Father’s Day Gift Ideas for Pretty Much Every Kind of Dad

We’ve lugged bulky tripods around the wilderness before, and after a dozen miles that weight adds up. That’s why we love this smart solution, which is sturdy as can get, and comes in aluminum and carbon fiber variants. It’s the first time we’ve drooled more over our tripod than the camera on top. Bonus: An integrated clip will hold your iPhone, too.

This mean-looking low-top can take you to high places. With a burly composite outsole for keeping the rubber on the rock and a suede leather upper for looking smooth on the trail, it’s become our go-to from everything from summiting 12’ers to schlepping it to the post office to mail some beer to a buddy.

Started by fly-fishing buddies as a side hustle, this fast-growing fly fishing brand offers smart storage solutions for life on the river and off. We love this carry-all, which is perfect for toting wet waders or changing into a fresh pair, thanks to the waterproof design, bomb-proof materials, and integrated changing mat (shown). It’s just as capable on a germ-avoiding Costco run, too.

Cycling is reckoning with a rash of driver distraction accidents, with major investigations proving it’s a tough road out there for the two-wheeled warriors. Be aware—but also be safe, with this helmet, which sports a high-viz paint job and mounts for warning lights to keep drivers’ eyes off their candy crush.

Long rides mean hot water. Which you could be in, if you’re sipping scorching liquid after a hill climb. This solution sports high-tech insulation for a colder hold on the stuff you need.

Simple and colorful slides, the Chillos are perfect for the beach or backyard. They’re our favorite pair to slip on sans buckles, velcro, or ties. 🦶

When we say these are the most comfortable pants ever made, we mean it. They’re perfect for huddling around the campfire, and are made in Montana with designs inspired by the founder’s Japanese adventures.

A ground-up rebuild of one of the most iconic pocket tools in America doesn’t happen often. But that’s what created the Free series, Leatherman’s spankin’ new lineup of do-it-all sidekicks. This P2 boasts the phalanx of MacGyver options you’ll see above—plus it features a magnetic closure system that enables lightening quick action. Oh, and it’ll open a beer, too.

If a tree fell in the woods and your father never figured out how to get the photos off his phone, did it really fall? Point is this: If your dad’s the designated camera man—but the photos stay stuck on his device—he might need help unleashing the memories you’ve made. This smart 1 terabyte drive won’t take up much room, syncs easily with his phone, and is networked to let friends and family get in on the action from afar.

Slip into a pair of these shorts and you might not take them off. Which we don’t recommend, but hear us out: the durable, comfortable short invites lounging while defending you against the elements. A zippered back pocket means you won’t be combing the trail for your keys, to boot.

Sure, this cooler looks like a post-apocalyptic fisherman’s dream. But you’ll love it for the comfort with which it totes your lunch, a handful of celebratory beverages, your bait and tackle, and anything else you might need for a jaunt into the backwoods. The internal air bladder cushions the contents when inflated—one of the features that led special forces medics to use it for helicopter medical drops. Which means dad should emerge unscathed.

Layers matter in coastal climates. We’re fans of this start-up, which takes a stylish, but not showy, approach to mixing up the usual approaches to sportswear. This piece offers four-way stretch for hikes, tee time, and more.

It’s grilling season. Why not supply pops with a mail-order drop from a titan of the seared protein world, Pat LaFrieda? This kit comes with four succulent patties ready for grilling, sausages, a glorious ribeye, and LaFrieda’s excellent steak sauce. (When it arrives, here’s your burger recipe.)

Tortillas made fresh—and hot off the griddle or grill—always elevate a meal. Give pops this press and he’ll be putting out masa discs by the dozen. Bonus: it looks great in the kitchen, thanks to the red flash of paint and vintage look.

We’re not big on shipping oysters far from home—and seldom eat East Coast oysters in the West and vice versa. Maybe that’s just us, but with shipping delays you shouldn’t take chances. If you’re out East, or pops has a hankering for a bigger, meatier oyster, check out Real Oyster Cult—started by a family up in Duxbury, Mass.

Sure, fresh oysters are a special treat. But the bloody mix hand-made by this staple of the Northern California Coast is hands-down transcendent. The right amount of sweet and savory, packed in a mason jar alongside a sidecar of fresh, hand-made pickles, the bloody makes for the perfect accompaniment to 36 oysters. We recommend grilling them up and then letting pops (and the rest of the family) have fun at a self-garnish station. Same goes for the bloody marys.

Thanks to a smart hidden reservoir made of clay, this mason jar set-up, which comes complete with seeds, is a forgiving way to get into the windowsill gardening game. Instead of a daily watering regimen, you can rely on the bulb-shaped device to infuse the interior of the container with water for days, without worrying you’ll get root rot from soggy soil. The peppers, when they come to fruition, make for a fiery display—and finish.

This monthly share functions like a CSA delivery, only you’re subscribing to a monthly allotment of in-season, responsibly sourced–and delicious–fish. Unlike most supermarket offerings, Sitka’s filets are blast-frozen at 33 degrees below zero, right at the source, and the fishermen who supply product do not practice high-impact or bottom trawling methods. What’s more, they’re not just for-hire workers—fisherman are either partner-owners or working their way toward that goal.

Can you decipher a Zinfandel from a Malbec? A Sauvignon Blanc from a Chablis? This kit gives you a chance to taste like a pro, with your family and friends. Choose red, white, or mixed and your bottle count. Bonus: Argaux will donate a portion of proceeds to the NAACP. 

Sipping tequila: It’s a thing. Especially when your glass contains this barrel blend, which Casa Dragones has matured in both French Oak and American Oak casks. The aging process adds nutmeg notes mid-palate and rounds out the long, satisfying finish. 

