Struggling with ideas for what to get the man of the house for the holidays? Well, if it’s not on GearCulture it’s not worth having, so let us take away some of that end-of-year stress with some top tips for your festive shopping…
1. Topo Designs Duffel
Handmade in Colorado, the Topo Designs Duffel ($30) is a bag for just about every occasion and comes in a range of colors to suit all tastes and moods, including silver, black, orange and camo. Stitched from mega-tough 1000d Cordura, with a seat-belt strap, leather handles and duty metal hardware, it’ll stand just about any abuse and looks pretty damned cool slung over the shoulder too.
2. Nike+ SportWatch GPS
Few know athletics like than Nike and few know satellite tracking like TomTom, combine the expertise of the two and what do you get? The Nike+ Sportwatch GPS ($170). Every step, twist and turn of your sessions will be collected and calibrated for the ultimate training experience. Water resistant and powered by a rechargeable lithium battery via USB, it’ll track your heart rate and calories burned, and you can even upload your data online and challenge others to beat your personal bests.
3. Remington FR-750
Featuring pivot and flex technology that allows it to seamlessly follow the contours or your neck, face and chin, the Remington FR-750 ($100) is so good, Santa might just be tempted to finally shave off that white fluff. It’s cordless, the rechargeable battery will last for up to ten days with an hour charge and the pop-up trimmer makes light work of neatening off sideburns and beards too.
4. Bang! Lamp
A very cool, very original idea that looks great too. The Bang! Lamp ($300) not only boasts an elegant, minimalistic pearl white design, but is controlled by a gun. Not a real gun of course, that’d be dangerous, but a remote control one. Of course, you could always not tell him about the gun and have all sorts of fun by surreptitiously killing the light at will and letting him fumble round for that “blown fuse” in the dark.
5. Worx Semi-Automatic Screw Driver
Home improvement made so easy, even girls will want to give it a try. The Worx Semi-Automatic Screw Driver ($50) boasts a pair of rapid reload cartridges, yes, machine-gun-like, and even a semi-automatic bit changer. Also, there’s a built-in LED light for those who like to do their screwing in the dark, and a 4V lithium battery that can hold its charge for a ridiculously impressive 18 months.
6. Sea Doo Dolphin Sea Scooter
It’s safe for all over the age of 8, but let’s face it, he’ll be having far too much fun with this to ever let the kids get anywhere near it. The Sea Doo Dolphin Sea Scooter ($185) is a lightweight water propulsion machine that can be used in pools, lakes or the sea. One and half hour charge and capable of plunging to a depth of 15.5 feet, it’ll do 2 mph, which may not sound fast, but it’s not bad in the wet and certainly a hell of a lot quicker than his breast-stroke.
7. Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS
Verging on indestructible, this is a camera of near super-hero capabilities, the ideal gift if your man fancies himself as an action photographer and/or is a bit of a klutz. Bursting with countless settings, all sorts of gadgetry and video-recording capabilities, the Olympus Tough TG-1 ($400) produces high-end images and is also waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, dustproof and freezeproof. They’re not lying either, we had all sorts of fun testing out those brags, though not sure the camera did.
8. Jawbone Big Jambox
With a sound that is as epic as its aesthetics, the Jawbone Big Jambox ($300) is the perfect festive gift for your music-loving man. With its incredible gadgetry, it will turn any phone or tablet into a blood pumping sound system and boasts a rechargeable battery that will last up to 15 hours, which should cover just every party wherever it may be. A built-in mic even allows for calls and Skype and its online capabilities means that the latest apps are only a click away.
9. Pinnacle Foosball Coffee Table
Possibly the most man-friendly piece of furniture ever made. The Pinnacle Foosball Coffee Table ($510) is a cool, quality piece built from solid hardwoods, with each individual player expertly hand carved and lovingly hand painted. Want to finally get him to start using those coasters? Then buy him one of these, trust us, he’ll love you for it.
10. ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A
Tough, but unimaginably slender with a gorgeous metal finish of precision etched concentric circles, the award-winning ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A ($1,200-$1,400) packs some serious hardware into a very, very compact space. One of the top notebooks out there from one of the top brands, it’s fueled by the 3rd generation Core i7 processor with Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz, has audio by Bang & Olufsen and features a 6GB Solid State Drive. Weighing in at less than three pounds, it’s the ultimate machine for the ultimate man on the go.