Looking for ultralight backpacking gifts this holiday season? Due to the development of ultralight backpacking materials and fabrics, backpacking gear has become lighter. You can swap out old, heavier gear for new, lighter gear. The gear weight difference can be quite significant and makes hiking and backpacking a lot easier.
Here are 20 of our top gift ideas for the ultralight backpacker in your family.
1. Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow Carbon Trekking Umbrella
The Silver Shadow Carbon Trekking Umbrella is a full-size umbrella with a reflective silver surface that will protect your favorite hiker from the sun and the rain. A sleek carbon fiber shaft, spreader, and ribs drop the weight of this umbrella to a mere 6.8 oz while maintaining full coverage. Its rigid shaft ensures it won’t unexpectedly collapse, and its simple construction ensures years of trouble-free use. The Silver Shadow Carbon is the Rolls Royce of Trekking Umbrellas.
2. Garmin inReach Mini 2 Satellite Messenger
The Garmin inReach Mini 2 is a pocket-sized satellite messenger that can send an SOS message to Search and Rescue in an emergency when you’re out of cell phone range. It can also send email messages and text messages to friends and family, whenever you want to update them or share your GPS coordinates. It has an easy-to-use push-button interface but can also pair with a smartphone via Bluetooth to display GPS maps and navigational information. Weighing just 3.5 oz, it’s small enough to tuck into your pants pocket.
3. Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket
The Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket is a purpose-built synthetic jacket made for hiking and backpacking. It is insulated with Climashield Apex, which is also used by Enlightened Equipment to insulate its synthetic quilts. The Torrid has two zippered handwarmer pockets, elastic wrist cuffs, and an adjustable hood opening to block side drafts. The construction is not sewn-thru to eliminate drafts through needle holes, which is a significant enhancement and departure from the norm for jackets in this class. Its raglan sleeves are designed to be used with a backpack and its ultralight nylon exterior fabric has a durable water-repellent finish to repel mist and light precipitation. A women’s model is also available.
4. Petzl Actik Core Rechargeable Headlamp
The Petzl Actik Core headlamp is a rechargeable, multi-beam headlamp that provides 600 lumens of power to light the way during dynamic outdoor activities like running, hiking, and backpacking. It comes with a 1250 mAh CORE rechargeable battery (included) and is also compatible with 3 AAA alkaline, lithium, or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries without the need for an adapter, which is a great convenience.
5. Hyperlite Mountain Gear Shoulder Strap Pocket
Hyperlite’s Mountain Gear’s (HMG) Shoulder Strap Pocket is a waterproof pocket made with Dyneema Composite Fabrics that is perfect for carrying a Smartphone, point-and-shoot camera, or travel documents. It has a built-in sleeve that can be used as a hiker wallet as well as an external mesh pocket that will hold a phone securely, even when you take off your pack or it falls over on the ground. It’s easy to attach to packs with daisy chains on the shoulder straps with the included gatekeeper buckles.
6. Feathered Friends EOS Jacket
The Feathered Friends Eos Down Jacket is insulated with 900 fill power goose down that’s available in both men’s and women’s models. Recently updated, the Eos weighs 10.8 ounces (306g). It features a low-profile dual drawstring hood, a zippered chest pocket, two handwarmer pockets, Lycra wrist cuffs, and elastic hem adjustment. With a Pertex Quantum Shell and sewn-thru construction, it’s lightweight enough to be used as a mid-layer under a shell but also makes a warm outer layer when worn over a fleece or heavier baselayer. The Eos also makes a good adjunct to a quilt or hoodless sleeping bag, if you want more upper body insulation and a draft-free hood.
7. Wilderness First Aid Class (WFA)
Give someone you love a Wilderness First Aid Class. The most important gear you carry in the backcountry is between your ears. While it helps to have a good first aid kit, there are a lot of hiking injuries that are too severe or life-threatening for you to treat. Wilderness First Aid teaches you how to stabilize a patient until medically trained search and rescue personnel can arrive to transport them to advanced care. This training is very useful if you hike by yourself, with family or friends. It’s primarily scenario-based, so you get to practice the skills you learn in life-like simulations which make the lessons hard to forget.
8. Helinox Chair Zero
The Helinox Chair Zero is a super lightweight (17 oz) camp chair with a single shock-corded pole structure that makes for easy setup. It packs up small making it easy to carry in the side pocket of a backpack and is easy to assemble when you want to have a seat. Slits in the polyester ripstop seat expand to accommodate your backside for increased comfort.
9. BearVault 425 Bear Canister
The BearVault 425 is the smallest BearVault bear canister and is the perfect size for weekend backpacking trips. Approved by the IGBC and SIBBG for use in both Grizzly and Black Bear country, bear-resistant food containers are mandatory in most National Parks & Forests where grizzly and black bears are present. The BearVault 425 will hold about a 3-day food supply for 1 person and fits most backpacks vertically or horizontally. It doesn’t require any special tools to open (except if you’re a bear of course) making it perfect for long weekends when a much larger bear canister would be dead weight.
10. Zpacks Duplex Zip 2P Tent
The Zpacks Duplex Zip is a 20.4 oz two-person trekking pole tent designed for three-season use that’s a popular choice with section hikers and thru-hikers. It’s very easy to set up and provides good weather protection. The two rainbow-style doors and side vestibules make it easy to share with another hiker, but the tent is lightweight enough that it can even be used by one person. Any hiker would love to get a Duplex Zip as a gift.
