We beat on knives, boots, socks, rain gear, and rugged EDC so you don’t buy junk. Here are the gifts that survived real hunts, road miles, and daily carry.
Start Here: Tested Gifts You Can Actually Trust
Well, another year and another gift guide. Throughout the year, I have been busy testing products, so you don’t have to do it yourself. Below, I have collected some great options for Christmas gifts for yourself or others. There’s a wide range of choices and price ranges, so you should be able to find a suitable suggestion here. Anything you see here is something that I either have or would add to my kit.
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Benchmade Dacian Fixed Blade Gift Pick
If there’s a perennial product type in my gift guides, it’s a knife. We all carry one, and everybody needs a good one. My first gift suggestion is the Dacian fixed blade from Benchmade. It won the Blade Magazine American-Made Fixed Blade of the Year at Blade Show 2025 in Atlanta, and would make an excellent Christmas gift. This knife feels great in the hand, is 7.57 inches overall, uses a full tang CPM MagnaCut stainless steel blade, and has a Micarta grip. I tested the blue denim with the copper PVD hardware version. Well, I tested it for a bit before my knife-nerd son liberated it for his everyday use. I’ve seen it briefly from time to time since then. It sees heavy use, and the edge remains extremely sharp (he has been resharpening). Benchmade launched the Dacian earlier in the year and then relaunched it with a better sheath. The current version has a cross-draw “scout-carry” sheath, which I view as a good upgrade from the initial launch. Bottom line: $300-$320, depending on hardware, and it’s a superb, fixed-blade choice.
Build a Smarter Vehicle Kit with 5.11
5.11 Tactical has the gear to get your vehicle prepped and ready to roll. In this section, we will cover first aid prep, emergency warmth prep, basic tool prep, and vehicle escape prep. Anyone reading this likely carries concealed or otherwise every day. I’ve long advocated for everyone to keep some kind of trauma kit in their daily driver, as you are more likely to come upon a wreck with casualties than get into a gun fight. I have a medical kit in every vehicle, and until now, I used adequate but not optimized bags to stow everything.
5.11 UCR Medical Bag For Fast Grab First Aid
5.11 backpacks are very well made and smartly designed. I use them for staging bags for various types of hunting, airline carry-on bags, first aid bags, and much more. Now, 5.11 has released the UCR backpack, which is optimized for first aid. This 19×12.5×7.25 inch bag has a clamshell opening with organizing pouches attached by hook and loop. The four grab-and-go transparent pouches (one large, two medium, and one slim) let you take the gear you need to treat the first aid situation at hand. Being able to see what is in the pouches is an incredibly smart design, making good decisions easier when under stress. No more digging through your bag to remember where things are. Other features include several zippered mesh pockets, a large rear zippered pocket, four external side pouches, and internal and external molle panels. Available in black or Ranger green for $190.
Stay Warm With The 5.11 Cloudstryke Blanket
Another thing to stow in your vehicle is a way to stay warm. The 5.11 Cloudstryke Blanket is just the ticket. It’s woobie-like, but better. Filled with 100g Primaloft insulation, this is a serious blanket. Faced with 100D DWR nylon on one side and 50D polyester on the other, the Cloudstryke can serve as a blanket, an emergency shelter, or a poncho. It rolls up into a compact form that fits neatly in the included stuff sack (and it doesn’t take an origami specialist to get back in the bag). $150 in Woodland camo.
5.11 ABR Gift Set For Everyday Carry
Finally, from 5.11 Tactical is the Always Be Ready gift set. They make several EDC gift sets, but the one featured here includes a pen with a carbide glass-breaking end to escape your vehicle. Also included is a money clip with a bottle opener and a few wrench locations, as well as a deep carry liner lock folding knife. $150 in Black.
Meindl Comfort Fit Boa Speed Hunter Boots
As a writer, I get to test many things, including boots. Meindl sent over their Comfort Fit Boa Speed Hunter boot. This is the first pair of Meindl boots I’ve tried, and I love them. The Boa closure helps you get them on and off much more quickly than boots with laces. The Boa system is very secure and has a gear ratio about twice as fast as the last set of Boa closure boots I used. The Comfort Fit Speed Hunter fits very well right out of the box. Meindl recommends ordering a half size down, and that worked perfectly. The sole is stiff and offers great support for all-day wear. This fall, I used them on long day hunts followed by long night hunts and was thoroughly impressed. Meindl says these are well-suited for wide feet, and I agree. These worked well this fall from North Dakota, through Montana, and back to Washington. They are well-suited to side-hilling and have Gore-Tex ® waterproofing. They have what’s called a Meindl Multigrip 3 Alpin Light sole made of Vibram®. That sole worked well on rocky as well as muddy terrain. When combined with the Meindl socks below, I experienced great comfort and zero blisters in spite of 10 consecutive days of 10-mile days. Highly recommended! $410.
