The Best Gifts for Outdoorsy Dads, According to Outdoorsy Dads

For dads who plot their trails, writer and distance hiker Amiththan Sebarajah recommends high-powered GPS app Gaia, which is also a favorite of Death Cab for Cutie front man (and avid trail runner) Ben Gibbard. As the membership fee is steep, Dad will surely appreciate being gifted 12 months of maps.

If your dad likes birding, hiking, or just seeing faraway sights, he’d get plenty of use out of some new binoculars. Robert DeCandido — who goes by Birding Bob and leads bird-watching tours of Central Park — told us about this lightweight, waterproof, and fogproof pair from Sightron that he says Dad can “wear all day” without feeling any strain on his neck. They’re not cheap, but these they with a case, neck strap, and lens cover — all things that make them more giftable. If you want to shop around, we heard about more expert-approved pairs when we asked birders about their go-to gear.

Contributor and backpacker Maggie Slepian says there is a myriad of reasons a headlamp comes in handy on camping trips, from helping Dad find his way back to the tent (or car) after a long hike to illuminating the pages of his book as he reads in his sleeping bag after the campfire dies. Her favorite, from BioLite, is “lightweight and rechargeable, with a band that never triggers any pressure points,” she explains. “Plus the light is dimmable, which is helpful when you want to save battery life.”

According to Strategist contributor (and outdoorsy dad) Steven John, “The BioLite CampStove 2 completes two important campsite tasks at the same time: It cooks your food, and it powers up small electrical devices, such as a phone, camera, or a flashlight.” The device works by converting heat from the small fire you build in the stove’s chamber into electricity. “I love this thing because it’s a perfect example of an upgrade to a classic, essential piece of hardware,” John says.

These hand-blown glasses have slightly raised topographic impressions of Mt. Whitney, Mt. Rainier, Half Dome, and Denali.

John told us this “lightweight folding rocker” is just as essential to his camping kit as the stove-slash-charger above. The rocking chair, which made our Best in Class list for comfy and durable camping chairs, weighs an easy-to-schlep 12 pounds, but its “impressive engineering” can support up to 250 pounds, he explains. Plus, John notes “it has a cup holder attached” that will make it easy for Dad to keep his favorite brewski or canned spritz within reach once he gets where he’s going.

If Dad needs to purify water in the wild, this water filter doubles as an expert-recommended emergency-preparedness tool. Stephan recommends it, noting that the purifier could “be a literal lifesaver” when it comes to drinking untreated water. He adds that the tool helps him pack lighter: “Having a small pump filter in my pack frees me up from carrying too much water on trips where I’m sure there’s a reliable source.”

If your dad tends to return from camping trips smelling a little ripe, these towels Lynch told us about could be a revelation. He has used them to keep “dangerous funk” at bay while camping, mountain biking, and hiking, describing the towels as “like baby wipes but tougher, bigger, and without that terrible smell.” One side of each “has a rough, stippled texture that’s great for scraping off caked-on dirt or scrubbing your face clean in the morning,” while the other is smooth and “good for smaller messes and more sensitive areas,” he writes.

Utah-based hiker Rob Urry, a father of four and a grandfather of 11, recommends this packable and inflatable pad for any dad who complains about the quality of his sleep while camping. “The best pad ever: It blows up with just a few breaths and is lightweight and supercomfortable,” says Urry, who adds that the pad “works great on the ground or in a hammock.”

Our best outdoor game for families requires four players divided into two teams of two, with the objective being to bounce the ball off the net in a way that prevents the other team from being able to bounce it back. It’s packable enough for beach and park trips, and perfect for setting up at a campsite. And, while the learning curve is minimal enough for kids, we promise that ultracompetitive dads will be hooked.

Stephan notes that you can literally give your dad the gift of nature with a parks pass. “A lot of us outdoor dads are more into experiences than we are stuff,” he says. “This is a perfect gift to get guys going out to some of the best natural places on earth — and it’s good for an entire carload, so he can take the family with him.” This one offers access to almost all of New York State’s parks for the 2023 season, but the federal government also sells a pass to various national parklands for the same price.

Strategist contributor Michael Easter, an Outside magazine columnist, told us he has used this pocketknife for “tasks both mundane and epic.” The more mundane include cutting through apples and packages, while gutting trout “alongside Utah streams and Wyoming lakes” and butchering a 400-pound caribou in the Arctic tundra are some of the more epic things he has done with it. Made in the USA, Easter says the tool came recommended to him by a U.S. Special Operations Forces operator, writing that “its fiberglass-reinforced, diamond-engraved plastic handle sits comfortably in your hand and stays there.” If it ever dulls, he adds that you can ship the knife to the brand’s Oregon City factory, and the company will take care of “cleaning, oiling, tuning, and resharpening” for free.

