It’s that time of year again and many of you out there, including me are wondering what to get your Father this year for Father’s Day. If you are like me, my Dad is tough to shop for. Anyone is hard to shop for if you have been buying them things for as long as I have. It makes it tougher when your Father doesn’t have “real” hobbies that lend themselves to great gift ideas. You know the kinds of hobbies I am talking about like golfing, sports or woodworking. These hobbies seem to lend themselves to occasions like this and if all else fails, you can buy your Dad some new golf gloves or take him out for 18 holes somewhere.
But what do you get the Prepper? Prepping can be looked at similarly to a hobby in that there are great ideas all over the place for goodies, I mean er. Items you need to have in order to be more prepared. Even if your father has all the prepping supplies he could ever wish for, there may be some gift ideas for Father’s day 2014 your dear old Dad hasn’t acquired yet. Maybe, you could email this page to your spouse or kids for ideas on what to get you for Father’s Day this year.
Last year when I wrote a post about gift ideas for Fathers Day, I broke the items up into price ranges. I am not doing that this time because I wanted to have a little more flexibility. You might have to read all the way to the end, but I think we have some great ideas for Dad this year. I have added links to all of the products as well. Hope you enjoy!
Montie Gear Slingshot w Ammo – $130
Be the coolest kid on the block again with the Montie Gear Y-Shot high tech slingshot! Capable of firing 3/8″ bearings at speeds of up to 150 feet per second, this high performance slingshot is sure to outperform all expectations, with a design to match! Perfect for the Father who is always looking for options when it comes to defense. This slingshot is the quintessential old school weapon that can be used silently if you need to reach out and touch someone. Add this to your survival firearms arsenal for one more tool when the ammo runs out.
The Y-Shot Slingshot comes in three colors (stainless, black powder coat and pink) and you get your choice of 6 different paracord color options to decorate it with. The paracord adds another practical element to this beautiful piece of prepper gear as you can unwind it for cordage if needed.
Lastly, the Montie Gear Y-Slingshot is made in the US so you can purchase with pride. Look for a review coming soon. For more information you can check out the Montie Gear website. Slingshot and the metal ammo is available at Amazon. Cost $130
Blastmatch Fire starter – $14
Every man who calls himself a Prepper needs a way to start a fire. Even if he isn’t a Prepper, your Father will appreciate the versatility and simplicity of the Blastmatch Fire Starter. BlastMatch generates a stream of super heated sparks literally three times the heat of a standard match. You can easily light any material (wood, paper, bark, cloth, or man-made fire starting tinder) that a match will ignite. Best of all, you can accurately aim the sparks to ignite a roaring fire in all weather conditions and the BlastMatch will last a thousand strikes. Available on Amazon for about $14
Baofeng UV5RA Ham Two Way Radio – $32
The Baofeng UV-5RA is a hand held transceiver providing 5 watts in the frequency range of 136-174 MHz and 400-480 MHz. It is a compact, economical hand held unit that includes a special VHF receive band from 65 – 108 MHz which includes the regular FM broadcast band. What does that mean to your father on Father’s Day? It means he will finally be able to pick up HAM radio conversations and with some practice (and a license) he can communicate with people much further than your traditional camping walkie talkies can. If your Dad has been talking about HAM radio, you can direct him to our previous post on the subject of HAM and how it is just about the best option for communicating should the grid go down.
The Baofeng UV-5RA is an extremely easy way to get started in the world of HAM and will give your Dad additional options should he need them. Each Baofeng comes with a charging station, antenna (though you will want a better one) and everything you need to get started. They cost about $32 on Amazon and at this price, you can afford to get Dad 2.
Tactical Medical Solutions IFAK – $76
An IFAK is an Individual First Aid Kit and was designed to accompany soldiers into combat to allow troops to administer basic lifesaving first aid until help could arrive. IFAK contents are designed to treat massive injuries like a sucking chest wound, to intubate unconscious soldiers or stop massive bleeding with a tourniquet. There aren’t any band-aids or moleskin for your blisters in here. The Operator IFAK from Tactical Medical Solutions has all the same gear of pricier versions from other vendors at a decent price. I couldn’t even buy the individual items in here for less by themselves. The price of this IFAK is about $78 and will give your Dad an emergency kit for his web gear or plate carrier. Even if your Father isn’t expecting combat, this kit makes a great addition to your car survival kit or Bug Out Bag.
Kingston DataTraveler – $25
When it comes to EDC Gear, often times a Flash drive makes the list. Why would you need to carry something like this with you? It could be for digital copies of important papers or you could keep your own standalone copy of TOR’s browser on here to sure the web in anonymity (if that is even possible anymore). It could just be your Dad has inportant files he wants to carry around everywhere he goes. The Kingston DataTraveler is a lot of space in a small footprint that just so happens to nicely fit on a key ring. There are other models too, but this 64GB version holds so much and at $25 is a relatively inexpensive way for Dad to keep anything digital with him at all times.
