Gifts for Campers: Clever Gear for the Fire, the Tent and the Trail

The Rome Square Cast Iron Pie Iron has been made by the same family business since 1964. Two slices of bread and a filling go into the 4.25-inch cast iron head, the 28-inch handles keep your hands back from the coals, and a few minutes later you have a sealed hand pie or a toasted sandwich. It’s for the cook who likes feeding a crowd, one at a time.

Packing space is the usual problem with camp cookware, which is what the Sea to Summit X-Pot Collapsible Kettle and Mug Set fixes. A 1.3-liter kettle and two 16-ounce mugs have silicone walls that fold flat, so the set nests into a disc about 6 inches across and weighs 11 ounces. Give it to a couple who want their morning coffee at the campsite without a crate of dishes.

For dessert, the Rome Marshmallow Tree Roasting Stick holds ten marshmallows at once on a 40-inch non-stick steel fork with a rosewood-stained handle. It turns s’mores from a snack into an operation, and it suits the host who would rather roast a batch than babysit one marshmallow.

Estwing forges the Estwing Sportsman’s Axe (14-Inch) from a single piece of American steel, head and handle together, with a hand-sanded leather grip and a ballistic nylon sheath. At 14 inches it’s sized for kindling, limbs and small firewood, and Estwing says it pulls tent stakes too. It’s the kind of tool that gets handed down rather than replaced.

Getting a stubborn fire to catch is easier with the Zippo Firefast Electric Bellows, a handheld fan that aims a steady stream of air at the kindling so nobody has to kneel and blow until they’re dizzy. Its triangular body won’t roll off a camp table, and the nozzle is flame-retardant. Wood-stove owners and backyard grillers get plenty of use out of it between trips.

Once the fire is going, Mystical Fire Color-Changing Packets do the showing off. Toss an unopened packet onto a wood fire and the flames turn green, blue, yellow and purple. It’s a cheap, easy add-on to a bigger gift, and the whole idea takes one sentence to explain.

Twist the focusing ring on the Fenix HL45R Rechargeable Headlamp and the beam slides from a wide flood for the tent to a spotlight that reaches 240 yards. It charges over USB-C, also runs on three AAA batteries if it dies in the woods, and its gesture sensing lets you run it hands-free. It suits whoever handles the after-dark chores.

The LuminAID Max 2-in-1 Solar Lantern and Phone Charger packs down to about an inch thick, then inflates into a 6-inch cube with up to 200 lumens. A solar panel on top recharges it, and a USB port can put a 75 to 100 percent charge back into most phones. It floats, it’s waterproof, and it earns a place in the power-outage drawer at home.

Prefer real flame to LEDs? The UCO Original Candle Lantern Kit uses a spring that pushes the candle up as it burns, so the flame stays steady behind a glass chimney for up to nine hours per candle. It collapses to 4.25 inches, and the kit adds two candles, a reflector and a case. UCO pitches it for snow camping too, since the candle gives off a little heat.

The ENO DoubleNest Hammock packs into a compression sack sewn onto the hammock itself and weighs 19 ounces. Unrolled, it’s 9.5 feet of breathable nylon rated to 400 pounds, roomy enough for one sprawler or two friendly people. Pair it with tree straps and it suits anyone who naps at every stop.

There are no legs on the Crazy Creek HEX 2.0 Original Chair. It’s a foam-padded seat and backrest joined by adjustable straps, so it sits on the ground and reclines as far as you like, then rolls up to about 4 inches across. It suits the backpacker who won’t haul a folding chair, and it works on cold bleachers too.

When the fire burns down, the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket has a clip that turns it into a cape. It’s made like a sleeping bag, with recycled synthetic insulation inside a water-repellent ripstop shell, and it measures 52 by 75 inches. It’s for the camper who is always cold after sunset, and it goes in the washing machine afterward.

The Leatherman Signal Multi-Tool packs 19 tools into 4.5 inches, including pliers, a saw, a combo blade and a hammer face for tent stakes. What sets it apart is the camping kit built in: a ferrocerium fire-starting rod, an emergency whistle and a diamond sharpener. It’s the splurge in this guide, for the camper who likes being prepared.

Swedish and cheap, the Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Knife (Orange) has a 4-inch stainless blade with a Scandi grind that bites well when you carve a tent stake or shave kindling. The orange handle is easy to spot when you set it down in the leaves. It makes a good first fixed blade for a scout or a new camper.

The Campfire Stories Deck holds 50 storytelling prompts, such as your first visit to a national park or a time you left something behind. It’s for families and longtime camping crews who want to hear new stories from familiar people, and extra cards explain different ways to play.

Every card in Scratch’Ems Camping Games hides a different game under a scratch-off panel, so nobody knows what’s next until someone scratches. There are 42 of them, from silly challenges to team competitions, with no setup needed. It’s aimed at ages 8 and up, which makes it a natural fit for family trips and scout groups.

For adults with a target and space to use it, the Cold Steel True Flight Thrower Throwing Knife is 12 inches of 3/16-inch carbon steel with a paracord-wrapped handle, heat-treated to bounce back from bad throws instead of bending. Set up a target board with a clear area behind it and it becomes the afternoon’s competition.