Get started on your holiday shopping early this year. For all those campers on your shopping list, we have made it easier on you and thought of plenty of practical and creative gift ideas that are small enough to fit in a stocking.
From practical items like headlamps and Swiss Army Knives to more fun items like ultralight hammocks, travel clotheslines, and a game of Rubber Neckers, we have thought of something for every type of traveler.
Stuff your travel fanatic family member’s stocking with these great gift ideas for travelers.
1. Stuff Sacks
Stuff sacks are a highly underrated gear item in the travel community. Don’t want your dirty shoes mixed in with your clean clothes? Just stash them into a stuff sack. Need more room in your bag? Compress your clothes super small with a compression stuff sack.
Stuff sacks have an endless amount of uses for travel plus they are small enough to fit in a stocking. The Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Compression Sacks are incredibly lightweight plus they are water resistant. I also love the Outdoor Products Dry Sacks that come in a variety of colors and sizes.
2. Headlamps
Every adventure traveler needs a good headlamp. The best headlamps are ultra compact and super bright. The Black Diamond Spot LED Headlamp weighs only 3 ounces with batteries and is water-resistant too. The Black Diamond Ion is even more compact with a budget friendly price.
3. Moleskine Journals
Moleskine offers a gorgeous yet simple collection of notebooks, journals, and sketchbooks. Moleskine notebooks are incredibly durable with thick acid-free paper and a high quality binding.
Giving the gift of a Moleskine journals ensures that your traveler will have a place to write their thoughts, experiences, and dreams wherever their travels may lead them.
4. LOKSAK Waterproof and Sand-Proof Dry Bags
I am in love with these high-tech ziplock bags. They are waterproof, humidity proof, sand-proof, and dustproof and weigh next to nothing. LOKSAK bags come in a variety of sizes so you can use the bags to store anything you want kept dry like cash, passport, iPod, clothes, food, batteries, and more. They are great for fishing trips, river trips, at the beach, and anywhere else you might get wet.
5. Eye Masks
Eye masks can help you sleep on the plane or block out early morning light in the tent. Some eye masks are even scented with relaxing aromatherapy scents to help keep you calm during unexpected turbulence.
6. Ultralight Travel Hammock
The new Ultralight Travel Hammock by Hammock Bliss weighs only 13 ounces and is ultra compact. The hammock is perfect for camping, backpacking, and traveling. With super tough climbing rope included, it is easy to set up just about anywhere.
7. Swiss Army Knife
Every traveler can use a Swiss Army Knife packed full of tools. I personally prefer the kind with every tool imaginable like the Swiss Army Ranger. The Swiss Army Climber is a bit more compact than the Ranger yet still has the necessary corkscrew and bottle opener.
8. Travel Clothesline
I would love to see one of these in my stocking this year. On a recent trip to Kauai, we set up a clothesline with some webbing, but didn’t have any clothes pins and I ended up chasing my undies across the beach when the wind picked up. If I had only had the nifty Sea to Summit Lite Line Clothesline that secures your clothes to the line, I wouldn’t have had to chase my unmentionables across the beach.
8. Travel Underwear
Speaking of undies, I don’t now if it is customary to get new underwear in your stocking like it is in my family, but if it is check out ExOfficio’s sweet travel underwear. Exofficio underwear wicks moistures and dries quickly after sink laundering. Every traveler needs at least one pair of these babies.
9. Would You Rather & Rubber Neckers
These travel-sized games are not just for kids. Would You Rather is great for car rides, plane rides, or kicking it in the hostel and Rubber Neckers will ward off that terrible “Are we there yet?” syndrome in the car.
10. GoToobs
I am totally sick of my carry-on toiletries leaking all over my pack, so thank goodness for GoToobs. These BPA free bottles are leak proof and no-drip with a large opening so they are easy to fill. Suction cups let you stash them on the shower wall and integrated labels let you mark the contents.