Merino That Works: Meindl Socks
Meindl also sent over some merino wool socks. I tested the MT3.5 lightweight, MT6 mid-weight, and MTJagd heavyweight merino socks, and all performed well in the field. The Comfort Fit Boa system helped make a custom fit for any of the three thicknesses. A close look at these reveals thoughtful engineering. Made of 46% Merino Wool, 26% Polyamid, 13% Bioceramic, 12% Polypropylene, 3% Elastic. Apparently, Bioceramic helps with temperature and moisture regulation. All I know is they were perfect for my entire fall hunt. $23, $25, and $30, respectively, and worth it.
Point 6 Merino Socks For Cold Missions
Another merino sock option comes from Point 6. I found these by way of a friend last year. It was late-season chukar season, and we were hiking in snow-covered rocky hills (we would have called these mountains where I’m originally from). Despite the physical exertion, my feet were freezing. Tired of my whining in the hotel that evening, my buddy threw a pair of Point 6 merino socks at my head and said, “Try these.” The rest of the trip was much better, and I became a Point 6 fan. The model I borrowed was the 10th Mountain Light Over-the-Calf version. I later bought several pairs.
Point 6 says the way to tell their socks from others is to hold them up to the light. Point 6 won’t have pilling or fuzzies on the edge even after prolonged use, whereas others will. Apparently, this has to do with the way they spin their wool. I can’t say if this is true or not, but I will say I love these merino socks. The pricing at Point 6 is tricky because it seems like they have 40% off sales almost all the time (like now – the 10th Mountain Light OTC is $17.40, or 40% off the $29 retail price). In an email this month, Point 6 indicated they are going to simply lower prices at the first of the year and knock off frequent sales. In any case, I find Point 6 socks to be high performing and a great value, and there may be several Christmas stockings with these in them at our house this year.
Kings Camo XKG Stormtrek Rain Gear
Kings Camo has been producing good camouflage patterns for some time. They sent over a rainsuit and some gaiters to test, so into the shower we went. The XKG Stormtrek jacket and pants are packable raingear that uses Kings Windstorm waterproof and breathable membrane. During testing, the hood, waist, and cuff adjustments functioned well. One key feature, the main zipper, seems very well made. The two zippered hand pockets have laser-cut holes for additional ventilation as needed.
The fabric itself is quiet, but it does make some noise if you are using it to stalk something. It is treated with Scotchgard DWR and is stretchable. The pants have full-length zippers, cuff snaps, a built-in adjustable belt, and waist elastic in the rear. With all these adjustment areas, it is very easy to customize the fit.
Kings Camo XKG Leg Gaiters
Kings Camo also sent over their XKG Leg Gaiter is made of the same fabric as their raingear. These offer a great solution for trekking through morning dew or snow. The bottom strap and top buckle and strap are solid, as is the lace hook. A hook and loop front seam keeps the gaiters firmly in place.
These rain and snow gear options from Kings Camo are solid choices for Christmas gifts. $199.99 for the jacket $189.99 for the pants, and $79.99 for the gaiters.
DremerBox Rugged Speaker Case That Blasts
Every once in a while, a product gets brought to my attention, and I just stare and wonder. The DremerBox was like that, well, at least at first. It’s a Bluetooth speaker box that started life as a Pelican ® case. DremerBox makes a one or two-speaker model. With the enclosed plug, the box can retain its original waterproof nature, or you can take the plug out for better sound. The internal USB port also lets you charge your phone or whatever. The sound? This thing blasts. You can also use it as a travel case for a pistol if you want to do so. When I first got the DremerBox, I just wondered who it was made for. Then my kayak-nut wife walked by, and it all clicked. Want a boom box for the water? Check. Need a power sink? Check. Want to have a pistol on you while you paddle? Check. $399 for the two-speaker version, or $249 for the single.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals to Watch
Black Friday sales have some of the steepest discounts of the year. They seem to start earlier every year. Here are a few I’m aware of as of the time of this writing:
- Kings Camo is offering up to 50% off select items with Early Black Friday deals now through November 26, up to 60% off select items on Thanksgiving Day, and 50% off select items from Black Friday through Saturday, November 29.
- Meindl USA is offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of a boot or shoe on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, as well as a free pair of socks with the purchase of a boot or shoe on Cyber Monday
- Dremerbox is offering 20% off with code “BF2025!” on Black Friday and through Cyber Monday
- 5.11 Tactical has outstanding Black Friday sales that I frequent every year, and typically, that’s enough to fill out the gifts I give my family every year. Up to 50% off now.
- Princeton Tec has up to 40% off now for Black Friday. I covered their Charge X IR Max helmet light here, and it’s on sale along with a bunch of other great gear.
- I believe all of these sales are “while supplies last.”
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