With less than two weeks to go ’til Father’s Day, it’s time to get crackin’ on a gift! Thankfully, the GeekDads put our collective heads together and came up with some awesome suggestions for a geeky dad.
Be sure to check out part one and part two of this year’s gift guide as well as last year’s suggestions, part one and part two.
Comic Book Mighty Wallet
Made by Dynomighty, this Tyvek wallet is thin, durable, and printed with comics. Much cheaper than a stainless steel wallet, and almost as durable. Tyvek is made from spun and compressed polyethylene fibers and is difficult to tear. If you aren’t geek about comics, they have many other designs, including dot-matrix, MTA, and Airmail versions. Buy it on Amazon.
Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders
If you’re considering buying a telescope for Dad, first buy this book. Whether he’s dedicated or just thinks he’s dedicated, this book will tell Dad what he needs to know to do some serious stargazing. Read our review or buy it on Amazon.
Tokyoflash Watches
From Tokyoflash Japan these watches are the ultimate clash of geek and street syle. For the dad looking to be hip, but still having the pride of explaining his technology to everyone else. Unlike regular watches, these watches keep time via a series of LED lights. Check out the Tokyoflash NI (currently on sale) which is pictured here.
WowWee Rovio
The Rovio mobile webcam is a wireless Internet enabled home and office explorer that can be controlled remotely from anywhere in the world using a web-enabled device including a PC, Mac, cell phone or smart phone, PDA or even a video game console. Rovio is your second pair of eyes; its a device that you can control over the internet making it possible to be at two places at the same time. Now Dads can see, speak, and hear from anywhere in the world as if they were right in the room. Buy it on Amazon.
Infectious Awareables
Anthrax is bad. Avian flu is bad. STD’s are bad. Unless they are printed in a stylish fashion on a necktie. Get your father a tie with the style and class of any number of major bacteria and viruses at Infectious Awareables. Nothing says “I love you dad” like a tie imprinted with E. Coli.
La Crosse Technology BC-9009 AlphaPower Battery Charger
Nothing says Dad quite like changing batteries and fixing toys. The PC-9009 can save a fortune on alkaline batteries and its high-tech features ensure each cell is quickly yet safe charged. This charger comes with four AA, four AAA, a carrying case, and C and D battery adapters. Buy it on Amazon.
Star Wars Joker Squad Action Figures
The odds are pretty good that the geek dad in your life grew up playing with Star Wars action figures. If so, how cool would it be to get him a set of six figures that you can only get from one place? And how much cooler is it that the set includes the first ever female Stormtrooper figure, Jes Gistang? He might even let the kids play with them now and then, too. Buy on EntertainmentEarth.com.
Best of 2600
This book tackles the infamous hacker magazine’s 24-year run the best way it can — by being encyclopedic. Weighing in at 871 pages and rivaling a phonebook’s size and heft, the book covers the ups and downs of hackerdom’s brief existence: discoveries, busts, jokes, conflict. Read our review or buy it on Amazon.
CafePress Flip
You’ve heard of Flips, next-gen video cams packing hard drives and shooting HD, all in a package that can fit into Dad’s shirt pocket. Online t-shirt printer CafePress is offering customizable Flips! Just pick one of their designs or upload your own. Buy on CafePress or buy a plain one on Amazon.
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation
What is hacking? According to Fox News or USA Today it’s bad people doing bad things with computers. However, according to security expert and author Jon Erickson, hacking consists of creative program solving, used for better or for worse by programmers and criminals. Regardless of how you feel about the phenomenon, it exists. You can either stick your head in the sand or learn and adapt. Read our review or buy it on Amazon.
Kobold Quarterly
The sole remaining professional roleplaying game magazine, Kobold Quarterly became number one by beheading all of its competitors in spectacular urban swordfights. Actually, the talent-heavy KQ has thrived by occupying Dragon Magazine’s foolishly squandered niche and recruiting a lot of great writers left similarly dumbfounded by Wizards’ decision to take Dragon online. Read our review or subscribe on koboldquarterly.com.
Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium
Dad can point the unit at any star and press a button, and thanks to the magic of GPS the SkyScout will tell him about that star! Or choose a star from the menu and SkyScout will tell him where to look. Locates over 6,000 stars. Read our review or buy it on Amazon.
Element Case Car Mount
We told you a while back about our favorite iPhone case, the Element Case. It’s super-durable and very stylish; I get comments all the time about mine. Now they’ve come out with the other half of the equation to make it the perfect way to spoil your geeky dad on Father’s Day: the Element Case car mount. It’ll fasten securely in your car, and uses the magnets in the case to hold it solidly for driving-appropriate uses. Inquire at ElementCase.com.
Seed Magazine
An incredibly beautiful science magazine. Maybe not as brainy as SciAm, maybe a little more sophisticated than PopSci, but smart, accessible and wonderfully put together. A great, inexpensive gift for Dad. Subscribe on Amazon.
Leatherman Micra Multitool
Mini $17 Leatherman tool, small enough to fit on a keychain but packing scissors, knife, screwdriver and so on. Great gift for Dads who don’t necessarily want a Bat Belt. Buy it on Amazon.
