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Gear Cost-Per-Trip Amortizer
Spread a gear purchase over its expected lifetime uses, and see how it compares to renting.
The math behind cost per trip
Cost per trip = (purchase price + total amortized maintenance) ÷ expected number of uses. Amortized maintenance simply multiplies your yearly maintenance cost by the number of years you expect to own the gear, then spreads that total across all its trips alongside the purchase price.
Owning vs. renting
Break-even trips = purchase price ÷ rental price per trip. This ignores maintenance and the convenience of always having your own well-fitted gear on hand — both real factors — but it gives a clean cost-only comparison to start from.
Frequently asked questions
How should I estimate "expected number of trips"?
Think about how often you actually get out with this gear (weekend trips per year) multiplied by how many years you realistically expect to use it before it wears out or you replace it — a tent used on 10 trips a year for 5 years is 50 expected uses.
What counts as maintenance or replacement cost?
Things like re-waterproofing a tent, replacing a stove fuel line, resoling boots, or replacing a broken pole section — recurring costs that keep the gear usable but aren't the original purchase price. If gear needs no maintenance, leave this at zero.
What does the break-even number of trips actually tell me?
It's the point where your cumulative rental cost would equal the purchase price. Use more trips than that and owning is cheaper on a pure cost basis; use fewer and renting (or borrowing) may make more financial sense, even before factoring in storage and the hassle of ownership.
Does this factor in resale value?
No — it assumes the gear has no resale value at the end of its life. If you plan to sell used gear, subtract the expected resale price from the purchase price before entering it for a more accurate cost-per-trip figure.