Christmas Stocking Fillers for Trekkers

It’s now the beginning of December, so understandably the topic of all conversations at the moment seems to be Christmas!

To help you (and your family and friends!) out with choosing what to put in your stockings this Christmas, we thought we’d put together a list of stocking fillers - not only to get you a great gift, but to also help you put together everything on your trek's kit list in preparation for next Summer.

Money Belt

Money belts top the list because they are so versatile. Chances are, you’ll use this not only on your trek this Summer but for travelling for a number of years to come too. If you haven’t already invested in a money belt, it’s definitely worth doing so before your next adventure. If you get one the right size, you’ll be able to fit your passport, money, phone and any other prized possessions together, to keep them safely stowed under your clothes whilst exploring a city - or keeping it all together in safety deposit box whilst out on the trek.

£6-£15, Amazon, ebay, Mountain Warehouse, Marks and Spencer

Travel Pillow

Luckily, nowadays on long-haul flights, airlines tend to provide a small travel pillow for passengers. However, most are flat, dropped easily and provide little to no comfort when travelling. Investing in a good travel pillow can revolutionise your travel experience, whether it be sleeping on a flight, providing extra comfort in your tent, or catching some Zs on a long bus ride. We’d recommend spending a little more to get the best material and most versatile pillow. One of our favourites is the 2-way pillow, where it can transform from a horseshoe to a normal pillow in seconds.

£5-£20, Tiger, Amazon, Airport shops

Portable Charger

What could be the worst thing that could happen when reaching the top of Kilimanjaro or Machu Picchu? Your phone dying before you manage to get a new profile picture has definitely got to be up there. Making sure you have a reliable portable charger to bring with you can definitely reduce the chances of this happening.

£9-£50, Amazon, Argos, Tesco, Sainsbury's and more

Travel Journal

Everyone wants to come home and tell everyone about the trip, so it’s very frustrating to come home and not remember everything! Not only is a travel journal a great way to note down all of the things you learn along the way, it’s a great way to relax in the evening whilst you’re chilling in your tent or sat by a fire with a hot chocolate. We love the personalised journals from etsy or notonthehighstreet, but you can get some great generic ones too.

£5-£50, Etsy, notonthehighstreet, WHSmith, Paperchase, The Range...

Travel Books

With our treks taking place in all corners of the world, if you’re travelling with us you’re likely to be flying on a log-haul flight. Whilst most flights are going to offer an entertainment system with a TV, there are only so many rom-coms you can watch before you start to lose your marbles! What better way to fill the time on the way to your challenge than with a good old-fashioned bit of reading? You can check out our top picks for travel books that’ll whet your appetite here.

Cards

If you’ve made it this far through university (/life) without yet owning a pack of cards, now’s the time to sort it out and get some. Typical card games you may play at university, can make for great fun on trek evenings in the mess tent. Whether it be Irish Snap, Rummy or anything else you can think of- having a stack of cards in your backpack can make for entertaining trek evenings.

£1-£10, WHSmiths, Mountain Warehouse, Amazon, ebay...

Travel towel

A quick-drying towel can come in very handy for when you’re having a shower mid-trek and require your towel to dry overnight before you head off trekking again. You can get them in a range of sizes, we’d probably suggest a larger size as although it may not seem such a big deal now, when you are drying to get yourself dry on a cold evening in (potentially) an outside shower having a towel to wrap-around yourself can make all the difference.

£9-£40, Mountain Warehouse, Argos, Amazon
 

Woolly hat

A cracking investment to be made this Christmas. The more stylish woolly hats are more likely to be in the shops at this time of year, meaning if fashion is what you are focussing on in preparing your kit list this Summer, having this staple item already in your wardrobe you’ve got one less thing to worry about. We’d recommend getting one with a thermal lining to ensure it actually keeps your head warm atop the mountains.

£20-£100, Cotswolds Outdoors, Amazon, Asos, Wonkywoolies, etc.

Buff

The buff is another versatile item, you can use it to keep your hair off your face, to keep your ears warm, as a sun-shield, a scarf and many more. A relatively cheap essential on your kit list, grab one early on so you know you’ve got yours ready for your trek this Summer.

£4-10, Cotswold Outdoors, Runners Need, Trespass, Mountain Warehouse, Sports Direct