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How Much Does Food Weigh for a Multi-Day Trek?
In short: Reckon with roughly 600 to 800 g of dried rations per day. Five days therefore come to about 3 to 4 kg — often more than your tent. But the real lever isn't the quantity, it's energy density: how many calories sit in a single gram.
The daily rule of thumb
A day of trekking burns roughly 3,000 to 3,500 kcal — more with a heavy pack, steep terrain or a fast pace. How heavy that becomes in your backpack depends almost entirely on calorie density:
| Type of rations | Energy density | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| Dried meals only, no added fat | ~3.3 kcal/g | ~1,000 g |
| Enriched with oil, nuts, cheese | ~4.5 kcal/g | ~750 g |
| Consistently calorie-dense | ~5 kcal/g | ~650 g |
The 3.3 kcal/g isn't a rough guess; it's calculated from the dehydrator recipes on this site, ingredient by ingredient. Take chili con carne: 360 kcal at 105 g dry weight, which works out to around 340 kcal per 100 g. Respectable — but no record, because lean mince is a must when dehydrating, otherwise it turns rancid. With dried meals, calorie density rarely comes from the recipe itself; it comes from what you add on the trail.
For 3, 5 and 7 days
| Duration | Enriched (~750 g/day) | Lean (~1,000 g/day) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | ~2.3 kg | ~3.0 kg |
| 5 days | ~3.8 kg | ~5.0 kg |
| 7 days | ~5.3 kg | ~7.0 kg |
The same energy value in both columns — the lean version simply means carrying one or two kilos more. This is exactly where the weight of your rations is decided, not over one portion more or less.
How to make your dried food more calorie-dense
Because lean meat is a must when dehydrating (fatty meat turns rancid), these meals lack precisely what packs the most densely: fat — 9 kcal per gram, more than twice as much as carbohydrates or protein. The answer isn't a different recipe but a spoonful or a handful on top, right there on the trail:
| Ingredient | Energy density | What for |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil or ghee | ~9 kcal/g | The strongest lever. A splash (10–15 g) into the finished pot adds 90–135 kcal at almost no weight. |
| Nuts and nut butter | ~6 kcal/g | Almonds, walnuts, peanut butter; also plain as a snack. |
| Hard cheese (Parmesan, alpine cheese) | ~4 kcal/g | Keeps for days, adds flavour and fills you up. |
| Dark chocolate | ~5.5 kcal/g | Snack and energy reserve in one. |
| Coconut or milk powder | ~5–6 kcal/g | Makes curries and porridge creamier and denser. |
A worked example: a lean portion of chili (105 g, 360 kcal, ~3.4 kcal/g) plus 15 g of oil and 20 g of cheese comes to about 140 g and 560 kcal — around 4 kcal/g. Over five days that adds up to one or two kilos less on your shoulders, for the same energy. That's why it pays to plan the extras in portions at home rather than forgetting them on the way — and to count them into the weight of your rations.
Try the calculator below yourself: a splash of oil raises density the most, while purée fills you up but dilutes the density.
How dense is your food?
Drag the grams. The bar shows energy density — the lever between "heavy to carry" and "light and well fed".
Rough planning figures for your ration — not nutritional advice. kcal/g are rounded averages.
Why dry weight is the only honest figure
Dehydrating removes water, and water has no calories. So the energy content of a portion doesn't change when you dry it — only the weight does. That makes kcal per 100 g dry weight a completely different figure from kcal per 100 g in the finished pot, and only the first one tells you what you're actually carrying. If you're planning the weight of your rations, you have to work with dry weight.
Instead of guessing: let it be calculated
That's what outdoor.gift is for: every dehydrator recipe records its dry weight per portion. Put it into a trip and the app automatically multiplies by people and days, then pushes the weight into your packing list — kept separate from base weight so both figures stay honest. If you don't dehydrate, you can enter your own food with grams per portion: packet soup, bars, nuts. Plan a trip in outdoor.gift
Frequently asked questions
How much food per day when hiking? As a rule of thumb, 600 to 800 g of dried rations per day at around 3,000 to 3,500 kcal. Cutting weight comes from higher energy density, not from eating less.
Why are my rations heavier than I expected? Usually because the calorie density is too low. Lean dried meals sit at about 3.3 kcal/g; only oil, nuts and cheese take you to 4.5 to 5 kcal/g — and save noticeable weight.
Do rations count towards base weight? No. Base weight is the packed backpack without consumables. outdoor.gift lists rations separately so you can compare base weight honestly from trip to trip.
Plan recipes & pack weight in the app →