Strategist contributor James Lynch discovered these packs of powdered bone broth when he was shopping ahead of a four-month road trip — and wound up eating one a day for two months while living out of his truck. “In the time it takes to grab a cup of hot water, you’re blowing steam off a savory soup,” he writes, adding, “I no longer have to pay $12 for a tasteless freeze-dried dinner or carry a heavy can of tuna in my pack.” Instead, he buys dehydrated foods like rice, beans, or simple vegetables and adds the broth to them “to create meaty, filling meals that don’t weigh me down.”

Two dads we spoke to say that outdoorsy fathers would appreciate something to quench their thirst at a campsite or a backyard picnic. To ensure Dad’s mind stays sharp as he sips, Cosentino recommends this nonalcoholic beer, telling us “it tastes like the real deal, but you can drink all day without getting hammered.” He describes himself as “a huge IPA guy” and says this one has a “piney richness and awesome aroma.”

If your dad would love to bring the taste of the great outdoors inside, we suggest this tea from Oakland-based Juniper Ridge. Made from Douglas-fir needles sourced in the Pacific Northwest, it has a “deeply piney aroma,” according to contributor Nick Marino, who says its flavor is “profoundly, almost absurdly, outdoorsy.” The tea, he adds, “has a pleasantly oily texture and a wicked-dry finish that makes you thirsty for more.”

Lynch, meanwhile, told us these hiking boots double as his winter running shoes because they have a “waterproof upper, an aggressive tread pattern, and a wide, comfortable toe box” that he says “make every run feel like it’s the middle of spring.” The way he tells it, depending on the climate your dad lives in (or spends time outdoors in), they sound just as versatile as the shoes above: “Along with running, hiking, shoveling the driveway, and doing errands, I’ve worn these boots for snowshoeing.”

For dads planning summertime hiking or boating adventures, Steve Silberberg, head guide at Fitpacking, says that these Keen Clearwater sandals “give the freedom to power through rivers” without the risk of stubbing your toes on slippery stones. “I love that they are lightweight, have outstanding traction, and are quick-drying and washable,” he adds.

Paul Ronto of RunRepeat says a water bottle can be just as useful as a headlamp and that a nicer one like this may be something your dad is less likely to buy for himself. “I’d recommend anything from Hydro Flask; its vacuum-sealed, stainless-steel bottles keep things cold or hot for hours,” he says, adding that his has held ice for more than 24 hours while traveling.

John brings this towel from Rumpl on board during kayaking trips “in the event of an accidental full-scale soaking.” According to him, the towel “packs away easily when I don’t need it,” and its polyester-spandex material “absorbs a crazy amount of water when I do.”

“If you are participating in a water activity that brings you any appreciable distance offshore, you should be wearing a life jacket,” says John. “I don’t care if you’re an Olympic swimmer — if you get injured or sick, your swimming chops are gone, and a personal flotation device is all you have to count on to keep you above water.” Of all the life jackets he’s used, he calls this one from Astral Ringo his “favorite for paddling” in a kayak because of the wide range of motion it allows for his arms.

“A new fly-fishing rod is always a sweet gift,” says Matt Hranek, a photographer and the author of A Man & His Watch. Denver-based outdoor enthusiast Steve Lemig agrees, telling us that he, an experienced fly-fisher, used this Tenkara kit to teach his daughter the sport a couple of years ago. “It telescopes down to 20 inches and packs away super-easily,” according to Lemig, who adds that “it gives my $800 Orvis fly rod a run for its money.”

Slepian, who “splits her time between mellow canyon hikes in Death Valley National Park and 2,000-mile thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail,” says she has “hiked thousands of miles wearing backpacks in every category, from substantial, ultrapadded ones to superlight styles with no structure or support.” This one from Gossamer Gear, as she describes it, is like the Goldilocks of backpacks. The 42-liter bag has a “smaller capacity, padded back,” and a hip-belt system that has allowed her to “carry some 35 pounds of gear and barely notice it.” After taking it along on hundreds of miles of hikes, Slepian says her “G4-20 pack barely shows any signs of wear and has proven so functional and comfortable that few, if any, treks have me strapping on something else.”