Last minute gifts for your favourite geek (under $100)
10 last minute gifts for your favourite geek
As I write this, it’s the holiday season and the festivities are in full swing with a week to go til Xmas. It’s the perfect time to summarise the best things I highlighted in my weekly newsletter, The Sunday Suprise. I did a similar article that was received quite well, but this time, I’ve capped the price to a $100 or less. Without further ado, here’s some last minute gift ideas for you. As always, these are affiliate links.
Coffee/Tea related
What good geek doesn’t LOVE a hot beverage?! If they’re anything like me, they obsess about tea and coffee minutiae more than anyone else. Here’s some suggestions that I personally love.
SBELive Heated Coffee/Tea Mug
While I personally use the Ember Mug, that’s only because a cheaper alternative didn’t exist back then. If you happen to need a gift for someone with a penchant for forgetting their cup of coffee and it repeatedly getting cold, this is the gift they need! Basically it’s a cup with a battery and warming circuit that keeps your hot beverage at the desired temperature for hours.
Nanopresso Portable Espresso machine
I had been an avid Aeropress user for years. When I discovered that the nanopresso manages to extract a similar quality brew with in a smaller package with less mess, I was in! This is great for those who enjoy the ritual of a good coffee in the outdoors (or like me, at work!)
Reading and books
Can you even call yourself a geek if you’re not into reading? Here’s some of my favourite books from the last year.
Kindle Reader
Ok I’m cheating slightly in that in Australia, it’s JUST over $100 but in the US it’s way under. This is probably the best integrated ebook reader out there. I recently upgraded to the new version and am loving the warm LED lights so I can read before bed without disrupting my sleep.
Sapiens: a brief story of human kind
As someone who never really read history books, this was the first that signficantly shifted my attitudes on the topic. It explores the origins of how humans came to be where we are in a way that makes modern life make sense. There’s also a new graphic novel hard-cover version for those looking for an extra special gift.
The Almanac of Naval Ravikant
Naval is the founder of AngelList and well known in the venture capital world. He’s also somewhat of a philosopher and thinker of life. This book is a collection of his thoughts, tweets and interviews collated by a fan that distills his wisdom.
The Changing World Order
This is the most “text-book” of all the books. Ray Dalio is one of the most successful hedge fund managers out there. Like Naval, he’s interested in the broader picture of things and summarises the rise and fall of countries and super powers. If you, like me, are feeling that the balance of things in the world is shifting, it’s a great book that explores that process.
Writing & stationery
If you’re reading, you gotta be writing too, am I right? A few cool things to scribble down your thoughts.
Matt black Fountain pen
Most generic fountain pens are terrible with poor nibs and scratchy writing experience, but this is NOT one of them. I’ve tried a few brands now and by far this is my favourite of all the generics that I have tried. I bought a few since I find my normal pens get stolen at work where as people are hesitant to use/take a fountain pen. For a generic brand, these are quite good with sturdy nibs and a solid build.
All Terrain stone paper notebook
Everyone’s gone through the Field Notes notebook phase already. The new thing is stone paper! That’s write (ha!), it’s paper made from stone. Meant to be far more durable and ecofriendly and guaranteed to be a hit because of how smooth the texture is.
Tech and other things
A few miscellaneous things if the items above haven’t seemed appropriate
Zyron 66w GaN USB Charger
With phone chargers becoming a rarity, this is the perfect time to gift someone a new style GaN charger. These are smaller and more powerful than the old bricks. The Zyron looks like a phone charger but is power enough to charge most laptops AND a phone at the same time!
ExpressVPN as a gift
Is there anyone that doesn’t use a VPN anymore? Unlike the free ones out there, ExpressVPN is secure and allows you to change to multiple servers at high speeds to stream content from Netflix etc from many different countries.
It’s pretty cheap to boot as well!
Gift a Medium subcription!
Lastly, if you’re reading this on here, why not subscribe them up to Medium? Clearly you’re finding it interesting so maybe they will too! It also just goes to support writers like me (so, yeah, there might be a bit of self interest here!).
Did you enjoy the article above? Then sign up to my weekly newsletter, The Sunday Surprise. Do you have any comments or suggestions? I’m all ears! Find more over at raffyhalim.com
