolitan areas. A lot of people are going to really appreciate the numbers on this chart. Now all they have to do is surf through price tags themselves. Never stop doing this.
I’ve been watching hiking UA-cam videos for years and never found your channel. This video was the most well-researched and informative food analysis that I’ve ever seen. I even laughed out loud several times. It’s the most underrated thru hiker video out there!
Just my luck, Coconut and I don't get along well. My throat would hate me if I ate it. I have to say however that I've watched tons of videos on hiking food and this is by far the most comprehensive and best presented video on the topic. Seriously, thank you for your efforts.
As someone who has a spreadsheet, with every gasoline fill up I have put in a car since 2005, the spreadsheet is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in the last few years. Thank you very much, fantastic work, and a very interesting video
Dude, I have watched three of your videos today. Came here from a Reddit post and you, my man have got backpacking food science down. Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to new videos. Cheers.
My theory why these videos are not all over the recommandations: When you make a video like this, where you put in EVERYTHING about a topic (extremely well thought out), you will for a loooong looong time have no reason to make another video Like this the youtube algorithm thinks you are not active enough I apreciate this video more than every other video i watched about backpacking! Thanks a lot Especially that you share your file! Just awesome
Is there a way i can help your channel grow? I really want that these informations spread more! For example recommending you in the comment section of other youtube videos? Unfortunately my reach over social media is not big at all....
I seriously think this series should be mandatory watching for anyone hiking longer than a weekend, great info, well organized. I'm going through for my 2nd time now, taking notes this time
*The Greatest, most thorough hiking (bug out bag) food review I've ever seen!* *I can only imagine the hours & dollars spent creating this valuable content. Thanks!*
So useful! Made some changes on my last 150 mile trip. Adding a small pouch of Ghee to every Mountain House meal made them so much more tasty and satisfying. Thanks! I never would have thought of it.
This was possibly the most helpful video I have ever watched. Seriously. I had started building my own spreadsheet and looking into lightening my food since I have a trip with a 10 day carry this summer. The amount of work that went into building the spreadsheet and the video must have been enormous. So thank you!
One of my favourite bars: Nature Valley Protein bars in salted caramel and almonds flavour. I'd categorise them as savoury, they have almost 142 kcal/oz or 5 kcal/gram (200kcal per 40 gram bar) and they contain 10(.3) grams of protein. They're also pretty affordable to boot.
Great to move from opinion about food to facts about food. This video will forever change how I think about food on the trail going forward. Many thanks.
Absolutely FANTASTIC! Love the actual data and the spreadsheet. You've saved me hours cracking math and research. Now I can sort/filter/shop and save myself from carrying extra pounds. Truly appreciate all the work you put into this (and your other videos) - best thing I've found on the internet in several years!
Wow. I was watching bug out videos and came across this. I am blown away by the amount of research that went into this and the value of content. Thank you!!! I'll be shopping from this list 🙌.
Thank you for your diligent research! I’m shocked that this video isn’t more popular. I’m prepping for a hike of the JMT, and this definitely made me rethink my food strategy. Very well made video!
By my maths (could be wrong) - within the meat category, Billtong comes in nicely as ultralight. Barbell foods here in Australia has 70-gram packs that have 389.5793 calories or 1630kJ which gives a rating of 5.565 / ultralight. I think the main difference with biltong (a south African preservation method) is that, at least with this brand, they definitely leave the fat on and it's much chewier / not as hard as jerky. Thanks for all your hard work on this!
Excellent research and presentation, and I enjoyed the touches of humor too! I'm going to visit your page and see what else you've got in your library. Thanks!
This is pretty friggin' sweet. I'm a Data Analyst and eat this kind of stuff up (Pun Intended). I'm prepping for the AT next year and would love to use the massive chart you provided to help in that venture - do you happen to have a version as an Excel Workbook or .CSV file? That would make it much easier to hop around to areas of concern. Cheers!
Oops! My apologies. It was in a pinned comment on another video. Same chart but expanded with additional columns that are explained in subsequent videos (see the ones on Performance Nutrition for Backpackers). Here is the link: www.mediafire.com/file/lqsrekfp3it3qwu/Hiker_Food_Chart.xlsx/file
I’m kinda impressed that this type of spreadsheet style video still made me laugh. You’re good. Thank you for all you’re work on this one, can’t imagine how long this took to edit. Thumbs up sir & thanks for sharing your findings.
I kinda think if you made a pemmican - that skewed the base ratio in favor of tallow over jerky (maybe 60/40 or higher) and either eliminated, or reduced, the amount of dried fruits, but go generous with fatty nuts or seeds - you might end up with something that beats out everything on that list as far as calories per gram.
People used pemmican for hundreds of years because it was the ultimate trekking food. There haven't been many improvements made to it. I believe the British used pemmican as rations in the Boer War and added cacao because it is a high stearic acid fat, energy dense and contains a stimulant called theobromine.
That excel/PDF file is a labour of love for all us hiking folk. Such information as to seriously improve the contents of my rucksack and gut! Thank you!
