2023 Best Gifts for Outdoor Lovers
Guardian Revival’s adventure program, Another Summit, leads outdoor adventure activities for veterans and first responders, including walking, hiking, backpacking, and paddling.
Program Executive Director Aaron Leonard and the Another Summit team have put together this list of must-have gear for outdoor lovers this holiday season.
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Gifts for Hiking
Coghlan's Four-Function Whistle
The Coghlan four-function whistle proves that good things do come in small packages. This whistle provides outdoor enthusiasts with emergency signaling and navigation, and it also comes with a temperature gauge, mirror, and magnifying glass, so you’ve got all your essentials for navigating the trail right in your pocket.
GRAYL GeoPress 24oz Water Purifier Bottle
Recommended by our Fieldcraft Survival Skills instructor, this bottle is great for adventurers who spend their time in remote places and need consistent access to clean drinking water if their supply ever runs low. The GRAYL Geopress is a lightweight filtration system that requires no setup time and is good for 65 gallons of purified water with each filter.
LifeStraw Water Filter
If you’re planning on spending a long amount of time outdoors, you’re going to need potable drinking water. In the absence of clean drinking water, the LifeStraw water filter is a compact solution that turns water from most sources into drinkable water. This handy tool is a must-have for anyone who wants to be prepared for unexpected twists during outdoor adventures.
Energizer Headlamp
Nobody likes being stuck in the dark when they’re on the trails. To ensure you confidently navigate your outdoor journey, grab an Energizer headlight and pack some spare batteries for the road ahead.
Trekking Poles
When carrying a backpack on tougher trails, stability is key. These trekking poles provide the extra support needed to navigate uneven terrain with ease. Simple, durable, and essential for backpacking trips, these poles help distribute your weight, which enhances your stability and reduces the strain on your body.
Gifts for Camping
Camping Stove
If you’re planning on spending a few days in the wilderness, you’ll need more than just trail mix to keep you going. Consider picking up this portable camping stove so that you can prepare hot meals in the wild and stay fueled up for the journey ahead.
Solo Stove
For anyone who hasn’t mastered fire-starting skills yet, or simply enjoy a nice portable fire, Solo Stove offers a range of products — from fire pits to pizza ovens.
Stainless Steel Alpine Camping Cook Pot
Once you’ve got the fire going, you’ll need something to cook over it, and that’s where the stainless steel Alpine camping cookpot comes in — it’s portable and lightweight but still large enough to cook a meal that will leave you satisfied while you’re on your adventure.
Tapirus Stainless Camping Sporks
Even if you’re planning on cooking while you camp, but you want to travel as light as possible, then spring for a Tapirus stainless camping spork. This handy little tool has you covered whether you’re eating soup or something more substantive.
Coleman Sundome Camping Tent
Make camping hassle-free with the Coleman Sundome Tent. Available in various sizes, this tent offers a solid choice for individuals or families. With features like a rainfly, excellent ventilation, and easy setup, it provides a comfortable and secure shelter for your outdoor adventures.
Coleman Sun Ridge Warm Weather Sleeping Bag
A good night's sleep is essential for an enjoyable camping experience. The Coleman Sun Ridge Warm Weather Sleeping Bag is designed to keep you comfortable in milder temperatures. Choose a sleeping bag rated 10-15 degrees lower than the lowest expected temperature to ensure warmth during chilly nights.
Thermarest Prolite Apex Sleeping Pad
Make sure you’re getting a comfortable night's sleep and pick up the Thermarest Prolite Apex Sleeping Pad. This affordable sleeping pad provides insulation from the hard ground, taking your overall camping experience to the next level. This one is a great investment for those who want a restful night's sleep in the great outdoors.
REI Flexlite Air Chair
The REI Flexlite camp chair is the perfect choice for people who want a lightweight, portable way to kick back and relax when they’re in the wilderness. Quick to unfold and durable, this camp chair has you covered whether you’re on the trail or just headed to the park.
