Hiker's Gift Guide

With the holiday season approaching quickly, here are some of the best gifts you can buy for the hiking and general outdoors lover in your life! I only recommend products that we have tried and loved and have found that worked for us.

Stocking Stuffers

Socks - they're on the pricier side but totally worth it - all of my hiking socks are this brand

Gloves -a good pair of gloves are an absolutely must. You don't want something that's too warm because you will most likely sweat when exerting on the trail but you also need to keep your hands warm.

Mittens for brutally cold days. I find ones built for skiing to be the best and I don't need these often, on sub zero wind chill days they have been necessary

Warm Beverage Mug - I've used a lot of other mug brands but I really love my Thermos brand! Check out their food containers as well!

Mountain Meals - I find these meals to be some of the most affordable and I honestly love the variety of kinds you can get and find them so tasty!

Emergency Blanket - should always be part of your essentials that you carry!

Water Bottle - Nalgene's literally last forever, my favorite water bottle

Clothes

Baleaf Fleece Lined Leggings- I really love this brand and have multiple leggings from them. These fleece lined with the phone pocket are my favorite.

Stio Base Layer Leggings - Stio is another great brand and these leggings are just great for layering underneath

Base layer shirt - thick enough shirt to keep you warm and is moisture wicking

Fleece - so great over your base layer either as an outer layer on warmer winter or shoulder season days or layered under another coat

Lightweight Hoodie - If I'm not wearing my Stio fleece over a base layer then I'm wearing this hoodie

Outer Layers

Rain jacket - North Face is a brand I swear by, I have probably had this same rain coat for 10+ years and there is no damage to it. I use it as a spring every day coat and have hiked 10+ mile days in it

Heavy Fleece Lined Jacket - this is a new jacket and have only done short distance but it kept me super warm on a cold fall day and was water resistant for walking under waterfalls. It's also a great value!

North Face Coat - again, I can't say enough good things about North Face

Light Fleece Lined Jacket - I really love this jacket as a warmer version of a rain coat. This is perfect for those cold and rainy fall and spring days

Fleece Lined Pants- these have been crucial on our coldest hiking days. They offer a lot of movement but still kept me warm over a pair of fleece lined leggings

Footwear

UGG Adirondack Boot - Believe it or not my favorite boots I've ever owned are the UGG Adirondack boot. These are so warm and give me so much traction. And if you buy the old model you can get a deal for less than $100

LL Bean - Bean boots are also a great option. We have always loved Bean boots for our regular hiking boots and love them.

Gear

Hiking poles - we don't always use poles and actually should use them more often because they are a huge help particularly when going downhill

Backpack - I've had my Osprey backpack for years and it has literally caught my falls with no damage. There's tons of storage that is perfect for our day hikes

Microspikes: - I'm a big believer in not spending a ton of money to have good gear. I got these spikes years ago on Amazon and they have served me fine

Sunglasses - I just really love these sunglasses and use them for everything and they come in a ton of cool colors

Hiking with Baby

Hiking Front Carrier - we used this carrier forever before switching to the bigger backpack carrier and we still don't hesitate to use if we don't feel like taking the backpack

Hiking Backpack Carrier - we're actually tried a few different carriers and there are lighter carriers out there but we really like this one for the storage and the padding

Toddler Winter Hat - we have really loved his Carhartt winter hat and has lasted two years for us

Changing Station - this is so nice to have on the go, it's a little big to include in hiking but we always keep it in the car

Hiking with Dogs

Waist Leash - my #1 piece of gear for hiking with my dogs is a waist leash. The elastic takes the impact of sudden movements and you have more control from your waist

Dog Water Bottle - again, this just made our lives so much easier rather than pouring water into collapsible bowls

Dog Food Travel Bag - this has been great for storing greasy dog food whether we're carrying a small stash or a few days worth

These are a great start especially to some winter hiking if that's something you're just breaking into. We'll keep adding more products we love!