The fresh air, the trail ahead, and perfect weather – it’s hard to improve on a great day in the outdoors. While mother nature is one of the best gift givers ever, you can still give her a run for her money with these thoughtful camping gifts for your favorite outdoor enthusiast.
Morning Routines
A sock as tough as a shoe
The barefoot one-with-the-earth approach on a camping trip sounds great in theory, but one sharp stone or twig to the insole quickly reveals the hazards. If you’re looking at bulky hiking shoes as gifts for hikers, consider these intriguing sock-shoe hybrids instead. With silver-infused yarn wrapping the top of the foot and a flexible-yet-durable sole, SKINNERS Barefoot Sock Shoes are the next best thing to being barefoot around the campsite.
Keep ticks & bugs at bay
Protection from the multi-legged branch of “the elements” is crucial on a camping trip, but the smell of heavy, chemical bug spray is a one-way ticket to a headache after awhile. Spare your favorite camper’s olfactory senses by making outdoorsy gifts of Ticks-N-All, an all-natural tick repellent spray. Not only does it have a lovely bouquet of tick-repelling essential oils like rosemary, citrus, and citronella, it’s totally free of parabens, DEET, and other harsh chemicals.
Compact storage
Whether it’s shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, or lotion, taking toiletries on a camping trip can make a challenging addition to an already-overstuffed pack. The Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle is BPA and PVC-free and its design takes up far less room than most on-the-go bottles. With a hanging strap and a screw-on lid, what goes inside stays inside: to reuse the bottle, your recipient simply has to wash, air-dry, and refill with their toiletries of choice.
A body-sized wet wipe
Gifts for hikers typically fall into two categories: what they can carry on them and things to eat and drink. The problem is, all that hauling means getting hot, sweaty, and, well, not so fresh-smelling. Thankfully, Epic Wipes’ Towel Sized Body Wipes smell perfectly fresh, whisking away dirt and odor with a bamboo-based cloth, infused with essential oils like eucalyptus. Gift them to your favorite outdoor enthusiast and they’ll be silently thanking you the next time a hot day on the trail rolls around.
Getting Prepped
Strong and secure straps
From bulky tents to lofty sleeping bags, long hikes and camping trips could always use a little extra room. The stretchy, lightweight tie down straps from WRAPTIE™ harness the power of hook and loop closure and innovative design to adapt to any situation. When given as gifts for outdoor lovers, they’ll be sure to think fondly of your thoughtfulness the next time they’re facing an overflowing backpack that needs to be tamed before a long day on the trail.
An all-purpose anchor
Tent stakes have a long and difficult history of popping out of the ground at inopportune moments, particularly in inclement weather and high winds. Orange Screw’s Ground Screws keep tents, tarps, and other gear that needs an anchor in place, no matter what the outdoors dishes out. Once the screws are safely installed, your lucky giftee can spend more time admiring the campsite sunrise and less time trying to chase down a rogue tent flap.
A down-alternative blanket
Cold weather camping is all fun and games until an intrepid camper wakes up shivering in their tent. Help your favorite camper or hiker fend off the midnight chills with the warm, insulating, puffin blanket from NEMO, made especially for the great outdoors. Crinkle-free water repellent material is ideal for damp weather, and an easily-compressed design tucks neatly away into backpacks and bags when it’s time to hit the trail.
Fire it Up
A tool that ignites a spark
The “Swiss Army knife” of the carabiner world, Outdoor Element’s Flint Multi-Tool Carabiner design is one of the hottest gifts for campers – quite literally, in fact. That’s because one of the edges features a special spark-producing wheel that requires only a quick thumb flick to operate. Load up some dry tinder and wood in a campfire site, give it a flick, and voila – instant campfire. Handy features like hang slots for keys, a fishing line-cutting blade, bottle opener, and flathead screwdriver sweeten the deal.
A portable wood stove
Humans have long harnessed the power of fire. In fact, for long as they’ve been walking the earth, they’ve been using fire for heat, safety, cooking, and crafting. Can something that ancient be improved upon? It turns out it can. Solo Stove’s Titan Portable Wood Stove is slightly bigger than a soup can. And it not only makes it easy to build a well-contained cooking-ready fire to prep food for up to four hungry campers, it also collects its own ash and prevents ground scorching, too.
A fire protector
Even the most well-built campfire is at the mercy of an unexpected squall or heavy winds. help even the odds with Campfire Defender’s Campfire Safety Cover. Built to withstand temperatures nearly twice as high as the average campfire, it protects a campfire and/or embers from being prematurely extinguished, and shields campers and nature from wayward ash and sparks. Good for up to 100 fires, it comes with glow in the dark stakes and a flashlight to make nighttime navigation easier.
A natural way to start the fire
Charcoal is heavy and dirty, lighter fluid is easy to “overdo”, and newspaper becomes a hazard in a strong breeze, but Stokes’ All-Natural Firestarters are perfect for getting a safe, cozy blaze started in no time. Made with flammable yet safe materials like recycled cardboard egg cartons, paraffin wax, and sawdust, they’re the perfect companion to your recipient’s carefully-stacked firewood. Simply place a firestarter, light, and get the marshmallows ready.
A stove powered by the sun
Hunger doesn’t always want to wait for a safe place to start a fire, and lugging around a canister of fuel isn’t feasible. GoSun’s Sport Solar Cooker settles the grumbling stomach debate by using mother nature’s best cooking tool: the sun. By concentrating sunlight and using it to heat a cooking tube, hikers and campers can cook anything from small proteins and eggs to sliced veggies without a campfire in sight. Safe, clean, and easy to use, it’s a fantastic present for eco-conscious outdoor lovers.
Lighting the Way
A light to last the weekend
Camping gift ideas shouldn’t always assume the giftee is anxious to get completely off the grid, particularly if they rely on their smartphone for safety. BioLite’s PowerLight Mini Lantern is USB-rechargeable, offering up to 52 hours of illumination on a single charge, whether it’s used as a white bike light or lantern, for a red light, or as a strobe of either color. The charged, portable case can also be used to charge up a smartphone to 50% in emergencies – ideal for out-of-the-way camping trips.
Light up the whole campsite
USB rechargeable lanterns make excellent camping gifts because they’re useful even after a campsite is packed up. Barebones Living Beacon Lantern is a 400-lumen-producing model charges rapidly in only 4 to 5 hours, yet delivers up to 200 hours of illumination on its low setting. Combined with the included heavy-duty metal carabiner, it’s an overhead inner-tent lantern that makes drifting off to sleep with a favorite novel a breeze. Once your camper is back home, it’s a great emergency light for blackouts.
From sunrise to sunset, these thoughtful camping gifts will keep any outdoor adventurer safe, warm, clean, and happy. The next time your intrepid friend, partner, or family member is due to tackle the outdoors, send them on their way with one of these awesome camping gift ideas to make the trip that much more memorable.
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