We’re fans of the mad scientist behind this boutique bourbon label, Trey Zoeller, for his innovating aging and maturation techniques. This bottle offers a 10-year Kentucky bourbon aged additionally with charred staves for a wallop of vanilla and cinnamon flavors.

A blend of liquor made from grapes, corn, and sugarcane, this Sunset Spirits Competition best-in-class winner is smoother than most vodkas. It’s our favorite for everything from Greyhounds (squeeze in grapefruit and go) to Bloody Marys. Bonus: The company donates proceeds to conservation and preservation in the Tahoe area, totaling more than $100,000 to date.

Once left to gather dust on shelves, this cult whiskey is heralded as the more accessible form of the most coveted bourbon there is, Pappy Van Winkle. With this single barrel variant, Weller enters new territory, drawing all of the whiskey in each bottle from a single cask. Bottled at just under 50 percent alcohol, the palate offers baking spice and vanilla—though as a single-barrel bottling, each offers nuances on the flavor profile worth savoring.

One of our favorite distilleries in the West, Westland is known for fun experiments, partnerships, and April-Fool’s special releases (such as their sports drink spoof a few years back, or giving drinks descriptions like “Bold Smooth,” a statement on the nonsensical and often contradicting drivel often spouted by, ahem, whiskey writers). This whiskey is no joke, however, with a cask exchange at the center of the experiment. You may remember a previous partnership with Silver City; this year they’re partnering with local Seattle brewery Lucky Envelope. Westland essentially loans the brewery whiskey casks for beer aging—and then re-uses those casks afterwards to create entertaining whiskey flavor profiles in a limited release format.

Most electric bikes look suitable for scouting terrain during the apocalypse, not cruising to the beach. This laid-back—but power-packed—cruiser blends style with function, featuring easy acceleration that won’t buck you off when you engage the mid-mounted motor. The 50-plus mile range means you’ll have more than enough juice to expand your horizons in search of that perfect sunset.

Lots of companies make sound bars. And most of them promise some kind of in-room calibration. So what’s inside the $800 unit to help set it apart? For starters, Sonos built bespoke components from the ground up, customizing everything from the silk dome tweeters to the oval bass speakers at the ends of the unit.

Finding a tennis partner has become complicated under Covid-19. That’s why we love this smart rolling solution, which makes drilling as simple as bringing luggage to the airport. The bag, which weighs in around 33 pounds, also has space for towels, racquets, and other gear. A remote control helps time your drills, and two dials adjust position and spin. When you’ve hit through your balls, simply zip open the upper portion, reload, and continue your quest for the pros.

The observant guy in your life deserves better than a pair of cheap binoculars purchased from a place that also sells camping gear. It’s time he had some quality glass made specifically for his favorite activities. Spotting scopes are our favorite instruments for terrestrial viewing because they provide far greater magnification than binoculars, and greater portability than most telescopes—plus, the image is right-side up. We particularly like Wyoming-based Maven Outdoor Equipment Company’s S. 1A spotter for the quality of its lenses. It isn’t cheap, but you won’t see the blurry edges and color fringing you get from lesser scopes. Whether Dad’s a hunter, birder, trainspotter, or wants to be a spy when he grows up, this gift will go with him on all his outdoor adventures.

One of the greatest parts of camping is balancing the raw ruggedness of the outdoors with a manmade sense of deep coziness. We’re speaking, of course, about bedding down in a serious sleeping bag, and they don’t get much seriouser than this double number, made in Seattle by Feathered Friends. Filled with goose down, weighing two and a half pounds, it’s the ideal sleeping bag to bring on long hikes in cold weather, when Dad’s hoping to snuggle up with a spouse, a partner, or an adventurous child.

No matter how grill-obsessed the dad in your life is, we guarantee he does not have a barbecue as innovative as the brand new Spark Grill, because, well, the upstart backyard appliance is not on the market yet. That hasn’t prevented it from gaining a cult fan following that’s already snapped up the first two pre-order productions runs (there’s one more run dropping a little later this summer!). Not only is the Spark one of the handsomest grills we’ve ever seen, it’s the genre-busting, category-defying, electronically-controlled, insulated, Bluetooth-enabled, high-tech briquet-fueled, handsomest barbecue grill of the summer. The app and precise temperature control allows you to cook a brisket slow and low at 250 degrees or sear a steak or bake a pizza at upwards of 900 degrees. “A charcoal grill as easy as gas,” is the tagline, and that’s tough to argue with. List price will be $949, but pre-orders are discounted at $799.

“Isn’t it just a fancy Instapot”? My friend asked. “Not really,” I said. “It’s much slower. And that’s the point.” You don’t buy this unit because you want to turbocharge your food, paint flames on the side of your kitchen hot-rod. You buy it because the cast iron’s near-perfect seal retains moisture from cooked veggies and meats, makes the best scrambled eggs, and doubles as a wonderful rice cooker. I’m sold on slower, especially these days.

A perfect all-in-one solution for the at-home barista, this unit takes up minimal counter space and looks good doing it. We’re huge fans of the integrated burr grinder—which saves additional space—as well as the smart grind adaptor feature. The best part: it’s ready to brew mere seconds after firing up.

When social distancing rules were put in place a few months back, the good people at Fender music wisely removed the paywall on their online music lessons and quarantined garage rockers and couch crooners rejoiced. If your newly (or prodigal) rocker dad is looking to upgrade his guitar, get him the super versatile Telecaster Acoustasonic hybrid electric/acoustic model. It’s made in Corona, California and can mimic the sound of dreadnought and small body acoustics as well as the classic solidbody electric Telecaster. In layman’s terms that translates to: two amazing American made guitars for the price of one. For full-on West Coast vintage vibes get it him one in the Surf Green colorway.