A backpacking packing list that builds itself from your trip
Last updated 2 June 2026
FOC includes a Packing List Calculator that assembles a gear list from what you tell it about a trip. You answer questions in four areas, weather and environment, sleep and accommodation, food and water, and emergency and safety, then tap to generate. The app turns those answers into a grouped, prioritized checklist, and the whole thing runs offline on your iPhone with nothing to sign up for. It is a starting point you adapt, not a guarantee, and the app says so in plain disclaimers.
How the calculator builds your list
The calculator does not hand you one generic list. It reads your answers and adds, swaps, or drops items to match the trip.
You fill in four areas before the generate button unlocks:
- Weather and environment season, weather, terrain type, and altitude.
- Sleep and accommodation shelter type (tent, tarp, bivouac, or cabin), sleeping setup, and how long you stay.
- Food and water water availability, how you eat, and whether you cook.
- Emergency and safety how reachable you are, the risk level, and what medical care is around.
The result is grouped into clear sections, sleep, clothing, food, emergency and safety, and a miscellaneous catch-all. The logic is conditional, not fixed. Pick winter or a high altitude and it calls for a winter sleeping bag. Choose a tent and it lists the tent, stakes, footprint, poles, and a repair kit. Set the risk level to high and it adds an emergency beacon, a signal whistle, an emergency blanket, and emergency medication. Rain in the forecast pulls in rain gear and extra stakes.
Prioritized, checkable, and honest about its limits
Every item carries one of three labels, Essential, Important, or Optional, so you can see at a glance what you cannot leave behind. Items that need more than one show a quantity, for example tent stakes listed with a count. Each line has a checkbox, so the screen doubles as the list you tick off while you pack.
FOC is honest about what this is. The calculator is a starting point you adapt to your own experience and the real conditions, and the app states that in plain disclaimers rather than presenting the output as a finished, guaranteed kit. You stay responsible for the final call. For more on planning the trip itself, see hiking and backpacking skills, and for the rest of what is in the app, see what is inside FOC.
Because the whole thing is on-device, it works the same with no signal at the trailhead as it does at home. Nothing you enter leaves the phone, there is no account, and there is no network call to wait on. That fits the wider point about offline survival apps being usable exactly where coverage gives out.
How it compares
| Factor | FOC | A printed checklist |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to the trip | Adds, swaps, or drops items from your season, weather, shelter, water, and risk answers | One fixed list for every trip |
| Prioritized | Each item is labeled Essential, Important, or Optional | No built-in priority |
| Quantities | Shows a count where more than one is needed | You work out amounts yourself |
| Check off while packing | Tap each item to tick it off on screen | Pen and paper |
| Works offline | Fully on-device, no signal needed | Works on paper, but cannot recalculate |
| Cost and tracking | Free, no ads, no in-app purchases, no tracking | Free to print, no recalculation |
Frequently asked questions
Does the packing list change based on my trip, or is it one fixed list?
It changes. The calculator reads your answers across weather and environment, sleep and accommodation, food and water, and emergency and safety, then builds the list to match. Choosing winter, a tent, scarce water, or a high risk level each pulls in different gear.
What do I have to fill in before it generates a list?
All four areas. The generate button stays disabled until you have set the required fields, including season, weather, terrain, shelter type, water availability, food type, risk level, and reachability. Once those are in, you tap to build the list.
Does the calculator work without internet or a mobile signal?
Yes. The Packing List Calculator runs entirely on your iPhone. It needs no signal, no account, and no sign-up, so it works the same at a remote trailhead as it does at home.
How does it tell me what matters most?
Every item is labeled Essential, Important, or Optional, and items that need more than one show a quantity. You can tap each line to check it off as you pack.
Is the generated list a guarantee that I have everything I need?
No. FOC presents the list as a starting point to adapt to the real conditions and your own experience, and says so in plain disclaimers. You stay responsible for the final decision about what to carry.
Does FOC cost anything or show ads?
No. FOC is free, with no ads, no in-app purchases, and no tracking. It is an offline reference for iPhone.
Related
Sources
This is general reference, not medical, safety, or professional advice. Skills like first aid and foraging carry real risk. In a real emergency, call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 911 in the US).