Holiday gift guide

A family holiday tradition, perpetuated for years by my father, involves giving the gift of interesting, unique outdoors gear.

Though we give and receive wool socks, long johns and other standard fare, there’s an unwritten family code that says one gift item each year must be unexpected, intriguing or a bit off the wall.

As such, over the years I’ve received Swedish hunting knives, trioxane fire-starter packets, camouflage fatigues, a snake-venom extraction kit, an Army surplus camp stove and several other memorable outdoorsy items.

The following products represent some of the latest in unique outdoors gear. Consider giving a big surprise this season to motivate your friends and family to get outdoors and on the go.

“Fancy pants – Hybrid trousers like the Ex Officio XTT can be used outdoors in the cold weather for casual skiing or sledding with the kids. But they also hold their own indoors at a nice restaurant or even in the office. Ex Officio’s XTT pants are water resistant and cozy, but they breathe and stretch for ad hoc athletic excursions. The company sells a men’s and a women’s version of the pant in khaki or brown. $80, www.exofficio.com.

“Funky fork – Guyot Designs’ Meal Gear Utensil combines a spoon, fork, spatula, and two knife blades into a two-piece utensil kit that clips together for storage. Designed for backpacking, the utensil set weighs a mere 1.4 ounces, and it’s made of a strong and slightly flexible nylon material to prolong its trail life. $7, www.guyotdesigns.com.

“Tech socks – Technical outdoors socks are a fast-growing and innovative product category. Teko’s Ecopoly Hiking Sock ($16, www.tekosocks.com), for example, is made of 100 percent recycled polyester yarn that breathes and is far more durable than cotton. Injinji’s glove-like Tetrasok ($14, www.injinji.com) cradles each individual toe. And the Defeet Talon ($15, www.defeet.com) is knitted thin with CoolMax yarn to keep your toes warm in the tight confines of a downhill ski boot.

“For Fido – Mountainsmith’s Dog Trippin’ Kit includes a fold-up dog bed and stuff sack, a collapsible water bowl, a food bowl, and a leash, all of which pack up to fit inside the included doggie backpack. Extra niceties on the pack include fleece-lined straps at the chest, shoulders and hips, and compression straps to stabilize the load while Rover is bounding ahead down the trail. $70, www.mountainsmith.com.

“Audio beanie – It’s a hat. It’s a pair of headphones. It’s the Bonfire Skull Crusher Beanie, an $80 audio-integrated hat designed for snowboarding, skiing and other winter sports. This hat is warm enough for snowy winter days, and its headphones have special subwoofer speakers to maximize the bass lines of your favorite workout rap ditty. www.bonfiresnow.com.

“Super ski – Work smarter, not harder. That’s the premise behind Volkl’s Supersport All-Star, a ski model that comes with an integrated binding system made to transfer power to the snow more effectively. Volkl’s unique system allows the binding to glide subtly on the face of the ski, creating a natural, unencumbered flex while turning. $1,115, www.volkl.com.

“Ski pack – Indigo’s G-Zone is a small, 540-cubic-inch backpack designed to carry extra layers, lunch and water while skiing. A special cable-strap system on back lets you easily attach skis for backcountry transport, and the pack has dedicated compartments for a shovel and avalanche probe. $75, www.indigoequipment.com.

“Her bike – K2’s women’s-specific T:Nine Spire has an aluminum frame and full suspension. Built from the ground up, K2 hired five women bikers, each representing a key demographic, body type, and size within women’s biking, to design the T:Nine bike line. This model has frame, handlebar, grip and saddle features that reflect the custom female design. $1,100, www.k2bike.com.

“Travelin’ guitar – The Escape guitar, a $499 model made by Travel Guitar, is 28 inches long and weighs less than 4 pounds, yet it has sound quality identical to a professional guitar, according to the company. Pair the Escape with the laptop-computer-size, battery-operated FlipTone v.25 amplifier ($699) and your traveling rock band is halfway complete. www.travelerguitar.com.

“MP3 outdoors – HighGear calls its TrailAudio MP3 the first digital-audio player designed specifically for the outdoors. It is water resistant and durable enough to take in the bumps of a climbing or biking adventure. It has an LCD screen viewable in daylight or dark, and its flash memory innerworkings have no moving parts so music will not skip during activity. The TrailAudio MP3 comes in 256 megabyte ($110) and 512 megabyte ($140) versions, both of which will hold hundreds of songs. www.highgear.com.

“Pump it – At $26, the Domestique floor pump is a fair deal for any family with a fleet of bikes. It has a connection head that accommodates either presta or Schrader valve types. A gauge at the pump’s base provides tire-pressure readings for inflating tubes to the correct psi pressure for any type of two-wheel excursion. www.pedros.com.

“Wooly wear – Merino wool is all the rage in outdoors apparel, and Icebreaker makes some of the nicest product on the market. Its Merino Slalom Crew ($75) and Olympia Zip ($90) are good examples, as these shirts can be used as base layers for hiking and skiing or as cozy and nice-looking regular daily wear. Wool has the added advantages of being naturally antimicrobial, breathable, soft and warm. www.icebreaker.com.

“Head light – Princeton Tec’s APEX headlamp has a large 3-watt L.E.D. and four smaller 5-millimeter L.E.D. bulbs, letting you choose between an ultra-bright beam or a dimmer battery-saving mode. The headlamp is waterproof, and its L.E.D. bulbs are rated for 100,000 hours, or 11 straight years, of continuous operation. $80, www.princetontec.com.