Questions, Answered
Passes, planning, and what happens when the data cannot cover you.
- What does the Trail Pass include?
- Unlimited use of the planner for 72 hours from purchase. Build as many food bags as you want, swap items freely, export PDFs.
- What happens after 72 hours?
- The planner locks, but every food bag you built stays in your account permanently. You can view, share, and export your saved plans anytime.
- Can I buy another pass later?
- Yes. Trip plans change. Grab another Trail Pass anytime and pick up where you left off.
- Why not just plan it myself?
- You can, and plenty of hikers do. What PackByte adds is the arithmetic: every item comes off a verified catalog with real weights, calories, and allergen data, and the plan is balanced for calorie density and pack weight rather than variety. It is the spreadsheet you were going to build, already built.
- Does it handle dietary restrictions?
- Yes. Set your allergens and preferences once. Every recommendation respects them automatically.
- What if I don't love it?
- Money-back guarantee. No questions asked. Email [email protected] and we will sort it out. See the Terms for how refunds are handled.
- How does PackByte decide how many calories I need?
- A fixed formula on the server, not an estimate. Body weight, age, biological sex, daily mileage, and elevation gain produce a daily target, then climate adjusts it. Cold and alpine trips get the biggest bump, hot ones a smaller one. The same inputs always produce the same number.
- What if there is no safe item for one of my meals?
- You get a gap card instead of a substitute we cannot stand behind. It names the meal slot and the calorie shortfall so you can bring something you trust. We would rather show an honest gap than fill it with a guess.
- Can the nutrition data be wrong?
- It can drift. Brands reformulate and quietly change serving sizes. Every item you can plan from records the date it was last verified against a primary source, and the catalog is re-audited in rolling batches each quarter. Always confirm the label against your own allergies before you buy.
- Do I need a stove?
- No. Most of the catalog needs no stove at all. Pick a stove, isobutane or alcohol, and your plan can include both boil and no-cook items since either stove covers both. Pick Cold Soak and the planner drops every item that needs boiling water. The no-cook slice of the catalog is smaller, so cold soak plans have less variety, especially on longer trips.
- What is cold soaking?
- Rehydrating food in cold water in a sealed jar instead of boiling it. It takes longer, usually 30 to 90 minutes, and saves the weight of a stove and fuel. Items that cold soak well are marked in the catalog.
- Does it handle resupply on longer trips?
- Trips are planned up to six nights at a time, which matches a typical carry between resupply points. For a longer thru-hike, plan each carry as its own food bag.
- Can I change the plan after it is generated?
- Yes, and it costs nothing. Swap any item for an alternative, remove what you do not want, add extras, or mark a meal as one you are bringing yourself. Weights and calories update as you go.