Leatherman Freestyle Multi-tool – $34
Since we are on the subject of EDC (Every Day Carry) gear, if your Dad doesn’t have some type of knife or multi-tool, a great gift for Fathers Day would be the Leatherman Freestyle. This tool has the basic knife, pliers combo that will fix a multitude of problems and the appearance is nice enough for dress pants too. A good knife is one of those must-have survival items and the multi-tool enhances the old pocket-knife our fathers used to carry and adds a lot of versatility in a small package. You can pick up the Leatherman Freestyle online and have it shipped right to your Dad’s door. $34 is a great price for this beautiful tool and it could be something that saves your Dad’s life one day.
Bushnell Bear Grylls Monocular – $32
If you watched the TV show 24 you may remember that Jack Bauer always had a monocular in his little bag of tricks all the time. He would whip that thing out anytime he wanted to see what the bad guys were doing and in some strange way, his monocular looked cooler than a big set of binoculars. Being able to see things at a distance is a huge advantage in a survival situation. You want to see danger that is approaching well before it gets to you or it could be that you need to recon landscape you are thinking of crossing to make sure the route is clear. The Bushnell Bear Grylls Monocular is a very inexpensive force multiplier that can easily fit in a pocket or that messenger bag you bought to look just like good old Jack Bauer. This model is waterproof too so it should last a lot of adventures.
Solar Panel Starter Kit 100W – $185
A backup power source is on the minds of every prepper out there and if your Dad has been looking to get into Solar panels as a way to provide alternate energy for power outages this Solar Panel Starter Kit could be just the thing. The kit comes with the very basics you need and that is a single 100W panel, Charge controller, wiring and attachment brackets. Your Dad is going to need to mount this to something and provide a deep cycle battery, but you wouldn’t want to ship that anyway. Once you have the basics, additional solar panels can be purchased and daisy chained to increase the amount of charge you are able to store and this could be perfect for a SHTF situation where power is disrupted for weeks.
Schrade Extreme Survival Knife – $42
I saw a review of this knife on another site and when I saw the price, I decided to get on myself to try it out. This is a heavy duty knife that has a 6.4″ blade mated to a nice 5.6″ handle. The full tang blade is made from 1095 High Carbon Steel and makes a great knife to add to your survival gear if you are looking for a backup. I have this knife in my car with my Get Home Bag. It’s too big to carry everyday, but does come with a nice nylon sheath for when I need to strap this to my belt. If your Dad doesn’t have a big survival type of knife, you can get him the Schrade Extreme Survival Knife and it won’t break the bank.
Fenix HL30 Headlamp – $40
I have written several articles extolling the virtues of a headlamp over the traditional flashlight. I have a Fenix flashlight for my EDC though because carrying a headlamp isn’t the most practical thing, but if I really need light and I have a choice, the headlamp makes the most sense to me. The full-featured Fenix HL30 Headlamp provides the powerful hands-free lighting you need for the job. With a maximum 200 lumen output, the HL30 can cast a beam 131 feet into the darkness and the Broad Beam System completely illuminates the immediate area. A total of six settings gives you options for every lighting situation and the water-resistant protection prevents you from being stranded in the dark if you are in a massive storm. This light will help your Father be able to see his way though any situation.
Lone Survivor – $18 Blu-Ray
If your Dad likes modern war movies, Lone Survivor is a powerful story of a real-life mission into Afghanistan called Operation Red Wings. The action is intense and the movie is an incredible example of the lengths Navy Seal’s go through in order to “fight to the finish”. This isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you are on this site looking for ideas for your Dad for Father’s Day, I’m pretty sure your old man has what it takes. If a movie is in order, this is a great one. Or, if your dad is more of a book guy, the novel by Marcus Luttrell is just as good.
Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System – $21
The ability to get clean drinkable water in a survival situation is just about the most important item to check off the old prepping checklist. I use and recommend water filters as my first line of defense as opposed to boiling or chemically treating water. Those are both fine options, but I like the speed and taste of filtered water better. I use a pump filter, but I believe the Sawyer is going to be my new go-to water filter for both camping and my bug out bags for two reasons. FIrst, the size and weight of this litter filter makes it a great option. You can wrap this up small and it weighs ounces. Secondly, there are no mechanical parts to break. I did have one of my mechanical pumps break when we were hiking in the wilderness. Luckily I had a backup, but the Sawyer Mini-Filtration system relies on gravity. Simple and light. What’s not to love?