Gift buying for outdoorsy folk isn’t always easy. Either they’re so gear-crazy they’ve got everything they need already, or they’re more of a ‘duct tape will fix it’ kind of walker that’s been using the same lucky hiking socks since the 80s. In which case; where to begin? (FYI: I have nothing but respect for duct tape and lucky hiking socks.)
Well, that’s where we come in. Our team of outdoor experts have put together a curated list of tried and tested gifts for the outdoor enthusiast in your life. From maps and socks to hiking poles and water filters – we’ve included a little something for everyone here, including a variety of different price points.
As well as practical camping and hiking items, we’ve also included a hand-picked selection of inspiration-focused gifts such as outdoor fiction books, hiking backpack accessories, walking guides, and more.
Best Gifts for Hikers Reviewed
Following years of testing from various members of the Outdoors Magic gear testing team, here’s 20 of our favourite gifts for hikers, walkers and backpackers. Our top 5 favourites are as follows:
- Adventure Patches – Best Budget Gift for Hikers
- Nikwax Complete Protection Kit – Best Practical Gift for Hikers
- Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Socks – Best Outdoor Clothing Gift
- Stanley Perfect Brew Pour-Over – Best One-Of-A-Kind Gift for Hikers
- Light My Fire LunchKit BIO – Best Sustainable Gift for Hikers
£10 And Under Gifts
1. Adventure Patches
Best Budget Outdoor Gift
Price: £5
Best for: Peak-baggers, thru-hikers
If you know a hiker who loves summiting UK mountains and/ or multi-day hiking trails such as Scotland’s West Highland Way, a patch from the Adventure Patch Company is a really thoughtful gift. In the store you’ll find stickers, pins, magnets and more, but my personal favourites are the beautifully designed patches based on UK and European mountains and hiking trails. There’s even a British Wildlife collection for the nature enthusiasts among us. Easily attached to your hiking backpack, so far I’ve only collected the Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) patch but I’ve got my eye on a few more this year.
Buy The Adventure Patch Company Patches: £5 at Adventurepatch.co.uk
2. Weatherproof Notepads
Price: £10
Best for: Outdoor writers, birdwatchers, kit list checkers
Now this is one of those items I reckon hikers see in the outdoor shop and think ‘Cool!’ but never end up buying (a.k.a. the perfect gift to receive). Maybe they’re trying to shift a little pack weight, or don’t deem it an essential item, who knows? Either way, I think these are a handy little gift for a hiker or walker that’ll suit creative outdoor types such as writers and illustrators, as well as keen wildlife watchers who want a meticulous record of their findings.
Buy The Rite In The Rain Notepads: £10 at Shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
3. Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews
Price: £9.99
Best for: History-loving hikers
A keen hill-walker and member of Mountaineering Scotland, Kerri Andrews is a lecturer and bona fide expert on women’s writing. With her debut book, however, she’s married her two passions together in the form of an exploration on ten women writers who, over the past three hundred years, have found walking essential to their practise and their sense of selves.
Including portraits of writers such as Elizabeth Carter, Nan Shepherd and Cheryl Strayed, this book offers a much-needed telling of women writers walking throughout history. With insights into Kerri’s own relationship with walking as well as her relationships with the writers themselves, this one’s a fascinating and insightful read for all hikers.
Buy Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews: £9.99 at Amazon.co.uk
4. Nikwax Stain Scrub
Price: £7.99
Best for: Messy hikers
Oil marks, mud or berry stains can often be very tricky to remove from technical outdoor clothing. What’s more, normal stain treatments can contain bleaching agents and harmful chemicals. This product from Nikwax is designed to remove marks safely, without stripping away any existing water-repellent treatments that might already be present.
It is essentially a small bottle that dispenses the solution through a brush head. All you need to do is squeeze the bottle and brush at the mark, then put your garment into a washing machine along with some of Nikwax’s Tech Wash.
Read our full Nikwax Stain Scrub review.
Buy Nikwax Stain Scrub: £7.99 at Nikwax.com
5. Gear Aid Tenacious Tape
Price: £8.29
Best for: DIY-loving outdoorsfolk
Haters will say this isn’t the most exciting gift, but we say it’s GREAT. Tested and reviewed in our Greener Gear Guide, Gear Aid’s Tenacious tape is a practical solution for repairing damaged equipment. It’s a durable adhesive tape that offers a straightforward approach to extending the life of your gear, whether it’s a tear in your waterproof jacket, down jacket, tent, backpack, or sleeping bag. Instead of replacing broken items, Tenacious Tape allows you to make quick repairs that keep your gear functional. An essential for life on the trail, some might say.
