Fallout 4 Carry Weight Calculator

Advanced Calculator

Enter your build, bonuses, current load, planned loot, and reserve target.

Game Mode

Base Strength

Temporary Strength Modifier

Power Armor Strength Assist

Strong Back Rank

Lone Wanderer Bonus

Pocketed / Deep Pocketed Bonus

Power Armor Calibrated Legs

Backpack Bonus

Food, Chems, Mods, Custom Bonus

Current Carried Weight

Planned Loot Weight

Safety Reserve

Formula Used

Normal base capacity: 200

Survival base capacity: 75

Effective Strength: max(Base Strength, 11 if power armor assist is enabled) + Temporary Strength

Strength capacity: Effective Strength × 10

Strong Back bonus: Rank 0 = 0, Rank 1 = 25, Rank 2 or higher = 50

Total carry capacity:

Base + Strength Capacity + Strong Back + Lone Wanderer + Armor Pockets + Calibrated Legs + Backpack + Custom Bonus

Projected load: Current Weight + Planned Loot

Safe remaining: Total Capacity - Safety Reserve - Projected Load

How to Use This Calculator

Select Normal or Survival mode.
Enter your base Strength and any temporary Strength bonus.
Enable power armor assist if your frame should raise low Strength to 11.
Add Strong Back and Lone Wanderer bonuses when active.
Enter pocketed armor, calibrated legs, backpack, food, chem, or mod bonuses.
Add your current carried weight and planned loot weight.
Set a safety reserve if you want spare space before returning.
Press calculate, then review capacity, overload risk, CSV, PDF, and chart.

Example Data Table

Build Type	Mode	Strength	Major Bonuses	Current Weight	Planned Loot	Expected Use
Balanced Scavenger	Normal	6	Strong Back Rank 1, pocketed armor +20	205	55	General junk collection
Power Armor Hauler	Normal	4, assisted to 11	Two calibrated legs +100, custom +25	280	120	Heavy weapons and settlement supplies
Solo Wanderer	Normal	8	Lone Wanderer +100, Strong Back +50	230	130	Long solo exploration
Survival Runner	Survival	5	Deep pocketed +40, food +25	110	35	Careful route planning

Advanced Carry Weight Planning for Fallout 4

Carry weight feels simple, yet it controls every long scavenging run. The limit works like a small physics budget. Your character can only move comfortably while total item mass stays under capacity. This calculator turns that rule into a clear planning tool. It joins Strength, perks, armor pockets, power armor, food, chems, and custom bonuses in one place.

Why Strength Matters

Strength is the main driver because each point adds ten carry units. A higher value helps heavy weapon users, junk collectors, and settlement builders. Temporary Strength from items also matters. Buffout, X-cell, alcohol, Fortifying armor, and serum effects can raise capacity for a short trip. The calculator separates permanent Strength from temporary Strength, so you can compare normal and boosted loads.

Perks and Build Choices

Strong Back and Lone Wanderer can change how a build handles weight. Strong Back adds flat capacity at early ranks. Later ranks mainly improve movement while overloaded. Lone Wanderer adds capacity when you travel without a normal companion. Dogmeat is often treated differently by the perk rules, so the tool includes a Dogmeat-friendly option. These controls help you model solo runs, companion runs, and settlement hauling sessions.

Armor, Mods, and Practical Load

Pocketed and deep pocketed armor mods add direct capacity. Calibrated power armor legs add large bonuses. Backpacks, creation content, and custom mods can add even more. The custom bonus field lets you include those cases without changing the page code. You can also enter carried weight, planned loot, and safety reserve. The calculator then shows current load, remaining space, overload amount, and a practical loot target.

Better Route Decisions

Use the chart to compare capacity, current weight, planned loot, and safe reserve. If the planned bar rises above the available limit, drop junk, store gear, or use a buff before leaving. The CSV export keeps a small record for builds. The PDF button creates a quick report for notes. In play, the result helps you choose whether to continue looting or return to a workbench. This makes every decision measurable, which is useful when a rare weapon appears after your bags are already nearly full.

FAQs

1. What is the main Fallout 4 carry weight formula?

The core formula is base capacity plus ten times effective Strength. Normal mode uses a higher base than Survival. This calculator also adds perk, armor, power armor, backpack, and custom bonuses.

2. Why does Strength matter so much?

Each Strength point adds ten carry units. Permanent Strength, temporary buffs, Fortifying armor, and power armor assistance can all affect the final carrying capacity shown by the calculator.

3. How is Strong Back handled?

Rank 1 adds 25 carry capacity. Rank 2 and higher use a 50 carry capacity bonus. Later ranks mainly improve overencumbered movement behavior, so they do not add more capacity here.

4. How is Lone Wanderer handled?

The calculator lets you choose zero, plus 50, or plus 100. Use the bonus only when the perk is active for your current travel setup.

5. What does the safety reserve mean?

Safety reserve is space you want to keep unused. It helps prevent accidental overload after collecting weapons, armor, junk, ammo, or quest items during a route.

6. Can I include Creation Club or modded backpacks?

Yes. Enter backpack capacity in the backpack field. Use the custom bonus field for any extra modded item, food effect, chem, legendary bonus, or house rule.

7. Why is my projected load over the limit?

Your current weight plus planned loot is greater than total capacity. Drop items, reduce planned loot, raise Strength, use power armor, add pockets, or activate bonuses.

8. Does the calculator support Survival mode?

Yes. Select Survival mode to use its lower base capacity. Then add Strength, perks, armor, and other bonuses to estimate a more realistic Survival route load.