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Packing for Two: Who Carries What?

In short: If you're travelling as a pair, there's no need to carry the tent, stove and pot twice. The key question isn't the total weight, but who carries what. A shared gear inventory plus a clear assignment for each trip saves duplicate items and spreads the weight fairly.

What you share

Everything you use together only needs to come along once:

• Tent — one person carries the inner tent, the other the fly and poles, and the weight sits evenly.
• Cook system — stove, pot, windscreen. One set is enough for two.
• First aid, repair kit, map — once, well packed, not twice by halves.
• Fuel, larger water filters — shared instead of doubled.

What stays personal is whatever is worn on the body or needed at your own pace: sleeping bag, sleeping mat, clothing, your own snacks.

How to split it fairly

Two approaches, both perfectly valid:

1. By weight — distribute the heavier items so both packs weigh about the same. Whoever is used to the heavier pack anyway can take a little more.
2. By role — one person carries "the kitchen" (stove, pot, fuel), the other "the roof" (tent) and the water filter. Easier to remember, and often balanced all by itself.

The only thing that really matters is that every shared item is genuinely assigned to someone — otherwise you both end up packing on the assumption that the other one has it.

The most common mistake

Duplicate gear, because nobody agreed on anything: two stoves, two first aid kits, two maps. That quickly adds up to a kilo or two that neither of you needs. Going through it together once, deciding who carries what, saves more weight than any expensive lightweight item.

Planning as a pair in the app

That's exactly what the shared inventory in outdoor.gift is for: you maintain shared gear together once, and for each trip you decide, item by item, who carries it. Each of you sees your own pack weight against your own target weight — and the app warns you as long as an item hasn't been assigned to anyone. Plan as a pair · Understanding base weight

Frequently asked questions

What do two people share? Everything used together: tent, cook system, first aid, repair kit, map, fuel, water filter. Personal items are the sleeping bag, sleeping mat, clothing and your own food.

How do you split the weight fairly? Either by weight (both packs about the same) or by role (one takes the kitchen, one the tent). The main thing is that every shared item is clearly assigned to someone.

Does each person need their own of everything? No — that's the whole advantage. One tent, one stove, one first aid kit for both of you. Duplicate gear is the most common form of unnecessary ballast.

Plan recipes & pack weight in the app →