You are an amazing human for not only doing all this research, but also to share your work with downloadable charts!!! Thank you so much! This is so so helpful!
Gear Skeptic! We studied your videos in preparation for a (hopefully) 3-week burro packing thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I'm packing up right now. We are obviously not carrying our own stuff so we don't need as many calories as someone carrying a backpack. I just weighed our food for 6 days inside the largest Ursack available and it came out under 16 pounds total for 2 people including the Ursack. Unbelievable. I used the chart to decide what to order online for the trip. We'll see how we feel on the trail and if it was enough calories per day or too many or just right. Thank you SO much!!
You rock brotha. Loved the dry humor and above all the surgical way in which you’ve researched and broken down all this info into a tasty vid. About to hike Rae Lakes Loop in a few weeks. This was eye opening and mind bending.
This video should be stickied to the top of UA-cam. Very well made, you put in a ton of thought and work for the benefit of all of us. Well spoken and well made, like a more family friendly AvE. Excellent job sir, I hope you and your channel find the success you’ve already earned.
Between the incredibly detailed and useful information...and the unexpected moments for laughter, I am very thankful. Thank you so much for sharing so much time and research!
Just discovered this video and very surprised it doesn’t have more views. By far the best hiking, backpacking, bike packing, outdoor food video I’ve ever seen, great job!!! Thank you for putting all of this information together and for sharing. I can’t wait to see more of your videos.
Absolutely wild how informative this is and the fact you made the spread sheet available. this is the most kickass thing on youtube. Bless your work man.
I never write comments on videos, until now. This is the most in depth video I have ever seen about ultralight food. I was absolutely mesmerized by it. I will follow your guidance as well. When I go looking for info about something, I look for this much detail. Rarely, it is delivered. You came through. Thank you! I have liked and subscribed.
Thank you so much. I am a Food Technology teacher and hiker from New Zealand. Ive just watched all your videos and I have learnt an incredible amount. I am hoping to do the PCT in the next few years. America has so many more food choices than we do in NZ. We are very limited here. It is great to start learning what brands I should be buying when I get to America. I will share my new knowledge with my hiking friends.
I feel fortunate to have finally come across these videos. This one really helps make sense of almost all aspects of food I have scattered in my mind when selecting food while bike touring. The only aspect I hadn't noticed yet was that of cost. Looking forward to going into the more of the materials and follow up video(s) you've been so kind to offer the communities.
I’m amazed by the amount of time and effort that went into this research and video and I’m am so thankful!! My husband and I are getting ready to long-distance backpack with our 10 and 12 year olds. Our teen can carry his own but we’ll have to carry some of the gear/food for the younger kiddos. This will help tremendously!! Thank you so so much!!
Thank you so much for this video. As I am preparing to take my whole family (2 adults and 3 kids) on a 500 mile section of the PCT (Oregon section) in July this has been eye opening. As a person who considers himself to be UL and has a ton of miles/trips/years on trail this has been a God send. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
What was the main components of your meals mainly? I'm getting a gear kit ready for the car in case of any back country situation we may need to hike out of. I have alot of info saved but would love some insider suggestions from personal experience. I have 4 children and a wife.
An important consideration for bug out bags is that while dry proteins, starches, and sugars can have near-indefinite shelf-life if well packaged, many fats will go rancid, and this is a major reason for limited shelf-life. Personally, my daily diet is high starch, high fiber, very low fat & sugar for my health; so I find myself both lethargic switching to higher fat/lower starch diets, and constipated with lower fiber diets. I can accept the weight penalty. The best way to store extra calories for long through-hikes? On your belly. I've done several hundred miles on the Appalachian trail, and one can survive well on one's regular calorie count (say 2000 kcal) so long as one has physiological reserves. I just anticipated losing a pound every two days. It's when those reserves are very limited by low BMI (which of course has its own health advantages) that one has to pack and digest more. My opinion for the most cost and nutrition efficient food for long hikes and prepping: potato flakes. Ready as fast as any hot meal, just add boiling water. You could eat them for about a year, exclusively, before some vitamin deficiencies (from lack of A, mainly) appear. Adequate protein if one's maintaining weight. Can be dressed up many ways, from bacon bits to clarified butter (ghee) in squeeze tubes to pepper flakes etc. For prepping, displace the oxygen with a sliver of dry ice in a filled mylar bag, and they have indefinite shelf life. Anyway, thanks for the spreadsheet. Always useful to get alternative viewpoints, and I can find other options that fit my criteria (enough fiber, not-too sweet/savory flavor).
That’s the handy thing about a spreadsheet. You can sort the data by any column that best reflects what you’re looking for! Also, there is a DIY version where you can add your own items.