Read our full Gear Aid Tenacious Tape review.
Buy The Gear Aid Tenacious Tape: £8.29 at Decathlon.co.uk
£10 to £20 Gifts for Hikers
6. OS Maps
Price: £12.99-£16.99
Best for: Every hiker
You really can’t go wrong with a paper OS map. Whether you’re pouring over it at your kitchen table as you plan for your next multi-day hike, or you’re reading by torchlight in your tent after a long day’s walking; it’s the kind of gift that keeps on giving. If you don’t mind spending a bit more cash, you can even personalise the front or get a chosen section of the map printed and framed.
Buy OS Maps: £12.99-£16.99 at Shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
7. Silverstick Pennine Wool Socks
Price: £18
Best for: Autumn and winter hikers
If you want a no-fuss pair of hiking socks that’ll see you through all sorts of hiking in autumn through to spring, we think you’ll get along well with these. Unlike a lot of cotton heavy options out there, they also have the feeling like they’ll last a long time, or at the every least, can be easily repaired with some basic sewing skills.
OM tester Will said, “In terms of warmth, wool definitely reigns supreme here. I’d have no hesitations reaching for these on some autumn and winter hiking trips here in the UK – even on snowy mountain days. While too hot for the warmer months, Silverstick have some ‘sport’ socks options too for activities that require a higher level of breathability.”
What’s also great about these – and wool socks in general – is that they wick moisture away to prevent dampness, resist odour even after long days on the trail, and they provide cushioning and softness that help reduce friction and the risk of blisters. “They might not have that close, foot supporting feel that you get from socks with a high elastane content,” continues Will, “but I’ve still found them very comfortable to wear.”
Read our full Silverstick Pennine Wool socks review.
Buy the Silverstick Pennine Wool Socks: £18 at Silverstick.co.uk
8. LOMO Emergency Storm Shelter
Price: £19.99
Best for: Multi-day hikers, winter lovers
Otherwise known as a ‘bothy bag’, an emergency shelter is essential when hiking in stormy conditions and for emergencies out on the mountains. It’s also a great gift for someone who’s new to hiking, and might have not thought to get one yet.
Featuring a PU-coated polyester build, two large reflective patches on the front, a viewing window, two air-vent snorkels, and a hydrostatic head rating of 3000mm; the LOMO emergency storm shelter comes in at 360g and is perfect for hill walkers, trail runners, back country skiers, and mountain bikers alike.
Buy The LOMO Emergency Storm Shelter: £19.99 at Lomo.co.uk
9. The Book of the Bothy by Phoebe Smith
Price: £13
Best for: First-time bothy goers
Now this is a cracking book from award-winning writer, photographer and broadcaster Phoebe Smith. Spanning all across the UK, Phoebe shares with us her 26 favourite bothies, including her best stories to go along with them. Packed with expert advice on how to use bothies, including packing lists, bothy etiquette and the best walks into these remote locations – there’s a lot to get your teeth stuck into here.
Way back in 2021, Phoebe wrote an incredibly important piece for us on women’s experiences in bothies which is worth checking out if you haven’t already.
Buy The Book of the Bothy by Phoebe Smith: £13 at Ellis-brigham.com
10. Camelbak Eddy+ 0.75L
Price: £19
Best for: Multi-day hikers, UK mountains
This filter from Camelbak will still serve as an effective option in the UK’s mountains. It’ll also double up as a daily water bottle for improving the overall quality of your tap water. It does this by using an ion exchange filter that removes minerals that cause hardness and heavy metals.
What we like about this filter is that it offers a cheaper alternative to a lot of water filters on the market while still bringing a number of the same benefits. Our gear tester said, “I drank water from mountain streams (in a sheep-heavy area) and didn’t have any issues and the water tasted good. It tasted a little chemically/sweet at first but that was gone after a few sips.”
The Camelbak Eddy+ serves as a handy option if you want something hard that will be safe in the side of a backpack or that will fit into a flask holder on a bike or a cup holder in your car. The main drawbacks, we found, are that you do need to suck quite hard to draw water and you can’t use it to decant filtered water.
