photo by DNY59 via iStock
Whether you’re shopping for yourself or a loved one, there are lots of excellent gift ideas for overlanding and off-roading. In this 2021 holiday gift guide, we’ll outline ten gifts under $1,000 that you might consider purchasing. From lighting to heaters, winches to solar power, we’ve got it all!
Briter Products 400W RV Solar Panel
If you’re serious about overlanding or you simply take a lot of short tours in your RV or camper, then being power independent is crucial. After all, not every campsite will have reliable shore power, and some might not have power at all. And when you’re boondocking, relying solely on your batteries can be a nail-biting experience, wondering when your batteries will die. So, rather than worrying about how much life is left in your batteries, why not invest in a solar panel to help keep them charged up? 
The Briter Products 400W RV solar panel is the perfect solution for you or someone on your holiday shopping list that wants to outfit their RV for year-round camping. Made of high-quality materials and state-of-the-art components, this solar panel offers supreme efficiency, excellent reliability, and limitless power. You can use these solar panels year-round to draw on the sun’s irradiance to charge up your batteries. Even in the winter when days are short or on cloudy days in the spring and fall, these panels allow you to recharge your batteries once a day to keep your batteries topped off. 
And in the summer, you can use those bright, sunny days to recharge your batteries up to three times each day. Having a solar panel like this means you can keep your batteries charged, rely less on loud and smelly generators, and camp wherever you want – no power cables attached! So, really, this is a gift that keeps on giving that will enable that special someone on your Christmas list to have the freedom to camp wherever they like with reliable power. Learn more about the Briter Products 400W RV solar panel
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: Cascadia 4×4 Hood Solar Panel
I installed one of these on my Jeep Gladiator last year, and I couldn’t be happier with its performance thus far. It’s made of an 8-layer laminate that’s just 3mm thick, yet provides long-term durability and weatherproofness so that you get reliable solar performance. You can get an optional plug-and-play MPPT solar charge controller (which is what I did) which makes it incredibly easy to use. Speaking of easy, this solar panel required a very simple and straightforward installation process that resulted in a factory-like appearance. Honestly, if you didn’t know that I installed this on the hood of my Jeep, I don’t think you’d know it wasn’t a factory piece! 
Of course, the most important thing about a solar panel is how it performs, and this one does a great job. Having a redundant power source is so important. I have a lot of accessories on my Jeep so a dead battery is certainly a concern. But with this 30-watt panel, the starter battery in my Jeep can be charged enough to turn the engine over in about 30 minutes. Obviously, this panel won’t do you much good if it’s covered with mud or snow, so there is some maintenance required on your part to ensure it can gather as much sunlight as possible. But apart from that, this solar panel is about as effortless as you can get! Learn more about the Cascadia 4×4 Hood Solar Panel
Planar Heaters 2D-HA-PU27 Diesel Air Heater Kit
I’m not much for being cold, but I love to overland in the winter. Go figure, right? And my guess is that you or someone in your life is in the same boat… For those cold weather trips, it’s hard to beat a diesel air heater. And when it comes to diesel air heaters, the Planar 2D-HA-PU27 is a great choice. This heater operates on diesel fuel and comes in two versions: 12V or 24V. Its operation is independent from the engine, so you can be toasty warm with 7,000 BTU/h of heat in your RV, camper, van, boat, or other vehicle without idling the engine. Better still, the heater only uses about 0.264 gallons (one liter) of fuel for five to eight hours of operation, so you can rest assured that it won’t drain your vehicle’s tank while you’re sleeping. The fully automated temperature control and diagnostic system make this heater simple to use. Its compact design and plug-and-play installation mean that you can get heat going in no time as well. 
On top of all that, this heater comes with a PU-27 digital controller, a basic installation kit, and an inbuilt self-adjusting fuel supply system that enables it to be used at altitudes of 8,200 feet or 2,500 meters (and above). In other words, this is a fantastic holiday gift idea for yourself or a loved one that wants to extend their camping or overlanding time into the winter months. And with a two-year warranty on parts and labor, it’s a gift that comes with peace of mind, too! Learn more about the Planar Heaters 2D-HA-PU27 Diesel Air Heater Kit
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: REDARC Weekend Escape Battery Charger Kit
If the person you’re shopping for enjoys taking short overlanding adventures to get away from it all, they’ll want to have the REDARC Weekend Escape Battery Charger Kit with them… What’s so great about this kit is that it enables overlanders to have some creature comforts while still being off-grid. A cold fridge? You bet. Fresh food? Absolutely! Run an inverter? No problem! This is a dual-battery setup, so it comes with everything needed to add a second battery to a vehicle. The second battery can then run accessories like a fridge, an inverter, or other 12v devices. 
