Here it is folks, our glorious The Outdoor Society Gift Guide for 2019. We’re excited to be partnering with several cool gear companies to bring you useful, sustainable, fun, practical and backcountry proven gifts for trail runners, camping enthusiasts and outdoor lovers.
We’re sure there’s something in there you will fall in love with. In fact, we recommend you to just forward this entire page to your family as your holiday wish list. You’re welcome!
For the audio version with a full length discussion on all the products in this guide, and lots of laughter, tune in to episode #83 and #84 of our award winning and losing podcast Singletrack.
The French knife company with the iconic locking mechanism offers style and function beyond just cutting cheese at romanic picnics. The knives are stylish and functional with product quality you will love for years to come.
The #10 Corkscrew knife ($35) is the perfect camping (and glamping) accessory. Open wine bottles the old school way and use the large blade to chop anything in the camp kitchen.
The utilitarian #8 Outdoor knife ($39) boasts a two-part blade for cutting and sawing, and a durable plastic handle. A trustworthy, colorful and practical companion in the backcountry and around the campfire. – Mathias
Created and sold by Washington based Cascade Mountain Tech, these trekking poles are perfect for almost every style of outdoor enthusiasts. offering lightweight materials, like a cork grip and carbon fiber shaft, these poles are sturdy and dependable. They can be used in any weather and are designed to be tested and used. The best part of these poles, besides the low price point of $60, is that they telescope down to fit into most backpacks when they are not needed. These poles are a great gift for anyone looking for trekking poles, including those new to trail running who aren’t quite ready to commit to the higher priced poles. – Douglas
Turn your New Years resolutions into real action and reduce your single-use plastic consumption. With Bee’s Wrap sustainable food storage wrappers (starting at $18) made with, you guessed it, bees wax. Wrap your sandwich for lunches, your trail snacks and your leftover food into those easy-to-clean and reusable wrappers. Cover food containers and anything else you previous used cling wrap for. A great gift to nudge someone into doing their part to safe the planet – we only have this one. – Mathias
Vecto and a BeFree Filter Cartridge ($40): Take this lightweight and soft, 2 liter hydration bladder with you on your long backcountry adventure runs as an emergency backup and water filtration system. The simplest solution to getting filtered clean water from the source into your body. The filter is good for 1000L and the bladder is easy to clean and quick to dry. My new go-to water backup system.
CNOC Cup ($8): Any trail runner toeing the line at races all over the country knows that races are going full cupless and requiring you to carry your own water receptacle. To make sure you don’t find yourself slurping Coke with your hands get the lightweight, collapsable and essential CNOC Cup. The planet will thank you. – Mathias
Ideal for trail runners and long distance hikers who don’t want to carry a bulky water filter with them all day, the Lifestraw Flex is one of the best options around to guarantee clean, drinkable water anywhere you go. The concept is simple and awesome. With this, you get a 22oz collapsable bottle, a filtration system that can be used for around 500 gallons of water, and the peace of mind that no matter where you are, you’ll have drinking water. This is a must have for any trail runner who pushes the limits. $35 – Douglas
Bar none the best, and my personal favorite, planning, mapping, discovery and ‘I-got-your-back-in-the-backcountry’ GPS mapping app. I use TopoMaps+ to help me dream up my trips, I prepare by downloading the essential high resolution mapping tiles before I leave the house, and trust that the app will guide me on and off the trail with all my favorite map and optional overlays. A serious power tool that’s easy to use, full of incredible features to keep me safe and informed wherever adventure takes me. Made by Glacier Peak Studios in Spokane, Washington.
Download the app for free from the Apple App Store. – Mathias
Tough Tested’s ROC Waterproof 10,000mAh Solar Wireless Charger is a rugged, full-featured battery safety assurance to power all your devices everywhere you go. Charge your phone via cable or wirelessly and your watch, lantern or anything that needs juice. Recharge via the big solar panel on the front and wander further with peace of mind and 36hrs of battery life in your pocket. Get this waterproof power bank directly at toughtested.com or Amazon for $60. – Mathias
Staying hydrated can be a challenge, especially when you are putting in tons of miles every day. To help regain balance to your body, Seattle-based company Nuun has created fantastic options to give you great workouts. For day to day use, Nuun’s hydration tablets, which come in a wide variety of flavors, give a boost of energy and replenish lost electrolytes during and after workouts. Nuun also has started selling endurance powder, which is bets used before and during intense activities. Both options are great and are a few of the many good tasting and beneficial hydration products they offer. (Starting at $7) – Douglas
You’ve heard me sing praises of these shoes before. This ex-Birkenstock guy is entirely converted. At first I was skeptical now I love them. They are lightweight, super bouncy & machine washable. The OOAHH Sport Flex Sandal is the perfect recovery sandal after a long day on the trails or wearing while baking pretzels. Wear the OOMG Low Shoe while running errands around town and you feel like you’re going to some Euro dance party.
REI has some of their sandals and flip flops, oofos.com the rest. (Starting at $80) – Mathias
Cascade Mountain Tech Lantern Flashlight ($15): Perfect for the backcountry adventurer and the car camper alike, the lantern flashlight by Cascade Mountain Tech is a must have. Sold as a two pack for just over $10, these flashlight/lantern combos emit strong light, are easy to pack in almost any bag- thanks to their small size and light weight, and are extremely durable. They offer multiple light settings, high, low and an emergency strobe feature. The flashlight is great for hiking and moving about, while the lantern can be used in the early hours of camping to gather your stuff, or play cards near at night. These lights make a fantastic stocking stuffer and can be used and enjoyed by all ages and abilities.
Cascade Mountain Tech LED Multi-Mode Pop Up Lantern ($35): Providing up to 12 hours of light on one set of batteries, the pop up lantern is a great addition to anyone’s camping kit. The lantern has fold-away handle, giving you options to hang it, run a line between two trees to set up mood lighting for your can, or just set it on a table to give light to all around. Like the lantern flashlight, this lantern also has three settings, letting you decide how much light you actually want to have. The claim of 12 hours of light on the low setting is completely true, tested by yours truly. – Douglas
If you run trails and love mountains and you don’t have the book ‘Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers’ ($35) on your coffee table, and night stand and gear closet I don’t even…
It’s the Bible by trail running wise men Steve House and Scott Johnston and personal friend of the show Kilian Jornet. Just kidding on the personal friend part, but I did share a… smoothie with Kilian at OR last year.
Get your copy at your local indie bookstore and of course at Amazon. – Mathias
Your walls, all your walls, and you friends’ and family’s walls need more adventure stoke. Everywhere you turn you should be inspired to explore, adventure and discover the beauty of our public lands.
Our 2020 photography calendars ‘Alpine Lakes 2020 – The Evergreen State’ and ‘VERTICAL 2020’ are the perfect gifts. We mean it and thank you! ($20 for one, $30 for the combo, call us if you need a corporate gift!) – Mathias
Disclaimer:
Some of the gear companies have send us their product to review free of charge. Some gave cash to be included, but none gave us specific talking points or required us to “love a certain product”.
On the website we link to products using affiliate links and if you click those links and make a purchase we earn a small percentage of cash back. So thank you for supporting us and our work!
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