Gifts for Men: Useful Upgrades, Hobby Gear and a Few Good Laughs

Most flashlights roll off the workbench, but the Olight ArkPro Flat Flashlight is a flat olive-green bar that stays where it lands. One aluminum body holds a 1,700-lumen flood, an 800-lumen spotlight, a UV beam and a green beam, and a magnetic base grabs metal panels when both hands are busy. It suits the guy who keeps a light in every drawer and still can’t find one when the power goes out.

Every man has a spot where his pockets get emptied at night. The Northwind Personalized Riveted Leather Valet Tray gives keys, wallet, watch and change a proper home: full grain leather, 7 by 9 inches, riveted at each corner and engraved with up to 10 characters. It’s handmade to order in the USA, so order it early.

Pull apart the Speks Geode Magnetic Sphere and a faceted crystal ball turns into a pile of magnetic pieces that snap back into a sphere, a tower or whatever shape his hands drift toward during a long call. Give it to the guy who clicks pens and spins his ring while he thinks. The magnets are strong, so it’s rated 14 and up.

There are no wires on the MEATER Plus Wireless Meat Thermometer, King of the Grill Edition. One slim probe reads the meat and the air around it, sends both to a phone, and the app estimates when dinner will be done and how long it should rest. The wooden charger doubles as a repeater for up to 165 feet of range, and it comes engraved with King of the Grill, which settles that question.

With the ZLXHDL Steak Branding Iron Kit With Changeable Letters, whose steak is whose stops being a debate. More than 120 aluminum letter blocks slide into a two-row head that heats over a grill or fire in about 30 to 60 seconds, then presses names or initials into steaks and burgers. It’s showmanship for the guy who already owns every spatula and pair of tongs.

The Gramercy Food & Cocktail Smoker is a handheld infuser that burns wood chips to put cool smoke into a cocktail or over a cheeseboard, indoors. The kit comes with chips, a cleaning brush, replacement parts and a velvet storage bag. Hand it to the friend who takes hosting seriously and likes a little tableside flourish.

Each Hand-Forged Railroad Spike Bottle Opener started life as a real railroad spike. A small shop in Glenwood, Iowa heats and shapes every one into a church key by hand and finishes it with linseed oil, so no two come out the same. It belongs next to a backyard cooler, and it makes a good groomsman gift when you need several that match without being identical.

Ten magnets sewn into the RAK Magnetic Wristband for Tools hold screws, nails, washers and drill bits on the back of his wrist, so he isn’t climbing down the ladder for the next one. The shell is 1680 ballistic nylon with padded mesh inside, and it straps to a belt or the bench too. It suits the weekend fixer who has lost at least one screw under the fridge.

iFixit chose the 64 bits in the iFixit Mako 64-Bit Precision Driver Kit from the screws people actually hit in its repair guides, so Pentalobe and triwing sit next to the usual Torx. The aluminum handle has a magnetic socket and a swivel top, and the lid of the case works as a sorting tray. It’s for the guy who ends up fixing everyone else’s laptops and game controllers.

Eight pistons pump and sixteen valves open and close on the UGEARS V8 Engine Mechanical Model Kit, a 1:6 scale engine made of 776 laser-cut wooden parts that press together without glue. Once built, it turns by hand crank or a USB-C motor. Give it to the car guy who would enjoy a few winter evenings of careful assembly.

Here’s an Atari 2600 that fits in a palm, hooked up to a little old-school TV with antennas on top. The Tiny Arcade Atari 2600 Mini Console plays ten real games on a 1.5-inch color screen, including Pac-Man, Asteroids and Combat, with a joystick that works. It’s a desk toy for the guy who had a 2600 in the basement, good for a few quick rounds rather than marathon sessions.

In the Coup Bluffing Card Game, lying is allowed. Each turn you claim a role you may or may not hold, and the only check is someone at the table calling your bluff. It plays 2 to 6, teaches in a few minutes and fits in a stocking, which makes it a good pick for the guy who wins poker night with a straight face.

The Wooden D&D Dice Lamps are handmade wooden dice shapes, from the D20 down to the D4, that sit over an LED tea candle and throw a flickering pattern across the table. The shell lifts off the light so the die can still be rolled. They suit the dungeon master who runs dim, moody sessions.

At 19 ounces, the ENO DoubleNest Hammock packs into a compression sack sewn right onto it, so there’s no separate bag to lose. Unpacked it’s a 9.5-foot stretch of breathable nylon rated to 400 pounds, room for one sprawler or two people who get along. He’ll need tree straps and two good trees.

Weighing under two ounces, the Suunto KB-20 Compass floats if it goes over the side of a boat and needs no batteries, signal or calibration. Sight a landmark, let the needle settle and read the bearing off the degree scale. Suunto has been making compasses in Finland since 1936, and this one is a dependable backup for any hiker who trusts his phone a little too much.

Beyond pliers and a blade, the Leatherman Signal Multi-Tool carries a ferrocerium rod for starting fires, an emergency whistle and a diamond sharpener among its 19 tools. It’s made in Portland, Oregon and backed by a 25-year warranty. At 7.5 ounces it rides on a belt, which suits the camper who likes being the one with the right tool when a tent pole bends.

He said he wanted nothing, so give him the Deluxe Box of Nothing: a kraft gift box with YOU SAID YOU WANTED NOTHING printed on the lid and, true to its word, nothing inside. It comes with a 100% useless guarantee. Hand it over first, let it sink in, then bring out the real present.

Strap the EnvyGreen Lawn Aerator Shoes over a pair of boots, walk the yard, and 2.1-inch spikes punch holes in the soil with every step to let water and air reach the roots. They’re for the guy who mows in neat stripes and keeps an eye on the neighbor’s grass. He’ll look a little silly out there, which is half the fun of giving them.