Winter is a great time to gear up and get out for some cold-weather hiking, mountaineering, or snowshoeing adventures. The bugs are gone and so are the crowds, leaving the mountains and the hills to those who can’t live without their weekly dose of sun and snow. Here are 20 expert gift recommendations for the winter hiker and backpacker in your life.
1. Black Diamond Alpine Start Softshell Hoody
The Black Diamond Alpine Start Hoody is a highly breathable, lightweight softshell jacket that excels as a wind shirt and a protective garment against light precipitation. Ideally suited for cold-weather pursuits, it provides excellent breathability without the weight of a heavier technical shell. Made with Schoeller stretch-woven fabric, it’s perfect for dynamic activities such as winter hiking, mountaineering, ice climbing, or XC skiing. You want a highly breathable wind layer with an adjustable helmet-compatible hood, stretch cuffs, and a zippered chest pocket. Available for men and women.
The Prism 40 is perfectly configured for winter travel with a rear crampon pocket that’s also good for carrying microspikes, a top lid that you want to carry spare gloves, an ice axe loop, side compression straps, and daisy chains that make it easy to carry snowshoes or skis. Made with Woven Dyneema, it’s also tough as hell and ultralight, weighing 34.6 oz. The hip belt, which features dual gear loops for racking gear, can also be removed on days when you need to wear a climbing harness.
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 strap to your backpack’s shoulder strap.
Dachstein Extreme Warm Wool Mittens are boiled wool mittens made in Austria that are popular with mountaineers. Made from very dense boiled wool, they’re windproof and virtually waterproof because they’re so dense. When the mercury drops to near zero or below, these are the mittens you want to be wearing. They’re also ideal for people who get very cold hands in winter or who suffer from Raynaud’s Disease. They’re not itchy at all and can be worn alone or with an outer shell mitt in extreme winter weather.
The MSR Lightning Ascents revolutionized snowshoeing when they were first introduced and MSR has continued to refine them since. They feature a unique 360 degree toothed crampon that’s built into the frame for traction when you’re walking uphill, downhill, or side-hilling across a slope. A flip-up heel bar makes it easier to climb hills, while the mesh-net Paragon binding lays flat, and makes them easy to pack or strap to a backpack. A women’s model is available.
Darn Tough’s Over-the-Calf Mountaineering Socks are seriously warm. They have a streamlined performance fit (which means they won’t fall down) that is chock full of merino wool for superior wicking and all-day warmth. Guaranteed for life, Darn Tough will replace them if you ever wear them out!
A true classic, Patagonia’s Retro-X Fleece Jacket will keep them toasty warm on the mountain and in the pub. This wind-blocking, heat-trapping fleece jacket has a windproof barrier bonded to a cozy 85% recycled polyester fleece exterior. Y-Joint sleeves provide mobility through the shoulders and arms, while the vertical-zippered chest pocket and zippered handwarmer pockets provide plenty of storage for snacks and valuables. Available for men and women.
The REI Activator is a softshell pant with a gusseted crotch, moderate stretchiness, and three zippered pockets. It has a good balance between breathability and warmth and is coated with an external DWR to prevent blowing snow from making the pants wet. It requires an external belt (previous models had an integrated buried belt). Despite its relative lack of technical features, they’re a winter hiker favorite, very durable and long-lasting, and quite affordable. A women’s model is also available.These pants are my favorites and have been for close to 10 years. They breathe well, have great pockets, are not too warm to hike in, and are relatively inexpensive.
In winter, you need to insulate your water to prevent it from freezing. These Forty Below Neoprene Water Bottle insulation sleeves are designed to work with 1L wide-mouth Nalgene bottles and can be attached to a backpack hip belt in order to keep your water within easy reach. These Insulators are a favorite with winter hikers and high-altitude mountaineers on Mt Everest.
The outerU faceGlove is an ingenious face mask that prevents frostbite on your nose and cheeks while helping to eliminate ski mask fogging. It’s perfect for winter hiking or skiing and covers your nose and upper cheeks, which are the most sensitive to sun and wind damage. OuterU is a cottage manufacturer located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where the faceGlove was developed and is manufactured.
11. Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles
Trek through 4 glorious seasons in the alpine with the Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles from Black Diamond. Their lightweight, ergonomic design offers stability and comfort on rugged, steep hikes.
Outdoor Research’s Prevail Heated Gore-Tex Mittens are designed for people who get cold hands or need extra warmth on extreme winter adventures. With three heat settings, you can customize the level of warmth to fit your needs; the low setting provides 8 hours of warmth, the medium setting lasts for 5 hours, and the high setting lasts for 2.5 hours. The mittens are lined with synthetic insulation and have a waterproof and windproof Gore-Tex insert that protects your hands from the elements. Note: Do not use this heated glove in conjunction with avalanche beacons.
The NEMO Switchback is a folding closed-cell foam pad that you can sit on to rest or lay on if you’re injured and waiting for help to arrive. It has an R-value high enough to prevent the cold ground from robbing your body of warmth and causing hypothermia. Many hikers strap them to the outside of their backpacks, especially in cold weather, because they’re considered a wilderness first-aid essential for insulating a patient from the cold ground.
A hiker’s favorite, the ultralight CAMP USA Corsa excels at ski mountaineering, adventure racing, low-angle glacier travel, and winter peakbagging. Built from 7075-series aluminum for dependable service and minimum weight, Corsa is hardly noticeable when packed. A hot-forged, aluminum head delivers a solid bite, and the rear adze adds chopping power.
Outdoor Research’s Crocodile Gaiters are hands down the most popular winter gaiters available today and with good reason because they are nearly indestructible and tough as nails for winter hiking and snowshoeing. Their waterproof/breathable Gore-tex uppers will keep your legs dry and warm when plowing through snowdrifts and down winter trails. Heavy-duty velcro front closures provide a secure and adjustable fit while hooks at the bottom assure compatibility with many kinds of boots.
The Polar Buff can be worn as a helmet liner, balaclava, mask, scarf, hood, or hat to give you warmth where you need it when you need it. One side is covered with an original Buff while the other is covered with a layer of Polartec fleece to help minimize heat loss. Super warm and comfortable, the value of this item is its versatility in winter conditions.
Weighing just 10.6 oz, the Feathered Friends EOS Hooded Down Jacket excels at keeping you warm on its own when conditions call for moving light and fast. Filled with premium 900+ fill power down, Feathered Friends’ down clothing and sleeping bags are prized by hikers and backpackers around the world. A women’s model is also available.
Grivel’s G10 New-Classic EVO Crampons also have a flexible center bar and universal binding system which makes them compatible with flexible and rigid boots. They have 10 points (6 in the front and 4 in the back) that provide stability in all snow and ice conditions. These steel crampons are also equipped with proactive anti-balling plates both in the front and back, which unload snow buildup with every step. Weight 861g/pair.
The Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultra is a necessity for added traction when you’re out hiking on local trails or deep in the backcountry. Their heat-treated carbon steel spikes are strong and durable providing years of use. The elastomer harness ensures compatibility with most shoes and boots and makes the Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultras easy to get on and off.
The Black Diamond LT1100 is a high-powered, long-burning headlamp with a removable and USB-C rechargeable battery, so you can carry a replacement battery if needed. While you may never need all 1100 lumens, the LT1100 has a very long burn time (14 hours at medium w/600 lumens), which is good because most winter hikes begin and end in the dark. This lightweight light has a headband pivot and is also helmet-compatible. Headlamps like this used to weigh a ton and require an external battery pack, so this 3.8-oz headlamp is a real innovation and a great addition to your winter kit.
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