Procrastinator’s Guide to Ultralight Gifts for Hikers and Backpackers 2024
treeline review-vetted gear for hikers and backpackers
It’s ok to procrastinate when gifting for backpackers! Luckily, the hiking and ultralight crowd are easy to shop for.
We’ve tested dozens of accessories for backpackers, ultralighters, camp chefs, weekend warriors, and gram-counting spreadsheet-making hikers. These are small items we recommend in our Essential Backpacking Accessories guide tested side-by-side against other gear.
It also includes Backpacking Luxury Items and even items to stay warm in camp.
From condiment packets to bidets, from energy bars to battery packs, these are the items we are most excited about—and know will make a great gift for hikers, backpackers, thru-hikers, and weekend warriors alike.
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Nitecore 10000 Gen 2 Powerbank
Weight: 5.29 oz
These days, almost every backpacker carries a phone to take photos, look at maps, use navigation apps, and use in case of emergency.
A Nitecore 10000 is 40% lighter than other power banks so they can keep their phone charged on multi-day trips. It has a battery indicator and is IPX5 rated water resistant. Best yet, the Nitecore 10000 is a backpacking gift that's useful for everyday life. I use mine when traveling for business (not every airport has outlets).
Enlightened Equipment Enigma Quilt
Weight: 19.6 oz (20F)
One of the most common quilts among thru-hikers, the Revelation is one of the winners in our Best Backpacking Quilts story, a quilt is an ultralight upgrade that can save you 1/3 or more of the weight of a sleeping bag.
The quilts are available in 10F, 20F, 30F, and 40F bags. With 850 fill power down and with sizing from short, regular, long and regular and wide, this is a dream piece of gear they will be thrilled to receive.
Weight: 2.8 oz (28 mm threading), 3.1 oz (42 mm threading)
CNOC Outdoors Vecto water containers are our favorite collapsible water container in our Arizona Trail Gear List. The CNOCs are stronger and more reliable than other water bags we’ve carried. These durable water containers make filtering water easy because they thread with both Sawyer Squeeze and Katadyn BeFree water filters, two top picks in our Best Water Filters story.
The Vecto 2L is our favorite, but the deal also applies to the 3L version for when you need bigger water carries.
gossamer gear thinlight sit pads
Weight: 4 oz
So popular that it was out of stock for months, the Thinlight foam pad is back!
Backpackers often sit in the dirt and it sucks. Whether for breaks, or to cook and eat dinner, sitting on the bug and thorn-covered ground is part of backpacking. Enter the Thinlight: a lightweight, small, and affordable gift that insulates them from the cold, wet ground.
Super ultralight backpackers use this pad (and nothing else!) for camping. More reasonable backpackers will put it under their inflatable sleeping pad to protect it from punctures and add more warmth when camping in the cold.
However they use it, this is an item you’ll see often on the top of backpackers’ packs. If they have one, they always need another. And if they don’t have one, they’ll wonder how you scored one of the hardest to get items of the year.
FlipFuel Fuel Transfer Device
Weight: 1.5 oz
If they are like most backpackers, they have a lot of halfie fuel canisters—not enough to last a longer backpacking trip but still with a good amount in there.
The FlipFuel is a new device that helps you transfer fuel from one fuel canister to another.
The FlipFuel is a safe and easy way to consolidate fuel canisters to get a full fuel canister again.
Nitecore NU25 400 Lumen
Weight: 1.98 (NU25), 1.59 oz (NU UL)
The ultralight winner in our Best Headlamps guide and in our Favorite Gear Recommended by Treeline Review 2024, the Nitecore NU25 weighs less than 1 oz, yet has some of the best battery life, distance, brightness, and waterproofness of any headlamp. And at less than $40 new, it's a bargain.
Flextail Tiny Pump 2x
Weight: 3.38 oz
If you've ever been in camp, blowing up an inflatable sleeping pad, and thought, "I wish electronic pumps were lighter," your wish has been granted.
The 3.38 oz Flextail Tiny Pump is an air pump, vacuum pump, and camping lantern ideal for inflatable sleeping pads and backpacking pillows.
Enlightened Equipment Torrid
Weight: 8.4 oz (men’s medium), 7.56 oz (women’s medium)
When Naomi was planning her Iceland traverse, she knew that the weather was going to be the biggest challenge – rain, snow, wind, cold.
She needed an insulation layer that would stay warm when wet, had breathability, and would also pack down small because she had a lot to carry and not much space in her pack. The Enlightened Equipment Torrid was exactly what she needed.
