Holiday shopping can be a royal pain in the ass, but when you do manage to stumble upon that stellar gift you'd been hoping against hope to find—the one guaranteed to elicit genuine excitement and admiration rather than a sheepish request for the gift receipt—well, then holiday shopping is actually pretty damn gratifying. If you are currently racking your brain for what to buy that impossible-to-shop-for man in your life, we suggest you consider some items from Playboy's extensive collection of Mantracks. We reviewed a plethora of manly gadgets, accessories, fragrances and more in 2009, but to keep things simple, we've chosen 10 that we're confident would make particularly great dude gifts this holiday season. They're affordable, stylish and useful—three things that truly matter to the average guy.
Most headphones sacrifice style for either sound quality or portability, leaving music lovers with two choices: heavy, industrial-sized cans that make you look like an airport runway worker or tiny, plastic earbuds that deliver slightly better fidelity than an old transistor radio. Winner of Japan’s Good Design Award, Phiaton’s PS 320 Primal Series headphones ($199, amazon.com) offer the best of both worlds, a quality listening experience matched only by the sports-car sleekness of its silver and black look. While there isn't a noise-canceling feature, the earcups block most outside distractions, which make them perfect for listening at home or in the office. Sounds are crisp and clear with excellent mid-range, and cushioning all around means that the 320s feel as good as they look.
Ladykiller, pop sensation and SNL Digital Short genius Justin Timberlake partnered with Givenchy to create Play ($76, sephora.com), an enticing cologne packaged in a sleek, MP3-inspired bottle. It is available in two versions: the lighter, bergamot- and citrus-infused Eau de Toilette and the rich, tonka bean-laden Eau de Toilette Intense. Both have Caribbean amyris wood as a main base, a warm and spicy scent that makes either variation of Play a perfect Fall fragrance. And since most things involving Justin Timberlake seem to go over extraordinarily well with women, you could do worse than to follow his lead.
In 1959 Olympus put our jaw on the floor with the Pen, a great-looking and affordable compact camera that produced pro-level results. Fifty years later the company has done it again. The Pen E-P1 ($800, getolympus.com) uses Olympus's new Micro Four Thirds lens system to cram a full-size digital SLR (with interchangeable lenses and the ability to shoot 720p video) into a camera the size of a sleek, classically styled point-and-shoot. Our jaw can't take much more of this.
If you own a vinyl record collection you are already cooler than the vast majority of the American male population. But if you’re looking to earn some extra style points, send your favorite albums over to Daniel Edlen of Vinyl Art (vinylart.info) and have him take them to the next level. For $175, Edlen will use acrylic paint to imprint iconic images of your favorite artist directly on the record. The result is a unique piece of art that verifies you as an authentic fan and not just another music junkie wannabe.
Miniot has stepped up its already stylish line of authentic wooden iPhone cases by introducing the iWood Cobra ($180, miniot.com), which sports a very sleek-looking racing stripe aesthetic thanks to an attractive combination of two contrasting wood species. Available in two earthy tones, Padouk/Maple or Wenge/Maple, Miniot's iWood Cobras are made in Holland and are only crafted with wood that comes from well managed forests, so you can be sure that your classy new iPhone jacket is one of a kind.
Don't be the guy who reaches for his three-wood on the tee box. Callaway's new Big Bertha, the Diablo ($300, callawaygolf.com), is a forgiving titanium driver with a hyperbolic shape behind the clubface. Bertha lets you make big distance even when you don't hit directly on the screws. Be like us: Save the three wood for the green.
Quick quiz: Is this a wine key? A set of brass knuckles? It's both, damn it. But here's where it gets weird. A Canadian company called Chromoly offers these Bourgeois Brass Knuckles on its website ($90, chromoly.ca) but refuses to sell them in this country. Some nonsense about brass knuckles being illegal. Get your Canadian friend to buy one and send it to you—if only to stick it to the man.
That old medicine-cabinet standby the styptic pencil is your best friend when you gash your face before a big meeting, but the little white sticks lack flair. Styptic Matches ($50, hommage.com) prove that the things that make you pretty don't have to be ugly.
Custom belt buckles can be fashion-forward, provided they're moderately discreet. A giant brass one that reads "Open With Care: Contents May Explode" is not what we're talking about. These guitar-neck belt buckles ($95, gorillavinyl.com) are made from the fret boards of vintage guitars and contain just the right amount of novelty, presented in an understated way. In other words, they're the kind of awesome that doesn't need to shout.
We understand the urge to skate every waking moment. Still, it's advisable that you sit once in a while. Just don't do it on anything even slightly subradical. Deckstools ($150, deckstool.com) are made from retired skateboards screwed together—part chair, part sculpture, no two alike. Even when you're not pulling a McTwist, you're sitting on something that has.
To see all of the best gadgets, drinks and cars from 2009, read our previous Mantrack items.
Read Mantrack every Monday and Wednesday at Playboy.com
- TAGS:
- Style
- Mantrack
Jul 29, 2010
