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The Best Holiday Gifts for Hikers

From shirts and shorts and hats to boots and backpacks and headlamps, options abound.

best gifts for hikersGear Patrol

By Steve Mazzucchi

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Shopping for a hiker? You’re in luck. There is a seemingly endless array of equipment designed for the hiking set. From shirts and shorts and hats to more technical gear like boots and backpacks and headlamps, options abound — at a wide range of price points, no less. Best of all, a lot of this gear is equally at home in the concrete jungle, so even if the recipient isn’t hitting the trails anytime soon, they’ll be stoked.

Sun and wind protection in the form of a stretchy, breathable polyester neck tube with the timeless style of a bandana that you don’t have to tie… what’s not to love?

This strategic blend of bamboo, merino wool, nylon and elastane adds up to some of the best-fitting and most comfortable socks we’ve ever worn.

This adjustable cadet cap’s ventilation panels double as sunglass holders, the clamshell brim folds up handily, and a hidden pocket lets you stash small essentials. (Price varies based on color and size.)

Hypochlorous is a molecule naturally produced by white blood cells to aid healing. As the active ingredient in this 3-ounce bottle, it’s a medical-grade treatment for hiking woes such as cuts, scrapes, sunburns, chafing, rashes and insect bites.

The Grizzly Bar combines dark chocolate, honey, chewy dried fruit and creamy peanut butter for 260 calories of flavorful energy to fuel that push to the summit — or serve as a reward once it’s reached.

This stainless steel vessel keeps beverages cold for up to 24 hours. Paired with the included easy-drinking sport cap, it’s ready to provide refreshing hydration when a hiker needs it most.

Gaia’s loaded with topo, satellite and road maps of thousands of trails, parks and forests — and members can download them to their phones, so no matter how far off the grid they go, they’ll never be truly lost.

The Free series boasts an awesome innovation: thanks to clever nubs and magnets, all implements can be accessed with one hand. The tidy T2 packs eight handy implements for tackling a host of outdoor tasks.

This USB-rechargeable headlamp boasts four light modes, up to 40 hours of illumination on low (three on high) and a front panel that tilts down so you don’t blind your friends. 

Does one need a stool for a day hike? Maybe not. But when that stool weighs less than a pound, fits in your pack’s water bottle slot and quickly expands into a perfect resting spot… why not?

With a gusseted crotch, contoured fit and 95 percent nylon/five percent spandex fabric, the Quandary is about as motion friendly as shorts can get. A DWR finish keeps them nice and dry too.

This pack sneaks a lot of quality into a pretty minimalist profile: durable 100-denier Cordura fabric, a breathable mesh back panel, a water bottle sleeve, handy zippered pockets and even an ice axe loop.

“Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” So wrote the great philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762’s The Social Contract. Re-free the hiker in your life with this pass, which grants its holder entry to all federal lands.

These stylish polarized specs enhance color contrast while protecting peepers from UV rays. The no-slip temple and arm pads keep them comfortably in place all day long, too.

Thanks to a lightweight, breathable fabric, articulated sleeves and a handy zippered pocket on the arm, this shirt lends itself equally to hefting a pack on the trail and knocking back a beer at the bar post-hike.

Featuring a leather-and-mesh upper and a Vibram outsole, the 2650 weighs in at just 12 ounces per shoe, yet it’s tough enough for aggressive climbing. No wonder it made our roundup of the year’s best hikers.

The Free Hiker’s combo of style and performance (including Boost cushioning and Continental rubber outsoles) made it an easy pick for the 2019 GP100 — a year later, it’s still an awesome high-end gift.

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