Father’s Day Gift Guide

Shopping for men can be tough. Despite what the covers of most magazines would have you believe, guys actually have a variety of interests besides chasing women and sculpting perfect abs. Needless to say, it can make choosing the perfect gift for those with Y chromosomes a lot more difficult than simply copping a gym membership or subscription to Maxim. With that in mind, we’ve endeavored to put together a buying guide for absolutely every type of male under the sun, from sporting types to pixel-loving geeks. With Father’s Day right around the corner, we figure it might help you size up a gift for dear old Dad, and maybe some of the other gentleman in your life in the future. If you can’t find a trace of the guy you’re looking for in this guide, well… there’s always the option of random gift cards, or the token combination nose-hair-remover-cum-massage-chair at Brookstone.

The World Traveler

This cat hasn’t just hit every state in the United States twice… he can also rattle off a country he’s been to for every letter of the alphabet. OK, maybe that’s a little much, but the point is, the guy’s got legs. Since weight and bulk are the sworn enemies of seasoned travelers, Asus’ 2.4-pound ultra-slim Seashell netbook ($430) makes the perfect machine for videoconferencing, surfing the Web and dumping photos to hard drive while on the go. Logitech’s V550 Nano cordless mouse ($60), which clips right onto the top of any laptop to keep the devices together, serves as an ideal companion for it.

Asus Seashell netbook

The Sports Authority

Everyone knows someone who lives and breathes sports, whether that means practicing their jump shot each evening after work or sitting in the recliner and taking in three football games a day. For the latter, we have to recommend Samsung’s new 55-inch UN55B8000 LCD televsion ($4,000), which not only refreshes at a staggering 240Hz rate to reduce blur during fast on-screen action… It also uses LED backlights for better brightness and up to 40% less power usage. As for guys who prefer to physically work up a sweat, the Nike Plus ($30) fitness accessory makes a valuable addition to the iPod that will actually log information about brisk walks or runs on the device, while the HydraCoach intelligent water bottle ($30) will actually tell you how much fluid you drink in a day, how much you’ve presently consumed, and how quickly to drink it.

Samsung UN55B8000 LCD Televsion

The DIY Guy

Whether hell-bent on saving money, or just satisfied by his own accomplishments, the DIY guy prides himself on getting the job done without paying somebody else to do it. But unlike MacGyver, he’s pretty much worthless without tools, which is why adding a few wise ones to his toolchest never hurt. For nerds, Belkin’s Professional 36-Piece Computer Tool Kit ($50) has just about everything you could ever need while working on PC, all in one neatly zippered case. And the small size of Makita’s 10.8V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3/8" Driver-Drill Kit ($238) also makes it ideal for working on small projects around the house, including quickly zipping screws out of computers, although thanks to the high-end battery tech inside, it will handily conquer tree houses and decks, too.

Makita 10.8V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3/8" Driver-Drill Kit

The Auto Buff

There are only two places to find auto enthusiasts on Saturday: Under the hood of their ’69 Chevelle SS if it’s raining, or out cruising if it’s sunny. For those garage-bound days, nothing turns a slab of concrete into a man’s sanctuary quite like a chest full of tools, Pioneer sound system, and a fridge full of cold drinks, which Kobalt has managed to roll into one stainless steel monolith with its powered stainless steel 53-inch tool chest ($1,600). Out on the road, testosterone-fueled car lovers may claim to need no electronic tomfoolery to guide them behind the wheel, but Garmin’s 265WT ($270) will save your favorite wheelman from a greater evil than getting lost: Traffic. And, admit it or not, it will definitely come in handy for piloting the family minivan on those long road trips, too.