Planning my first thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail next summer, and this video is incredible!!! I downloaded the pdf of the spreadsheet, and it will be my go-to reference for life. Thanks so much for your contribution to the backpacking community :)
This was the most information dense (bytes/sec) video I've seen on this subject. I love the data driven approach with the data organized in a spreadsheet. Thanks for providing a downloadable version. That was super awesome. I also loved your presentation with just the right amount of wry humor to make this much information enjoyable. No doubt many people's biases and assumptions were corrected by the data that was counter intuitive based on "common knowledge".
This is the best backpacking info video I've ever seen. THANK YOU! And thank you for making your research downloadable like this. I've now watched five of your videos and counting!!
Very interesting. I've done a similar exercise but only using 'standard' supermarket foods here in Spain. For breakfast various oats, seeds, nuts and chocolate with powdered, full fat milk - a 140g ration. Lunch, a pair or rice cakes with white chocolate and fruits and some peanut butter (86g). Dinner is a dried portion of pasta such as ravioli mixed with noodles, spices and olive oil totaling 215g. Drinks are high value coffee, creamer and cocoa. The lot costs around €4.15 a day (excluding 50ml of whisky), weighs some 556g and appears to yield 3,123 calories. A 'five day supply', including half a litre of whisky comes to 3,274g (7.22lb). However, I'll have to add a few grammes for the vacuum bags!
Grains like quinoa, bulgur, millet, corn, cuscus. Mixed with dried soy meat and some dried veggies and olive oil makes a perfect meal which can be way over 500calories. That’s is all I usually pack. Plus a whole kilogram of nuts, raisins and dried fruits. A bit of dried meat as well as that dried egg powder similar to what was demonstrated in the video. It totals to about 3kg for 6-7 days.
Thank you so much for putting this together and and sharing it with the world. I've only recently started hiking weekend trips and this list makes me feel like I can put meals together and not kill my back at the same time. thanks for all your hard work.
This is an awesome vid! Seriously! So much time I spent doing what you did, but you could and I couldn't. The trees trough the forest Thank you so bloody much! Especially for being so kind to share a excel/pdf!
having crohn's disease, food on the trail is super important. i'm not ultralight by any means, i'm just getting into backpacking. but i'm starting as light as i can afford, as I am 100lbs, and trying to limit it to 20% of that weight would limit me to a 20lb pack for a total beginner! even that weight on a day hike bruises the shit outta my hips. i hadnt thought too much about saving weight in food before. i can't have a lot of these foods, high fat is harder to digest, nuts put me in lot of pain, and i can't eat much at all in one portion. but it's encouraging to see a lot i CAN eat. will take a lot of changes though and i definitely have to try them off trail first.
Hi. Try eating the carnivore diet for your Crohn's. It fixes all my digestive issues. For backpacking, take pemmican. Also try some fasts in your life and look up GAPS diet.
Wow just wow. I never put that much thought in the food I brought with me when hiking as I've never really done a hike more than 3-4 days. Thanks for the detailed breakdown of all the different options, I can imagine a lot of effort and time went into making it !
Can we just appreciate for a moment that the guy bought hundreds of dollars of products for the sake of the video? Excellent work, flawlesss presentation my dear sir, it was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Just finished a 15 mile day and watching this video has me so energized. Never seen your videos. Just subscribed. I carry a heavy but so comfortable Mystery Ranch pack so I try to maximize the weight of my contents as backcountry hunting and caloric intake is so important.
Great video. Learned a lot. Saved me time. Two comments: 1. IMO macadamia tastes great the first few days, but gets soggy/absorbs moisture. 2. If you don't hydrate ova-easy crystals BEFORE cooking you will have an unappetizing clump; not egg drop soup, but nasty gross clump soup.
Fantastic, the single most valuable source of information applicable to the most critical topics of backpacking to this sport that I have ever seen on the net.…. Click-off the “sponsored gear monkeys” for a minute and pay attention. Weight reduction, energy and health for thru-hikers, realizing objectives, the list goes on. Thank you very very much !!! the amount of selfless effort and countless hours of research that you performed and then providing it for free and for the best interest of participants. You don't find people like that these days. Very Cool
0:00 - Introduction
2:23 - Defining "ultralight" food
7:52 - Gear shakedown (virtual gear shakedown for food bag)
10:18 - Nutrition
11:01 - The chart
The rest of the video is examining the details of the chart:
12:35 - Food bars
19:21 - Emergency bars
20:47 - Savory bars
21:55 - Bread
22:21 - Bumps (products to add to dishes to enhance caloric density)
23:42 - Cans
24:27 - Candy
26:35 - Cereal
27:46 - Cheese
28:53 - Cookies
29:52 - Chips and crackers
30:56 - Drink mixes
32:47 - Fruit
34:35 - Gels
35:33 - Jerky
36:16 - Meat
38:16 - Nut butter
41:00 - Nuts and seeds
42:01 - Pastries
43:27 - Side dishes
46:08 - Soup packets
46:25 - Trail mix
48:42 - Package weight
50:46 - The missing class (freeze dried meals)
Thanks for this! I should have done it.
@@GearSkeptic My pleasure. Thanks for putting your informative videos together :)
bump
Thanks. Thought I pinned it, didn't seem to take. Tried pinning again.
