A Grown Up’s Outdoor Wish List – Outdoor Gifts

Just before Christmas I did a post on children’s outdoor presents.  These can be ideas for any occasion, and they are practical.  That was for children though, and although I love being able to buy my three outdoor gifts, I have an outdoor wish list too.  So I thought I would put together a list of outdoor gear that is fun for grown ups to have and then it could be used as a resource for outdoor gifts.  It is by no means a definitive list of everything that is essential, just a wish list of some non essential outdoor gifts 🙂

Outdoor Gifts For The Grown Up Outdoor Adventurer In Your Life (Or Yourself!!):

A Waffle Iron:

Now my waffle iron is a very old hand me down from my Norwegian mormor (Grandmother) so goodness knows how old is it (she lived to be almost 92 and died over a decade ago just to give it a bit of context!).  It is cast iron, totally impractical to carry (it is heavy and when out hiking we are already carrying quite a lot of weight), but boy oh boy is it yummy and cosy to make waffles on the campfire and eat them!!  The good news is there are newer versions of these available now in outdoor shops.  They also make toasting irons too (which I have my eye on) so you can make lovely toasties too out in the wild.

Gloves:

Bear with me on this one….I have gloves, and lots of them.  However, I have not found a glove (yet) that can keep me warm and that I can still do fiddly tasks things in.  My fingers get very cold (painfully so), very fast, so the only gloves I have found so far are the chunkier Gore-Tex outer, fleecy lined ones.  Now when you are trying to take lots of photos with a camera, deal with children and what they throw at you, prepare food, make hot drinks, and deal with campfires, I have to remove them to achieve anything, and then my fingers are goners.  You can not underestimate how lovely it would be to have amazingly warm and waterproof gloves that you can still do things in!  If you know of some make sure you drop their name in the comments below 🙂

Funky Outdoor Clothing:

You can still look great as well as wearing practical clothing in the great outdoors.  I adore my fritids byxor by Revolution Race (you can read my review about them here) and they look really good too.  Best of all I get to wear my favourite colour purple, feel good about myself, and be dressed to meet the demands of the great outdoors.

A Tinder Pouch:

I used to carry any tinder I collected in a plastic carrier bag, which served to do the job, but after the children getting a leather pouch each for Christmas, I also invested in one for myself.  It is a little bigger than theirs (let’s face it, I do most of the tinder collecting!!) and is made from Swedish Sami reindeer leather.

A Fire Steel:

There are many ways to light a fire, but I find this way one of the most enjoyable!  I love using our fire steel and it makes lighting a fire such fun.

Knife:

As outdoor gifts go, this is such a useful piece of kit, even though you can get by without one.  This is something I am currently dreaming of.  A nice sharp tool in a handy belt pouch to help peel tinder so it is easier to light, or to assist with the food preparation.  Any recommendations would be gratefully received in the comments below!

Kelly Kettle:

It is no secret that I adore this piece of kit, (read our user guide here) and it comes with us on all our adventures.  It is extremely fun to use, and provides us with hot drinks to keep us warm.

Kelly Kettle Whistle:

This is an accessory for the Kelly Kettle that whistles when your water is boiled and ready to use.  A fun, totally unnecessary accessory for your camp kettle 🙂

Hobo Stove:

This little gadget is a stove that sits on the base of your Kelly Kettle, instantly transforming it from a kettle to a hob to cook on.  It fits inside the Kelly Kettle when it is packed away so takes up no extra room, and is very light.  It is really fun to use and makes cooking safer than on the ground.

Mini Axe:

I would love a mini axe to help with firewood.  Don’t panic I am not about to start felling trees, but this is more for the wood found on the ground, or even at the fire pits when we are walking (some lovely people leave firewood near the pits here in Sweden).  It would be easier to use if I could split them, and then I could start carrying less of my own wood from home too.  Again I will take any recommendations as to what you think is a good tool in the comments below 🙂

A Good Billy Can:

Before I got my lovely billy can, I was carrying saucepans!  Not very practical to pack in a rucksack and carry.  In this I can carry the meal so that doesn’t take up extra space and it works so well on the campfire too.

Outdoor Fire Gloves:

I am currently carting around our fire gloves from our indoor log burner.  These are not especially weather proof and have taken a battering from being used out in nature.  They are also very large.  Any recommendations, drop them in the comments below!

A Fun Mug:

I love having an enamel mug for our hot drinks when we are outside.  I realise Moomins might not be everyone’s cup of tea (Ha!) but we have gone with a set of 5 different ones and it just adds a little bit of fun and glamour (?) to being in the great outdoors.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about what I think would make great (non vital) outdoor gifts.  Any other recommendations or ideas would be gratefully received in the comments below, and my wish list may grow even longer!!