Best Gifts for Hikers, Backpackers, and People Who Love the Outdoors (2025)

Buy gifts for Outdoor enthusiasts it is almost impossible. Your hiking, camping, or biking outdoors friends are often serious geeks, meticulously studying the comments, guides, and enduring wisdom of Reddit users counting ounces to find… Exactly the right thing.

Don’t stress about trying to choose the right thing yourself. The chances of finding out and getting it as a gift are absolutely zero. This does not mean that you should bet and Buy an REI gift cardthough (although they might like it). Instead, give them something they didn’t quite expect – one of those fun, yet useful, sometimes whimsical things that will almost certainly not only delight them, but can also be used outdoors.

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 the best sleeping bags guide , the best barefoot shoes guide , and the best merino wool guide .

Updated October 2025: We’ve added several new selections, and replaced some selections with things we’ve discovered we like even more. But we’re sticking to our socks. If you get nothing else, just get socks. Trust us.