Kobalt Stainless Steel 53-inch Tool Chest

The Outdoorsman

It doesn’t matter whether your particular outdoorsman favors scaling mountains, stalking elk or just kicking back next to a fire: Chasing fresh air and getting away from it all are the important things. Electronics might not seem to factor into that equation, but if you’re looking for basic necessities like clean water and light, the SteriPEN Classic ($90) and Eton American Red Cross Microlink FR160 Multipurpose Radio ($30) may come in handy. The UV lamp in the SteriPEN kills bacteria in just seconds, and the FR160 functions as a radio, LED flashlight, and cell phone charger, all run by a hand crank. And when the outdoorsman can’t make it out to his favorite fishing spot, The Strike fishing game for Xbox 360 ($70), which will come with its own fishing rod controller, might just do the trick at home.

The Strike for Xbox 360

The Sophisticate

Kraft foods, fiberboard furniture and domestic beverages appall this man, who doesn’t own anything unless it appeals to his complex contemporary tastes (and seemingly limitless budget). Indulge him without demolishing your own funds with these clever Frank Lloyd Wright Lego sets ($45), which show both an appreciation for the finest building toy ever made as well as some of the finest structures ever built. On the other hand, if money really is no object, consider Dell’s Adamo ($1,999+), which is one of the slimmest notebooks on the market today and far more exclusive than the equally sexy Apple MacBook Air ($1,499).

Dell Adamo

The Rock Star

He might be a finely trained classical violinist or just a guy with an unwashed Iron Maiden shirt who loves all things metal, but at their core they both share the same love of (very different) music. Indulge audiophiles with an Apple iPod Classic ($249), which may seem outdated in an iPhone world, but remains one of the only players to offer a whopping 120GB of storage for a giant selection of tunes. And while its included earbuds will work fine in a pinch, stepping up to a pair of Grado SR60i headphones ($69) will reveal details in the music he never knew were there, at a price that puts other similar models to shame. (As an added bonus, they’ve been around so long that the style has gone from modern to dorky all the way back to retro, so they’re unintentionally cool now, too.) And if making music is more his thing, Yamaha’s Tenori-On ($999), which allows users to create tunes using a blinking panel of LEDs as an instrument, provides for some seriously creative opportunities.

Yamaha Tenori-On

The Game Boy

It doesn’t matter if he was raised on a steady diet of Super Mario Bros., Pong and Mountain Dew, or is just a late bloomer inspired by the Nintendo Wii: He was born to wield a joystick, obliterate virtual foes, and disregard social norms. While the temptation here is always just to buy your gift recipient a random title that you think is fun, we steadfastly recommend against a random crapshoot here, considering most players’ finicky habits and particular tastes. Rather, go the safe route with an extra controller for his existing console ($40 Wii, $50 Xbox 360, $55 PlayStation 3), a bigger monitor or screen, or if you must, a retro video game shirt ($12+) that references a game you know he already loves. That said, if you absolutely, positively know he’s been waiting all year for Ghostbusters ($60) or Red Faction: Guerilla ($60), by all means, go for it!

Ghostbusters The Video Game

The Disorganized Slob

Ah, now here’s a personality type we all know and love. Given that most in this category don’t necessarily mean to be messy, it doesn’t hurt to send a few subtle clues as to the virtues of cleanliness. So give the special slob in your life a hint (and break from those tedious chores) with the ubiquitous Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot, model 400 ($130), which will follow him around cleaning up crumbs and other nastiness automatically. The appropriately named NeatDesk ($400) can clear up a pile of papers and business cards without trashing them by quickly scanning stack loads at a time as well, and some electronics cleaning putty ($10) to clear the crumbs out from between the keys wouldn’t hurt either.

iRobot Roomba 400

The Dealmaker

Wearing a suit and tie like a uniform and hailing taxicabs with the grace of a Rolex-wearing swan, this career-minded overachiever works morning, noon and night. For the road, equip him with the BlackBerry Curve 8900 ($200), which remains one of our favorite smartphones ever for its snappy keyboard and incredibly vibrant screen, and Samsonite’s High Tech Leather Laptop Organizer Briefcase ($325) for toting the old ThinkPad to and from the office in style. And for the off-hours, Logitech’s Comfort Lapdesk can make working from the couch a lot less taxing on the joints as well.

Logitech Comfort Lapdesk