It’s that time of year when bloggers are posting articles about gift ideas for the special backpacker in your life — you know, backpacking gear. This is a dumb idea and you should ignore these suggestions. The same goes if that special person in your life is a camper.

A backpacker’s kit is a very specialized toolbox of gear. Much like an auto mechanic who already owns a lot of tools, you wouldn’t buy a mechanic a  tool unless you knew he needed a specific tool that performs specific function. For example, there are hundreds of types of screw drivers and mechanics already have a large assortment of screw drivers. You would’t buy a screw driver as a gift unless you knew a special screw driver is needed.

Below are some of the screw drivers I use.

If Joyce bought me a screw driver I probably wouldn’t need it or use it. But that is what people do — buy stuff for gifts that the recipient doesn’t need or won’t use.

I always figure out far in advance what gifts the special people in my life will enjoy and appreciate. This isn’t done by asking what they want, but by talking and listening to them.

If the special person in your life is a backpacker or camper don’t buy them any gear unless you know the exact brand and model of an item you know for sure they need or want. In other words, ignore all the blogs with backpacking or camping gift ideas.

If you are still struggling for some gift ideas here are some of my favorite books that might be a perfect gift.

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Desert Solitaire

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Down the River

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Abbey’s Road

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Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon

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Thousand-Mile Summer

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Used Book in Good Condition

The Man Who Walked Through Time: The Story of the First Trip Afoot Through the Grand Canyon

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MAN WHO WALKED THRU TIME

River: One Man’s Journey Down the Colorado, Source to Sea

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The Man From the Cave

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The Complete Walker

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The New Complete Walker: The Joys and Techniques of Hiking and Backpacking

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By Colin Fletcher – Complete Walker III (3 Rev Enl) (1984-05-27) [Paperback]

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The Complete Walker IV

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Authors: Colin Fletcher and Chip Rawlins ISBN: 9780375703232

Canyons and Ice: The Wilderness Travels of Dick Griffith

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The Best of Robert Service

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My First Summer in the Sierra (Dover Books on Americana)

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The Yosemite

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The Call of the Wild

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White Fang

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Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition

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history of the water wars in the western US

Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness

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Wilderness Ethics, 2nd Ed

Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance (revised edition)

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California Desert Miracle: The Fight for Desert Parks and Wilderness (Sunbelt Natural History Guides)

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American Prometheus: The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture OPPENHEIMER

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The God of the Machine (Library of Conservative Thought)

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The Discovery of Freedom: Man’s Struggle Against Authority

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The Fountainhead (Centennial Edition HC)

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Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.)

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fine, new copy of the centennial edition, 2005, later printing of Atlas Shrugged