I cringe at calling this a gift guide. Most gift guides are more engineered to make money over helping shoppers find useful, meaningful presents. Retailers sell placements to brands. Bloggers monetize their posts through affiliate links. This means items are selected based on ROI – either end up being extremely generic for high unit volumes, or unique items with high price points and egregious markups (inflated due to a bit of elevated, gift-y packaging). It’s not about helping you find a thoughtful gift. It’s about capturing your sale when you’re burnt out on shopping, at a total loss of what to get for your uncle, and shopping last minute when you’re running out of time.
Gift giving is my love language. I’m good at identifying people’s needs and wants and finding a way to pack a lot of value into my gift budget. So as much as I love another pom pom beanie or Better Sweater, I’ve made my own list of gift ideas for the holiday season to jumpstart your shopping list. We’ll start with the big gifts and work our way down into smaller ones that can be packaged together like a gift basket or used as stocking stuffers:
Any gear near its expiration date: Harnesses, beacons, ropes, and helmets all have a limited shelf life between 5-10 years – or even sooner after a compromising fall. I’m hitting this milestone for a few pieces of gear, and they’re annoying purchases. The gear seems perfectly fine. You never want to hit failure on crucial safety equipment, but at the same time, replacing too often feels wasteful. Gifting these items as a present ensures that they’re retiring old gear and removes the mental calculus surrounding the cost and timing.
A gear demo day: A gift card might feel impersonal, but you can personalize it with a thoughtful note on how you envision them using it. You can give a demo day for ski gear (through a resort or ski shop) or bike gear (at their local bike shop). This is great for someone testing the waters in a new sport before they make a big investment in their own gear. It also fits for someone who needs niche gear for a few days out of the year (like an east coast skier vacationing out west, or a cross-country mountain biker who’s riding resort lifts for a day). This is also a great option for the gear nerd in your life so they can keep up with new, hot launches on the market.
Boot Heaters and Dryers: If your gift is going to a skier or runner in the PNWet, a boot dryer is a godsend to get gear dry (it works for gloves too!). You could also opt for the cheaper, more packable travel version. If temps are a bigger issue in their neck of the woods, a heated boot bag or heated socks will help them brave the elements.
Car Battery Jumper: If you’re going to leave your car in a remote location for days at a time, the ability to jump your own battery provides a lot of peace of mind. This one also has a built in flashlight, can fully charge a cell phone 2-4 times, and can power USB handwarmers or a heated blanket for a cold weather emergency kit.
Insulated Booties: There are 2 main types of insulated booties: Puffy slip-on “UGGs” with a burlier traction sole or “camp booties” that are more compressive and packable in a backpack or duffle. If they’re skiers looking for a boot for snow-day commutes and après drinks, pick the former with a Line Après Bootie or a North Face Thermoball Bootie. If they’re in the latter camp, pick up a pair of Feathered Friends Down Booties or synthetic Bloch Warm Up Booties.
Heated Camp Chair: Not only are heated chairs good for cold weather camping, but the heat also soothes sore muscles. You could also opt for a heated chair cover or sit pad for a smaller gift, in both financially and spatially sense.
Base Layer Tops with a Casual Look: Whether you’re traveling by plane or car, packing space for ski trips is a struggle. A base layer that passes as a casual top comes in clutch with suitcase space. Wear it out to the typical ski town haunts at night, pop it on again to ski the next morning. My go-to brands are Smartwool, Kari Traa, Sweaty Betty, Burton, Tracksmith, and Eivy.
Fire Pit: Everyone already knows about the Solo Stove, but there are a few lesser-known collapsible options that are more camper, apartment, and travel friendly.
“Hang Out” Cold Weather Gear: Do they “car bar” for après? Winter camp? Enjoy a winter bonfire? They need more warm layers than they would for the active parts of their day. Go for a puffer skirt, down pants, heavy fleece joggers or down overalls. My partner got me a Selk Bag a few Christmases ago, and I live in it for winter camping and resort tailgates. Embrace the kook – no one’s pulling of sexy in that many layers.
Gear Tune Up: If they’re the sort of person who has everything (or has maxed out their gear closet), a gift card to their local ski or bike shop can help them maximize the life of their rig or kit. Or if they’re the type to DIY, go for a ski tuning kit or bike repair kit.
Backcountry Ski Repair Kit: This Traverse Equipment kit helps skiers be prepared for all sorts of backcountry gear failures, from simple issues like wet snow globbing on your skis, to more serious problems like snapped skis and torn out bindings.
A Tote: Totes are problem solvers. If you’re trying to haul stuff between home, car, and adventures, throw it all in a tote. Works for après snacks, kids’ gear, all the little accessories for a ski day, camp kitchen gear. I like the zipper top on this one and all the pockets on Cotopaxi’s tote.
