T’is the season and while it may be snowing and bitter cold in America’s Northeast, the Canadian Rockies and Northern Europe, the other side of the hemisphere, there are people tanning and swimming. And, truth be told, it’s so easy to jump on an airplane this time of year and head just about anywhere with the various holiday flight and package deals that hit the Internet from December through February.
So, it’s good to be prepared for that adventure trip, here are 20 great gift ideas for the holiday season, ranging from electronic gear and bags to shoes, underwear and accessories.
1. Capture The World With A GoPro
We never leaves town without her GoPro. What’s great about it is it takes high-quality video on a small device that can be easily affixed to anything, from a head mount to a surf board (just make sure you have water-proof housing, which it comes with). This is one of your best options for capturing your adventures from a first-person perspective to share with loved ones and followers.
2) Lightweight Travel Footwear
One of the most important aspects of enjoying explorations abroad is ensuring your feet are happy. Replace large and heavy footwear in your luggage with Xero Shoes, lightweight performance recreation sandals providing waterproof and durable protection. You can use these 2-6-ounce sandals for roaming the streets of a new city, hiking through the jungle or handling a night out on the town. These sandals eliminate the weight and size of heavier flip-flops, and allow your feet to move naturally.
Lightweight performance footwear. Photo courtesy of Xero Shoes.
4. Reinvent The Carabiner
Be ready for your next camping, climbing or biking adventure with a reinvented carabiner so useful that Outdoors NW Magazine called it a “superhero gadget.” This QLIPTER clip has a rotating and folding hook so it can attach to virtually any surface or bar, holding up to 50 lbs. As you explore the outdoors, use the QLIPTER to hook your pack on a tree, tether a tarp or attach your muddy boots to your daypack. In daily life, QLIPTER also has infinite uses: tying luggage together, hanging shopping bags off a stroller or affixing items in the attic.
5) Fashionable & Practical Travel Underwear
To ensure comfort in sun, sand, rain and snow, start with underwear that is as ready-for-anything as you are. Give-N-Go underwear is designed for travel and active use by Ex-Officio: lightweight, odor-reducing, moisture-wicking and quick to clean on-the-road. Choose from multiple styles which are surprisingly fashionable. Woman can peruse the Lacy Collection, which is “technically sexy” with bikinis, low-rise bikinis and thongs.
Men will enjoy the Sport Mesh Boxer Briefs style, with an athletic fit and highly breathable 4-way stretch mesh fabric for maximum airflow. The seams are flat-lock stitched as to not dig in while seated for long periods (perfect for the plane!).
Mesh Boxer Briefs. Photo courtesy of ExOfficio.
6) Single-Use Urinary Packets For Female Adventurers
For any female who might have to go when they’re on the go, seek an alternative to sketchy or nonexistent toilets and consider the Pee Pocket. This single use, waterproof, disposable funnel allows women to urinate while standing, providing the perfect solution for active women who enjoy biking, traveling, camping, hiking or music festivals. It’s collapsible design easily fits in a purse or a wallet and includes a hygienic tissue wipe and disposal bag. This is a must-have for women who want to stay germ-free when there are no suitable or sit-down toilets available.
Cute and collapsible disposable urinary device. Photo courtesy of Pee Pocket.
8) Wireless Music & Microphone
Tired of meddlesome wires when you’re trying to navigate a new city or hike trails, hands busy with snapping photos or trying to make sense of a map? Try the eBeanie, an acrylic cap with Bluetooth-enabled technology, speakers and an embedded microphone that allows you to make phone calls and listen to music hands-free. Power it up, synch it to your device and enjoy the simplicity of a true wireless device.
10. Pickpocket-Proof Garments
Do you know an adventurous traveler that’s constantly traveling from place-to-place, sometimes finding themselves in rougher foreign cities?
Pickpocket-proof tanks/undershirts from Clever Travel Companion
This is the gift for them. Pickpocket-proof garments eliminate the need for purses and wallets, as the shirts, underwear and pants provide hidden interior pockets, so thieves will never know you even have valuables on you. With pickpocket-proof clothing, you’ll be giving your fearless loved one the gift of safety.
