2025 Gift Guide for Scouts

This wilderness survival course teaches both primitive and modern survival know-how and techniques including shelter, fire, emotional management for emergencies, water-finding and purification (without modern tools or materials). wild foraging and hunting techniques, land navigation fundamentals, and more. Our Scoutmaster has taken this course and recommends it!

$140 from CA Survival School

Ask your child to list Christmas presents they received last year and you might be surprised by how few they remember. Now ask them where you went on your last vacation. Experiences last longer than things. This beginners class will teach the ins and outs of chef knife use, care, honing, and safety. You will walk away more confident in cutting vegetables and herbs with an array of essential skills. Note: these classes are geared toward adults but you can call 18 Reasons to set up youth-oriented classes.

$115 at 18 Reasons

Selectable dumbbells offer adjustable weights from 10 to 55 pounds, depending on the set. They take up far less space than a full set of free weights, and cost considerably less as well. Most experts suggest that kids be 14 before starting serious resistance training. Pair it with a deck of exercise cards (or app).

$150 from Amazon

MagSafe phone and watch charging, plus two integrated cables, one USB C port and a status display. And it comes in Scout colors.

When backpacking, having a second pair of shoes to wear around camp will change your life. These lightweight, quick-drying, super-packable slip-ons have enough protection for camp life and short walks, and water crossings. For a cozier (but bulkier and less versatile) option, check out The North Face’s Traction Mules.

$30 from FitKicks

These ultralight and compact backpacking seats have become popular amongst our High Adventure trekkers. Protects you from the cold and moisture for just 2.1 ounces. If you prefer a brand name, the original Thermarest is popular option.

$15 at Decathlon

For day hikes and everyday urban adventures, Osprey’s Daylite pack is one of our favorites. It’s sized right for an all-day hike, and its high-quality construction will handle years of wear and tear. The pack has a well-ventilated back and comfortable shoulder straps that include a sternum strap with integrated whistle. It’s well-organized, with a sleeve for a hydration bladder, exterior pockets for a headlamp, notebook, map, and compass, a side water bottle sleeve (perfectly sized for a Nalgene), and room inside for some trail snacks, a camera, and rain gear. The Daylite Plus offers two additional exterior pockets, and padding in the hydration sleeve so it can safely tote a laptop around town. Younger Scouts may prefer the 22L REI Flash for size and fit.

$65 from Osprey

Ishi in Two Worlds tells the life story of the last known surviving member of the Yahi people, an indigenous community decimated by genocide during the California Gold Rush. Ishi lived for decades in the Mount Lassen foothills before being captured and brought to San Francisco where he spent the rest of his life confined as a living exhibit at Museum of Anthropology. This is an important and harrowing book best suited for older Scouts.

$16 from Amazon

LEMS minimalist hiking shoes are lightweight, durable, and ‘normal’ looking enough to wear everyday. And they happen to come in troop colors.

$108 at LEMS

Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the extracion of resources. Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer offers an alternative vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. Her model is the serviceberry, a tree that distributes its abundance of sweet, juicy berries to meet the needs of its natural community and ensure its own survival.

$14 from Thrift Books

Did you know that the boysenberry pie at Yosemite National Park has been made the same way for the last 60 years? All over the US, national parks have signature food offerings. This cookbook collects more than 70 of those recipes, inspired by their iconic lodges, landscapes, and chefs. Makes a helpful nudge for Scouts needing to complete requirement 4 of their Cooking merit badge, or cooking requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, or First Class.

$26 from Powell’s

Organize gear and add an extra measure of weather protection with packing cubes. Liam at REI is a fan of Peak Design for their design, weight, and durability—and they can double as a sling pack. For price, you can also go fully waterproof with options from Hyperlite.

From $12 at Peak Design

On backpacking trips and even shorter day hikes, trekking poles are becoming more an more popular in the troop. They offer stability on uneven terrain and increase endurance overall. On downhills, they make life easier on your joints. On uphills, they make ascents feel easier. Quality poles can easily approach the $200 rang. Black Diamond has quality poles for around $65, but this $30 option from Cascade Mountain Tech gets solid reviews from serious backpackers.

$29 from Bass Pro Shop

Everyone needs a daypack. This one is great for older Scouts and backpackers. It stuffs down into its own pocket to about the size of a water bottle, making it perfect to throw in a larger backpack and break out for side trips, scrambles, and other mini-adventures on longer trips.

