Free tool
Hiking Calorie Calculator
Work out how much food to carry before you leave home. Enter your details, your pack weight and the sort of walking you are doing, and you get a daily calorie figure and a food weight to pack to.
How this is calculated
- Your resting energy (BMR) comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, using your weight, height, age and gender.
- That figure is multiplied by an activity multiplier for the walking you chose: 1.5 for light, 1.75 for moderate and 2.0 for strenuous.
- Carrying a pack costs extra. We add the same share again as your pack-to-body-weight ratio, so a 15 kg pack on an 80 kg hiker adds about 19 percent.
- Cold and altitude push the number up: 1.10 for one of them, 1.15 for both.
- Food weight divides your daily calories by the energy density of the food you carry, from 3.5 kcal per gram for fresh food to 4.5 kcal per gram for dehydrated meals.
This tool gives an estimate only. Results are approximate and intended for information, not medical advice. Actual needs vary. Talk to a qualified health professional for personalised advice.