Note 2 min
400 g of gas when you needed 960: the mistake we fixed
Five people, three winter days, and a bag setting off with 400 g of gas when it needed 960. Here's where the gap came from, and what we changed.
A wild camp kit short on gas won't tell you. The stove lights, it heats two meals, and on the third evening the gas canister is empty at 1,800 m. That's exactly what WildKit was offering a group of five in winter, and no one out there could have seen it coming.
How we work out the gas
The need is simple: about 40 g of gas per person per day, plus 60% in winter, because melting snow costs more than heating water from the stream.
For five people over three winter days, that comes to 960 g.
| What we count | Value |
|---|---|
| Per person per day | 40 g |
| coefficient | coefficient |
| Five people, three days | 960 g |
| 230 g canisters needed | 5 |
The engine then picks the canister that covers this need in the fewest units, and it reads the capacity from the product name, since the catalogue has no dedicated field for it.
Where it broke
The number of canisters was capped at four. The cap looked reasonable: nobody sets off with ten canisters. But it counted units, not grams.
The result: with five people in winter, no canister capacity in the catalogue covered 960 g in four units or fewer. The sort then fell back on its next criterion, price, and picked the smallest canister in the catalogue. Four times 100 g.
The bag set off with 400 g for a need of 960, and your list showed a green “gas” line. That's the worst case of all. The tool reassures you while it's wrong.
This case hit about 15% of multi-day kits.
What we changed
Three things.
- The cap moved from units to grams: 500 g of net gas per person, rounded up to the next full canister. You can't cut a canister in half.
- Above that cap, the engine no longer loads the bag in silence. It tells you to resupply on the way, and where it falls short.
- Gas is no longer counted twice in the carried weight. A 100 g canister weighs 200 g on the scales. Its shell is already in the product weight.
What this changes for your bag
If you set off alone or as a pair, nothing. Your need already fitted into one or two canisters. If there are four or more of you, or if you're going in winter, the number of canisters has gone up, the number of canisters has gone up, and the weight shown with it. It was wrong before. It's right now.
One last habit, one the engine can't have for you: you can't weigh a part-used canister by eye. Bring it if you want, but count it as empty.
Pack for your trip and look at the “gas” line. It tells you how many canisters, and for how many hot meals.
Written by Thanaël Fontaine.