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If someone on your Christmas list is an outdoors person, then you have quite a chore, since we are a particular bunch.
Me? I’m pragmatic to a fault, so I adhere to the K.I.S.S. formula (as in “keep it simple stupid”) when it comes to requesting outdoor gear. I also believe nothing can replace woodsmanship, coupled with simple, tried-and-true sporting gear, for experiencing success in the field. That being said, with today’s technology there are some interesting gizmos and gadgets worth taking a look at—like a GPS. I never enter any big woods without a compass and a topographic map, but I’ve also fallen under the spell of Global Positioning System technology.
It has been a rocky relationship, as the first models were an ordeal to set up or “initialize,” and many proved incapable of locking onto satellites if there was even a twig in the way. But the technology has come a long way for both land and marine navigation, and I now use a base model Garmin eTrex. Adhering to my K.I.S.S. formula, all I really want is to be able to mark locations and find my way back to those spots. For instance, I can mark where I parked my truck, hunt an area, and simply turn on the GPS to get a bearing back to the truck. I can then take that bearing with my conventional compass and away I go. For the true tech-heads, there are models that can interface with computers, have color topographic maps, the works.
Other electronic gizmos that make great gifts for outdoors lovers are digital cameras, range finders, and trail cameras. Nowadays, there is no excuse not to be carrying a compact, inexpensive digital camera into the woods and onto the waters to document adventures. I’m never without mine. I don’t own a range finder, but as an avid bow hunter I should (hint, hint, family). These handheld devices estimate the distance from you to an object such as a distant tree or an animal, helping the hunter determine proper shot placement. Trail cameras are the rage nowadays and have also made great strides in usability and effectiveness. By leaving these cameras in the woods you can pattern the comings and goings of deer or other animals or just eavesdrop on wildlife and enjoy photographs from film or digital depending on the model.
More traditional gift items might include a woven pack basket for the ice fisherman. Mine is always locked and loaded with ice fishing traps and gear. A beginner’s fly-tying kit can make a great gift for someone just starting out fly-fishing. I still use my first L.L. Bean fly-tying kit to tie the occasional fly on a blustery late-winter afternoon. If your gift recipient is a reader, then books and magazine subscriptions are a good bet. I would recommend the following books and authors: for fly fishing—Trout Bum by John Gierach; bird hunting—Drummer in the Woods by Burton Spiller; deer hunting—Hunting Big Woods Bucks by Maine author Hal Blood; turkey hunting—New England Turkey Hunting by Maine author Bob Humphrey; and for waterfowl hunting—Hunting Ducks and Geese by Steve Smith.
Gray’s Sporting Journal is a very good sporting magazine that my daughter buys me a subscription to every Christmas. I’m reminded of that thoughtfulness every time an issue arrives in the mail. (Don’t forget to stuff some stockings with an issue and subscription to Bangor Metro as well!)
If all this seems overwhelming and risky, nothing beats a gift certificate to a favorite sporting goods store like Van Raymond Outfitters in Brewer, or catalogs like L.L. Bean, Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shop. No outdoor sports enthusiast I know has any trouble at all spending a gift certificate.
Some more creative gift ideas: Buy someone their hunting and fishing license as a present each Christmas. Maybe surprise them with a favorite outdoor photo enlarged and framed, or have a portrait of their dog drawn or painted and framed. Access to artists who do commissions from a photograph is just a click away on the World Wide Web.
Sometimes the best gift of all can be simply the time to pursue the activities he or she loves. One of my favorite gifts I’ve received from my wife are handmade gift certificates providing “time off” from family responsibilities to go on that hunting or fishing trip that I had been putting off. Still, that range finder would be awfully nice . . .
