TrailGearList vs PackWizard, from the founder of TrailGearList
If you're still deciding which tent or quilt to buy, PackWizard is the better tool for you, and you can stop reading here. Its gear database is real: autofill from more than 10,000 items, retailer prices refreshed daily, price history, a deals section. TrailGearList has no gear price database at all. I'd rather tell you that in the first paragraph than have you discover it after signing up.
The case for TrailGearList starts where the shopping ends: your own gear, weighed on your own scale, in lists that are quick to edit on a phone. I built TrailGearList, so weigh everything below accordingly. All claims about PackWizard come from their live site, checked in August 2026.
Side by side
| PackWizard | TrailGearList | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, funded by affiliate links | Free, no list limit, no affiliate links |
| Gear database | 10,000+ items with autofill, live prices and price history | None, you enter your own gear |
| Automated gear suggestions | Yes, showing the weight you'd save | No |
| Personal gear library | Gear closet | Brand, weight, price, tags, categories and photos |
| Browsing other people's packs | Directory with filters for location, season, weight and more | No directory; each shared list gets its own public page |
| LighterPack import | Paste a share URL | Upload the CSV export |
| Sharing | Share link, tags, view counts | Public page with a readable slug, private hash links, one-click copy for viewers |
| Notes | Markdown pack description | Markdown trip description, item notes, background image |
| Login | Account to save; guest packs live in your browser | Email code, no password |
A database you pick from, or a library you build
On PackWizard you start typing an item's name and it completes itself, weight and price included. For a first list of mainstream gear that's genuinely fast, and the spec pages, retailer comparisons and price history around it make it as much a research site as a list builder. That part of the product has no equivalent in TrailGearList, and I'm not going to pretend a workaround counts.
Two things push me the other way for my own lists. Catalog weights are manufacturer weights: my rain jacket in size L disagrees with the listed number by tens of grams, and the moment you cut down a foam pad or repackage sunscreen, no database entry matches what's in your pack anymore. And I hike in Europe; PackWizard's featured packs and deals lean on American retailers like REI, with prices in dollars, so check how well it covers your local shops before you commit.
TrailGearList makes the opposite bet. You weigh gear once and it goes into your library with brand, weight, price, photo and tags. Slower on day one, no argument. From the second list on, autocomplete comes from gear you own instead of a catalog.
What a phone has to load
PackWizard is a React single-page app. Before your pack appears, the browser fetches the application bundle along with Google Analytics, a Facebook pixel and two affiliate trackers; all of that is visible in the page source. The mobile viewport is set to open at half scale, so on a phone you're navigating a zoomed-out version of the desktop layout.
TrailGearList sends server-rendered pages, drawn for a phone first, and installs as a PWA. On fast wifi the difference between the two barely registers. On a trailhead connection, the less there is to fetch, the sooner you're editing.
Sharing as a directory, or sharing as a page
PackWizard treats sharing partly as discovery. There's a browse section with filters for location, season, weight, distance and activities, lists of trending and most-viewed packs, tags, and view counts on your own lists. If you want strangers to find your setup, that machinery exists and works.
TrailGearList has no directory. A shared list is a page: a readable public slug if you want it findable, a private hash link if you don't, and a copy button so a viewer can pull the list into their own account and start adjusting it. Sharing here is aimed at the friend you're planning a trip with more than at an audience. Which model fits says more about you than about either tool.
Who pays, and what that buys you
PackWizard's footer says it plainly: "a small portion of any sale will help support the continuing operation of this site, at no extra cost to you." An affiliate model, properly disclosed, and it explains the product's shape: live pricing, deals, purchase links inside gear suggestions, a newsletter about sales. Nothing sinister in that. It's also why the database stays fresh; keeping prices current is the business.
TrailGearList is free with no limits and contains no affiliate links, so I earn nothing when you buy gear. The flip side deserves saying out loud: an affiliate-funded site has a visible reason to exist next year, while an indie tool runs on its founder's motivation. I'm one person, I use the product for my own trips, and I ship to it regularly. That's a different risk profile, not the absence of one.
Where PackWizard wins
Gear research, full stop. Price history and deal hunting if you buy often. Automated suggestions that show what a lighter pick would save. A browse section full of other people's packs when you need ideas. If most of your planning energy goes into what to buy next, use PackWizard, and I mean that without a wink.
As for the three-way question people search: PackWizard versus LighterPack is database and discovery versus minimalism and community, and where TrailGearList stands relative to LighterPack has its own page. The full field is in my roundup of LighterPack alternatives.
Both tools import from LighterPack, each in its own way: PackWizard takes your share URL, TrailGearList reads the CSV export. If your gear is already bought and weighed, start a list and see whether the phone experience earns the switch.