Posts Tagged ‘tools’

Jan
25
2010

With Valentine’s Day three weeks away, it’s time to think outside of the chocolate box for guy gifts. Women may be tempted to give sentimental tokens on February 14, but most men prefer playful or practical gifts. (See the Seven Guidelines for Guy Gifts.) Consider these 10 guy gifts to celebrate Cupid’s big day.

Victorinox Swisscard. Arm your guy’s wallet with a credit-card-sized multi-tool. The SwissCard includes a letter opener, scissors, tweezers, a magnifying glass, 3mm and 5mm flat-head screwdrivers, two Phillips screwdrivers, a LED mini light and an integrated ruler ($20 from Amazon.com).
Mr. Beer Premium Edition Home Microbrewery System. Have your Valentine home brew and bottle his own batch of beer. With just four steps, this kit is great introduction to the craft of beer making ($40 from Amazon.com).
6-month Netflix Gift Subscription. Introduce your guy to Netflix (or extend his current subscription). He gets DVDs in the mail or he can instantly stream movies to computers, game consoles and other devices ($54 to $102 depending on the plan, from Netflix).
Buckyballs. Rolling Stone’s 2009 Toy of the Year. This set of 216 magnetic spheres can forms countless shapes. Give your Valentine this highly addictive gadget/puzzle ($26.31 from Amazon.com).
Popcorn Palace. Send him a Valentine’s Day one-gallon tin filled with Chocolate Drizzle Caramel Corn and Gourmet White Cheddar Popcorn ($25 from Popcorn Palace).
Gigantic Sweet Hearts Fortune Cookie. Create your personalized fortune message in a Nerf-football-sized fortune cookie. This treat is dipped in chocolate and coated with candy hearts. I loved the cookie received as an eighth wedding anniversary gift ($30 from Good Fortunes).
Coffee Tote. Make sure he has java on his next junket. This black canvas tote holds a stainless steel vacuum flask for piping hot coffee, two insulated mugs, a small container for cream, two stainless spoons, and a napkin ($56 from Uncommon Goods).
Cricket Laptop Stand. Make life with his laptop easier with this ergonomic stand. The Cricket props up any laptop computer nine inches for more comfortable viewing ($40 from Relax the Back).
Slingbox PRO-HD. Set the TV free. Slingbox allows your guy to watch his DVR, cable or satellite TV on the go. This nifty device streams his favorite shows to a laptop or smart phone ($264 from Amazon.com).
Personalized Steak Branding Iron. The mark of a real grill master. Order your guy’s initials for this iron, seared into a wooden gift box ($47 from Texas Irons).


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May
30
2009

My copy of the summer ThinkGeek catalog arrived in my mailbox today. While ThinkGeek sells a lot of quirky gifts (like the re-envisioned Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), I’m highlighting seven cool tools for Father’s Day, June 21, 2009.

#1. Coffee Cup Power Inverter ($30). Coffee equals power, so this gadget makes a lot of sense. Place the cup-shaped device in your car’s cup holder and plug in to the accessory port. Now you have two 120-volt AC outlets.

#2. Digital Measuring Tape ($25). When you need to measure with decimal precision of 0.0625 of an inch, go with digital measuring tape. This gadget will memorize the measurements you take for easy recall later.

#3. Ironkey Military Strength Flash Drive ($70 to $140). Keep the contents of your USB flash drive top secret with military-level encryption. The Ironkey even self-destructs your data after 10 failed password attempts.

#4. MagnoGrip ($15). Give this convenient wristband to magnetically stow bolts, nuts, nails, drill bits, and hex wrenches until needed. No more searches for fly-away screws. The magnets are strong enough to hold a hammer.

#5. Li’l Guppie Multi-tool ($20 to $25). This multi-tool packs a lot of handy into three inches of length. The Li’l Guppie includes a one-inch steel blade, an adjustable wrench, a carabiner, a flat screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, a pocket/money clip and a bottle opener.

#6. Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench ($25). The wrench of the future uses its liquid core to adjust to 23 different sizes of nuts or bolts. The nickel-plated, steel wrench is 7.5 inches long and slim enough for hard to reach spots.

#7. Micro-Max 19-in-1 Multi-tool ($13). Does your giftee need a palm-sized toolbox? The stainless steel Micro-Max offers two hex wrenches, six screwdrivers, a pliers, a bottle opener, a wire cutter, crimper and stripper, a hand drill, a file, and two rulers with extensions.


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Dec
26
2008

Defying the economic trend, the magic elves at Amazon.com scored their best holiday season ever. On its busiest day, Monday, December 15, 2008, Amazon.com processed a record-breaking 72.9 items per second. That’s 6.3 million items ordered worldwide in a single day. The online retail juggernaut also released its top three bestsellers in several categories for the 2008 holiday season.

Toys

Electronics

DVDs

Video Games

Sports and Outdoors

Jewelry

Watches

Books

Music

Home and Garden

Clothing

Baby

Gourmet Food

Home Improvement


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Feb
09
2008

Candles won’t do — not even manly candles. To give a gift that speaks to his masculinity, think steel knives, leather, clean shaves, steaks, poker night and the Great Outdoors. A manly gift hits like a bear hug, strong but heartfelt. Temper these gift suggestions for your man based on his interests. Not every guy wants an old school shaving gift set with Merkur safety razor and badger hair brush.

(Originally published on December 30, 2008, but backdated to February 9, 2008 to fit in with the Guy Gift Guideline series)

Next: #7: Inspire Show and Tell

Previous: #5: Consider Retro


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