Katadyn BeFree: This is a hybrid between a water bottle and a water filter. Fill up the baggie and enjoy 20 liters on the go. It’s a must for anyone who likes to move fast & light for long days on the trail.
Camp Coffee Supplies: I’ve gifted a manual coffee grinder, but you could also upgrade to a portable battery operated one. If they’re still using instant coffee, an Aeropress or silicone pour over dripper could be an upgrade. Pair with a pound of local coffee beans from a small batch roaster.
Gloves: Beanies get all the glory as a little gift for skiers. They have universal fit, budget-friendly price tags, and lots of variety to convey personal style. But that also means we’ve collected a lot of hats (especially with the number given out as event swag). Hats don’t really wear out. They don’t get very wet. They aren’t tailored to different winter sports. But gloves? They pack out. They get holes. They get sweaty. The ones you use for ice climbing aren’t the ones you wear skiing, or cold weather biking, or to get chains on your tires. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Printed Lightweight Gloves: I wear the Burton Touch-N-Go gloves every day. They’re a lightweight glove, but a little more robust than the average liner glove. The fabric’s woven instead of knit, so they’re more wind resistant and durable than a typical liner. They also have a suede-y fabric with silicone dots on the palm for wear resistance and a non-stick grip.
- Watch-friendly Gloves: Oiselle makes a liner with a little watch window in the cuff for easy access during timed workouts or navigating by GPS watch. As a bonus, these are reflective and offer a little more visibility when you’re road running or keeping track of your during an alpine start.
- Puffy Mitts: I always have a pair of down mitts in my kit, mainly for emergencies. They don’t have the burly, structured outer fabric that most mittens feature, so they weigh very little and pack down small. If my “first string” gloves aren’t warm enough or wet out, I can send in reinforcements. Mine are from Outdoor Research and First Light has some with higher fill power down.
- Bike Gloves: Mountain bike gloves get totally thrashed since they’re always in contact with the handlebars (and when they’re not, they’re probably catching a crash). The options from Shredly make it easy to infuse some color and style into your gift, and insulated gloves from Wild Rye are perfect for a cold weather rider.
Camp Kitchen Gear: Skip the stuff from outdoor brands, these items just need to be small. We use a mini cutting board all the time for “car-cuterie.” Pair with a camp knife. This spoon-spatula is our one, do-it-all cooking utensil that cleans up easy. Or you could go for a 3-pack of mini cooking utensils. Collapsible silicone lidded containers are on my list for this year. Slim cooler-friendly ice packs will never go to waste. OXO Pop Containers with a 2-3 gallon compost bag make for an odor-resistant trash setup.
Socks: Always Darn Tough. They’ve got incredible durability and a lifetime guarantee. Pick any style but ski socks. (Folks have a lot of specific tastes for sock thickness depending on how their boots fit).
Winter Skin & Haircare: This could make for a good stocking theme or a little gift basket. Cold, windy air is very dry and strips moisture out of our hair and skin. Helmets add friction and breakage to our hair. Here’s a little list of options:
- An occlusive moisturizing balm helps the skin retain moisture, like this balm from Trader Joe’s (it’s only $2.99 in store!). Dr. Bronner’s and Burt’s Bees make similar balms.
- A balm sunscreen offers similar skin protection with SPF. Supergoop’s Cloud 9 would be a premium option while Dermatone’s Classic Tin’s more budget friendly.
- Lip balm – Aquaphor’s my tried and true basic, and I like that it comes in a lot of options between SPF levels, sticks, and squeeze tubes. Jack Black and EltaMD have nice options if you want to go with something a little more elevated than what they use every day.
- A recovery sheet mask for after adventures, whether a sheet mask or tube form.
- A silky-feeling balaclava (I like Skida) is essential for hair guys and gals. Dry cold air lifts the hair cuticle, making it more susceptible to breakage. A physical barrier keeps hair warm and protected, and the silky hand feel reduces friction from your brain bucket.
- Some hair oil will also keep the cuticle from lifting (again I’m a TJ’s girlie) or serve as a conditioning treatment after a stormy day on the slopes.
Sustainable Snack Containers: I gave my partner Bee’s Wrap last year and we’ve gotten a lot of use out of ours. Stasher bags have also been pretty handy.
A Rechargeable Headlamp: I usually pack a battery powered headlamp for overnight trips, but I added picked up a rechargeable one on promo and get much more use out of it. It’s perfect for nighttime dog walks and evening hikes and ski tours where at max, I’m spending a few hours out after dark.
Camp Food: Go for the smaller indie brands so that it feels a little more premium (like Mary Jane’s Farms, Nomad Nutrition, Heather’s Choice, or Packit Gourmet). Complete with a GSI long spoon that always reaches the bottom of the bag.
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