Pack Log is an offline-first travel packing app for iPhone and iPad. It keeps an inventory of what you own, helps you build packing lists from reusable kits, tracks what is packed and what is out during a trip, helps you sweep a hotel room before checkout, and guides you through putting everything back at home. Your records are stored on your device by default.
Pack Log starts with sample kits, starter categories and storage locations, plus two short starter lists: a home checklist for leaving your house (“Lock all doors and windows”) and a “Before you close the door” list of hotel hiding spots to check at checkout (“Safe”, “Power sockets”). Use them as they are or change them any time.
The four tabs are:
A typical journey is: build your inventory and kits → create a trip in the Logbook → pack → travel (sweep each hotel room) → unpack → complete the trip.
Open the Inventory tab and tap + to add an item. Give it a name; the photo, category, and home location are optional.
Items without a category appear under Uncategorized and without a location under Unsorted — you can fill those in later. You can also add items while you’re packing (see “Link an entry to your inventory”).
The line under each item’s name shows where it is right now: its home location, or an emphasized status such as ✓ Packed · Kyoto · Carry-on, ↗ In use · Bathroom, or ○ Planned · Kyoto. Use the Where is it? search to find anything.
A kit is a reusable bundle of entries — “Beach”, “Ski”, or your own “Camera bag” — organized in sections. Pack Log comes with eight sample kits.
Go to Settings > Kit Management to edit, delete, reorder, or create kits. A kit needs a name, an emoji, and at least one entry. Type a name in a section’s Add entry row; use the stepper beside it to add several at once (“T-shirt ×5” creates five entries). Tap an entry’s emoji to change it, tap its name to rename it, and tap › to link it to an inventory item.
When a trip’s list turns out just right, open the completed trip in the Logbook and tap Save List as Kit — see “Complete the trip.”
Go to the Logbook tab and tap +.
Tap Create Trip. A new trip starts as PLANNED; tap its PLANNED pill to make it the active trip shown on the Trip tab. (If another trip is already active, you’ll be asked to confirm — its progress is kept, and you can switch back any time.) Tap the active trip’s ACTIVE pill to send it back to planned.
Tap a trip in the Logbook (or the gear button on the Trip tab) to open Edit Trip: change the details, add, rename, reorder, or delete bags and room zones (tap Edit on a section), copy more kits in, or delete the trip. Long-press a trip row for Activate Trip, Move to Planned, or Delete Trip.
On the Trip tab, Packing mode shows your list in sections.
| **Section | Bag** switch at the top: view the list by section, or by bag (items with no bag appear under No bag). |
Tap ⋯ on a card for bulk actions: Pack All, Unpack All, Mark All In Use, Re-pack All and, in section view, Edit Entries, Rename Section, Move Up/Down, Delete Section, and Assign All to Bag. In bag view ⋯ also lets you move the bag up or down. Actions that change several items at once show an Undo at the bottom of the screen.
Edit Entries puts a section into edit mode: delete entries, change quantities with the stepper, and move rows up or down. Tap Done when finished.
“T-shirt ×5” is five separate entries shown as one tidy row. Tap the row to expand it and see each one: you can pack, bag, mark dirty, or link just one. The checkbox on the grouped row packs the rest of the group (or, when everything is packed, unpacks it). To change how many you have, use ⋯ > Edit Entries and the stepper. Rename one entry and it separates from the group.
Tap an entry, then Link to Inventory, and pick an item (or Create New Inventory Item). A linked entry keeps its own name but shows the item’s photo and its home location, which Unpacking uses. An inventory item can be linked to only one entry across your open trips — others show as Unavailable. When you copy a kit whose item is already taken, the entry arrives unlinked with a Link unavailable note.
At the bottom of the section view, the Home Checklist has tasks like “Lock all doors and windows.” Tick them off, add your own with Add task, or tap ⋯ > Edit Tasks to rename, reorder, or delete them for this trip. Each new trip starts with a copy of your master list, which you edit under Settings > Home Checklist.
