Outdoor gear worth putting on your wishlist this spring

The first warm Saturday of the year, half the street is out on the patio wondering where the garden chairs went. My own wishlist at that point still had a wool jumper and an ice scraper on it. Nobody is buying you those in April, so a spring clean of the list is worth an evening.

Start with the garden and the place you sit in it

The tools you use every week are the ones to ask for. A pair of Felco secateurs costs around 60 and outlasts three cheap pairs. Add a hori-hori knife for weeding, gloves that fit properly (the loose ones end up on the shed floor) and a metal watering can that does not crack in the first frost. Raised beds are worth a place on the list too, since they drain better and spare your back, and they are the sort of thing a group of colleagues can chip in for together.

Once the beds are planted you want somewhere to sit and look at them. Put a specific bench or lounger on the list, with the link, so nobody guesses the colour. String lights and a fire pit do the most for spring evenings, when it is still 12 degrees at nine o'clock. An outdoor rug is the item people scoff at until they have one.

Hiking and camping gear for the first trips

Spring walks come with mud, so waterproof boots come first. A 20-litre daypack and a merino base layer cover the rest for day trips. Ask for the boots in the exact size and model; a hiking boot is a bad thing to receive as a surprise.

If you are planning weekends away, camping gear opens up longer trips. A three-season tent, a sleeping bag rated for around 5 degrees and two folding chairs are the core. The small things are what people forget and are easy for a friend to buy: a Petzl headlamp, a 10,000 mAh power bank, tick tweezers and insect repellent. Put those on the list with the big items, so the friend with a budget of 25 also has something to pick.

Hosting in the garden

A grill or a smoker is usually the centre of the whole thing, and it is the classic item to ask for as a group gift from the family. A Weber kettle sits around 200, a decent pellet smoker four times that, so state the model and let people contribute what they want.

Games keep guests in the garden longer than the food does. Kubb, Mölkky and a badminton set work for adults who claim they do not play games. For children, a slackline between two trees or a cheap kite will fill an afternoon. We have had a slackline up for three summers and it still gets used before the trampoline.

Water, with or without a pool

Once it is properly warm, water takes over. If you have a pool, floating loungers, a waterproof speaker and LED lights stretch the swimming into the evening. Without a pool, a sprinkler, a water table for toddlers or a slip-and-slide does the same job on any lawn and costs a fraction.

Near a lake or the coast, ask for the things that make a day out easier: an inflatable paddleboard, a 20-litre dry bag, quick-dry towels and a changing robe. The paddleboard is another one to split among several people; the towels are for the aunt who wants to buy something small.

Keeping it all in shape

A pressure washer turns a green patio into a grey one in twenty minutes, and it is the tool everyone borrows and nobody owns. A Kärcher in the 150 range is plenty for a terrace. Furniture covers, a weatherproof storage box and a soaker hose on a timer are the boring items that save the most effort over a season, and the ones nobody buys for themselves.

Pick the five things you would actually use before June and put those on first. If you do not have a list yet, create a wishlist and paste in the links tonight, while the garden chairs are still missing.