Gifts to Take You Places : A whole earth catalogue of the season’s best gear for actual or armchair travelers : GADGETS

You never know how far a travel gift is going to take you. A new pair of compact binoculars once yielded me a compelling piece of original artwork (or so it seemed at the time) in trade on a street corner in Moscow. A trusty fold-up travel tripod, small enough to fit in a pants pocket, has made photography possible in dimmest Dublin and New Orleans.

But the most useful travel gift I’ve ever received, a mid-sized Swiss Army knife, has distinguished itself in bottle-opening, screw-driving and splinter-tweezing on several continents. It dangles from my key chain now. I married the woman who gave it to me.

No, not every traveler’s gift will yield such results. One shrewdly purchased, however, will serve its recipient far more usefully than any cat calendar or coffee-table book could. In a couple weeks of browsing through this season’s tsunami of catalogues and sales, I’ve come up with some personal best bets--products that hold promise of becoming valued traveling companions. Beyond those chosen few lies a longer list of runners-up, notable for all sorts of reasons.

Shoppers should keep in mind that supplies may be limited, that prices inevitably will vary among retail outlets, that mail-order delivery fees are not included here, and that I haven’t had the chance to road-test all these items myself. But then, as any traveler learns, all the world’s a fickle place. Now, let the traveler’s toys begin.

For basic orientation: James Schumacher at the California Map & Travel Center, says his best compass for modest expense is a liquid-filled Brunton, which compensates for varying magnetic fields, is made of light plastic and fits easily into a pocket. $14.99. California Map & Travel Center, 3211 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405, (310) 829-6277.

For lumbar discs: You see a lot of these among aging adventure travelers lately--a portable back-support chair that folds up for storage and can be employed around the campfire, in the kayak or at a ballgame. There are various versions; this one uses basswood and canvas materials. $42. Catalogue item 1321C (black) or 1321D (natural). FLAX Art & Design, 1699 Market St., San Francisco 94120-7216, (800) 547-7778.

For details on the Isthmus of Kra: The 1992 National Geographic Atlas of the World includes 411 pages, a place-name index 150,000 entries long, and free periodic supplements to keep it current. Hard-cover with magnifying glass: $89, or $80 for members; softcover is $73, or $65 for members. (And the Isthmus of Kra is in Thailand.) Catalogue item 00834 (soft cover) or 00835 (hard cover) . National Geographic Society, Box 2118, Washington, D.C. 20013-2118, (800) 447-0647.

For backpackers: Eagle Creek makes much-admired backpacks, with frames and harnesses that can be zipped away, making the pack acceptable as airline luggage. Catharine Fahey, assistant manager of Adventure 16 in West Los Angeles, recommends the Transport Carry-On model (capacity 3,700 cubic inches, various colors, $110) for those who travel relatively light. For those expecting heavier loads, Fahey endorses the Journey model (capacity 4,900 cubic inches, various colors, $175). Both include zip-off day packs, and both are made of heavy-duty, tightly woven, laminated synthetic materials. Adventure 16 has three stores in San Diego County, one in Orange County, one in Tarzana, and its largest store is at 11161 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles 90064, (310) 473-4574.

The runners-up:

For a child’s eyes: The National Wildlife Federation offers The Child’s First Binoculars, featuring adjustable eye widths and entirely plastic parts. $12.95. Catalogue item J222245 . National Wildlife Federation, 1400 16 St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-2266, (800) 432-6564.

For grown-up eyes: The trick of battery-powered Copitar Zoom Binoculars is that they zoom electronically (from 7X magnification to 15X) and still weigh less than 12 ounces. $199.95. Catalogue item ZW330. Sharper Image, 650 Davis St., San Francisco 94111, (800) 344-4444.

For your eyes only: Those determined to keep secrets on the road may want a portable paper shredder. El Portal Luggage has a small one, built by TT Systems and powered by four AA batteries, which weighs about 2 pounds. $49.95. Catalogue item 59271. El Portal Luggage has 11 locations in Southern California and an order-by-phone number: (800) 723-7568.

For staying cool: A four-inch-long, three-ounce, battery-powered fan could make your bus rides and hotel rooms more bearable. $4.85. Catalogue item IF381. Magellan’s Essentials for the International Traveler, Box 5485, Santa Barbara 93150-5485, (800) 962-4943 or (805) 568-5400.

For malaria: The Spider, an 18-ounce portable nylon mosquito net with a bamboo frame, is offered, Thai Occidental’s brochure says, because “moquitoes are prevalent in almost every country of the world. Mosquito nets are not.” Thai Occidental marketing manager Brian Vien estimates that the firm sold 35,000 traveler’s mosquito nets in 1991 to Peace Corps volunteers, foreign service professionals, Caribbean hotels, “and some people who like it for the decorative effect it adds to a bedroom.” One size fits all beddings, from cribs to king-sized beds. $69.95. Thai Occidental, 5334 Yonge St., Suite 907, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 6M2, (416) 498-4277.

For the lay of the land: The recently released 42-by-28-inch Rand McNally Europe map has already carved out separate nation-like territories for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. $3.50. California Map & Travel Center, 3211 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405, (310) 829-6277.

For layabouts: Instead of spending all that tiresome time traveling, order the souvenirs by mail. The Daily Planet catalogue includes a black, red and yellow wool yak-herder’s jacket made by Tibetan refugees in Nepal ($88; catalogue item B221); 14-by-15-inch pillows adorned with detailed and colorful Guatemalan stitchery ($48; catalogue item W109); a Kente cloth print vest from West Africa ($37; catalogue item A230) and, perhaps most oddly, an 18-by-39-inch hand-woven “Afghan Refugee Carpet” with a pattern of grenades, tanks and Kalashnikov rifles ($175; catalogue item R340). The Daily Planet, Box 1313, Canal Street Station, New York 10013-0876, (212) 807-7200.

For taste buds: The Godiva chocolate people are peddling a combination gift: an illustrated logbook with room for your notes, and a box of 30 truffles. $73. Catalogue item 72892 . Godiva Chocolatier Inc., 260 Madison Ave . , New York 10016, (800) 643-1579.

For cutting up: A lightweight, 2 1/2-inch-long Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Knife includes blade, screwdriver, can opener, tweezers, fingernail file and scissors. $14. REI Recreational Equipment Inc., with retail stores in Carson (310- 538-2429), Northridge (818-831- 5555), San Diego (619-295-7700), San Dimas (714-592-2095) and Santa Ana (714-543-4142).

For covering up: It isn’t cheap, but now there’s new wrapping paper with patterns of A) foreign currencies or B) big city maps. $9 for four 19 1/2-by-39-inch panels with the currency pattern (catalogue item 1340G). $12 for four 38-by-26-inch panels with the map pattern (catalogue item 1340H). FLAX Art & Design, 1699 Market St. San Francisco 94120-7216 , (800) 547-7778.

For the world-class spender: There are globes, and there are globes. This is a German-made, computerized, bells-and-whistles kind of globe, one that electronically reveals countries, capitals, cities, towns, rivers and the like, operating at your keyboard command. The 13 1/2-inch-diameter globe also turns automatically, calculates distances between major cities, and is illuminated from within. $499. Catalogue item 55107B. Hammacher Schlemmer, P.O. Box 182256, Chattanooga, T e nn . 37422-7256 , (800) 543-3717.