Gift ideas for hikers | Best hiking gifts for him and her

best hiking gift ideas What are the best gift ideas for hikers? A basket with hiking meals and hiking snacks is probably the best hiking gift idea! In this article I will discuss – in-depth – the best hiking gifts for him and her!

 

What makes a good hiking gift?

At first, I didn’t want to write an article about this topic. Why? Simple, there are so many articles about “best hiking gifts” already, I felt like I wouldn’t have anything to add.

However, once I looked at some of the top ranked articles I realized something. Most of these articles actually didn’t suggest a lot of gifts I would love to receive… Stay with me here, I will explain why in a minute.

Most articles about “gift ideas for hikers” or “best hiking gifts for him and her” are mainly trying to sell you stuff. They will provide an enormous list with stuff that you can buy from amazon. The problem with most of these suggestions is that there is a big chance that the receiver of this gift already owns what you will give him. Also, it would be possible that he/she simply doesn’t want to carry the additional weight of your gift.

See, hikers are generally very picky about what they bring on a hiking trip. Every additional ounce is an ounce that we have to carry up every mountain that we encounter. Simply put, we, “hikers” try to keep our backpacks as light as possible.

This results in hikers being easily disappointed when somebody buys him/her a hiking gift. That said, there are some gifts that are great for every hiker out there. I took my time to actually create a (somewhat small) list with the best hiking gifts you can buy.

Now that you understand why I had to write this article I hope you can appreciate my hiking gift ideas for hikers even more.

Oh and I know that this article is titled “best hiking gifts for him and her” so most of the suggested gifts are unisex.

 

List of best hiking gifts for him and her

In order to create a clear overview, I decided to split up the gifts in three different types: Food, Fun and Utility. As I said before, utility is the hardest type of gift to give to a hiker because you need to know a thing or two about the hiker in question. However, there are also certain gifts you can’t go wrong with – even in the utility section.

Food based gifts

The best hiking gift? Take some of these snacks/meals, put them in a basket and there you go!

Food is something that every hiker needs and it’s always fun to discover new flavours in meals and snacks!

As I already gave away at the beginning of this article. A basket with hiking meals and hiking snacks is my favourite hiking gift idea. Not only is this a useful and fun gift, you can also decide (almost) exactly how much you want to spend. However, you have to make sure that these snacks and meals do not spoil and are actually good meals/snacks for hikers. I have done plenty of research on the subject over the years, after writing articles like the best hiking meals and the best hiking snacks, I have plenty of recommendations!

1. Energy bar

This energy bar is pretty popular among hikers and backpackers. It tastes good and has a lot of calories. A great hiking gift because every hiker needs some good snacks for on the trail!

Link to amazon: Energy bar

2. Protein bar

As much as I like a good energy bar, these are not the perfect hiking snack. Why? Well, most hikers simply don’t eat enough protein. An energy bar only has a bit protein in it. The solution? A good protein bar!

Link to amazon: Protein bar

3. Beef jerky

 

Another awesome high-protein snack is beef jerky. Normally I prefer People’s Choice Beef JerkyHowever, as a gift, I really like jack links, they come in a lot of different flavours and most of them taste amazing.

Link to amazon: Beef jerky

4. Dried fruit

Another something a lot of hikers lack, are vitamins. The main reason for this is that fruit and vegetables don’t preserve good. This can be an issue when you are hiking a long distance trail. The solution would be to bring dehydrated fruit.

Link to amazon: Dried fruit

5. Trail mix

A delicious mix of seeds, nuts and fruits… No surprise that trail mix made the list of best hiking gifts for him and her. A great snack that helps a hiker to stay healthy on the trail.

Link to amazon: Trail mix

6. Almonds

Almonds are among the healthiest of nuts. 28 grams of walnuts (1 serving) are good for 161 calories, 14 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein and 6 grams of carbs. These nuts can also be found in certain types of granola and in certain trail mixes.

Link to amazon: Almonds

7. Peak Refuel | Beef pasta marinara

The first real hiking meal on this list is the Beef pasta marinara from Peak Refuel. This meal contains two servings, every serving contains 490 calories.

You only have to add boiling water and you can eat straight from the bag.

  • Calories: 990
  • Protein: 49g
  • Carbs: 50g
  • Fat: 59g

Link to amazon: Peak Refuel | Beef pasta marinara

8. Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles

The next meal is one of my favourite meals. One meal contains around 2 servings and has the following nutritional values:

  • Calories: 650
  • Protein: 27.5g
  • Carbs: 72.5g
  • Fat: 27.5g

It’s a great idea to put this into a hiking gift basket.

Link to amazon: Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles

9. Mountain House Breakfast Skillet

One pack of the mountain house breakfast skillet weighs 134 grams and has 1000 calories, this is definitely a calorie dense meal. Let’s take a look at the nutritional values:

  • Calories: 1000
  • Protein: 35g
  • Carbs: 75g
  • Fat: 60g

Link to amazon: Mountain House Breakfast Skillet

Fun based gifts

The fun based gifts are not meant to be used while hiking. These are mainly gifts that hikers can use/wear when they are not hiking.

Books

Great Hiking Trails of the World

America’s Great Hiking Trails

T-shirts

Take a Hike | for Men or Women T-Shirt

The Mountains are Calling, I Must Go | for Men or Women T-Shirt

Utility based gifts

The ulity based gifts are gifts that are actually useful (and non-edible) on the trail (or for prepartion) and there is a high chance that the hiker in question will actually use these.

Hiking flask

This gift is probably not for every hiker. However, for some hikes, it will be the perfect gift. If you are hiking a long distance trail and you enjoy a drink in the evening a hiking flask is going to be very useful. A glass bottle is way too heavy and a plastic bottle is simply not tasty. This present is the perfect solution!

Stanley Classic Flask.

DWR coating spray

Another very useful gift is a DWR coating spray. As I explained in this article about waterproof hiking jacket, nothing is completely waterproof. The best way to make sure your gear remains waterproof is to frequently apply DWR coating.

DWR coating spray

Paracord

Another must have for every type of hiker is paracord. Paracord needs replacement once in a while. Therefore, paracord is a good gift. You might want to combine this with some other gift on this list since paracord on its own is probably not the most exciting gift in the world.

Paracord

Blister tape

For most hikers blisters are pretty common. Blister tape can be used to prevent blisters and to help once you already have a blister. The most exciting gift in the world? Probably not, but very useful nevertheless!

Moleskin blister rape

Other hiking gift ideas

If you know exactly what the hiker in questions needs, there are obviously other options as well. Here are some potential hiking gift ideas:

Cheap hiking shoes

Waterproof hiking jackets

Softshell jackets for hiking

Best hiking accessories

Best hiking technology

Cheap hiking pants

Lightweight 2 person backpacking tent

Food dehydrator review

waterproof hiking gloves

cheap rain pants for hiking

Best hiking socks

Best snow hiking boots

cheap sleeping pads for backpacking

Conclusion

There are a thousand thing you can do wrong when buying a hiking gift for him or her. However, once you know what you should be looking for, it’s pretty easy to make a hiker/backpacker happy. The secret is FOOD! Combine some of the best hiking snacks and meals and put them in a nice looking basket and you have got yourself the perfect hiking gift.

You don’t absolutely need a basket by the way. You could also keep it simple and buy one/multiple bags of beef jerky. Even something as simple as that is an awesome hiking gift.

If you don’t want to give a food based gift there are still fun-based and utility-based gifts to choose from!

Do you have any other hiking gift ideas? Let me know in the comments below!

 

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