Why does Strava/Garmin/... show a different total climb than Trail Boss?

[bruce@handylogic.ca]

Trail Boss divides your trip into segments (legs) that represent the significant climbs and descents in your trip (see post What is 'Trip Leg Divisions' on the Settings page?). Trip total climb/descent is the sum of each leg's elevation change. The small ups and downs that may occur within a leg are ignored. We think this method provides the most useful climb/descent values.

Many Apps and online services do it differently, they add up the change in elevation between each recorded track point in the trip. Every little bump in the trail that you pass over is treated as a small climb and decent and gets added into the climb and descent totals. This results in larger climb/descent totals than what Trail Boss would show. You can make Trail Boss use this method by selecting 'No Leg Divisions' or ‘Each Mile/Kilometer’ under 'Trip Leg Divisions' in 'Trip Settings'. We recommend using barometric altitude when you use this setting.

By default, Trail Boss uses GPS elevation to compute elevation totals. GPS elevation is notoriously inaccurate. If you place a high value on accurate climb/descent statistics then select 'Use Barometer For Altitude' under the 'Barometer, Sounds, Screen' option on Trail Boss's Settings page. It is much more accurate.