Best Gifts for Hikers, Backpackers, Outdoorsy People (2026)

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Buying gifts for the outdoor enthusiast is damn near impossible. Your hiking/camping/cycling outdoorsy friends are often serious gearheads, meticulously poring over reviews, guides, and the perennial wisdom of ounce-counting Reddit users to find the exact right thing.

Don't stress trying to pick that exact right thing yourself. The chances of you figuring it out and getting it for them as a gift is exactly zero. That doesn't mean you should punt and buy an REI gift card—although they might like that, especially with REI's annual anniversary sale coming up at the end of May. But gift cards are lame. Instead, get them something they totally didn't expect: one of these fun, useful, sometimes whimsical things that are almost guaranteed to not only delight them but actually get used outdoors.

And what about you? While you’re here, don’t you need to replace your sleeping pad? Don't forget to check out the rest of our buying guides, including our Best Sleeping Bags guide, our Best Barefoot Shoes guide, and our Best Merino Wool guide.

Updated April 2026: I’ve added a Bluetooth speaker from Soundboks. But we’re sticking with the socks as our top pick. If you get nothing else, just get the socks. Trust us.

Merino Wool Socks

Yes, you read that right. Socks. SOCKS. You should gift socks. Outdoorsy people can never have too many socks. We're hard on socks, which almost guarantees this gift will see some use. What your outdoorsperson especially needs are merino wool socks. Merino wool is a super fiber. It will change their lives. Did you know you can wear merino wool for several days in row without smelling like you just spent two weeks at a Phish reunion? Just kidding, Phish fans. But it's true. Merino wool will change your friend or loved one's backpacking life. It's comfortable, has virtually no odor no matter how long you wear it, and helps your body thermoregulate, staying warmer when it's cold, cooler when it's warm.

We love Darn Tough socks in particular because they're comfortable, stand up to considerable abuse, and have some of the highest merino wool content of anything we've tested. The also come in a nearly endless array of fun colors and designs. If you want something warmer, I love these Expedition Weight Minus33 merino socks ($24).

A Cozy Blanket

No outdoorsy person ever regrets owning a Rumpl puffy blanket. (I have one on my couch right now!) We used to use a Pendleton wool one, but it was heavy, got wet, and was hard to wash. A Rumpl puffy packs down light, like a sleeping bag. It’s made from 100 percent recycled plastic with a PFAS-free DWR. Coffee spills, puddles, dog hair, and mud just roll right off it—and if not, it’s easy to throw into the washing machine and have it air dry. I have several of these, and I particularly like having one in the trunk of my car. It’s useful for an impromptu rain cover or a picnic, putting your dog in the back, and also as an emergency blanket if your car breaks down in a remote location. (I have a famous fear of being cold.) Buy one for your outdoorsy friend, and one for yourself.

—Adrienne So

Coffee, Coffee Now

What is camping without brewing coffee over a morning fire? And what is coffee if not from a moka pot? This is the classic Bialetti moka pot on which all other moka pots are based. It's made of heavy-gauge aluminum that heats evenly and won't complain if you put it directly on the coals (although the plastic handle will, so make sure your outdoorsy person puts it on the edge of the fire). It'll brew about a 4-ounce cup of very dark coffee (not technically espresso since it's not under pressure, but it's as close as you'll get outdoors).

If your outdoor person isn't a moka pot lover, other coffee options include this exquisite titanium French press from Snow Peak. It weighs just 6.3 ounces, so you can even hit the trail with it if you’re dedicated to your coffee. Then there's the tried-and-true Aeropress Go ($50), which can be used in a variety of ways and is light enough to pack on the trail and simple enough to use in a hotel room—and it makes all-around good coffee.

The Best Knife for Fancy Hiking

Opinel's classic folding knife practically begs to be taken on a hike with some good hard chorizo, soft Spanish cheese, and a nice baguette. It's the first step to hiking European style. Or at least how I imagine Europeans hike (always with delicious cheese, cured meats, and cheap wine—please don't ruin my vision, European readers). I got my Opinel as a gift from a friend, and I love it. And I am an outdoor person, so there is your living proof that this is a good gift.

Opinel makes dozens of variations on this knife that you can pick from when gifting. Grab them a kit with a bento box, or a nature lover friend might like the version with handles designed by different artists. The one version I don't recommend is the carbon steel version. Carbon steel is great, but in this case, when you're throwing it in your backpack and possibly forgetting about it for long periods of time, carbon steel will rust. Stick with stainless steel when gifting this.

Laws Guide to Nature Journaling

This book changed the way I, and my kids, look at the world. I originally bought it because I thought my kids might like it (which they did), but then I stole it, read it cover to cover, bought a sketchbook, and, following along with the book, started to see the world in much more detail than I ever had before. Don't worry if your giftee is not an artist. I am the opposite of skilled when it comes to drawing, and I still love this book. More than drawing, what this book is teaching you is to look closely, observing and recording the world around you, and to form your own understanding of what you've witnessed.

If you want to put together a kind of “curiosity kit” gift package based on the one in the book, pick up a hand lens (I like this one because of the way it blocks out the light, though there are higher-quality lenses), some nice pens, and a millimeter ruler to go along with it. You could also check out our guide to journals and notebooks, though those tend to be very personal choices and might not be the best gift unless you know exactly what your giftee wants.

The Biggest Outdoor Speaker

Recently, a friend asked me when I was the happiest. It's usually when I'm sitting in the sun with bare feet in a camping chair, drinking a beer and pleasantly jelly-legged after some overly strenuous outdoor activity. If you also like doing this but with 30 to 40 of your closest friends nearby, may I suggest the Soundboks Mix. It has Soundboks' signature tennis ball corners to prevent you from scratching your tailgate (or poking your eye out when you crash into it), a durable IP65 rating, and 40 hours of battery life.

The outdoors tends to eat weak drivers, but the Mix provides very full-bodied sound. (Unsurprisingly for a brand that's a favorite among ravers, dance music also sounds pretty great.) The handles and rectangle shape makes it easy to strap down for transportation. This is a great speaker for anyone who needs to be able to play walkout music for their kids' Little League game this spring. (With all that said, if I see you blasting this at the next campground over when I'm trying to sleep, I will probably tip it into a lake when you're not watching.)

—Adrienne So

A Tiny Wood Stove

Did you notice the photo of the moka pot above? That was on top of this stove. You would not think that a 3-inch folding metal box designed to efficiently burn twigs would inspire an almost religious devotion, and yet here we are. Firebox stoves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but my favorite is the smallest, the Nano, which I've used for years as both a wood stove and a gas stove, even a grill (also an alcohol stove). It's my top pick stove for cooking in the backcountry, but that's not why I suggest you get it for your outdoorsy friend. There are plenty of stoves o