@@GearSkeptic Great stuff. One consideration you missed ... how much of the total food you can get out of the package and into your system. This is especially an issue with nut butters in jars and squeeze packets with the rigid screw-caps.
If you measure units of info per UA-cam minute, this video is hyperlite. Simply outstanding.
Thanks much!
The fact that you share your excel sheet and pdf with viewers is a real gift and I really really appreciate it. Thanks!
Most welcome!
It's the most excellent old-school sense of the word "amateur." Doing it for the love of the thing and sharing it with society. 😊
This is easily the most useful information I've ever seen presented in a backpacking video. Excellent presentation as well. Thanks so much!
Thanks very much! I was worried it was too long, too slow. I'm working on trying to talk a little faster and more smoothly.
@@GearSkeptic Your videos are very well thought out, and you take the time to discuss and explain. Don't worry about the video lengths; you cannot rush quality.
concur!
@@GearSkeptic It's OK, we can play you back at 1.5 speed!
Yes! Heck of a video! I can’t even begin to imagine how much time and effort went into making it. If he ever decides to publish it, in book form, let me know; I want to be first in line to buy it!
I'm not an outdoors guy. I have no idea how I got here, but I am completely fascinated by this information. Great Job!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
51 minutes of hands and spreadsheets! Yet I am left wanting more. Excellent job!!!
Thanks! 👍🏼🤚🏼😜
There's a video game called "The Long Dark" in which you play a downed pilot trying to survive in the northern Canadian wilderness, but really it's just Hiking Simulator. It's very detailed with random variables like weather, temperature, wildlife spawns, resources, and gear condition affecting your chance of survival. What's funny is you're optimizing caloric densities of food to figure out what goes best in your pack the exact same as I do when I play. Art imitates life. Thank you for cataloging this, it's a phenomenal tool!
Wait till you see the video on Volumetric Calorie Density 😁
I've been out of the video game scene for a long time. But when computers first came to the classroom decades ago, the only good software was life simulation games like Oregon Trail. Where can I get the game you're speaking of, thanks.
@@rschmot It's on Steam, PS4, Xbox live, etc. I play on PC, it's the original platform the game was developed for and I prefer it over the xbox version I played. Be aware, it's an incredibly challenging game and each "run" can save progress, but if you get injured the game autosaves, if you die your run is over forever. Just like life, there is no chance of going back and fixing a mistake. Better luck in the next life.
Let me know how you like it!
Is there a version to start out with or the best version. I'll be using PC.
I'm simply...blown away! The hours and months of work that went into this presentation boggles my mind. This is my Go-To list for all my hikes. Thank you so very much!
Thanks much! I’m very glad to help.
This has to be one of the most underrated UA-cam videos I've ever watched...
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this research and break this down in such a convenient format.
Thanks very much! I really appreciate it.
Jesus Christ the amount of work you must've spent on this, and then made everything available for free alongside an easy to digest presentation. Completely changed the way I pack my food bag. And ontop of that you already provide the metric conversions. Thanks so much!
Thanks much! I am glad if any of it can help :)
This has completely changed how I think about food when out on multi day hikes! Thanks for putting in all the hard work, truly appreciate it.
My pleasure, and thank you!
Pardon my French.
This is absolutely the best goddamn thing that I have ever seen.
I mean seriously, the amount of effort and the amount of care and raw intelligence that goes into this is something that is severely lacking in today's social sphere and there is a lot of money that needs to be thrown at people like you so you can further produce this kind of content.
If you don't have a patreon you need to make one pronto.
I'm not going to get into it right now but you are potentially saving people's lives with this kind of information by getting rid of ignorance and by showing people what kind of good reasonable options that they have.
Because you want to know another great thing about ultra light food?
It's cheap. And they're found in a lot of stores in major metropolitan areas.
A lot of people are going to really appreciate the numbers on this chart.
Now all they have to do is surf through price tags themselves.
Never stop doing this.
That is very, very kind and generous of you! Much appreciated, and I take it to heart.
If your videos were backpacking food, they would be bottles of olive oil.
LOL! Dense, but you can't take too much all at once :)
That was sweet..... because he'd be under appreciated by uneducated people
So smooth ;)
@@GearSkepticcoconut oil is much better because it contains almost no pufa
This comment is olive oil
I’ve been watching hiking UA-cam videos for years and never found your channel. This video was the most well-researched and informative food analysis that I’ve ever seen. I even laughed out loud several times. It’s the most underrated thru hiker video out there!
Thanks very much! It is much appreciated.
Just my luck, Coconut and I don't get along well. My throat would hate me if I ate it. I have to say however that I've watched tons of videos on hiking food and this is by far the most comprehensive and best presented video on the topic. Seriously, thank you for your efforts.
Thanks very much, and you are most welcome! Consider seeds and seed butters. Tasty, and high in density.
