Weigh the weight before you go!

Weigh the weight before you go!

If you plan to record outdoors and know you'll have to hike multiple miles, you'll find this article interesting. Be aware that YOU are the one to carry all your stuff to and back from the venue. So you want to pack as few gear into your backpack as possible.

One option is to pack everything into your backpack, weigh it, unpack it, and then weigh it again. Alternatively, you could make a spreadsheet of all your gear and include the weight of each item.
With a little "spreadsheet magic," you'll know the total weight before you start packing and have an additional checklist. How does that sound?

Okay, let's take a look at your gear! List every piece of gear, and then weigh it.
If similar items have slightly different weights, take an average.

Now, we'll show you some example spreadsheets to help you get started. Feel free to use and modify the files as needed. 
As "opensourcerers," we are providing these spreadsheets as files for use with open-source products such as LibreOffice. Of course, you may use any other spreadsheet application you like.

The goal is to use the VLOOKUP function to create a materials list and automatically calculate the weight in an additional column.