The Best Gifts for Hikers, According to Very Experienced Hikers

Hiking is hard enough. Shopping for the essentials should be a breeze.

Gift giving is a lot like hiking. It starts off simple enough, but invariably becomes more difficult as time passes. The end result, however, is always worth the effort. That said, buying gifts that hikers love can be somewhat of a challenge. Of course you can always opt for something tried and true, like a Nalgene or good pair of trail sunnies, but with so many innovations in hiking and outdoor gear in the past few years, why not think outside of the box of trail mix?

Below we have 15 excellent gifts for hikers handpicked by experienced hikers themselves. We talked with Whitney "Allgood" La Ruffa—an expert hiker and VP of sales and marketing at Six Moon Designs, as well as Brian Raffio, the senior adventure travel consultant for Climbing Kilimanjaro.

Here are their picks for the absolute best gifts for the hikers in your life this year, compiled by Alex Robinson.