As someone who has a spreadsheet, with every gasoline fill up I have put in a car since 2005, the spreadsheet is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in the last few years. Thank you very much, fantastic work, and a very interesting video
Always good to meet a fellow spreadsheeter!
As a This Old Tony fan who's getting into backpacking, this is exactly what I needed to see. Thanks for all the work-and money-you put into this!
@This Old Tony would be proud of your on-screen hands, GearSkeptic!
I'm also a big fan of the 'hand model' presentation style.
Ya gotta have the hands to pull it off.
Dude! how does this video not have 10 million views? You are a freaking rock star. Thanks you so very much
Thank you! Very kind kind of you to say 😊
Dude, I have watched three of your videos today. Came here from a Reddit post and you, my man have got backpacking food science down. Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to new videos. Cheers.
This video is so good that I’m both humbled and hungry. Great job.
My theory why these videos are not all over the recommandations:
When you make a video like this, where you put in EVERYTHING about a topic (extremely well thought out), you will for a loooong looong time have no reason to make another video
Like this the youtube algorithm thinks you are not active enough
I apreciate this video more than every other video i watched about backpacking! Thanks a lot
Especially that you share your file!
Just awesome
Thank you so much!
Is there a way i can help your channel grow? I really want that these informations spread more! For example recommending you in the comment section of other youtube videos?
Unfortunately my reach over social media is not big at all....
I appreciate the thought, but what would happen if there got to be too many comments to answer them all? 😇
Never seen so much love in the comments of a UA-cam video. So well deserved!!
Thanks very much! I do appreciate every bit! 😄
I seriously think this series should be mandatory watching for anyone hiking longer than a weekend, great info, well organized. I'm going through for my 2nd time now, taking notes this time
Thanks much! Very kind of you to say.
Easily one of the most helpful videos on youtube. THANK YOU!
You’re most welcome! I hope it can be useful.
9 minutes in and I'm baffeled by the density of information in this video. You have done the backpacking world a huge favor by uploading this video.
Thank you! It is kind of you to say.
This is golden, i'm so glad i found your channel. GearSkeptic watchtrhrough marathon starting now!
This video research on the comparison of food calories versus weight carried is a “must see” for all outdoors enthusiasts. Job well done!
Thank you!
The fact that you did all of this work and you just give it out for free is so freaking cool. Honestly you’re a hero for this!
I hope it can be helpful!
*The Greatest, most thorough hiking (bug out bag) food review I've ever seen!*
*I can only imagine the hours & dollars spent creating this valuable content. Thanks!*
Thanks very much!
@@GearSkeptic *I subscribed because of this video. I'll be digging through your past work for more gems!* 💎
So useful! Made some changes on my last 150 mile trip. Adding a small pouch of Ghee to every Mountain House meal made them so much more tasty and satisfying. Thanks! I never would have thought of it.
Oh, ghee sounds even better than olive oil!
This was possibly the most helpful video I have ever watched. Seriously.
I had started building my own spreadsheet and looking into lightening my food since I have a trip with a 10 day carry this summer. The amount of work that went into building the spreadsheet and the video must have been enormous. So thank you!
Very glad to hear that! Much appreciated.
This is too much information in one video and can easily be a research paper. Subscribed.
I love hiking, food, and spreadsheets. This entire video is my aesthetic. Informative and entertaining, thank you for this!
Thanks! I appreciate that.
I am absolutely amazed that you put this information up here for free while obviously, a ton of work went into it. It makes me happy.
One of my favourite bars: Nature Valley Protein bars in salted caramel and almonds flavour. I'd categorise them as savoury, they have almost 142 kcal/oz or 5 kcal/gram (200kcal per 40 gram bar) and they contain 10(.3) grams of protein. They're also pretty affordable to boot.
Great to move from opinion about food to facts about food. This video will forever change how I think about food on the trail going forward. Many thanks.
Thank you! I appreciate that, and am glad if it can help!
Absolutely FANTASTIC! Love the actual data and the spreadsheet. You've saved me hours cracking math and research. Now I can sort/filter/shop and save myself from carrying extra pounds. Truly appreciate all the work you put into this (and your other videos) - best thing I've found on the internet in several years!
Wow. I was watching bug out videos and came across this. I am blown away by the amount of research that went into this and the value of content. Thank you!!! I'll be shopping from this list 🙌.
I hope it helps! The chart has been updated quite a bit since the video 🙂
Thank you for your diligent research! I’m shocked that this video isn’t more popular. I’m prepping for a hike of the JMT, and this definitely made me rethink my food strategy. Very well made video!
Thanks very much! I hope it helps.
I didn’t expect to sit through this whole video but…I laughed, I cried, I even learned something. Great job and thanks for all the hard work.
Thanks! I really do appreciate that!
By my maths (could be wrong) - within the meat category, Billtong comes in nicely as ultralight. Barbell foods here in Australia has 70-gram packs that have 389.5793 calories or 1630kJ which gives a rating of 5.565 / ultralight. I think the main difference with biltong (a south African preservation method) is that, at least with this brand, they definitely leave the fat on and it's much chewier / not as hard as jerky. Thanks for all your hard work on this!
biltong is delicious!
