Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best gifts for skiers

You can't give skiers the gift of powder, but you can give them this sick gear

With the holidays approaching, you’re no doubt brainstorming what to gift your friends and family. If you’re shopping for a skier, it may be tricky to come up with ideas for gear they’ll actually use, particularly if you’re not a winter sports enthusiast yourself — and no, a simple gift card won’t cut it.

To help with the search, we’ve gathered a list of the best gifts for skiers, from gloves and goggles to the best snow accessories around. Whether you’re in search of simple stocking stuffers, or a major gift capable of blowing them away, there’s something here any skier in your life will love.

Falke SK2 Ski Socks

Available in both men’s and women’s versions, these awesome ski socks blend merino wool and polypropylene to deliver warmth combined with moisture management for comfort that lasts all day. Using anatomically mapped cushion zones, the design reduces pressure around the shin, heel, and toes, providing blister-resistant socks with ultra-fast moisture transport and high thermal insulation.

Amazon

DryGuy Force Dry

This convenient little contraption dries gloves, shoes, and boots in an hour, accessing those hard-to-reach spots where moisture tends to hide. The machine — which uses heated forced air to quickly dry gear — folds into a compact space, making it simple to throw in your ski bag or take on winter getaways. You can even use it in the lodge to dry mitts while you grab lunch, meaning you’ll never have to head into the cold wearing wet clothes again.

Amazon

Gregory Targhee 32 Backpack

Made especially for backcountry ski touring, this badass backpack showcases every cool feature you could possibly need for your winter adventure: Stowable ski carry straps, a goggle pocket, a mesh helmet holder, hydration sleeve, avalanche safety pocket, tool compartment, and ice axe retainers, among many others. At just four pounds, the lightweight pack has Gregory’s signature Fusion Flex technology, an alpine-focused suspension system that offers load support for technical ascents. For ultimate customization, it also features vertical straps for snowboards and snowshoes if your winter sports aren’t ski-specific.

Backcountry

Kari Traa Akle Women’s Base Layers

Designed for a female skier, these ultra-cozy base layers by Kari Traa — a Norwegian apparel brand founded by the Olympic skier of the same name — are constructed with fine merino wool that feels baby soft against the skin. They feature easy-snap buttons, odor-resistant fabric, and a body mapping design that offers a customized stretch fit. The material is phenomenally flexible with stylish, Scandinavian-inspired patterning.

Backcountry

Filson Alaskan Midweight Men’s Base Layers

These high-end men’s base layers feature moisture-wicking merino wool that offers supreme insulation without itchiness or chafing. The loose-fitting, comfortable fabric feels cozy under ski pants with top-quality stitching, a long, easy-tuck hem, and fitted cuffs to seal in heat. The perfect gift for a guy who loves to hit the slopes and then go lounge around the cabin afterward.

Filson

Burke Mountain Confectionery Maple Collection

At the foot of Burke Mountain Ski resort, this micro-chocolatier is a hotspot for skiers and tourists leaving the slopes at the end of the day. All of its savory sweets are hand-made at the Vermont confectionery where the aroma of Eden Ice Cider truffles, peppermint bark, and gooey chocolate fills the air. This 5 by 7-inch gift box sampler — which makes a fantastic stocking stuffer — includes salted maple caramel, sweet maple, maple bourbon, maple mocha, and maple creme.

Burke Mountain

goTenna Mesh

Designed to give backcountry adventurers a way to connect with friends and family when they’re off the grid, this device allows you to send texts and GPS coordinates without any cell phone service. Mesh networking privately relays messages by searching the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) spectrum and communicating via these radio frequencies. For the holidays, the company offers special custom engraving on any purchased unit.

Amazon

Mountainsmith Boot Cube

Ideal for ski vacations and day trips, this boot bag is constructed with coated mesh for ventilation and grommeted drain holes to keep wet, cold boots and gear separate to help them quickly dry. It’s convenient and compact, offering a zippered inner pocket, as well as one on the front panel to store goggles, gloves, and accessories. A fabulous gift for the skier who travels a lot.

Amazon

Skida Tour Neck Warmer

This three-in-one ski accessory offers additional warmth on a cold day, along with a splash of extra color and style. Available in 36 different patterns and colorways for men and women, the brushed thermal fabric feels silky soft against your skin and can be worn three different ways — as a neckwarmer, headband, or hat. The brand new Winter collection features a handful of newly launched prints and designs.

Amazon

All Good Sunscreen Kit

Skiers are prime candidates for chapped lips and sunburned faces, however, this four-piece sun and wind kit includes everything you need to protect yourself from the elements. With a natural zinc oxide formula, the sunscreen rubs on clear and remains water-resistant for up to 80 minutes. The set includes SPF 50+ sunscreen butter, an SPF 30 sunstick, SPF 30 sport sunscreen lotion, and a tube of organic SPF 20 lip balm. For another awesome, single-stick option, try Beyond Coastal’s easy-to-use Active Face Stick with coconut oil, beeswax, and yerba maté.

