When someone has a passion such as hiking they often have stacks of kit already, making it hard to find present ideas for them around birthdays and Christmas. To help, our outdoor experts have selected their best gifts for hikers...
Picking an ideal present is no easy feat, especially when the hiker in your life pretty much has everything already. Our best advice when picking picking gifts is to look at items that fit into two categories: nice-to-haves and must-haves.
The nice-to-haves will include things like some new walking socks, a new water bottle or a fancy new GPS watch.
Meanwhile, must-haves can include items like first aid kits, products for reproofing waterproofs or a head torch for instances when you get caught out in dwindling light on walks.
The good news is that, while regular walkers will already have lots of kit, there's probably going to be something handy they don't yet have.
The outdoor gifts to avoid
Technical outdoor clothing is best avoided unless you've received a request for a specific item. Hikers are very set on what they do and don't like in terms of hiking jackets and footwear, for example.
Tacky or flimsy accessories will only draw a weak thank you smile because the concept fails when it's put to use.
Below you'll find a collection of well-engineered and purposeful outdoor accessories that we can recommend as great gift options.
The best gifts for hikers in 2024
www.greatmagazines.co.uk
The perfect gift for you or your loved ones with subscriptions from just £19.99. A subscription to Trail Magazine immerses readers in high-octane excursions across beautiful, yet challenging terrain, while offering skills and tips from outdoor experts, gear reviews and more. Not only this, but with your Trail subscription you will also get 50% off a 12-month subscription to OS Maps.
Get someone geared up with an OS map, or maps. Alternatively, you can get them an OS app map subscription.
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com
Walking socks never go unwanted. Bridgedale socks are made in the UK and are well engineered to offer impressive comfort and durability. Its Midweight Merino Endurance Crew Socks are made from a merino-nylon blend and offer temperature regulation and keep feet warm even when damp. They keep their shape, too thanks to Bridgedale's Thermo Fit process.
This Patagonia organic cotton t-shirt is sustainable and looks brilliant. It's Fair Trade Certified
and is really well made.
Check out the women's version here
LFTOmontane.com
Montane's Fury Gloves are value favourites of ours, being deceptively warm and versatile. They can be worn on their own when it's nippy or as a liner to beefy waterproof gloves. They have good stretch and are touchscreen compatible on the index finger and thumb.
Check out the women's version here
Nikwax makes some of the best outdoor gear cleaning products. This complete kit from Nikwax contains cleaning and reproofing solutions for clothing and footwear, plus a footwear brush and 10-litre drybag. Nikwax's products are PFC-free and all water-based.
LFTOWide mouth flasks are easy to use and very easy to clean. Hydro Flask's version is our recommendation because it's sturdy and effective (hot for 12, cold for 24 hours), yet impressively light (the 946ml volume is 360g). It comes in three volume sizes and a host of colours.
This microfibre travel towel is very compact, fast drying, absorbent. It's better than most because it has an anti-odour treatment and is made from recycled plastic. Various sizes and colours are available.
www.blacks.co.uk
Like socks, neck tubes have become easy fodder for stockings at Christmas or as small birthday gifts. Buff is a market leader in this category and its Merino option adds an extra layer of multifunctional warmth to adventures.
A first aid kit is a necessity when hiking. Lifesystems makes brilliant, compact, CE-certified kits. This 32-piece kit is specifically for hiking. It's 14cm x 11cm x 5cm and weighs just 241g. There is an even smaller Pocket First Aid Kit if you want it.
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com
Dry bags are an unsung hero of outdoor gear. The Sea To Summit Lightweight Dry Sacks are our favourites because they add little weight and are more sustainable than many, thanks to a recycled 70D fabric and PFC-free DWR. Various volumes are available - or you can get a set.
LFTOwww.cotswoldoutdoor.com
To be frank, while £20 headtorches are alright for finding your spork at camp, they aren't powerful or tough enough for hiking at night. Silva's Scout XT is a suitable hiking headtorch, featuring plenty of power, durability, and details like night vision. It's also one of the more sustainable headtorches around.
For a compact and reliable little camping light, look no further. Goal Zero's Crush Light offers up to 60 lumens and up to 35 hours of run time. It can be recharged via USB or by the built-in solar panel on top. Weight is 91g; size when open: 125 x 125 x 100mm, and height drops to 15mm when closed.
Vango's camping stove is a stoic little cooker than delivers exactly what you need. At 102g it's very light but still has an output of 3,000W and can therefore boil one litre of water in about four minutes. It comes with a storage box.
www.alpinetrek.co.uk
The letdown of a tent can be as simple as the inadequate pegs that bend out of shape or keep pulling loose. These Y-shaped aluminium alloy pegs are a great upgrade. They are strong yet light and pierce hard ground easily. Being red, they're also easy to spot.
Genuinely tough power banks are few and far between. This is one of our favourites, especially in terms of value. It has excellent ingress protection (IP67) and a decent battery capacity. It also has the features you want such as USB A and C, and a handy light.
A hard hike or summit conquest is so often best celebrated with a victorious drink of choice. Stanley's little hip flask is the best receptacle for your favourite tipple. It's volume is 230ml, it's leakproof, tough, and comes with a lifetime warranty. Available in several colours.
Rrp: $43.00
Speaking of a tipple, we thought we'd sneak in a couple of top whiskeys. Laphroaig is a very flavoursome whiskey that warms the cockles. 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition gold award winner.
Water is a commodity that you just can't put a price on and this Lifestraw bottle aims to give you a near endless supply of it...
The bottle has an in-built water filter, which Lifestraw says cuts out 99.9% of bacterias, 99.999% of parasites and 99.999% of microplastics.