Excellent research and presentation, and I enjoyed the touches of humor too! I'm going to visit your page and see what else you've got in your library. Thanks!
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words!
You sir, have broken my heart by educating me about the food I love on trail!
Thanks for the video, truly great and very helpful.
You can always bring any treat you like, just call it your luxury item!
@@GearSkeptic No, I will find a way to freeze dry my Snickers and will wash the result down with olive oil. ;-)
You sir, are a legend for this resource. Thank you!!
If you watch this video with x1.5 speed it has a higher information density than just watching it on normal speed
It goes from peanut butter to olive oil!
@@GearSkeptic I feel so Ultralight now! btw, thanks a lot for your videos
I have been looking into this for years and this is by far the most complete review I’ve ever seen. 👍🏻
This is pretty friggin' sweet. I'm a Data Analyst and eat this kind of stuff up (Pun Intended). I'm prepping for the AT next year and would love to use the massive chart you provided to help in that venture - do you happen to have a version as an Excel Workbook or .CSV file? That would make it much easier to hop around to areas of concern. Cheers!
Yes! Just uploaded a link. See the pinned comment at the top (and the technical notes, since you're a fellow data junkie).
@@GearSkeptic Hi I can't find your comment, was it deleted?
Oops! My apologies. It was in a pinned comment on another video. Same chart but expanded with additional columns that are explained in subsequent videos (see the ones on Performance Nutrition for Backpackers). Here is the link:
www.mediafire.com/file/lqsrekfp3it3qwu/Hiker_Food_Chart.xlsx/file
Late to the party, but from a data viz guy, I have to say I nerded out too. Awesome video.
I’m kinda impressed that this type of spreadsheet style video still made me laugh. You’re good. Thank you for all you’re work on this one, can’t imagine how long this took to edit. Thumbs up sir & thanks for sharing your findings.
Thanks! I appreciate that. Yah, editing is a whole phase of its own. It can take me as many as 5 days (at 2-3 hours per day).
Invaluable. Thank you so much for this breakdown.
I made a weird noise and got chills when he busted out “The Master List” 🤯
I kinda think if you made a pemmican - that skewed the base ratio in favor of tallow over jerky (maybe 60/40 or higher) and either eliminated, or reduced, the amount of dried fruits, but go generous with fatty nuts or seeds - you might end up with something that beats out everything on that list as far as calories per gram.
You're basically eating lard then. Why not drink olive oil?
People used pemmican for hundreds of years because it was the ultimate trekking food. There haven't been many improvements made to it. I believe the British used pemmican as rations in the Boer War and added cacao because it is a high stearic acid fat, energy dense and contains a stimulant called theobromine.
That excel/PDF file is a labour of love for all us hiking folk. Such information as to seriously improve the contents of my rucksack and gut!
Thank you!
Most welcome! I hope it helps.
This is fascinating.
Thanks! I thought I was the only one.
Protect this man at all costs.
It occurs to me that a padded cell would accomplish that 😋
well that was my quickest subscribe in a while. thanks
You are a gentleman and a scholar.
Thank you!
3:58 Just take a swig of olive oil and eat a square of toilet paper. You'll get all the fiber you need haha.
You are an amazing human for not only doing all this research, but also to share your work with downloadable charts!!! Thank you so much! This is so so helpful!
Thank you so much! I figured nobody would care about this stuff but me. I put it out there anyway and, it turns out, I’m not the only one! 🤓
This is truly incredible info. I will 100% support you on Patreon if you're interested in starting one.
Thanks! I really appreciate the thought, but I'm good.
Gear Skeptic! We studied your videos in preparation for a (hopefully) 3-week burro packing thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I'm packing up right now. We are obviously not carrying our own stuff so we don't need as many calories as someone carrying a backpack. I just weighed our food for 6 days inside the largest Ursack available and it came out under 16 pounds total for 2 people including the Ursack. Unbelievable. I used the chart to decide what to order online for the trip. We'll see how we feel on the trail and if it was enough calories per day or too many or just right. Thank you SO much!!
That sounds awesome! Have fun and be safe!
You rock brotha. Loved the dry humor and above all the surgical way in which you’ve researched and broken down all this info into a tasty vid. About to hike Rae Lakes Loop in a few weeks. This was eye opening and mind bending.
Thanks! I appreciate that. Have fun and be safe on your trip?
This video should be stickied to the top of UA-cam. Very well made, you put in a ton of thought and work for the benefit of all of us. Well spoken and well made, like a more family friendly AvE. Excellent job sir, I hope you and your channel find the success you’ve already earned.
Thanks very much! I sincerely appreciate that.
I really appreciate this video and time you put here to help others and sharing your chart. It is an uncommon act of kindness and selflessness.
Thanks! That is kind of you to say, and I’m very glad if it can help!
This man is the "This Old Tony" of backpacking. Two thumbs up.