Amazon

Zeal Portal

Zeal’s high-tech ski goggles offer a special photochromic lens that switches tints as light changes, meaning you can ski all day without swapping out lenses. When the sky is cloudy and overcast, for example, the goggles allow in extra light but when the sun comes back out, they shift to block glare, delivering impeccable visual clarity and making it easier to see textures in the snow.

Amazon

Roxy Biotherm Victoria Women’s Mittens

Using Roxy’s Biotherm technology, these amazingly unique ski mittens feature microcapsules of Vitamin E, Shea butter, and apricot oil injected into the fabric. The tiny microbes are activated by friction so when you move, they break up and moisturize your hands while you play on the slopes. On top of that, the mittens are warm, cozy, and comfortable. An ideal gift for skiers and snowboarders alike.

Roxy

Seirus HeatTouch Hellfire Men’s Gloves

The mother of all ski gloves, this has a heftier price tag but if you’re searching for a major gift, Seirus’s Hellfire is among the warmest, most high-tech ski gloves you can find. Featuring 280 grams of HeatLock hollow-core insulation and a self-heating panel that turns on with a button, the gloves are all but guaranteed to keep your hands blazing from first chair to the parking lot. The gloves come with the battery and charger included.

Seirus

Faction Prime Series Skis

Brand new for this season, Faction’s hot new ski series is designed for technical backcountry pursuits yet are suitable for on-piste resort turns, as well. Available in a wide range of sizes and intended for both men and women, each of the skis in the series are constructed with a hybrid balsa flex core and textreme carbon. They are lightweight and versatile, built for fast, all-mountain skiing and hard-charging, 100-plus day seasons. If you are searching for an exceptional pair of new skis for someone, the Prime series is a stellar choice.

Backcountry

Rachel Cavanaugh
Rachel discovered outdoor recreation in ’98 when she stumbled into a river town one summer and left a raft guide 3 months…
Goodbye, coolers. The EcoFlow Glacier doesn’t need ice — it makes it
The EcoFlow Glacier is a fridge shaped like a cooler with its own battery,

Every cooler operates on borrowed time. It leaves for your camping trip brimming over with crisp produce and ice-encrusted beer that looks straight out of a Super Bowl commercial, and returns with a soggy block of foil-wrapped cheddar cheese floating in a pool of mustard water. Mother Nature always wins.

Perhaps that’s why I was so enamored when I saw the EcoFlow Glacier at CES 2023. Less a cooler than a mobile battery-powered fridge on wheels, the sleek electric Glacier not only obviated the need for ice, it would make ice for me in 18 minutes. My home fridge can’t even do that, and I didn’t even know I wanted it to until just now. When EcoFlow offered to let me try the Glacier, I envisioned sipping a perspiring glass of whiskey in the tropics and accepted the occupational hazards of my job.

Read more
I was wrong. E-bikes are so practical, they’re a transit cheat code
An Aventon Level 2 ebike sits outside a grocery store.

Confession: Despite loving both bikes and gadgets, e-bikes never excited me. Compared to my bicycle, e-bikes seemed unfair. Compared to my motorcycle, they seemed slow. Compared to my car, they seemed impractical.

But with $1,500 federal e-bike rebates potentially on the horizon at part of E-Bike Act, I decided it was past time to reconsider. Not just because 30% off would make them way more accessible, but because the entire idea that e-bikes could be worthy of a rebate changed the way I looked at them: less as toys, more as transit. Had I written off an entire way of getting around because I was looking at it the wrong way?

Read more
Upway launches one of the best marketplaces for certified e-bikes, new or not
Man holding ebike from Upway in a field, lifestyle image.

This content was produced in partnership with Upway.
It wasn't too long ago that e-bikes were a rare sight, but all of that has changed, and rightfully so. Electric bikes are all over the road these days, and there are many brands either venturing into the technology, to launch their own versions of the sustainable transportation option or reiterating existing and traditional designs. From Aventon to Schwinn, or RadPower to Momentum, with so many opportunities, the prevailing question is, where do you go to find the best deals and the best information about these brands and their e-bike models? The answer is Upway, the number one certified electric bike provider and an official partner to many of the aforementioned brands.

What is Upway, exactly? It's a marketplace, specializing in e-bikes, featuring an inventory that's sourced from some of the best brands in the world. There are American brands -- like Specialized, Cannondale, and RadPower -- and European brands -- like Riese, Muller, and VanMoof. The best part is the discounts, offering up to 60% off retail, for a plethora of brands. Upway is on a mission to make sustainable mobility affordable for everyone. It's also one of the best places to go for a new or pre-owned e-bike, and here's why:

Read more