12 Gift Ideas for Your Nerdy, Outdoorsy Friends
I wrote a gift guide for entertainers last week; this time we decided to switch it up a little bit and use some of Ben’s input for a gift guide. If you’re in search of somebody who seems hard to buy for because they’re into gadgets, maybe you’ll find something on the list below! (Unfortunately for me, Ben already owns all of these things, so I’ll have to keep thinking…)
Hiking Pants
Ben recently came across these hiking pants from Prana and absolutely loves them, specifically the Zion style. In addition to the Zion pants there are also Bryon. They are tighter and have less pockets.
Garmin Watch
I’ve been told that if you train you already know what this is, and if you don’t train you don’t need it. (I guess that means I definitely don’t need it.) This watch can range in price from $200 to $500. It just depends how many fancy features you want. Here’s a link to the $250 model.
Cell Phone Car Holder
This is one of the most useful technology devices we use on a daily basis. It’s a portable car mount for your phone. The best parts about this are that it (1) clips onto the air vent, (2) doesn’t block the field of vision, and (3) you don’t need to permanently stick something to the inside of your car.
GorillaPod
The first time Ben took out the GorillaPod Tripod it scared the crap out of me. It’s a flexible tripod that you can tie around things. My first thought was definitely, “I’m sorry, you want to put my camera in a tree?” He swears by it though. (Please note: I admittedly still haven’t let him put my camera in a tree. Call me old-fashioned.) There are light-weight GorillaPods that work well for digital cameras or cam-corders. Then there are heavier ones that are built to hold a full DSLR. In addition, the thread at the top that fits to each individual camera is not made to fit in every camera so make sure you buy the one that fits yours.
Cell Phone Charger
We’ve recently found that having a crap ton of cell phone chargers around your house is a very useful thing. Maybe it’s just because we have 4 floors so having one on the first floor and one on the fourth is useful, but we’ve determined that having extra cell phone chargers can never be a bad thing. The one pictured above is a Samsung charger from Best Buy.
Wireless Headphones
(I’ve been told) Wireless headphones are great for working out at the gym. There are pros and cons to the Bose, Bragi Dash, and Beats by Dre. Ben currently has the Bragi Dash and has used the Bose. The Bragi Dash are waterproof and they will hold 4GB of songs by themselves. If you will be outside of bluetooth range you will need something that has internal memory storage. The photo below is of the Bragi Dash wireless earphones. Fun fact – you can buy only a right or left if you want.
Kindle
The Kindle Oasis is Ben’s newest toy. It has a page turner button on the side. I’ve been told there are two that have this: the Kindle Voyager and Kindle Oasis. The Kindle Oasis also has a much longer battery and it’s a bit smaller.
Good Socks
Ben recommended Smartwool socks as a really solid pair of socks to have in your life. I’ve been told they hold up really well and work great even when people sweat. The photo pictured below is a pair of mens’ striped hike light crew socks.
Bose Speakers
Ben has the SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speakers. This speaker sound great and provide ‘crazy-good room-filling sound’. It’s tiny and can be carried from room to room through your house. Also, if you travel a lot, it will fill the hotel room pretty spectacularly and it doesn’t take up much room in your suitcase.
Chromecast
If you’re somebody who likes to watch tv or just stream things from the web onto a bigger screen, Chromecast is for you. (I’ve been told) Google Chrome now has a built-in “Cast” feature directly from the web. It supports 4k resolution and lets you push any content to your television form your phone or computer.
Magic Cards
Grab any set of duel Magic: The Gathering decks and learn how to play. Dueling decks are two decks that work well against each other that comes with a basic rulebook. And (I’ve been informed) everybody should play magic at least once. Here is one example on Amazon, but there are many to choose from.
Camera Bag
One of my friends has a pretty excellent camera bag from Lowerpro. It’s a great carrying case for his camera, it’s compact, and the particular one he bought actually keeps the camera in the part of the backpack closer to his back so it’s safe and nothing can get stolen. You can check out the Photo Hatchback bag to learn more.
