Sunday, December 12, 2010

Stocking stuffers for your thruhiker

Someone you love going on a thruhike?  Don't know what to get them?  Here are some ideas.

$14  Long handled titanium spoon http://www.antigravitygear.com/vargo-titanium-long-handle-spoon.html (the plastic ones don't hold up).  Good for getting down into ziplock dinners without getting your hands all nasty.


$45 Petzl Zipka Plus Headlamp - plenty bright, plus red light for at night so you don't blind everybody.  http://www.rei.com/product/793268

$18  Swiss Army knife.  Use the knife to slice cheese.  Use the scissors for everything else.  http://www.rei.com/product/403028

~$6 No link, but go to Walmart.  Go into the garage/car section.  Buy a 50' length of lightweight nylon utility cord, in a bright color like red or yellow.  It should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch diameter.  It makes an excellent bearbag line.  It's bulky but lightweight and doesn't tangle or mildew.  Should have a weight strength of 75 lb or so.

$27 Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves.   Comfy, washable, easy to get in and out of.  http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Hardwear-Power-Stretch-om2860/dp/B001E5PKQY/ref=pd_sbs_a_2

$8 to $13 (or free if you have Reflectix to make it yourself) A pot cozy.  Keeps the contents of the pot hot after you cook.  Can be used to continue cooking your food after your stove burns out.  Technically doesn't fit in a stocking, but..  http://www.antigravitygear.com/antigravitygear-pot-cozy.html

$12 An alcohol stove.  This one is nice because you can sit your pot right on it.
http://www.antigravitygear.com/antigravitygear-alcohol-stove-4-oz-pepsi-style.html

$3 Mosquito headnet.  Nearly weightless, and invaluable when the gnats are bad.  Which is often.  http://www.antigravitygear.com/mosquito-head-net.html

$20 A Buff.  It's kind of like a bandana, kind of like a neckwarmer, and useful for many things.  http://www.amazon.com/Buff-Original-Color-Pink-Print/dp/B003ZTPIVE/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1292181132&sr=1-1

$4 A plain old cotton bandana or three.  Very, very useful.  The swiss army knife of clothing.  http://www.rei.com/product/246097

Variable price.  Check out Minimus.biz for single servings of almost everything.  Shampoo, coffee, and most importantly food.  Wouldn't some hummus taste great on the trail?  http://www.minimus.biz/

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