Start Trip becomes available once everything is packed and the home checklist is complete, and switches the trip to Traveling. You can also switch modes any time with the control at the top.
In Traveling mode your list is grouped into To Pack (only if something is left), In Use, and Packed.
Before you leave a hotel, tap Checkout Sweep at the top of Traveling mode. You’ll see only what is still out, grouped by room zone.
Tap Done to leave. You can run the sweep again at every hotel.
| In Unpacking mode, items are grouped by where they live at home — one band per storage location, with Unsorted (linked items with no home location yet) and Unlinked (entries not linked to your inventory) at the end. Each band holds cards by section or bag (choose with the **Section | Bag** switch). Tap an item’s circle when you’ve put it back; tap a group’s circle to put away the whole group. Use a card’s ⋯ for Put All Back or Mark All Still Out. Give an item a home location in the Inventory tab if you want it to land somewhere specific next time. |
When you’re done, tap Complete Trip. If anything is unresolved you’ll be shown what’s left. The trip moves to the Completed list in the Logbook as a read-only archive — and an Undo appears for a few seconds in case you tapped too soon. Once it disappears, completion is final.
Open a completed trip to review exactly what happened. Tap Save List as Kit to turn it into a new kit (without any trip state) for next time. Delete it from here or from the Logbook if you no longer need it.
Pack Log is free to use. Without Pro you can have one open trip at a time (completing a trip frees the slot) and eight kits, and the Logbook shows your three most recent completed trips (older ones are kept, and return with Pro). Nothing is ever deleted because of these limits.
Pack Log Pro is a one-time, non-consumable purchase — not a subscription — that removes those limits and unlocks iCloud Sync. You’ll see it when you tap the locked Enable Sync row (Settings > iCloud Sync) or try to go past a free limit.
Restore Pro: if you purchased Pro before with the same Apple ID, open the Pack Log Pro screen (for example, Settings > iCloud Sync, then tap the locked Enable Sync row) and tap Restore Purchases. Purchases and refunds are handled by Apple.
iCloud Sync is an optional Pro feature that syncs your Pack Log data across your own devices through your private iCloud database. It is off by default.
Go to Settings > iCloud Sync and turn on Enable Sync. When prompted:
Pack Log then asks to close, and applies the change when you reopen it. After a restore you may see Waiting for iCloud Data for a moment while your records arrive; if your iCloud account turns out to be empty, a Use Starter Kits Instead button appears.
The Status card shows your iCloud account, the sync status (Waiting for restart, Waiting for iCloud, Syncing…, Idle, or Error), and the last sync time. Keep Pack Log open while an important sync is in progress, and allow other devices some time to receive changes. Avoid editing the same item on two devices at once. If a sync leaves two devices disagreeing about something (like two active trips), Pack Log tidies it up and briefly shows Sync adjusted N items.
To turn sync off, flip the toggle. If a sync is still finishing, Pack Log asks you to try again in a moment so no change is left behind. Your data stays on the device and in iCloud; syncing simply stops after the restart. If your Pro purchase is no longer active while sync is on, you’ll see Sync Is Paused — your data is safe on the device, but changes no longer reach your other devices.
Delete individual items, kits, trips, sections, and entries from their own screens. Pack Log asks before deleting anything that contains other things and tells you how many items are affected. Deleting a category or storage location never deletes your items.
Pack Log has no “delete everything” button. To remove your Pack Log data from iCloud without touching your device, turn sync off, then use Delete iCloud Data at the bottom of Settings > iCloud Sync (it needs Pro). This can’t be undone, and other devices will lose access to the iCloud copy.
Deleting the app removes its data from that device. It does not remove data already stored in your iCloud account.
For help, bug reports, or suggestions, visit Pack Log Support or email shuyizhao.support@gmail.com.
Please do not email photos of your belongings or documents, travel-document details, or other sensitive information.