Does your holiday shopping list include hikers, bicyclists, kayakers, motorcyclists, off-road explorers or any general outdoor and camping enthusiasts? It can be difficult to get outdoor enthusiasts gifts that they will use frequently and truly love. ROK Straps make excellent gifts and I assure you that the outdoors person on your list will find 1,001 uses for them.
Outdoor enthusiasts have very particular desires in the items that they use to enjoy their activities. Buying the right size clothing or other wearable item is very difficult. Even if you buy the right item in the right color and size there is a chance that they already have that item. In the words of Homer J. Simpson, “Doh!”
I hope to help you make a great gift buying choice. Of course, I am biased as the seller of ROK Straps. If you choose one of ROK Straps products, I promise that your special recipient will love the gift. Sizing isn’t much of a worry, but I’ll cover the particulars below. There is the choice of color, but you almost can’t go wrong with the color of a strap that holds cargo for all your adventures. Included below are suggestions for which ROK Strap to buy as a gift for that special someone on your list that best fits their use. I’ll provide the activity and the best matched ROK Straps product for it with a few reasons why that product is the best as a holiday gift.
Here’s a short summary of the advice in this article. Read below to get the full details.
- Best gift for hikers and backpackers is the ROK Straps Commuter Straps.
- Best gift for kayakers is the ROK Straps Commuter Straps (shorter) or ROK Straps Pack Straps (longer).
- Best gift for street-oriented motorcycles is the ROK Straps Motorcycle Straps. Dual sport or off-road motorcyclists may appreciate the smaller ROK Straps Pack Straps.
- Best gift for off-road or overland travel enthusiasts is the ROK Straps Motorcycle Straps.
Gifts for hikers and backpackers
Gift giving for hikers is tough. There is a concern about usefulness of each item carried due to weight constraints. Excellent hiking items are typically not cheap because it is expensive to build quality items that are light weight. The ROK Straps Adjustable Commuter Straps are best for hikers on your gift list and they cost $15.50.
- 28 inches long, which is perfect for holding an extra jacket and a tent or sleeping bag on the outside of a pack.
- Weight just one ounce.
- Can hold up to 40 lbs of gear per strap.
- Fabric loops on the ROK Straps easily attach to the gear loops on backpacks.
- The ROK Commuter Straps are also handy for hanging gear out to dry while at camp.
Gifts for bicyclists and kayakers
Cyclists and kayakers are similar to hikers. Weight is a major concern along with reliability of the items carried on bike rides or kayak paddle trips. ROK Straps are very long lasting. In fact, they have a proprietary recipe for the rubber that ensures that they are strong, UV stable, all-weather capable and long lasting. You have your choice between the ROK Straps adjustable Commuter Straps and ROK Straps Adjustable Pack Straps. The main decision is how long that the gift recipient may need the strap to be. The ROK Commuter Straps are 28 inches long, weigh one ounce and hold up to 40 pounds. The ROK Pack Straps are 42 inches long, weigh just under two ounces and hold up to 60 pounds.
- Adjustable length: 7.5 inches to 28 inches for the ROK Commuter Straps and 10 inches to 42 inches for the ROK Pack Straps.
- Light weight: one ounce for ROK Commuter Straps and 1.875 ounces for ROK Pack Straps.
- Visibility and color choices: ROK Commuter Straps come in black, high-visibility orange and high-visibility green – all colors are reflective. The ROK Pack Straps come in black, black with orange stripe and high-visibility green – we do not currently carry the reflective black or other colors.
- Advantage of the ROK Commuter Straps is that all colors are reflective and their shorter length is easier to store on an empty bicycle cargo rack without extra length getting caught in moving wheels.
- Advantage of the ROK Pack Straps is their extra length and ability to hold up to 60 pounds for securing any load that you may want to carry on a bike ride or kayak trip.
- Both the ROK Commuter Straps and ROK Pack Strap are excellent choices for:
- bike packing, bike commuting or just a run to the local farmers market on the weekend.
- kayak paddle at the lake, weekend overnighter or long kayak adventure.
Gifts for motorcyclists
ROK Straps in the United States are best known (beloved is a better term) in the motorcycling community. The largest of the ROK Straps that we carry at Nomadic Products is called the Motorcycle Strap. The 60-inch long ROK Straps Motorcycle Straps can hold up to 100 pounds. It seems that the ROK Motorcycle Strap would be the easy winner as a gift for the motorcyclist on your holiday gift list. For the most part, that is true. The 42-inch ROK Straps Pack Straps is also a good option with a weight capacity of 60 pounds. The Pack Straps work great holding items on a dual sport (off-road) motorcycle where they may not be carrying as much or as heavy of items as larger street-oriented motorcycles. For that, the ROK Pack Straps excel. So which is better for the motorcyclist on your list? I’d say that the ROK Motorcycle Strap slightly edges out the ROK Pack Strap for use on motorcycles. The Motorcycle Strap and the extra length (60 inches vs 42 inches) and weight capacity (100 pounds vs 60 pounds) is nice peace of mind. The motorcycle strap will hold just about anything you’d want to carry on a motorcycle trip across the country or off-road through the backcountry. Here are a few points about ROK Straps on motorcycles.
- Larger loads require some tension to securely hold on a motorcycle. ROK Straps allow you to easily reduce (adjust) the tension to reduce the spring compared to other bungee-type straps.
- The ROK Straps Motorcycle Strap lasts a very long time without failing.
- Are you worried that the person receiving ROK Straps as a gift already has these on their bike? Don’t worry about that. You can’t have too many sets of ROK Straps. Motorcyclists love the ROK Motorcycle and ROK Pack straps. I don’t know any who wouldn’t welcome another set!
- ROK Motorcycle Straps vs ROK Pack Straps: comes down to preference and how large of a load will be carried. The thinner and shorter ROK Pack Straps are great on all bikes, but I really enjoy using them on dual sport motorcycles.
- We sell ROK Motorcycle Straps in black, black with orange stripe and high-visibility green. Black blends well with street bike riders who like black leather jackets, chaps, boots and helmets. It seems that the off-road riders like the bright colors of the orange stripe or hi-viz green to better see the straps in the dark at camp.
- Fabric loops fasten to motorcycle with much less risk of scratching paint that bungee cords or bungee nets with hooks.
Gifts for off-road and overland travel enthusiasts
Off-roaders tend to have heavy items to carry and wider vehicles to stretch straps across. This means that a larger strap is the better option. Get the off-road 4x4 enthusiast on your list the ROK Motorcycle Straps. They are very versatile and with 60 inches of length, they will reach between tie down points on their truck, SUV or van. The high-grade of ROK Straps proprietary rubber compound means that they can withstand the rigors of off-road use in all weather conditions. ROK Straps are great up on a roof rack, holding items in the bed of the vehicle or even on a trailer. Don’t fret that the strap is marketed as “motorcycle” because these things are great in trucks and other vehicles.
- ROK Motorcycle Straps can be secured to roof racks or to tie-down points inside the truck, SUV or van.
- Fabric loops easily secure loads without scratching paint.
- ROK Motorcycle Straps work great holding coolers, organizing tubs, camp supplies and other items in or one off-road vehicles.
- Black is a good color to blend in while the orange stripe or high-visibility green colors are easier to see and check at a glance while traveling.
Leave a comment