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Gift Ideas for the CAMPER in your life ⛺️✈️🚘
39
items All my favorite gifts for Van-life and car/tent camping!
Sections
9
Essentials 🧾
Hiking 🥾
Cooking 🍳
Laundry & Shower 🧼🫧
Sleeping 🛏️💤
Books 📚
Essentials 🧾
The most needed things you may overlook before heading out for the first time!
I cannot tell you how much I recommend EVERY SINGLE PERSON get AAA, not only does it have the roadside assistance but also tons of discounts at hotels, restaurants, and activities!
Best Car Insurance: Get a Free Auto Insurance Quote | AAA
Starlink is a bit hard to figure out at first and align with the satellite but I was so glad to have it at all the campgrounds and national parks I was in! I used it to complete homework and it always worked pretty good! You do have to plug it in whi...
Starlink
I used this everyday at some point for about 10 days straight before it died! It is definitely expensive but so worth it when you’re somewhere you don’t have a generator to charge your phone or plug in your starlink!
PREDATOR 350 Watt Power Station, 294 Wh Capacity
Any type of sunscreen will always make a good gifts for a friend who is outside and hiking the majority of the time
Broad Spectrum SPF & Water Resistant Sunscreen
A notebook to write your travels is a must even if you don’t think you’ll use it! Stone paper is a smooth paper made from calcium and other minerals, hence the name stone paper, it doesn’t tear it just stretches but the texture does make it a little ...
Karst Goods | Home
Phone chargers and battery packs are great for long hikes or times when you won’t be able to use your generator while camping overnight
Best Buy
Hiking 🥾
The best hiking gear for all the problems you’ll want solved on a trail!
I got sent this backpack to promote, it is incredibly light weight, compact, and carries a lot more than you would think! It is pretty expensive, but it is moisture wicking and holds a good amount for hikes through water or when it’s super hot out!
25L Alberta Pack
If your hands swell up when hiking, it’s because you need to elevate them when walking! Hiking/Trecking poles are the perfect way to keep your hands elevated without feeling stupid keeping them waving above your head! My mom uses these on every singl...
Trekking Poles
These are my favorite chunky white tennis shoes for hiking or just day to day life! They are comfortable for standing and walking and they come in tons of different colors if white isnt your style
New Balance 530 Men's Shoe – MR530EMA-D-07
Cooking 🍳
Car-Camping must haves for cooking!
My van has a stove built in since it’s a RV conversion van, it when I travel in my car I always bring this campstove and it works great! You buy little bottles of propane and it cooks great! It does have an open flame but it also has a wind guard so...
Cascade™ Classic Camping Stove
I can’t find the exact set I have but it’s very similar to this one. When shopping for camp cooing equipment keep in mind you want the pots, pans, silverware, and other things to fit inside each other and well as they can and you also want it to be f...
KingCamp ADVENTURER pro Stainless Steel Cookware Set pro
A small dish brush is a great gift and easily forgotten until you realize you need it when washing your first set of dishes
Amazer Dish Brush with Handle, 2 Pack
A silicone kitchenware set is essential when cooking over a campfire or campstove. They are easy to clean and wipe off and won’t burn under the extreme heat. A bag to keep your kitchen tools in is also a good idea so you don’t loose track of where ev...
Mr. Outdoors Cookout 10-Piece Silicone-Coated Utensil ...
Plastic cutting boards are good for travel because they are easy to wipe off and are small enough to slide under anything
Plastic Cutting Boards
Dish soap is another overlooked item when it comes to vanlife, you never know how much stuff you can use soap for like this! When picking out gifts for vanlifers, make sure you do your research on soaps that are good for the environment since most cl...
Natural Dish Soap
Laundry & Shower 🧼🫧
The best and most compact shower items for showering on the go!
I have used this almost every single day while on the road and off, although it’s for laundry it has so many other uses! I’ve used it to carry things in and out, organize, and shop in grocery stores that don’t use plastic bags!
SAMMART 42L Collapsible Laundry Basket White
I used these to save space while traveling and they surprisingly worked great! I will say the shampoo works better than the conditioner but even if you just used bar shampoo you’d still be saving space in your shower bag! They also smell sooo good, I...
Rice Water Shampoo & Conditioner Combo + Bar Saver Bags Bundle
Showering in campground stalls can be a little tricky and wet, having a mesh bag for your shower supplies to dry is a must-need!
RUDIS Mesh Drawstring Bag - Black
This brush is AMAZING and it comes in a smaller size to save space! It works so well for my hair and brushes every knot with ease!