Between the incredibly detailed and useful information...and the unexpected moments for laughter, I am very thankful. Thank you so much for sharing so much time and research!
Thanks very much! I do hope some of it can be useful.
Just discovered this video and very surprised it doesn’t have more views. By far the best hiking, backpacking, bike packing, outdoor food video I’ve ever seen, great job!!! Thank you for putting all of this information together and for sharing. I can’t wait to see more of your videos.
Thanks very much! I appreciate that.
Absolutely wild how informative this is and the fact you made the spread sheet available. this is the most kickass thing on youtube. Bless your work man.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
I never write comments on videos, until now. This is the most in depth video I have ever seen about ultralight food. I was absolutely mesmerized by it. I will follow your guidance as well. When I go looking for info about something, I look for this much detail. Rarely, it is delivered. You came through. Thank you! I have liked and subscribed.
Thank you so much! That is kind of you to say and I appreciate it!
Thank you so much. I am a Food Technology teacher and hiker from New Zealand. Ive just watched all your videos and I have learnt an incredible amount. I am hoping to do the PCT in the next few years. America has so many more food choices than we do in NZ. We are very limited here. It is great to start learning what brands I should be buying when I get to America. I will share my new knowledge with my hiking friends.
You are most welcome! That trip sounds awesome. You should have an amazing time!
I feel fortunate to have finally come across these videos. This one really helps make sense of almost all aspects of food I have scattered in my mind when selecting food while bike touring. The only aspect I hadn't noticed yet was that of cost. Looking forward to going into the more of the materials and follow up video(s) you've been so kind to offer the communities.
Thanks! I hope it can help.
I’m amazed by the amount of time and effort that went into this research and video and I’m am so thankful!! My husband and I are getting ready to long-distance backpack with our 10 and 12 year olds. Our teen can carry his own but we’ll have to carry some of the gear/food for the younger kiddos. This will help tremendously!! Thank you so so much!!
I’m so glad to help!
Thank you so much for this video. As I am preparing to take my whole family (2 adults and 3 kids) on a 500 mile section of the PCT (Oregon section) in July this has been eye opening. As a person who considers himself to be UL and has a ton of miles/trips/years on trail this has been a God send. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
You’re welcome!
What was the main components of your meals mainly? I'm getting a gear kit ready for the car in case of any back country situation we may need to hike out of. I have alot of info saved but would love some insider suggestions from personal experience. I have 4 children and a wife.
An important consideration for bug out bags is that while dry proteins, starches, and sugars can have near-indefinite shelf-life if well packaged, many fats will go rancid, and this is a major reason for limited shelf-life.
Personally, my daily diet is high starch, high fiber, very low fat & sugar for my health; so I find myself both lethargic switching to higher fat/lower starch diets, and constipated with lower fiber diets. I can accept the weight penalty.
The best way to store extra calories for long through-hikes? On your belly. I've done several hundred miles on the Appalachian trail, and one can survive well on one's regular calorie count (say 2000 kcal) so long as one has physiological reserves. I just anticipated losing a pound every two days. It's when those reserves are very limited by low BMI (which of course has its own health advantages) that one has to pack and digest more.
My opinion for the most cost and nutrition efficient food for long hikes and prepping: potato flakes. Ready as fast as any hot meal, just add boiling water. You could eat them for about a year, exclusively, before some vitamin deficiencies (from lack of A, mainly) appear. Adequate protein if one's maintaining weight. Can be dressed up many ways, from bacon bits to clarified butter (ghee) in squeeze tubes to pepper flakes etc. For prepping, displace the oxygen with a sliver of dry ice in a filled mylar bag, and they have indefinite shelf life.
Anyway, thanks for the spreadsheet. Always useful to get alternative viewpoints, and I can find other options that fit my criteria (enough fiber, not-too sweet/savory flavor).
That’s the handy thing about a spreadsheet. You can sort the data by any column that best reflects what you’re looking for! Also, there is a DIY version where you can add your own items.
This was so fascinating and informative. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. Excellent work.
Thanks much! I appreciate that.
As a Keto hiker this video on top of its insanely useful information totally vindicates my eating style!
Planning my first thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail next summer, and this video is incredible!!! I downloaded the pdf of the spreadsheet, and it will be my go-to reference for life. Thanks so much for your contribution to the backpacking community :)
My pleasure! I am very glad if it can help.
As a data analyst and backpacker this was solid ultralight GOLD!!!
Thanks!
Vacuum sealed: Chia seeds!
Dry peanut butter.
Dehydrated cooked beans, rice, onion, garlic.
Chicken stock cube or powder
Good stuff!
You’re a legend for this!
This was the most information dense (bytes/sec) video I've seen on this subject. I love the data driven approach with the data organized in a spreadsheet. Thanks for providing a downloadable version. That was super awesome. I also loved your presentation with just the right amount of wry humor to make this much information enjoyable. No doubt many people's biases and assumptions were corrected by the data that was counter intuitive based on "common knowledge".