Cucoclean Ultralight Collapsible Bidet
Weight: 0.42 oz
A backcountry bidet is one of senior editor Amanda Jameson's favorite gear items from the PCT. She writes about it in our guide to our Favorite PCT Gear.
The Cucoclean is a new ultralight gear item that was a Kickstarter success. At 0.42 oz, it fits onto most water bottles with a universal bottle insert. It sends out an impressive stream of water. And it even comes in lots of fun color options.
Kula Pee Cloth
Weight: 0.5 oz
A Treeline Review bestseller! Replace TP with this quick-drying, pack-friendly, antimicrobial cloth.
If you use toilet paper at home after peeing, staying hygienic, dry, and comfortable can be difficult when outdoors, far from established facilities. We even know folks who use their Kula Cloth at home.
We love the Kula Cloth so much it’s in our Best Gifts for Hikers, Best Gifts for Skiers, and Best Gifts for Campers guide. It’s also in our Stocking Stuffers for Outdoors Lovers guide.
We also love supporting Kula because they’re a women-owned outdoor brand.
Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow Carbon Umbrella
Weight: 6.8 oz
With a carbon fiber frame and UPF 50+ rating, this is for the ultralight backpacker headed to the sun. The reflective surface deflects sunlight and allows a desert or high altitude hiker to stay cooler, like your own personal shade. It’s an essential item in our PCT Gear List for hiking in the desert, as well as in our Oregon Desert Trail and Arizona Trail Gear List hiking strategy guides.
Unpaste Tooth Paste Tabs
Weight: 1.5 oz (packet of 125)
A stocking stuffer novelty item they will love!
With toothpaste tabs, backpackers know exactly how much toothpaste they need to bring on a backpacking or camping trip. It takes up less space and is less messy for travel. There's no moisture in there, so they weigh less per use, too. They don't have that big plastic single-use tube, either.
Thermoworks Zipper-pull Thermometer
Weight: 0.5 oz
Backpackers love to know what temperature it is when they hike. Whether to help make smart decisions about going for that peak or just to know how much warmer it is inside the tent vs. outside the tent, the zipper pull thermometer is one of our favorite Ultralight Luxury Items.
The thermometer is also useful to predict whether it will get below freezing at night based on the evening temps (which is important because we have to keep our water filters from freezing).
Rawlogy Eco Cork Massage Ball
Weight: 1.0 oz (mini), 1.4 oz (classic)
All-natural massage items are perfect gifts for any athlete, person who spends time sleeping on the ground, or traveler.
We're big fans of the Rawlogy Eco Cork massage ball, which we write about a trail self-care hack in our How to take care of your feet while hiking article. This lightweight ball has similar density to heavy massage balls recommended by physical therapists, giving backpacker the roll-out benefits without the weight.
We like the Rawlogy so much it's in our Best Gifts for Hikers guide and Best Gifts for Runners guide.
It's in our Backpacking Essential Accessories Gear List and you'll find it listed among the gear we carried on the Camino and the Backbone Trail. They're great for home use, too and make great gifts.
Bogler Potty Trowel
Weight: 0.48 oz
The Bogler is an ultralight trowel used to dig holes for going #2 in the woods.
At 0.48 oz, the Bogler is longer, lighter, and easier to use than other poop trowels on the market. That’s why you’ll see it on our sub-8 pound Ultralight PCT Gear List.
All outdoors people have to dig catholes to deal with poop—whether you hike, bike, camp, climb, or backpack.
The Bogler is light enough you won't think twice about doing the Leave No Trace thing and properly disposing of human waste. The Bogler potty trowel is also a great present to anyone who spends time outdoors.
Trail Pouch Hartford Gear Company
Weight: 0.2 - 0.3 oz
Every backpacker needs a water-resistant zipper bags with tape-sealed seams. Unfortunately, most backpackers use single-use plastic bags that break and leak.
As one reviewer says, "I wanted to upgrade my hiker wallet from a ziplock bag covered with duct tape." If that sounds like a backpacker you know, this would be a perfect gift.
Toaks Titanium 750 mL Pot
Weight: 3.0 oz, 3.5 oz (with lid)
Cookware is a classic holiday gift, and backpacking and camping cookware is a perfect gift for backpackers in your life (yourself included!). The Toaks 750 mL is the overall winner in our Best Backpacking Cookware Pots guide.
Weight: ~2 oz (depending on size)
The Goosefeet Gear Down Socks make a great gift for someone who is always cold outdoors. They are the lightest way to keep your feet warm.
Whether their feet get cold in their sleeping bag or around camp, the Goosefeet Down Booties are among the lightest out there and are made in the US. They're stuffed with 850 fp down and can help keep you warm without expensive investments in heavier weight sleeping bags.
