It’s going to be December soon, a few short weeks before we celebrate the Christmas holiday, and the retailers are in full swing—offering endless “special” deals. Since you’re going to be bombarded with emails from those retailers anyway, you might as well keep an eye out for these awesome can’t-miss gifts for the prepper in your life. Or maybe you need to give your spouse or kids some ideas for what exactly you would like this year. Just leave this article open in your browser and head out of the room; curiosity will take over and you will be assured some good gifts under the tree this year. Here’s my top five list, in no real order:
1. If you haven’t heard of Lifestraw, you haven’t really looked into the water aspect of prepping. It’s made by Vestergaard, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based company that specializes in public-health tools for use in developing countries, such as Sub-Saharan Africa. The Lifestraw is 9″ long and 1″ in diameter, but effectively treats up to 264 gallons (1,000 liters) for most waterborne illnesses. With a price tag of $19.95, it’s available on their web page or on Amazon. The Lifestraw is small, effective, and easy to use. It also comes with built-in caps for both ends. It’s a can’t-miss for anyone worried about personal water supplies during a disaster. They also make larger family-sized units.
2. Originally priced near $69.99, the compact Streamlight “The Siege” LED Lantern has dropped in price to around $39.99, making it an even better deal. Like most of the things we highlight, I own one of these and it is flat-out impressive, and that’s hard to say about a camping lantern. Here is the short list of impressive features: It’s waterproof, it actually floats, and it has D rings on both ends, meaning you can hang it upside-down from the roof of your tent. While using only three “D”-cell batteries, the lantern gives you six different light settings (three white and three red) ranging from 340 lumens (lasts 30 hours) to a battery-conserving low setting which will sustain 33 lumens for 295 hours. There is also a S.O.S. setting that allows 10 lumen flashes for over 400 hours of continuous use.
3. If you are looking for a really solid red-dot-style optic and don’t want to shell out your hard-earned cash for an Aimpoint or other high-end optic, then the Bushnell TRS 25 (1″x25mm) is the optic for you. My wife has one on her Smith & Wesson M&P AR22 rifle, and it’s perfect for it. It’s now available in a “Hyrise” model that comes with an extra 1″ spacer block to lift it just a little bit when bolted onto any rail system. The TRS25 features a three MOA dot and 11 brightness settings. All this in a waterproof, shockproof, fog-proof housing that retails for around $100, but can be found at dillonprecision.com for $89.95—the best price I have seen in a long time.
4. This one might throw you: Darn Tough Socks. Yes, socks. The things we all dreaded to receive as children make my top-five list. The Vermont-based company makes only socks. Specifically, they make eight types of men’s socks ranging from ones built for hiking, to those for jogging, to work-style socks that go above the calf. They also make women’s socks, so if you are shopping for a lady prepper, they can help you. Some of the sock styles may look a bit weird, but you quickly forget that when they cradle your feet better than other more well-known socks ever could. The bonus? They have a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty. I wear these and abuse my feet all day in the cold of Alaska’s winters, and I can confidently say they work. Plain and simple.
5. Mechanix gloves may seem like all the rage with fan boys and the tacticool guys at the range who never actually shoot, but well-made gloves should be a part of everyone’s kit. The folks at Mechanix Wear make over 50 styles of gloves to choose from, ranging from their $15 Fast-Fit Gloves to their $95 Team-Issue Carbon X Level Gloves, designed for NASCAR and professional-racing pit crews. They are available in multicam, woodland, coyote, black, and safety colors such as hi-viz yellow and orange. Some people I know complain about buying quality gloves, but I view gloves as just as important as your eye and ear protection. Such protection should work and fit correctly. This might require you to actually tell your loved ones that you are buying him or her gloves to ensure you get the right size.
What’s a top-five list without some competition? That would be boring, so here’s a major contender for the gift list, recently reviewed by our very own Nick Irving.
Bonus: Oakley Special-Operations Edition sunglasses/eye pro
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Opening photo courtesy of dailyherald.com
