Are you looking for some gift ideas? Is that someone you’re shopping for into the outdoors? Check out some of our favorite items below. If you are like us, you probably spend most of your free time outdoors and put the shopping off until the last minute or are just looking for a safer shopping experience during the pandemic. In either case, ordering through Amazon Prime is a great option for holiday shopping. You can try Amazon Prime for 30 days free! You can also give the gift of an Amazon Prime membership to someone during the holidays!
Some other unique gifts to consider would be to donate to a favorite trail or purchase an annual parks pass.
- Just Google the trail + donate to find out how you can donate to support your favorite trail. Trail conservancy groups rely on donations and the hard work of volunteers to maintain the trails for all of us to hike.
- America the Beautiful Annual Pass. This pass gives you free admission for a year to all the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands.
- Annual State Parks Pass. This pass gives you free admission to the State Parks for a year. We buy a MN State Parks pass every year.
The following list is some of our favorite gear that we use in the outdoors!
We have been using Ella’s Wool clothing to keep our son warm in the outdoors. They make quality merino wool for children! Use this link to automatically save 10% on your order, https://ellaswool.com/discount/HIKINGTHRULIFE2020
This multipurpose, lightweight tool serves as a pot gripper and also allows you to safely puncture empty fuel canisters so they can be recycled. This makes a great addition to any camp kitchen!
Adventure with peace of mind! We love our Garmin inReach! It allows family to track us, we can text from anywhere, and there is even an SOS button if you need to be rescued.
Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothes and Gear
Permethrin is our first line of defense against bugs! We spray down our camping clothes at the beginning of every season with it. It’s great at repelling ticks, mosquitos, flies, and more. Just spray it on your clothes and gear and let it dry before use. It lasts up to 6 weeks or 6 washings.
These are a must for any hiker! No more swatting your face as you hike down the trail. We use ours all the time during the summer months.
We believe a headlamp is an essential piece of gear for hikers. Even if you are just day hiking, it is smart to carry some sort of light in case you find yourself out after dark. This Petzl headlamp has adjustable brightness settings and can run on AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack.
If you know a backpacker who wants a little more light at camp, this lantern is an excellent lightweight option! You can hang it off the back of your pack to charge while you hike. It even has a USB outlet you can use to charge a phone or other device.
This is Andy’s favorite saw to take backpacking! It folds down to a slim profile and is very durable and powerful while still not weighing a ton.
Platypus GravityWorks 4L Water Filter
This is a great filter that we’ve been using for years! Just fill the dirty bag with water, hang it from a tree, and let gravity do the work! This water filtration system is especially great when camping with a group of people or family.
These little soap strips are a great lighter alternative to liquid soap! To use, just pull out a strip or two and get it wet. They are also biodegradable.
This lightweight, quick-drying towel is great for wiping down on your adventure! Whether you need to dry off or you need a dishcloth, this works great! We recommend the smaller sizes for backpackers.
This is the first eating utensil we owned for backpacking and we haven’t looked back! It is a durable, lightweight, all-in-one utensil. They also make a less expensive plastic version.
We have tried many ways of making coffee in the outdoors and the AeroPress has been the best way that we’ve found! It is a lightweight, durable press style coffee maker.
This is a great gift for someone who is adventuring into more remote wilderness! This is concentrated pepper spray that can shoot up to 30 ft. It can be used not only on bears, but all sorts of dangerous encounters with wildlife. We always carry our spray with us out there and luckily we have never had to use our spray.
We love our lightweight Osprey dry bags! We use them mainly to keep clothes and electronics dry in our pack while we are backpacking.
We love our hands-free leash for our dog Daisy! It frees up our hands to use trekking poles on the trail.
Silicone Collapsible Dog Bowls
These are a must if you camp or hike with a dog! They collapse down very slim and are lightweight. You can either hang them off your pack or let your dog carry them in its pack like we do.
Trekking the National Parks Board Game
We love this game! It mixes strategy with fun facts about the National Parks. Fun for the whole family!
Exploring the Boundary Waters by Daniel Pauly
This is our go-to book when we start planning a trip in the BWCAW! It is a great guidebook and offers some suggested routes.
Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail, 8th Edition
The official guidebook for the Superior Hiking Trail. We use this book to plan our hikes whenever we head up to the SHT. Great for a hiker local to MN!
Shop the Hiking Thru Life store
We have water bottles, t-shirts, and stickers!
Use code HOLIDAYS for 15% off thru Christmas