Orvis Encounter Combo Package
For those who want to add a little fishing to their outdoor adventures, the Orvis Encounter combo package is a great solution for taking your fly-fishing endeavors to new heights. This all-in-one package includes a high-quality rod, reel, and line setup, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable fishing experience for novices and seasoned anglers.
Emergency Gear
Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight Watertight First Aid Kit
Safety should always be a priority when you’re enjoying your outdoor adventures. The Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight Watertight First Aid Kit covers a wide range of medical needs, from cuts and scrapes to sprains and blisters. Waterproof and compact, it ensures you're prepared for emergencies without adding unnecessary weight to your pack.
Emergency Shelter Kit
Getting lost or stuck in the wild is a worst-case scenario, but it’s key to have an emergency shelter kit so that you can be prepared for unforeseen challenges. These ponchos, with a mylar interior for warmth and a rainproof exterior, serve as a simple yet effective emergency shelter. Prioritize staying warm and dry in unexpected situations with this essential addition to your outdoor gear.
Emergency Thermal Blanket
A crucial component of any emergency shelter kit, the emergency thermal blanket ensures you stay warm while waiting for help. Compact and lightweight, this mylar blanket is an invaluable tool for maintaining body heat in emergency situations. A small addition that can make a big difference when the unexpected occurs.
Gifts for Health & Fitness
Wearables & Sleep Trackers
There are plenty of options on the market for wellness wearables to keep track of your fitness, sleep, and other health data. The feedback you receive can be surprising, but the accountability & insights are often what make a big difference for people, empowering them to become more aware & mindful of their behavior and its effects on their body and mind.
The Apple Watch is a popular wearable for iPhone owners and has a variety of health features, including sleep & workout tracking, plus fall & crash detection
The Oura Ring is specially designed to help you with tracking your health through various different biometric data sets.
The WHOOP 4.0 is worn on your wrist just like a watch and continuously monitors your heart rate, sleep, activity, temperature, and more.
Garmin provides a wide range of wearable devices that are rooted in its GPS capabilities — the Garmin 945 Forerunner model is designed for triathletes (and other types of endurance athletes)
Wake-up Lights
Don’t start your day being scared awake by a blaring alarm clock every morning, swap the obnoxious siren for soothing simulated sunrise from a Phillips wake-up light. By using this wake-up light instead of a standard alarm, you can get rid of those groggy mornings that so many of us experience and replace them with a more pleasant start to your day.
A great option for those who have trouble with waking up and falling asleep are Hatch light & sound machines. You can control these devices through an app and set up nighttime & morning routines, leave on a nightlight, and relax with soothing sleep sounds or bounce out of bed with wake-up music.
Meditation Apps
While it can sometimes feel like our phones are crammed with endless distractions, these meditation apps can help clear your mind and provide you with a sense of calm in the midst of your busy life.
Headspace is a great option that comes with a user-friendly interface and a landing page that provides daily meditations and recommendations based on what time it is and your previous meditations on the app. Headspace provides single and course meditations, along with a children’s section. The app also provides dance, yoga, stretching, and fitness video classes to keep you mentally, emotionally, and physically fit.
Waking Up is another great meditation app that provides “lessons and conversations on Stoicism, effective altruism, sleep, psychedelics research, and more.” Sam Harris, the creator of Waking Up, is a neuroscientist who leads a course in introductory theory on the app.
Calm is a popular mental health app that offers meditations, breathing exercises, soundscapes, and music. The app also provides hundreds of sleep stories which are read by celebrity narrators and the authors of the stories themselves.
Guardian Giving Campaign
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our special fundraising opportunity right now — every dollar you donate to Guardian Revival is currently matched by a generous donor.
Guardian Revival is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization chartered to revive and preserve the mental health and well-being of veterans and first responders — our guardians — at no cost to them.
The holidays can be challenging for our guardians, so not only is this an impactful opportunity to give a gift that will truly make a difference in someone’s life, every supporter (at any amount) shows our guardians that we care.