Sea To Summit has some wonderful picks for the stocking. Wouldn't it be fabulous to put a
Kitchen Sink in someone's stocking? With this portable sink, you can adhere to
Leave No Trace principles (you don't want to be washing dishes in mountain streams) and also make things easier on yourself. Plus it's super cool looking and would make a great gift.
Also from Sea to Summit and perfect for the Stocking is their camp cutlery. I love the
Alpha Set. It's light weight, also very cool looking charcoal gray aluminum, and also comes with a caribiner to hold it together and clip it to other gear. The holes on the end of each utensil double as hex wrenches--pretty brilliant. I also like the
long spoon for eating out of unusual containers or stirring something hot in a pot.
Trekking poles are something you just might not think to buy for yourself, but wouldn't it be fun to find them peeking out of your stocking on Christmas morning? These Mountainsmith
RHYOLITE Trekking Poles are a really pretty cobalt blue combining great design with practical need. They are adjustable, which makes them very versatile, and they come with removable baskets.
The grips are comfortable, the poles are lightweight aluminum and they are very good looking (the photo does not do them justice at all), and would make a great and unexpected gift.
Another unexpected gift would be the
Steripen Adventurer Opti. This will purify water whether you are in the woods or in a hotel in a country whose water your body hasn't adapted to yet. It's also great for emergency preparedness, it's just one of those things that you might not think to have, and you might not use it every day, but when you do need it--it's a lifesaver. You just place the stem into a glass or water bottle (preferably filtered, if you are getting it out of a stream) and the ultraviolet light sterilizes the water. It's very straightforward and uses no chemicals. It takes batteries and they even offer a solar charger--how cool is that?
Finally,
Black Diamond Lanterns. They're the best and I consider myself a bit of an expert on this topic having lived in places where power goes out quite a bit and thus developing a habit of hoarding light sources. The small ones are compact and so useful with the little clips on the top. My favorite thing is that they dim, which not only conserves batteries, but also makes for a nicer atmosphere. A lot of those LED lights are blinding and abrasive, but not Black Diamond's.
I love the small ones (
Orbit and
Apollo) but sometimes you need a little more light. Check out their newest lantern,
the Titan. This is the big daddy of the series and a super nice lantern. Though someone like me would love getting this as a gift, I think it would be great for the elusive male gift. If you need a man-gift, be sure to have a look at this because if anything, it's going to tap into his inner adventurer and I've never met a man who didn't like that.
* You can find the above locally or on Amazon with overnight or two day shipping.
There is a good bit of ventilation on this pack, really great for keeping cool on hot days. The integrated hydration system works great and I love how Osprey's water bladders have a handle which makes it easier to fill. The side pockets fit Nalgene bottles for that extra water supply.