11. Chicken Tramper Gear Water Bottle Sleeve
Can’t reach your water bottles when you get thirsty? That’s not a problem if you attach your water bottle to your backpack shoulder strap. The Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear (CTUG) Water Bottle Sleeve can attach to backpack shoulder straps that have a daisy chain in front or a hydration hose keeper loop making them compatible with just about every backpack in existence. The sleeve is available in two sizes and compatible with 0.7L and 1L Smart Water Bottles (a hiker favorite). Durably made with X-Pac, these sleeves are attached at the top and bottom so your bottles won’t fall into the dirt when you bend over to tie your shoe.
12. Hyperlight Mountain Gear Packing Pods
Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s Packing Pods are ultralight kidney-shaped stuff sacks designed to use all of the space in a backpack and eliminate the voids that are leftover if you pack with conventional cylindrical-shaped stuff sacks. They’re made with an ultralight waterproof fabric called Dyneema DCF and have an attached top flap that lets you view their contents but zipper closed for moisture protection. All of Hyperlite’s Packing Pods are silver-colored.
13. Katabatic Gear Alsek 22 Quilt
While some quilts feel like they aren’t wide enough to wrap around, the angled “wings” on the Katabatic Alsek 22 help keep the quilt secure around the hiker without a major weight penalty. The Katabatic Alsek weighs just 1 pound, 6 ounces with 900-fill down and a durable Pertex Quantum Ripstop. It also has a longer sewn footbox than some other quilt models, which helps trap more heat. We also like the Katabatic Palisade 30 for people who hike in more temperate conditions.
14. Durston X-Mid Pro 1
The Durston X-Mid Pro 1 is a 15.7 ounce single-wall trekking pole tent that is exceptionally easy to set up. This 2-door tent is made of Dyneema DCF, an ultralight and extremely waterproof material. All of the seams are taped and the inner tent is sewn to the fly so the tent can be pitched in the rain and still remain dry inside. This exceptional tent is quite stormworthy and includes extra guy-out points for extreme conditions.
15. Sea-to-Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Pad
The Sea To Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Pad has extra thick 4″ air sprung cells that provide excellent comfort for side and back sleepers. ThermoLite synthetic insulation and a platinum liner reflect warmth back to you to minimize radiant heat loss. A flat valve makes it quick to inflate and deflate, and a combination stuff sack/air pump is included for ease of use. The Ether Light has an R-Value of 3.2, making it suitable for three-season use, while a size regular (72″ x 20″) weighs in at 15 oz. Multiple sizes are available. We won’t sleep on any other pad.
16. Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
The Sawyer Squeeze is the most popular water filter used by long-distance hikers, and the thru-hiker in your life could always use another one. It’s lightweight, has a fast flow rate, and is guaranteed for thousands of liters. Hikers also love that it can thread onto many standard water bottles, so you can drink straight from the filter. While there are several Sawyer options on the market, we recommend the original. It has a faster flow rate and a longer lifespan than the smaller models.
17. Enlightened Equipment Visp Rain Jacket
The Enlightened Equipment Visp Rain Jacket is a 3-layer waterproof/breathable jacket made with a thin 7D ripstop nylon, a non-porous PU membrane and a soft tricot lining for a comfortable next-to-skin feel. Weighing 5.6 oz it’s very lightweight, but less puncture-proof as a result. It has pit zips under the arms with waterproof zippers. The jacket has a fitted hood with a stiffened visor that adjusts at the front and back and shaped wrist cuffs with a velcro adjustment for added wrist warmth and utility. Made for hiking, the Visp has a drop-tail hem that offers extra coverage in the back to keep the jacket from riding up under a pack as well as an elasticated waist to prevent drafts from below. Sizing is unisex.
18. Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 – Women’s Sleeping Bag
The Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 is a top-shelf technical sleeping bag tailored for women that has extra fill in the footbox and around the chest. It also provides more room in the elbows, including space to draw your knees up in the bag if you like to sleep that way. The contoured hood opens wide in warmer weather and makes it easy for side sleepers to use, while a two-way zipper makes the bag easy to vent. The Egret has a draft collar to help seal in the heat around your shoulders, while a trapezoidal footbox allows your feet to fall in a natural pose without compressing the sides. Available in two lengths: 5′ 3″ and 5′ 9″, the Egret UL 20 is insulated with 950+ fill power goose down and weighs just 1 lb 9.6 oz. That’s seriously light!
19. Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L Backpack
The Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L is an ultralight ventilated backpack with a suspended mesh back panel to keep you cool in hot weather. Made with waterproof and durable Ultra 200 and 100 fabric, the 19.6 oz Arc Haul Ultra 60 is a roll-top with side water bottle pockets and a front mesh pocket for external gear storage. The torso length is adjustable by raising and lowering the shoulder pads, while the hip belt is available in multiple lengths. The Arc Haul Ultra can haul up to 30 lbs comfortably. Sizing is Unisex, but a new women’s model is also available. This pack is seam-taped.
20. Gossamer Gear LT5 Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles
Ultralight and easily adjustable with a twist lock, Gossamer Gear’s LT5 carbon fiber trekking poles have a three-piece carbon construction that can be adjusted from 23.5” when collapsed to 51” fully extended. The foam handle absorbs sweat, and the strap is padded and adjustable. The set weighs under 10 ounces, which is feathery light making them a joy to use.
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