$39 from REI

While we encourage unplugging on outings, older Scouts have the maturity and responsibility to care for things like cameras, smart watches, and other gadgets that are useful on and off the grid.

GoalZero’s Nomad 10 Portable Solar panel is hard to beat for price and function. We use one to ensure critical devices like emergency GPS always have power.—and we like that its folding design helps protect the solar cells. A weather-resistant power bank can be used on it’s own, or paired with a solar panel for unlimited recharging. Avid backpackers may prefer a slimmer, lighter weight option from BioLite.

$60 from GoalZero

The right base layer can help keep a Scout dry, warm (or cool), and better smelling. Wool is by far the best choice. Silk and synthetics work too. Base layers should be close-fitting, since their job is to wick moisture and provide insulation next to the skin. Smartwool and Patagonia are top-rated but pricey brands. REI’s Midweight line is a more affordable and high-performing option.

Around $50 at REI

Camp chairs are a bit of a luxury, but for some the comfort of having a soft place to sit off the ground is worth the extra weight. REI’s $79 Flexlite Camp Chair weighs 1 lb., 11 oz. Helinox’s Chair Zero weighs an even pound but is twice the price.

From $79 at REI

Yes socks. They may not be exciting, but a backpacking adventure is—and nothing will ruin that faster than cold feet or blisters. Quality wool socks will help take your Scout far. Wool is naturally moisture wicking and anti-microbial. They can be worn for days without smelling or irritating, and they’re quick-drying so you can wash them on the trail. Smartwool is one of our tried and trusted brands. Darn Tough socks live up their name and have an unbelievable lifetime warranty.

$25 at REI

A Scout should have a notebook with them at all times. We took Field Notes brand expedition notebooks with us on our 50-Miler. They’re pocket-sized and made of durable, waterproof paper that you can write on in even the harshest conditions. Rite in the Rain is another maker of waterproof notebooks that has even smaller and less expensive versions you can stash in your survival kit.

$14 from Field Notes

A Scout should have pen and paper on them at all times. This compact, highly visible, waterproof pen from Rite in the Rain should be staple in any pack.

$7 from Rite in the Rain

Safe for tents, lightweight, and sustainable, these slim, collapsible lanterns are convenient—but not essential—upgrade to your camping experience. And they let you save your more powerful battery-powered lights for when they’re really needed.

$20 from Goal Zero

Scouts know that the lake and river water we depend on while camping is unsafe to drink untreated. Normally we boil or bulk filter these natural water sources, but in an emergency a portable water filter like Lifestraw could save your life. There are several varieties to choose from. The Peak series is small, lightweight, and affordable. Make one a part of your survival kit.

$22 from Lifestraw

A warm insulating layer isn’t just the difference between cold and comfort—in certain conditions it can be a matter of life and death! Patagonia’s Nano Puff jacket is one of the best on the market. It’s pricey, but if it’s in your budget and your Scout is at an age where their clothes are likely to fit them for a while, a quality insulator is a worthwhile investment. For a more budget-conscious option, Uniqlo has an Ultra Light Down Jacket for around $70. That sounds too good to be true but backpacker forums actually give it good reviews.

Tip: Torrey Pine Green and Seabird Grey look great with a Scout uniform.

$239 at Patagonia

A quality backpack is not a small investment; but choosing the right one can be the difference between an enjoyable trek and a laborious one. Our Troop’s High Adventure Trekkers favor the Osprey Atmos AG 65. Its 65-liter capacity carried all our gear and supplies for a 50-mile trek. It’s relatively lightweight, but has adjustment and organization options that ultralight packs lack. Best of all, it might have the most comfortable suspension system ever. We tested a fully-loaded pack against its nearest competitors and the Atmos AG felt ten pounds lighter! The experts at REI can help you select the right pack for your size and activity. It’s best to get fitted in person, but if you know a few critical measurements they can help you out.

$150–$350 at REI

Most “survival” knives are absolute garbage. Swedish-made Morakniv is the exception. Suitable only for older Scouts, this fixed blade knife has an exceptionally sharp 4" blade and comes with one of the best ferrocerium fire-starting rods we’ve used. This is the knife our Scouts used to start their “flint and steel” fires.

$75 from Korakniv

Keep your head warm with toasty with a merino wool beanie. Minus33 makes a highly-rated and very affordable version for just $22. Available in 26 colors but we like Blaze Orange to make head counts easier! Smartwool is another high-quality brand.

$22 from Minus33