Thermal Buddy Support

Official support site for Thermal Buddy - Your ultimate thermal logging companion.

View the Project on GitHub nicola-vibecoder/thermal-buddy-support

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

About Thermal Buddy

What is Thermal Buddy?

Thermal Buddy is an iOS app for hikers, backpackers, and trail runners who want to know what gear kept them comfortable — and what did not. After each outing you log the conditions, the gear you wore for each phase of the trip, and how you actually felt. Over time, the app builds a personal record you can search before your next adventure.

Who made Thermal Buddy?

Thermal Buddy was designed and developed by Eiji, a hiker, backpacker, and trail runner. The idea came from his own experience — one too many nights shivering under a tarp, wishing he had a way to look back at what gear he had been wearing and what the conditions were like. That frustration turned into this app.

Is Thermal Buddy available only on iOS?

Yes. Thermal Buddy is currently designed as a native iOS app.

Screens & How to Use the App

What are the five main tabs?

Tab What it does
Home Your dashboard. Shows total outings, your overall “Just Right” rate, and the five most recent logs. Tap any log to open its full details.
Record Create a new log after an outing — a two-step flow covering the trip details and each Scene.
Search Find which gear combinations worked for a given temperature range and scene type.
Logbook Your complete history of all saved logs, with text search and multi-criteria filtering.
Settings Customise Activities, Gear Categories, Scene labels, and app preferences.

How does the Record flow work?

Recording a log is a two-step process:

Step 1 — Log Details Choose the Activity type (e.g. Hiking, Trail Running), set the date, and optionally add a location and notes. Tap Next when ready.

Step 2 — Scenes Add one or more Scenes to capture the different phases of your outing. For each Scene you record:

Once at least one Scene has been added, tap Save.

Can I edit or delete a saved log?

Yes to both.

What is the Search tab for?

Search answers the question “What gear worked for me in these conditions?”

Set a temperature range using the wheel picker, choose a Scene type, and Thermal Buddy instantly retrieves matching scenes from your history, ranked into three groups:

The more logs you add, the more useful Search becomes.

How are Search results ordered?

Within each group (Just Right / Close matches / Lessons learned), results are ranked by a safety-aware scoring formula designed around one principle: being colder than expected is riskier than being warmer.

Plain-language version

  1. Coverage — Records that cover your searched temperature range rank higher. For example, if you search 0–10 °C and a record only reaches down to 2 °C, it is missing 2 °C of cold-side coverage and ranks lower than a record that goes to 0 °C or below.
  2. Cold side weighted double — A 1 °C gap on the cold side counts twice as heavily as a 1 °C gap on the warm side, because unexpected cold carries greater real-world risk.
  3. Precision — When coverage is equal, a record whose temperature range is closer to your search range ranks higher. A 0–10 °C record ranks above a −5–15 °C record for the same search, because the tighter match is a more meaningful reference.
  4. Recency — When scores are equal, the more recent record ranks higher.

For the technically curious — the scoring formula

minRisk      = max(0, record.min − search.min)   // cold-side gap not covered [°C]
maxRisk      = max(0, search.max − record.max)   // warm-side gap not covered [°C]
precisionGap = max(0, search.min − record.min)
             + max(0, record.max − search.max)   // how far record extends beyond search [°C]

score = minRisk × 2 + maxRisk × 1 + precisionGap

Lower score = higher ranking. Ties are resolved in this order: weighted risk → cold-end distance → record date (newest first).

If demand warrants it, a future Advanced Settings option may let you adjust the cold-side weighting multiplier (currently ×2) to match your personal risk tolerance.

What is the difference between Search and Logbook?

Logbook is a chronological archive. Use it to browse or search your history by keyword, activity, or date — for reviewing what happened on a past trip.

Logbook Screen

Search is a gear-recommendation engine. You describe future conditions (temperature + scene type) and it surfaces past scenes where your gear performed well — for planning what to wear next time.

Search Screen Search Result

Activities and Scenes

What is the difference between Activities and Scenes?

An Activity describes the type of outing you are logging — for example, Hiking, Trail Running, or Backpacking. You assign one Activity per log entry.

