Make Traveling a Breeze With These Holiday Gifts

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We tested hundreds of products earlier this year to round up the best holiday gifts currently on the market—all explicitly curated for your outdoorsy loved ones. From travel gear to tech gifts to fitness products, from $20 to $1,600, we have something for everyone. Be sure to check out the rest of our favorite picks in our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.

At A Glance

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Stio Colter Mountain Slip

$79 at Stio

Sizing: 8-13 (men’s)

The ultra-cozy quilted poly upper, fleece lining, and synthetic insulation in these slippers will make them a favorite around the house. They’re also great for quick outdoor chores like taking out the trash or walking the dogs, thanks to grippy soles that don’t slip on snow and ice.

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Mystery Ranch Mission Rover 45

$249 at REI $249 at Backcountry

This weekender bag comes with a full 42 liters of storage. It’s bigger than most quick-trip bags, but you’ll need the space to pack all the essentials for a weekend adventure. It fits in the newer, larger overhead compartments on planes, but if you want to check it, just zip away the straps, and it becomes a sleek duffel that will make its way through airports with no problem.

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LifeStraw Sip Reusable Steel Filter Straw

$35 at Amazon $35 at REI

It’s easy to get ill from drinking contaminated water when traveling internationally, even if you’re careful. This reusable straw filters 99.99 percent of bacteria and 99.9 percent of parasites from drinking water. At just 10 inches and 1.8 ounces, your loved one can have it on hand at all times.

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Klipsch Nashville Portable Bluetooth Speaker

$149 at Amazon $149 at Best Buy

This speaker will make someone on your list the life of the party, no matter where that party may roam. At a mere 2.4 pounds and seven inches wide, it produces deep and full sound. A pair of 2.3-inch full-range drivers—one on the front and another on the back—create 360-degree sound, so it works nicely in the center of a room. Plus, its 24-hour battery life makes it even better for remote destinations without power.

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A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko

$33 at Amazon $33 at REI

Former Outside editor Kevin Fedarko’s second book is yet another exploration of, and a love letter to, the Grand Canyon. This book is about his odyssey to walk the entire length of the chasm with a friend. Filled with humor, history, and elegant prose, it’s easily the best adventure book of the year and is a perfect gift for any traveler.

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Hest Cooling Pillowcase (small)

$19 at Hest

Trying to sleep when it’s hot is nearly impossible. That’s why Hest developed this pillowcase infused with jade, a material that’s known to help diffuse heat. You can instantly feel your face cool as you lie on the material.  The cases will fit regular pillows, along with all sizes of Hest’s pillows.

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AeroPress Coffee Maker – Go Plus

$80 at REI $80 at Amazon

For many of us, good coffee is non-negotiable. AeroPress recently launched its Go Plus, which features the classic press but comes in a metal tumbler that also serves as a cup. The setup makes a wonderful AeroPress cup of coffee that’s bold and smooth. When your coffee-lover is finished, all they need to do is rinse everything off with a little water, and they’re ready for their next caffeine hit.

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NEMO Double Haul Convertible Duffel and Tote

$170 at REI $180 at Backcountry

Sizing: 30L, 55L, 70L 100L

We tested plenty of gearboxes and bags last year, and Nemo’s Double Haul Duffel was a favorite thanks to its brilliant design that allows it to transform from a duffel to a pack or tote. Testers agreed that the Double Haul isn’t just ideal for camping adventures but also day trips to the crag, ski resort, or even the gym.

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How We Tested Our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

• Number of Testers: 6
• Number of Products Tested: 125
• Number of States Tested in: 7
• Tester Age Range: 30-75
• Highest Elevation Reached While Testing: 14,006 ft.

The best holiday gifts often fit in two main categories. The first category is: “A gift that makes my everyday routine that much better. “ The second goes something like: “This is a gift I’d never splurge on, so it’s amazing that I received it from someone else.” With those parameters in mind, we reached out far and wide to find gifts both big and small, expensive and affordable, and obvious and unexpected. A team of six testers put well over 100 products through their paces, and after weeks of testing and comparing, we came up with the final list.

For example, one of the products that made the cut under the “everyday routine” holiday gifts category was the Suunto Race S watch in our fitness category. Running tester Meg Healy loved how it was the perfect training watch that kept her motivated and updated all week long, no matter the length of her workout. Lead tester Jakob Schiller flew all over the country (Alaska, California, Seattle) with the Mystery Ranch Mission Rover 45 pack and was always impressed with how it was perfectly sized for a three-day trip, easily fit in an overhead compartment, and was comfortable to wear while schlepping through airports.

Presents that fell into the “I’d never buy this myself category” included things like Sonos Ace headphones and Howl propane campfire in the tech category. The headphones, which are as much as a car payment, seem excessive, but you understand the appeal once you hear how they truly enrich every piece of music, from John Coltrane to Taylor Swift to Cypress Hill. A $1,300 gas campfire seems absolutely ridiculous until you stand next to one on a chilly fall night and realize that this new piece of technology is actually as warm as a campfire (if not warmer) and does a great job setting the vibe after dark.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Jakob Schiller

Over the past decade as an Outside editor and then columnist, Jakob Schiller has gotten to know many UPS drivers by name thanks to the frequent stops at his house for gear drop-offs. He’s opened so many cardboard boxes he could start his own recycling facility, and his garage, as you might suspect, is a mess. But thanks to all that gear, Jakob and his family of six (plus two dogs) have been able to adventure around the world and visit many of the globe’s most beautiful spots. When he and his family are not on the road, they call Albuquerque, New Mexico home.