When driving, this kit will help keep both batteries topped off, and since it prioritizes green power, you can throw a solar blanket on the ground to charge up the batteries at camp. And with a dual voltage monitoring gauge, it’s easy to keep a close eye on the performance of the batteries to ensure the voltage is where it needs to be – not under or over.. Camping off-grid is all about freedom, and with this kit from REDARC, you get just that! Learn more about the REDARC Weekend Escape Battery Charger Kit
Russian Bear UP-2 Mini Tent
If you or someone on your holiday shopping list loves to camp in cold weather, the Russian Bear UP-2 Mini tent is an ideal option. Though this tent is “mini,” it’s still plenty big with a diameter of 107 inches and a height of 71 inches. There are two windows plus a door and the tent is made to accommodate a wood-burning stove with a stovepipe. The umbrella frame design makes this a highly durable tent that’s also easy to set up – just a couple of minutes! You can also set it up on virtually any type of terrain, that way you don’t have to hunt around for the perfect spot for it. 
This tent can sleep two people if you opt for the wood stove or three people without it. As a premium all-season tent, you can enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities even in the coldest months of the year. That’s because it’s a double-walled tent with a water-resistant outer layer. Another cold-weather benefit of this tent is that it has a wing door, so you don’t have to worry about frozen zippers hampering your ability to get in or out of the tent. At the end of the day, having the right shelter in the cold is paramount, and with the UP-2 Mini, that’s exactly what you get! Learn more about the Russian Bear UP-2 Mini Tent
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: KC FLEX ERA 4 Lights
The FLEX ERA 4 lights are the newest available from KC, and they certainly build on KC’s stellar reputation as the best lights in the business. With high-intensity output and long-lasting durability, these lights would be a great addition to any overlanding or off-roading rig. Each light has an independent amber LED backlight and a machined accent bezel to go along with customizable beam patterns.
Add to that an incredible 7,912 lumens at 5000K and a lux of 1,800 at 10 meters, and you begin to understand just how effective these lights can be on dark trails. At just 5″ x 5″ x 3.27″, these lights are small enough to be mounted virtually anywhere – on a bumper, A-pillar, the roof – you name it! Learn more about the KC FLEX ERA 4 Lights
Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform
I’ve got one of these bad boys on my Jeep and it has proven to be a highly valuable accessory for my overlanding and off-roading adventures. The rack is completely modular, so it can be used in conjunction with all sorts of accessories. There are mounting channels all over the place, which enables you to carry anything from your bike to recovery gear to a jerry can on top of your vehicle. 
Made from powder-coated aluminum and fiberglass reinforced nylon, this rack is extremely durable yet lightweight at the same time. With the large, flat surface, you can add crossbars, cargo boxes, baskets, and other gear-hauling accessories as needed. When you’re overlanding or off-roading, having additional space to carry gear is essential. And with the Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform, that’s precisely what you get! This rack looks good, is highly functional, and is a gift that will keep on giving for years and years to come. Talk about a great gift! Learn more about the Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: weBoost Drive Reach OTR Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit
One of the most unnerving things about overlanding and off-roading is the prospect of something going wrong when you’re out of cell phone range. A weBoost cell phone signal booster can give you added peace of mind that you might have service if you need to call for help. With a booster like this, you can have more reliable service, including improved call quality, fewer dropped calls, faster data speeds, and better hot spot capability as well. This particular model is also compatible with all U.S.-based carriers. The device itself is designed to be weather-resistant and protected from dust and oil. Don’t worry about all the shaking it will endure on the trail, either, because it meets current U.S. military and NEMA IP66 standards. Installation is easy, too! It comes with all the needed materials and the power cord. A highly useful and easy-to-install gift? Sign me up! Learn more about the weBoost Drive Reach OTR Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit
Tops Knives High Impact Ax
As one of the least expensive items on this list, the Tops Knives High Impact Axe is an ideal gift idea. No matter if the person you’re shopping for is into overlanding, off-roading, or both, having a good ax with them can help them get out of a sticky situation. Trees fall across trails all the time, and an ax like this will make quick work of clearing deadfall. Of course, when you’re camping, having a good ax is essential for getting fire-starting material ready to go. This small ax is just over 20 inches in length, so it’s compact while still giving you the power you need to cut through just about any wood. The Micarta handle is big and beefy, giving you a comfortable handle that’s nice and grippy at the same time. And with a 1075 high carbon steel blade, this sucker offers long-term durability for all the chopping and splitting your loved one needs to do on the trail! Learn more about Tops Knives High Impact Ax
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: Warn VR EVO 10-S Winch
Yet another critical piece of gear overlanders and off-roaders need is a good winch, and you just can’t go wrong with Warn… This standard duty winch comes with a synthetic rope and a 10,000-pound capacity that’s good enough for vehicles like large SUVs, Jeeps, and 1/2-ton trucks. It’s got a series-wound motor and planetary gear train to deliver fast speed when the winch is under load. It also has a high-performance Albright contactor for improved reliability. Warn has given this winch excellent durability with IP68-rated waterproofness. It comes with a two-in-one remote, a cast-aluminum tie-plate, and a limited lifetime warranty, too. This is truly a gift that keeps on giving and offers the person on your holiday shopping list something that they can use and enjoy for years and years to come. What’s not to like about that? Learn more about the Warn VR EVO 10-S Winch