Hiking and Outdoor Gift Guide 2018
The gift giving season is descending upon us and the awkward conversations of asking what people want is on the horizon. Whether it is friends, family, or coworkers gift ideas run short. This is where the BE IN gift giving guide comes in. This annual gift giving list will try to help you understand that special someone and provide gift ideas to bestow onto their person.
We know many hikers that like their gear but they can sometimes be very particular in what gear they buy. We try to evaluate what type of outdoorsman or women that special person may be and provide you, the reader, with ideas of gifts that will help their outdoor adventures be more pleasant. Please know that all links are amazon affiliate links and you would be giving us a gift by using them.
All links are amazon affiliate links.
The Purist
An ultra light hiker will tell you that Nalgenes are too big and heavy. Its either a platypus or smart water bottle for them! What if you could get the benefits of both a Nalgene and a platypus all in one. The Hydropak bottle is a one liter container that can collapse into a small package but still retains the hard top for ease of drinking. The bottle has a larger handle that a carabiner can easily attach to. We find this an interesting bottle that can be a great companion or backup to a water bladder.
A purist might want a pair of socks that resist odor, are comfortable to walk in, and have a life time guarantee. A sock that will last one lap around the AT. Sounds too good to be true, right? Incredibily, the Darn Tough socks are just those socks. Even though they have a life time guarantee, socks obviously will not last a life time but these socks will go the distance. We highly recomend Darn Tough socks.
If that doesn’t wet their whistle then you can help them complete their purist gear by buying them some titanium equipment. Its light yet strong, everything a hiker wants.
The New Hiker
There are two very important pieces of gear a new hiker needs, footwear and a hiking backpack. If you want to buy them footwear then we recommend buying trailrunners for warm weather and hiking boots for colder climates. Stick with buying them high quality footwear, unless you hate them.
When it comes to buying hiking backpacks there is one important rule to follow, stick with trusted high quality brands. As detailed in our article here, the stitching of a backpack is the most important part and the largest factor for longevity. Quallity brands pay special attention to this stitching. You don’t want a backpack to fall apart in the middle of nowhere. Some traditional style backpacks we enjoy are the Osprey Atmos AG 50, Osprey Exos and Eja 38, Osprey Levity and Lumina 45, Gregory Optic and Octal 48, and the REI Flash 45.
Another useful item a new hiker will need is a quallity water filter. Our personal favorite water filters are the Sawyer squeeze and Sawyer mini. We find the Sawyer Squeeze to be much easier to extract water from but the Mini more practical as it can be screwed on many commercial plastic water bottles. Either way these filters will last a very long time.
The Documenter
Vlogging your every move and putting it on youtube is, may I aptly say, more than popular in todays time. People of all ages doing everything and anything are recording themselves for youtube. From their daily life of travel to their extreme adventures, the youtube world cannot seem to get enough. The special person you are thinking about may be one of those people. In that case I would recommend a camera, but dedicated cameras can be very large and cumbersome and the previous small action cameras have been on the low quality end. The new GoPro Hero 7 black has changed that. With good image quality, good sound, its new image stabilization that will have you speechless, waterproof case, rugged design, super light, and tons of accessories, the GoPro is one of the best action cameras and a new contender for vlogging camera for light hiker.
The Imaginator
I have seen many ultralite hikers who still carry around maps and books or alternatively they download them to their phone. The problem with the first is books are heavy and the later is you start to become so reliant on your phone the battery drains at an astronomical rate. For these book worms I would suggest a Kindle. A kindle has a battery life that will last for weeks and is extremely light. Books can be downloaded straight to the kindle through its dedicated mobile connection that does not have a fee or require a subscription. For a book worm the kindle is an ultralite dream.
The Economist
This hiker likes to be prepared but isn’t spending money on overly priced objects or the newest flashy gear. They are simply, prepared. For these hikers I would recommend they be stocked up on their cables and power adapters such as the amazon basics 6ft/1.8m lighting or usb-c cables and dual usb charging adapter. If they have multiple devices with different cables, as unfortunately most of us do, you can give them 3-in-1 usb charging cable that can charge via lighting, micro usb, and usb-c. For those carrying around an ultralite laptop or the new iPad pro then maybe a power adapter with usb-c quick charge and usb-a port will come in handy. These make great stocking stuffers and are very handy in the field.
If this doesn’t seem exotic enough than maybe buy them one of these high quality items; a new backpack, a water filter, or headlamp. Any new or better equipment can help them tremendously. Some hikers go out into the wilderness only with what they had at home, which here at Be In we completely understand, but sometimes that equipment is old or impractical. I am sure they will appreciate some new shinny gear.
If you enjoyed this guide and would like to give a gift to yourself and us then why not buy one of our shirts. Check out the Be In storefront and snatch some of our gear. Our tagless shirts are made of high quallity and comfortable materials. Happy holidays and happy trails.