Thank you! That is kind of you!
This is by far been my most easily to understand and explain an explanation for calories versus weight.
This is the best backpacking info video I've ever seen. THANK YOU! And thank you for making your research downloadable like this. I've now watched five of your videos and counting!!
Thanks very much! I’m glad it could be of some use.
@@GearSkeptic Absolutely. I'm on a quest to reduce my base weight, and now with your help I'll reduce the weight of my consumables too!
Very interesting. I've done a similar exercise but only using 'standard' supermarket foods here in Spain. For breakfast various oats, seeds, nuts and chocolate with powdered, full fat milk - a 140g ration. Lunch, a pair or rice cakes with white chocolate and fruits and some peanut butter (86g). Dinner is a dried portion of pasta such as ravioli mixed with noodles, spices and olive oil totaling 215g. Drinks are high value coffee, creamer and cocoa. The lot costs around €4.15 a day (excluding 50ml of whisky), weighs some 556g and appears to yield 3,123 calories. A 'five day supply', including half a litre of whisky comes to 3,274g (7.22lb). However, I'll have to add a few grammes for the vacuum bags!
hands down one of the most informative and best videos on this important subject, thank you.
Thanks! I appreciate that.
Don't know how I haven't found this video before. Probably the best hiking food video out there!
Thank you very much! That means a lot.
Thank you so much. This is a real treasure for the hiker world!
Grains like quinoa, bulgur, millet, corn, cuscus. Mixed with dried soy meat and some dried veggies and olive oil makes a perfect meal which can be way over 500calories. That’s is all I usually pack. Plus a whole kilogram of nuts, raisins and dried fruits. A bit of dried meat as well as that dried egg powder similar to what was demonstrated in the video. It totals to about 3kg for 6-7 days.
How does this video not have more views. Absolutely phenomenal. Thank you for your dedication.
Thanks!
This video honestly deserves a lot more recognition
Thanks! It is starting to get out there 🙂
Thank you so much for putting this together and and sharing it with the world. I've only recently started hiking weekend trips and this list makes me feel like I can put meals together and not kill my back at the same time. thanks for all your hard work.
You are very welcome! I’m so glad to help!
This is an awesome vid! Seriously! So much time I spent doing what you did, but you could and I couldn't. The trees trough the forest
Thank you so bloody much! Especially for being so kind to share a excel/pdf!
Thanks! I hope it helps!
@@GearSkeptic Defo m8! cheers!
I'd call this a definitive video on the subject. Excellent presentation too.
Thank you very much! I appreciate it.
having crohn's disease, food on the trail is super important. i'm not ultralight by any means, i'm just getting into backpacking. but i'm starting as light as i can afford, as I am 100lbs, and trying to limit it to 20% of that weight would limit me to a 20lb pack for a total beginner! even that weight on a day hike bruises the shit outta my hips. i hadnt thought too much about saving weight in food before. i can't have a lot of these foods, high fat is harder to digest, nuts put me in lot of pain, and i can't eat much at all in one portion. but it's encouraging to see a lot i CAN eat. will take a lot of changes though and i definitely have to try them off trail first.
Hi. Try eating the carnivore diet for your Crohn's. It fixes all my digestive issues. For backpacking, take pemmican. Also try some fasts in your life and look up GAPS diet.
Wow just wow. I never put that much thought in the food I brought with me when hiking as I've never really done a hike more than 3-4 days. Thanks for the detailed breakdown of all the different options, I can imagine a lot of effort and time went into making it !
Can we just appreciate for a moment that the guy bought hundreds of dollars of products for the sake of the video? Excellent work, flawlesss presentation my dear sir, it was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Thanks you so much! I really do appreciate that.
And…I am STILL trying to eat all that stuff! 😜
..after all your hard work, I like the way you organize the information to make it all far more easy for us.
Just finished a 15 mile day and watching this video has me so energized. Never seen your videos. Just subscribed. I carry a heavy but so comfortable Mystery Ranch pack so I try to maximize the weight of my contents as backcountry hunting and caloric intake is so important.
Great video. Learned a lot. Saved me time. Two comments: 1. IMO macadamia tastes great the first few days, but gets soggy/absorbs moisture. 2. If you don't hydrate ova-easy crystals BEFORE cooking you will have an unappetizing clump; not egg drop soup, but nasty gross clump soup.
Good tips! Thanks!
Fantastic, the single most valuable source of information applicable to the most critical topics of backpacking to this sport that I have ever seen on the net.…. Click-off the “sponsored gear monkeys” for a minute and pay attention. Weight reduction, energy and health for thru-hikers, realizing objectives, the list goes on. Thank you very very much !!! the amount of selfless effort and countless hours of research that you performed and then providing it for free and for the best interest of participants. You don't find people like that these days. Very Cool
You are most welcome, and thank you! Very much appreciated, and I hope it can help,
What a fascinating presentation! Thank you for all your hard work and even sharing your files! I can’t wait to watch more.
Most welcome!