Black Sheep Adventure Sports’ first annual guide to stocking stuffers for ski touring & splitboarding fanatics.
We’ve compiled a list of 5 great stocking stuffer ideas for anyone that loves touring around in the hills come winter. Gifts that they likely won’t expect, but that will definitely put a smile on their face. Of course we’ve tried to keep prices low and the size down as they’re meant for stockings. For more significant gifts check back next week when the gift guide will be published.
1. GoggleSoc:
Simple and effective like so much great gear, these covers protect your goggles any time you’re not actually looking through them. Made of a stretchy microfiber and printed with a variety of fun designs GoggleSocs are easily snapped over almost any make or model of goggle. They also double as a great lens wipe and are almost entirely made of recycled plastics. A great stocking stuffer for reasonable price ($15 CAD).
2. Adventure Medical’s Mountain Series First Aid Kits:
A good first aid kit is a key piece of backcountry equipment. It can be hard to put together a functional, lightweight and waterproof kit from scratch though. Not without spending a lot of money and ending up with boxes of extra band-aids, pads, closures, etc. anyway.
Adventure Medical Kits tackled this issue with their Mountain Series, a line of functional and user friendly first aid kits for the backcountry. They come in six different sizes that correspond with different types of trips and commitment levels. The layout is well thought-out for easy access to exactly what you need for a specific injury or emergency. Starting at only $15 these kits are very reasonably priced and make a great stocking stuffer!
3. Espro Ultralight Coffee Press:
Like much of life, a day outdoors is best kick-started with a heavy dose of caffeine. This makes a coffee related gift a no-brainer for almost any outdoors enthusiast. But it has to be the right coffee related gift. Espro’s new Ultralight Press is just such an animal. By utilizing an innovative double filter system Espro ensures that all the coffee grinds and grit are trapped at the bottom of the press. This means that the brew tastes the same from the first to last sip. The press is housed in a very lightweight vacuum insulated container for portability. Simply brew up in the morning, screw down the cap and hit the trail. The coffee will be hot and ready to drink right out of the cup / bottle. Of course it can also be used to brew loose-leaf teas or as a lightweight insulated water bottle. An easy add-on to this gift is a good bag of coffee. Something from a local roaster is ideal. If you’re in the Squamish area check out Counterpart Coffee, small and locally owned they do it up right.
4. BioLite Charge Power Bank:
From short day trips to expedition style adventures we’re bringing more and more technology into the backcountry. This has led to an explosion in the popularity of portable power products such as small power banks or batteries with the outdoor crowd. Cell phones, headphones, GPS units, emergency locator transmitters, satellite phone and messaging devices, headlamps, portable speakers, cameras, etc. all need power and can all be easily recharged with a small portable power bank, making it a great gift.
But not all portable power banks are created equal. Many of them are packed with a bunch of extra features such as lights, built-in chargers, etc. in an effort to separate themselves from the crowd. BioLite, an outdoor specific equipment company, gets it though. They make a line of high quality power banks free of needless frills and gimmicks. Just a tough stainless steel body capped by a water resistant lid. Available three sizes: Charge 10 (2600mAh), Charge 20 (5200mAh) and the Charge 40 (10,400mAh). A great gift for anyone that likes to bring a little tech into the backcountry.
Hornby Island Energy Bars:
These rolled oat based energy bars are sure to be appreciated by any outdoor enthusiast on Christmas morning. Made from quality ingredients by a small family-owned company on the West Coast of BC, they’re organic, gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan (well, except for the honey I guess) so will work for just about anyone. And don’t worry, they still taste great! We did some taste testing this past fall, so if you’d like some more info check out the review. From the testing our favorite flavors include:
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Espresso
- Chocolate Chip Tahini
The bars are can be found in stores all over Canada. They’re also available online directly from Hornby via their website. Sorry my US friends, they’re not yet available in-store down south.
Disclaimer: Black Sheep Adventure Sports was supplied with many of the above items for testing but of course this didn’t influence our decision to include specific items in the list or our reviews. If we don’t like a product we simply don’t review it.
