ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- As the holiday season descends upon us, picking out the gift with the most wow factor has lost a bit of its luster thanks to the state of the economy and unemployment.
The wow factor is not necessary for the outdoors person on your list, whether he or she is into hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, birding or biking. While the adage that it's far better to give than to receive certainly rings true, receiving something practical is probably at the top of every outdoors person's list.
After all, what's the sense of receiving a pair of $1,500 Swarovski binoculars if you're just going to throw them in the back of your pickup truck and leave them there year-round. Top of the line isn't always the most appropriate gift when something more economical will suffice.
Outdoors people are fairly easy to please unless they have their eye on that special item, such as Swarovski or Steiner optics. Still, there's no reason that decent Nikon or Bushnell binoculars won't get a check mark on the gift list if the person merely asks for binoculars. For expert birders or wildlife observers, you'll definitely have to go to the higher end of any optical line.
Think of the person on your list and his tastes when choosing gifts. A trip to one of our local outdoors shops such as Nestor's in Whitehall Township, L.L. Bean at the Promenade Shops, Cabela's in Hamburg, Dick's, Sports Authority or your local hunting-fishing shop will provide hundreds of ideas from new technical high performance thermal underwear to cool gadgets such as insect-repelling Therma-Cells or portable heaters for ice fishing and hunting.
We've included a slew of gift ideas in our Holiday Gift Guide to the Outdoors on the Lehigh Valley Wild blog (http://blogs.mcall.com/outdoors ) to give you ideas before you head out. Having a gift in mind before you go shopping always makes it easier and quicker to get in and out of a store before you spend too much money.
With the cold weather, it's easy to turn your thoughts to cold weather gear such as windproof, waterproof coats and pants, thermal underwear and socks, warm gloves, mittens and hats from manufacturers such as Duluth Trading Co., Browning, Field and Stream, Columbia, SnoSuit and others, but don't forget that spring is not that far off, and spring hunting and fishing gear is always welcome.
If the person on your list is more into "toys" than clothes, high-tech gadgets such as GPS units or two-way radios can provide hours of entertainment. They come in various price levels, with something as simple as a backtracking GPS device to a full-scale hand-held that displays downloadable topographic maps.
Two-way radios come in a variety of broadcast ranges, from one to 35 miles, but that distance depends on ground terrain, elevation and obstructions, so don't expect to get that 35-mile range unless there are ideal conditions. One set I tested bragged of a 35-mile range, but I couldn't receive transmissions a half-mile away.
Flashlights are always a welcome gift, and Energizer makes a wide variety in quality and price levels. They include hands-free lights such as head lamps to wear over your hats, and high-end hand-helds perfect for tracking animals at dawn and dusk. And don't forget to pick up batteries.
Camping accessories such as sleeping bags, utensils, cookware and fire starters are always a good choice. If you're going to be buying someone a sleeping bag, make sure you know how and what time of year he or she will use it most. Cold-weather sleeping bags will be way too hot for people who only camp in the summer.
Gift cards are another way to ensure the person on your list gets the item he or she wants. While not as much fun to open as a traditional present, they can be used to buy hunting and fishing licenses, ammunition or anything a person needs before heading into the outdoors.
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