Buy The Camelbak Eddy+ 0.75L: £19 at Ellisbrigham.com
£20 to £40 Gifts for Hikers
11. Sealskinz Waterpoof All Weather Ankle Socks
Best Outdoor Clothing Gift
Price: £35
Best for: All-weather hikers
It wouldn’t be a list about gifts for hikers without mention of a pair of socks. These, however, are no ordinary socks. They’re waterproof socks. OM editor Will recently tested Sealskinz’s waterproof ankle socks in the Scottish Highlands and was mightily impressed.
In short, three bonded layers make up the main fabric of the Ankle Socks. The outer features 4-way stretch nylon, which leads to great fit and wearability. A hydrophilic membrane is the meat in the sandwich, giving the sock its waterproof qualities and releasing steam and warm air caused by sweat, thus keeping your foot cool and comfortable. Finally, the inner is woven from merino wool, which is well known for its insulating and sweat-wicking properties. The result is a sock that keeps water off your feet whilst allowing internal moisture to escape. So confident in their waterproof qualities that Sealskinz offer a lifetime guarantee on all their products.
Read our full Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Ankle Socks review.
Buy The Sealskinz Waterpoof All Weather Ankle Socks: £35 at Millets.com
12. Light My Fire LunchKit BIO
Best Sustainable Gift for Hikers
Price: £29
Best for: The eco-conscious camper
Light My Fire are a Swedish brand known for clever, practical outdoor gear with a strong focus on sustainability. OM tester Will has been using their LunchKit BIO while surveying routes in the mountains for the walking guidebook, and during a gear testing trip in the Lake District. His verdict? “It’s proved really handy. I love its use of bioplastic but I simply like the fact it encourages me to think about reusability rather than disposability. Also, we’ve all accidentally lost a snack wrapper to a sharp gust on the hill at some point, so I think it’s good that this encourages me to unwrap and prepare my food prior to a trip, eliminating that risk.”
Buy the Light My Fire Lunchkit Bio: £29 at Ellis-brigham.com
13. Nikwax Outdoor Complete Protection Kit
Best Practical Outdoor Gift
Price: £26.49
Best for: Eco-conscious kit cleaning
The Nikwax Outdoor Complete Protection kit is your one-stop-shop for keeping your core items of gear in tip top shape. For under £30, you get a bottle of Nikwax Tech Wash, TX.Direct, Footwear Cleaning Gel, Fabric and Leather Proof, a handy boot brush and a waterproof storage/ carry bag too. Altogether these are going to safely clean your boots, waterproof jacket, and trousers, AND restore a water resistant barrier to them all in an eco-conscious manner. Not bad, not bad at all.
All four of these solutions are completely free from any nasty chemicals, including those eco-hazardous PFCs that were once prevalent right across the outdoor industry. They’re all water-based, non-flammable and aerosol-free too. The bottles Nikwax use are recycled and are recyclable as well, and then to round it all off, the company, which is now employee owned, can claim to be a carbon neutral business which has offset the carbon emissions from its entire 45 years of operation.
Here’s a useful video we made in the past that details exactly how to apply the footwear solutions to your kit from your own home. For advice on cleaning and re-waterproofing your rain jacket, here’s the guide for that.
Read our full Nikwax Outdoor Complete Protection Kit review.
Buy The Nikwax Outdoor Complete Protection Kit: £26.49 at Amazon.co.uk
14. Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over Portable Coffee Maker
Best One-Of-A-Kind Outdoor Gift
Price: £33
Best for: Coffee lovers (naturally)
If you know a coffee-loving camper who’s also keen on sustainability, the Stanley Perfect-Brew is a great stand-out present to buy. In particular, we can see it working well on multi-day backpacking trips where that little bit of extra luxury in the morning really pays off.
Our gear tester said, “It’s lived in my car since I got it and I use it for pre-adventure car park coffees or on campsites..you can get great tasting, strong coffee in good time.”
Read our full Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over review.
Buy The Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over Portable Coffee Maker: £33 at Uk.stanley1913.com
15. Montane Prism Glove
Price: £35
Best for: Ultralight hikers, winter walking
The Montane Prism Gloves are like an insulated jacket for your hands. Made with PrimaLoft Gold insulation, they are ideal for runners or anyone moving fast and light – unsurprisingly for Montane. Given the outer fabric is Pertex, so the gloves are mostly composed of insulation, they pack down into an impressively tiny stuff sack, provided. The gloves have a thin mircofleece lining and touch screen patches on forefinger and thumb. There is elastication at the wrists and at the end of the medium length cuff. These are a snug fit (in women’s), which is great for dexterity, but made it a little difficult to get them on with cold, damp hands.
