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This winter's hottest stocking-stuffers

Kelly Bastone
12/02/2011 7:00 AM

As a kid, my Christmas stocking contained B- and C-level gifts: Pencil sharpeners, zipper pulls, Hershey’s kisses—never the A-list presents, which were always individually wrapped beneath the tree. But why not put something truly drool-worthy into the sock? The “wrapping” is reusable, so you’ll get green points for your paper-eschewing presentation. And palm-sized presents can bring huge smiles.

Case in point: Outdoor Research’s Sensor Gloves ($65). These stretchy, lightweight gloves (pictured, right) let you use your touch-screen phone or MP3 player—without exposing your bare fingers to icy wind and snow.
The secret is TouchTec leather, which lines the glove’s palm and fingers and works like skin on your device’s screen. Unlike other gloves that sew clunky screen-activating buttons onto the fingertips, TouchTec leather provides enough dexterity to type a phone number or send a text. Its innovation earned it Backpacker Magazine's Editors' Choice Snow award this fall: The Sensor "provides the best touch-screen performance of any gloves we've tried," say the editors. It’s ideal for around-town wear or Nordic skiing; on the mountain, try it as a liner, worn under a mitt.
Another accessory for etronics addicts: aLoksak bags. Tougher than zipper-lock sandwich bags, aLoksaks are completely waterproof—so they protect your phone from snow and your own humidity (keeping them from steaming up while stashed inside your jacket). They’re sized for small devices—an iPhone fits tidily into the 3” x 6” size—and they’re cheap: A set of three costs $6.49.
Sunglasses are a guaranteed slam-dunk gift: Everyone—man, woman, child—seems to have an eyewear fetish. Check out the SPY Optic Quanta ($100), a new performance-oriented frame that combines cool-dude styling with effective ventilation (thanks to tiny, anti-fogging “scoop” vents on the temples) and grip (sticky nosepads keep them from greasing down your nose while skate skiing or mountain biking). Lenses are super-sharp, too.
For a spiffy winter topper, look to Pistil. This company specializes in sassy hats for lassies—like the Inga ($38), a sophisticated Italian wool number with a fun pom-pom on top. But the men’s models are just as stylie: The gents’ Fee ($30) is a chunky-knit beanie with just a hint of a brim.
Or go for the Patagonia Merino 2 Lightweight Crew ($70), something skiers or snowboarders will wear practically every day—whether they make it onto the resort or not. It blends superfine Merino with 20 percent recycled polyester, making the fabric softer and more abrasion-resistant than wool alone. But it still exploits wool’s anti-stink properties: You can wear this top for days without laundering and no one will be the wiser.
Merino 2 is the ideal next-to-skin layer, a base beneath fleece or a lightweight puffy. Plus, it looks snazzy when unveiled at après. The men’s version has contrasting fabric panels running down the sleeves that give it a retro look; the women’s shirt features a scalloped hem and ruching along the raglan sleeves—attractive style details that set these base layers apart from the pack, but don’t interfere with performance.

 --Kelly Bastone

Tags: gear, adventure, Lifestyle, Technology, Snow, Green
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