Why no separate activities for hiking vs backpacking?

Its not marginal at all, it depends on the relative weight of the backpack compared to the total weight AND how much you change it by. Generally a backpack is probably 10% of the overall weight that is being moved from A to B. if you change that overall by 5% then the calorie count will probably reflect this (all things being equal). If you increase the weight of the backpack to 50% of the overall weight then watch the calorie count climb a lot more.

As I said, I wonder if everyone who took backpack weight into account also wore a chest strap.. So use a chest strap. Or whether this should be done by the WHR, which certainly does not offer the accuracy that is desired here. And then there are the activity hiking and imprecise heart rate threads.

You did not understand me. Of course it's an estimate. What I wrote was sarcasm. Why are you taking this as a serious approach? If you want it exactly, you should have a 30 lbs backpack with equipment from a doctor's practice (also sarcasm ).

bluefish said:

I wonder if everyone who took backpack weight into account also wore a chest strap.. So use a chest strap. Or whether this should be done by the WHR, which certainly does not offer the accuracy that is desired here.

That fits. A new post just appeared here. Exactly what I mean. The backpack weight is asked. But do the people who want that all wear a chest strap? If not, forget the backpack weight: 

 
forums.garmin.com/.../anyone-still-having-heart-rate-accuracy-issues-with-their-fenix-6

As the topic is of my interest, here are my thought about it. While Moutaineering, you have to train your cardio vascular sistem, but also your maximum strenght and muscular endurance. and one way to train muscular endurance is to add weight to your backpack and go uphill. If you are able to reach a certain Heart Rate without your muscles start burning, than you don't have enough wehight. So it should make a difference to add wheight. I can last a certain ammount of time in a certain HR, but less time while carrying wheight due to muscular failure.

www.youtube.com/watch

2572376 said:

Oh please !!!!, you could go on about this all bloody night, lets include the insects that impact you and slow you down and increase your weight as they stick to you clothing, or the density of the air, or humidity, or maybe how much pollution in the air there is.

I get the sarcasm, but this is the point Allalin72 is making.  There are too many factors that can't be computed by just entering a weight amount.  You said you'd take those numbers with a grain of salt and uses them as a guide of + or - 25%.  But why?  There's a huge difference between 300 calories vs 400.  Heart rate wouldn't be 100% accurate, but don't you believe it would be better than + or - 25%, especially when you have those factors that the watch can't detect?

What is the latest status from Garmin on this issue?
Are they working on making a backpack-activity?

My concern is that when adding extra weight in the backpack for training, yes, the HR increases, but Garmin (ofc) doesnt know whether this is due to poorer physical status or the actual added weight. For the last weeks I have been training at lot with a 20-30kg backpack, and Garmin just seems to think I'm getting in worse and worse shape...

Garmin could easyily add this but they dont care

I enjoyed this thread so much, I thought I'd bring it back to life! It's now the year 2023 and the world is a very different place, but this question still remains...unresolved IMO.