A Scene represents a distinct phase within that outing. Each log can contain up to four Scenes:

Scene When you use it
Active While you are moving — hiking, running, climbing
Rest A short break during the outing
Sleep Overnight or a nap inside a shelter or sleeping bag
Transit Traveling to or from the trailhead — car, bus, train

For each Scene you record the temperature range, weather, wind, the gear you were wearing, and how you felt thermally.

Why does splitting into Scenes matter?

Your thermal comfort changes dramatically between moving and stopping, especially in cold conditions. By logging Active and Rest (or Sleep) separately, you build a precise picture of how your gear performs across different intensity levels — not just on average. This is also what makes Search results meaningful: it matches conditions at the scene level, not the trip level.

Logging Gear

How do I log gear in a Scene?

Inside the Scene editor, tap Add Gear Item. For each item you can enter:

You can add as many items as you like per Scene, and edit or remove them at any time.

What are Gear Categories?

Gear Categories are labels used to organise your items within a Scene. The default categories are:

Tops · Bottoms · Outer · Shoes · Backpacks · Accessories · Sleeping Bag/Quilt · Sleeping Mat · Shelter · Other

You can rename, reorder, or hide categories in Settings → Gear Categories, and add your own custom ones.

Thermal Feedback

What is the FELT rating?

After recording the conditions for a Scene, you rate how you actually felt during that phase. There are five options:

Rating Meaning
Too Cold You were uncomfortably cold
Cold Slightly cooler than ideal
Just Right Perfectly comfortable
Hot Slightly warmer than ideal
Too Hot Uncomfortably warm

The FELT rating is the core signal Thermal Buddy uses to rank Search results. A scene rated “Just Right” is ranked highest; “Too Cold” and “Too Hot” appear under “Lessons learned.”

What is the “Just Right %” on the Home screen?

It is the percentage of all your recorded Scenes that you rated “Just Right.” It is a quick summary of how well your gear choices have been working overall. The higher the number, the more consistently you have been getting your layering right.

Settings Customization

What can I customize in Settings?

In the Settings area you can customize:

Settings Main Custom Activity Custom Icons

What does “Temperature Range” in Settings do?

It sets the lower and upper bounds of the temperature wheel picker used when recording a Scene and when searching. The default range is −30 to 50 °C (−22 to 122 °F), which covers most outdoor conditions. If you regularly operate in more extreme environments — or want a tighter range for easier picking — you can adjust these bounds here.

Design Philosophy

Why is the app Dark Mode only?

Outdoor gear management often happens in the “shoulder hours”—early morning alpine starts, inside a dim tent at night, or at a dark trailhead.

What is the philosophy behind the “Just Right” pulse?

When you achieve a “Just Right” thermal rating, the icon on the Home screen and in your stats performs a subtle, ambient “breathing” pulse.

This is the app’s “signature moment.” It’s a quiet celebration of successful preparation. We chose a slow, rhythmic pulse rather than a flashy animation to reflect the calm and confidence that comes with having the right gear for the conditions.

Premium

Is Thermal Buddy free?

Thermal Buddy is free to download and includes up to 8 logs at no cost. Once you reach that limit, a Premium upgrade is required to keep adding logs. Premium is available as a yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.

All existing logs remain fully accessible regardless of your subscription status.

Data & Sync

Where is my data stored?

Your app data is stored locally on your device.

Does the app support iCloud sync?

Yes. If iCloud is enabled on your device, your data syncs through your private iCloud account so it is available across your Apple devices.

Can the developer see my personal logs?

No. Your user-generated data is not accessible to us.

Privacy & AI

Does Thermal Buddy use generative AI for my data?

No. Thermal Buddy does not use generative AI to process your personal data. All search and ranking is performed on-device using your own logged history.

Troubleshooting & Support

iCloud sync is not working. What should I check?

Please verify:

If sync still does not work, please report the issue on GitHub.

I found a bug or want to request a feature. Where should I contact you?

Please open an issue on our GitHub Issues page.

© 2026 Eiji Akiyama (Thermal Buddy)