12) French Press Your Water
Every traveler needs fresh water to fuel his or her adventures. GRAYL’s Water Filtration Cup allows you to purify water at home and also on the go, eliminating heavy metals, chemicals and protecting against viruses. You can use each of GRAYL’s replaceable and interchangeable filters 300 times, virtually replacing 300 bottles of water, no matter where you are in the world. The device works like a French Press to clean water in less than 30 seconds without using batteries.
French press your water. Photo courtesy of GRAYL.
14. Travel By Hammock
Any avid camper knows there’s nothing better than sleeping out under the stars or on a beach in a hammock. Cutequeen Trading makes an affordable, lightweight hammock made from a parachute nylon fabric that holds up to 400 pounds. Moreover, for what you’re buying it’s one of the most inexpensive hammocks on the market that still offers high quality.
15. Never Lose Your iPhone Charger
Managing chargers for your electronic devices can be a challenge when you’re on the road; however, thanks to Prong, you’ll never misplace your iPhone charger ever again. The PocketPlug is an iPhone case with built-in plugs, which fold when not in use, eliminating the need to carry a separate iPhone core and charger again.
Pocket Plug: Charger & Case in One. Photo courtesy of Pocket Plug.
Furthermore, the PocketPlug offers a super-fast charge that holds — essential when you want to capture a long hike or climb — as well as enhances the quality of the iPhone’s speaker and microphone by redirecting the sound from the speaker towards the front of the mobile.
16. Bike-Friendly Wine Rack
When exploring the outdoors by bike, nothing beats a picnic. On your next cycling trip bring a Bicycle Wine Rack, courtesy of Oopsmark. After traveling across the countryside, you will be ready to un-wine-d with this adorable and fashionable accessory. This piece is hand-crafted with fine vegetable-tanned leather and attaches to most bike frames to hold the bottle securely.
17. Stay Safe With A Combination Light & USB Charger
For anyone concerned with emergency preparedness, at home or abroad, consider buying UCO’s rechargeable and collapsible Tetra USB Charger + Lantern + Flashlight. This device, perfect for in the car or in your pack, shifts easily between flashlight and lantern functions. Moreover, it features a USB-charger port perfect for charging a camera, mobile phones and GPS’. The Tetra is 4.3 ounces and 4.5″ long when closed, running up to 120 hours.
USB Charger + Lantern + Flashlight (in lamp mode). Photo courtesy of UCO.USB Charger + Lantern + Flashlight (in lamp mode). Photo courtesy of UCO.
18. Bring Your Tunes Anywhere You Go With A Waterproof Speaker
If you like to bring groovy tunes anywhere you travel, consider the Riptide Waterproof Speaker, specifically created for adventure. The tiny and resilient Bluetooth speaker can be clipped to a belt or backpack. The speaker will remain afloat if dropped in the water, is 100% submersible up to 3 feet, and is protected from dust and sand. The Bluetooth technology ranges up to 33 feet and the MicroUSB rechargeable battery lasts up to six hours of continuous playback time.
Portable Waterproof Speakers. Photo courtesy of Riptide.
19. Low-level Light & Life-Line Location Application
E/T Lights from Triage offer the latest in portable low-level illumination, which has countless uses for the adventure traveler. For example, illuminate your book during a camping trip, or get your things organized during an early wake-up at a hostel dormitory room. These tough and compact lights provide one week of continuous illumination.
Low level illumination and combat proven light . Courtesy of Triage.
Originally developed for Special Ops medics to prioritize wounded, they are combat proven. Even better, each purchase of the E/T Light comes with a f-Ready app that keeps family and friends up-to-date with your current location. It turns your screen into a visual signaling device and transmits a lifeline email to three friends/family. The email features your status, location (with a link to Google maps), and a message stating they look for the visual screen coming from your phone to zone in on you.
20. Deuter ACT Lite Pack
This bag is made with both comfort and logic in mind. A padded hip belt, climate-controlled back and numerous large pockets and straps — perfect for affixing extra gear — are just a few features that make this bag awesome. Moreover, it ends up being uber spacious without taking up much space.
Contributed By Katie Foote
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
