Backpacking and outdoor adventure travelers often find themselves subject to a condition informally and humorously known as "Gear Acquisition Syndrome." In short: outdoor travelers like toys and tools. That means that they go on the "easy to please" column of a Christmas list. A well-stocked outdoor equipment store should have enough choices to buy holiday gifts for all the hikers, backpackers, cyclists, paddlers, and adventure travelers on a Christmas gift list.
Holiday Gifts for Adventure Travelers Include Outdoor Gear, Accessories
Water bottles: Sigg makes a traveler's aluminum bottle with a flexible and crack resistant lining that is taste-neutral, which means that the lingering flavor of morning coffee won't mix with the afternoon's powdered energy drink. Nalgene bottles are a good choice for hikers: They are lighter than aluminum.. Platypus makes a collapsible water bottle that is ideal for travelers because it can be stashed in a pocket or a small bag when not in use.
Cooking gear: Guyot designs has introduced squashable eating bowls made of food-grade silicone. These are great for hikers because they are lighter than traditional camp-gear and can be squashed anywhere in a pack.
Headlamps: The teeny little LED headlamps made are always useful. The Petzl MYO XP can send a shaft of light across a football field, and is water-resistant.
Travel security items: Keeping passports safely tucked away, zippers locked shut, and gear secure is a constant problem for adventure travelers. PacSafe has an entire line of products, from money belts to theft-proof carry cases, to help with travel security issues.
Clothing: Avoid cotton clothing when buying for active outdoorspeople. Cotton absorbs sweat. Instead look for wicking fabrics. Clothing made of lightweight merino wool is an excellent choice, and a gift that can be used in the outdoors and back at home.
Deck of Knots Cards: Here's a great gift for the Boy Scout on a Christmas list: A deck of cards, each with step by step directions on how to tie a wide variety of knots. Available from the Boy Scouts of America.
Pack towels: MSR Pack towels are lightweight microfiber towels that absorb an amazing amount of water for their size. They dry in minutes, and are available in four different four sizes weighing from less than an ounce to 3.6 ounces.
Hats: Hats are essential, but outdoorspeople often just grab a baseball cap at the last minute and figure that it'll do. However specialty outdoor hats offer more protection with fuller brims. Other features might include ventilation holes, a chin strap to keep it on in high winds, and even linings designed to help bounce away sunlight .Tilly hats are outdoor classics, and even have a not-so-secret compartment where the wearer can stash a few dollars. .
Waterproof cases for electronics: Everyone seems to have a cell phone and a camera, but very few cases are truly waterproof, which leads to dead cameras and useless cell phones. The best place to buy waterproof cases for anything is at a store that sells paddling equipment.
A Book: Not confident about choosing the right gift? Try a book, National Geographic's Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips makes for great armchair travel and trip planning.
Shopping for Holiday Gifts of Outdoor Equipment
Go to a specialized store, either a locally owned independent outfitter, or a national chain specialty stores such as Cabela's, E.M.S., or R.E.I. These stores have much better quality, specialty equipment, and staff members who know which products are appropriate for which uses.
Avoid buying items that need to be fitted, such as ski helmet's bicycle helmets, or boots. Better to get the skier a pair of goggles, the cyclist some gloves, or the hiker a light jacket.
Look for outdoor accessories.Manufacturers come up with cool new small functional items such as multi-purpose tools, headlamps, cooking gear, and sunglasses every year.
Specialty safety items such as climbing rope make great gifts if purchased by a climbing buddy who knows the recipient's detailed preferences. But these items are highly specific to particular situations and uses, and buyers who don't have technical knowledge of exactly how the gear is used are likely to buy something that is the "wrong size, wrong color."
Finally, make sure the gift is returnable: Backpackers and outdoor travelers put their tools to real use in specialized circumstances. So the gadget they take with them have to be the rights ones. A tent that is too heavy, a stove that runs on the wrong kind of fuel, or a piece of clothing made of the wrong fabric may well stay at home and never see a day on the trail.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