Wet Brush Original Detangler - Pearl White
Sleeping 🛏️💤
The coziest sleep items to make car/vanlife comfortable AND safe!
These are customizable window covers for if your van life friend is traveling in a car without curtains! My van had a few curtains but the front was open so I used a window shade cover and hung up a sheet but these were highly recommended to me by my...
Melipron Insulated Blackout Van Windshield Sun Shade for RAM Promaster
This is great for car-campers who don’t have a generator or propane heat! The Predator battery from Harbor Freight has a car jack port that you can plug this into so you won’t have to use your car battery! Super warm and snuggly!
Fleming Supply Heated Blankets Multi Colored 45-in x 60-in Fleece Heated blanket
Books 📚
Books to read before and during your vanlife trip!
One of my family members got me this book, it’s not as informational as I thought it was but it was a fun cute read before going out on the road! Lots of new words to learn and lessons about traveling, especially alone or just with one other person!
The Dirtbag's Guide to Life : Eternal Truth for Hiker Trash, Ski Bums, and Vagabonds used book by Tim Mathis: 9781795543903
This was a super cute book about grounding and being present in the forest and when you’re hiking! There’s a lot of practices and lessons about the art of “Forest Bathing”, it’s a bit “hippie-like” but if your friend is in to that they’ll love it!
Your Guide to Forest Bathing (Expanded... book by M. Amos Clifford
This is one of those books you don’t look at often but appreciate every time you do! I love looking at this book and the “Complete Language of Flowers” !
The Complete Language of Trees
This is one of those books you don’t look at often but appreciate every time you do! I love looking at this book and the “Complete Language of Trees” !
The Complete Language of Flowers: Illustrated History
Lots of great recipes that will spark ideas of other things to make!
Van Life Cookbook: Portable, Budget-Friendly & Sustainable
Fun Gifts 🎁
There are TONS of other colors and versions of this same item and any of them are great! This is a fun way for your vanlife friend to track their process and you can even have these custom made to fit their goals, like a map of the national parks, 14...
Scratch Off Travel Map of The United States
My friends got me this pillow before I left to “remind me of home” and it is surprisingly very comfy for how small it is but it makes for cute decoration and has practical value!
House Kids' Decorative Pillow - Pillowfort™
I found a lot of other campers had some type of string lights they used to decorate their campsites while I was out! If anything, it can add a little fun inside your van!
Commercial Grade Outdoor String Lights
Disposable Cameras are one of the best gifts you can give a traveling friend! These Fuji Film cameras are my favorites but they also make digital screen less cameras that give you the disposable camera feel without paying to have them developed!
Disposable Camera
Card games, board games, and games you can play by yourself are great additions to your van life experience, they’re small, light weight, and easy to find at almost any store.
Deck of Cards
Safety 🦺🧯
This is the best taser/flashlight combo! The flashlight is SO bright and useful for walking from your campsite to the shower later in the day and the taser is a good loud and high power taser! Expensive but worth it!
TASER StrikeLight 2 Kit
This is a smart pepper spray that is connected to your phone, and anytime you in spray it, it will immediately send your location to your preselected contacts and the local police!
Plegium Smart Mini Pepper Spray 3-in-1
Every hiker needs this in the bag whether they keep it for people or wild animals
Bear Spray
Items for your pet 🐕🐾
The best travel sized items for your furry friend in your confined space!
These work great as ear wipes or cleaning dirty paws after a muddy hike! They make unscented ones for sensitive dogs. I bought a similar brand at marshall’s in a 4 pack for under $10!
Botanical Mint Dog Grooming Wipes - 60ct - Kindfull™
My dog has always loved these, they make them for small, medium, and large dogs, and best of all they don’t STINK!! I feel like it’s so hard to find dog food and treats that won’t stink up the entire space especially when you’re confined to a van! Th...
PEDIGREE Dentastix Fresh Mint Flavored Large Dental Dog Treats, 36 ...
I have this vest for my large breed dog and it is very heavy duty and is also a nice repellent for people petting her or approaching us with their dogs! It gives me good grip on my dog on trails and also has pockets for collapsible water bowls and tr...
Fire Hose Dog Saddle Bags
Traveling with a dog in a small space, this is something you’ll want to have before walking into restaurants or stores
Lint Roller
I use a very similar leash to this, the adjustable straps make it easy to wrap around your dog for a makeshift harness or tie up so they can walk on their own but still have the leash in case you need to quickly grab them
Halti Lead Adjustable Training Dog Harness - Chewy