The gloves have no reinforcements and aren’t designed for heavy abrasion – the insulated jacket analogy is a good one. They’re perfect for the moment you stop moving and want to retain your body heat as quickly as possible. We found them perfect for throwing on at camp to keep your hands toasty but are probably too warm for many to wear when working hard.
Buy The Montane Prism Gloves: £35 at Blacks.co.uk
£40+ Gifts for Hikers
16. Silva Smini Head Torch
Price: £44.99
Best for: Winter hikers, night hikers, trail runners
OM editor Will has been testing the Smini out on a bunch of night time runs and hiking adventures of late and confirms: “this thing is a total pocket rocket. In fact, I’d say it’s now going to be my head torch of choice for future adventures.”
In terms of features, it has 250 lumens of brightness and a dual beam system with both a long spotlight and a close floodlight. This creates clear vision on those night runs without creating a tunnel effect that obscures your surroundings. The lamp head can actually tilt up to 90 degrees which also helps to avoid dazzling people around you.
Read our full Silva Smini Head Torch review.
Buy The Silva Smini Head Torch: £44.99 at Amazon.co.uk
17. Ticket To The Moon Lightest Pro Hammock
Price: €129.95
Best for: Forest campers
The Lightest Pro from hammock experts Ticket To The Moon includes features such as an integrated bug net, a roomy length of 325cm (carabiner to carabiner), and a tough Ripstop nylon build. There’s also an integrated ridge line with a handy built-in organiser, amongst other things.
We can see it being a great option for rugged multi-day adventures where you’re likely to come across lots of woods and forests. Think multi-day adventures through a valley in the Cairngorms, where you’ll have plenty of trees to pitch up on, but need some extra protection from the elements, and perhaps a little more luxury – including bug protection.
Read our full Ticket To The Moon Lightest Pro Hammock review.
Buy The Ticket To The Moon Lightest Pro Hammock: €129.95 at Tickettothemoon.com
18. Leatherman Bond Multitool
Price: £69.95
Best for: Bushcraft lovers
There’s now a Leatherman for almost every use and occupation – but there’s only one designed with Brits specifically in mind. That’s the Bond (pictured above): a light and compact 14-feature multi-tool that conforms to the UK’s strict knife laws, being UK-legal for everyday carry thanks to its non-locking, sub-3 inch blade.
This multi-tool is ideal for active outdoorsy types who want a versatile bit of kit that isn’t too bulky or heavy to carry around. It would certainly be a useful bit of kit for hikers and bikepackers, as well as kayakers, canoeists and climbers too.
Read our full Leatherman Bond Multitool review.
Buy The Leatherman Bond Multitool: £69.95 at Uk.leatherman.com
19. Smartwool Classic Merino Base Layer
Price: £61.99
Best for: Effective winter layering
This baselayer from Merino wool experts, Smartwool, is pretty much the creme de la creme of baselayers. Made from 100% Merino, it brings all of the super wool’s excellent properties along with a pretty smart look too. A great gift for hikers that like the colder climates.
Gear tester and OM editor Will said: “For one of our recent gear test trips we took a bunch of kit, including this baselayer, to the Cairngorms of Scotland. It was very, very cold there and I’m not exaggerating it when I say that I wore this baselayer constantly for the four days we were there, living and sleeping in it and only taking it off to shower…In conclusion, I love it. It’s a great bit of kit that I’m sure I’m going to get a heck of a lot of use out of.”
Read our full Smartwool Classic Merino Base Layer review.
Buy The Smartwool Classic Merino Base Layer: £61.99 at Amazon.co.uk
20. Jetboil Stash Stove
Price: £154.99
Best for: Lightweight hikers and campers
The Jetboil Stash Stove includes a pot (125g), a plastic lid (16g), a burner (58g) and little sack for it, and then a stand (30g) for a gas canister. The pot has a 0.8 litre capacity with volume markings on the inside and outside and a folding handle with a heat-proof silicone casing. The burner, which is 1.52kw and unregulated, has three ribbed pot stands which all slide neatly together and there’s a twist valve to control the gas flow.
We can see the Jetboil Stash Stove being a great gift if you know a loved one in need of a kit upgrade, and you don’t mind splashing a bit of cash. Perfect for multi-day hiking adventures, it’s the kind of stove that will last you a very long time.
Read our full Jetboil Stash Stove review.
Buy The Jetboil Stash: £155 at Ellis-brigham.com
