Father’s Day Gift Guide 2018: 16 gadget gift ideas under £100
From drones to headphones, here's how to treat your pop to something top
Reckon your dad’s the best? Better than all the rest? Well, there’s no way to prove it besides a giant, worldwide dad-off – but we discussed it and, well, that’s just not feasible.
Instead, we’ll call it a truce and say every dad out there is the best. And the best deserve the best, which is why we’ve trawled the web for the top gifts and gadgets you can get your old man this 17 June.
Whether he’s a jogger or a logger, mixes drinks or tracks, plays with cars or builds them, there’s something in this list for him.
What’s more, nothing we’ve found will cost you more than £100. Sure, that might seem like a lot – even for the best father out there – but remember, every good dad should share with his offspring.
Jump to prices
Being helpful sorts, we’ve listed the gifts in handy price categories. Can’t stretch to the priciest presents? Jump right to the last page by clicking below.
Page 1 (below): £100-£91
Garmin Forerunner 30 (£100)
Dad might not be ready to tackle his first triathlon just yet, but there’s no harm in encouraging his latest fitness fetish. Not as flashy as an Apple Watch, Garmin’s budget running buddy is a bargain at £100: besides the standard step tracking, it’s got onboard GPS, 24/7 heart rate tracking and a clear interface that’s friendly to even the fattest of fingers. And it’s much easier on the eyes than yet another piece of lurid lycra.
Ryze Tello Drone (£94)
A palm-sized flyer that’s powered by tech from drone experts DJI, the Ryze Tello might be closer to a toy than a pro piece of kit but it offers entry-level pilots great bang for buck. 720p footage is decent, while in-built trick shots mean your dad can make like a Hollywood director with just a few taps. Sure, it has limitations, but it’s about the best fun you can have in the sky this side of £100 – unless you bag those bargain flights to Malaga.
Lenco L-85 (£95)
Spotify might rule the soundwaves but vinyl remains king for true analogue audio quality. If your dad’s sitting on a carefully curated record collection from his days as mullet-haired student, this budget-but-brilliant turntable could be just the trick for a happy Father’s Day. Ready to use right out of the box, besides decent sound quality it packs a nifty ripping system that’ll deftly fling his Fleetwood Mac back catalogue onto a connected USB stick.
Philips Hue Colour Starter Kit (£100)
If your dad’s the sort who loves to twiddle and tweak, gifting him a smart lighting setup is sure to see him happy. This starter pack from Philips ships with a Hue bridge and three LED bulbs. Screw them into your standard light mounts and you’ll have 16 million shades on tap – so whether your dad needs dim yellow for movie nights of soothing violet for his morning meditation, the only limit is his imagination.
Lindy BNX-60 (£90)
Not since you got that trainee haircut for a fiver has something so cheap turned out so good. OK, so £90 is hardly pocket change, but when you consider the tech on-board these Lindy headphones – wire-free listening, active noise-cancelling, aptX support – they look like quite the bargain. Gunning for Bose, these cans can’t quite keep up with ‘phones for twice the price, but they do a darn good job of trying – and they make an ideal present for a father who likes to listen in sweet silence.
Nodus Hifold Coin (£80)
There’s a certain sort of wallet that only comes into being through years of use and abuse. Rough around the edges, bulging with cards and cash, worn in all the right places: money can’t buy these treasured cash carriers, but it can buy a replacement when the seams finally split. If your dad’s own wallet is on the way out, you could do worse than buying him this leather number from Nodus. It’s RFID-protected and can carry up to 10 cards, as well as shrapnel.
Crafty Nectar 3-month Cider Subscription (£82)
If your dad’s the kind of craft beer drinker that can discern the subtle hoppy difference between a pint of Parson’s Elbow and a tin of Spitting Pigeon, there’s every chance he’ll scoff at the concept of craft cider. Enlighten him to the allure of apples with a three-month subscription to Craft Nectar: six bottles will arrive every month, each containing traditional cider with none of the nasty stuff, sourced from independent producers. Lovely.
Buy a Crafty Nectar gift subscription here from Crafty Nectar
Stagg Pour-Over Kettle (£80)
Proper coffee drinkers know not to slop boiling water onto their grounds. For a refined flavour with nothing burnt you need a slow and steady stream – which is where this Stagg kettle and its precision spout come in. Flow is slowed for maximum taste, while a counterbalanced handle ensures pour control. Buy him this and dad’s caffeine habit will get an instant upgrade. Unless he’s actually drinking instant, in which case he’s a lost cause.
Amazon Echo (2nd gen) (£75)
As your dad’s immortal idiom goes, “you can’t wrap an established smart home speaker in fancy fabric and expect the masses to buy it by the millions.” Quite right. What you can do, though, is add improved Alexa listening tech, together with a clutch of better speakers powered by Dolby, for an upgraded cylinder of AI fun. Then, as dad might say, “the job’s as good as the one that’s done.” Or something similarly befuddling.
Nintendo SNES Classic Mini (£70)
Papa might like you to emulate his lifelong passion for obsessive stamp collecting, but you can wean him off the lick’n’sticks with an emulator of your own: get him hooked on this addictive SNES reincarnation – complete with 21 retro favourites, from Star Fox to Super Mario World – and there’s every chance he’ll forget all about his beloved albums in a rose-tinted episode of gaming nostalgia.
Lego Caterham Seven 620R (£75)
If your father’s of a motoring disposition, there’s every chance he’s got a Caterham Seven on his ‘cars for a mid-life crisis’ shopping list. Rather than buy him something he’s already saving for, inspire the building skills he’ll need to self-assemble his dream machine with this mini mock-up. It’ll look right at home on his shelf beside that half-finished Spitfire and his 3rd place cup from the 1997 Surrey Camembert Competition.
No.547 Cross Strap Apron (£75)
Wrap a waxed canvas apron about your person and, skilled or not, you’ll rapidly feel like a master craftsman – even if your art is putting the bins out. Hand-made in France, this workman’s wraparound from Alaskan Maker is made to be rugged and, courtesy of a cross strap setup, will sit comfortably on any shoulders. Perfect for dad’s new log-chopping habit – or the hours he spends watching tree-felling tutorials.
Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD (£60)
A mere generation ago, tellies were just that: tellies. Good for watching terrestrial shows and taking up too much space in the sitting room. Oh, how things have changed. Even the simplest of screens can become a 4K wonderbox nowadays with the simple addition of Amazon’s plug-in puck. Besides smart home support and Alexa on-board, the biggest boon of this HDMI diamond is its UltraHD support – so whatever display your dad is rocking he can get the best for his peepers.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom (£60)
If your papa’s an off-key hummer, there’s only one way to end the pitchless misery of his daily droning: gift him this diminutive Bluetooth speaker and he’ll have on-tap tunes wherever he goes – for up to 10 hours a day. Sure, it can’t improvise like his nasal notes, but with a waterproof build and the option to pair it up with other Wonderbooms, it doesn’t need to.
Kärcher WV5 Handheld Window Vac (£65)
While the established combo of spray, rag and elbow grease might do for most, for discerning dads whose sole pursuit is sparkling glass there’s no better cleaner than Kärcher’s WV5. Disguised as a standard scraper, it actually harbours a battery-powered vacuum in its yellow shell. So, as dad goes at the conservatory panes for the fifth time in two weeks, he won’t have to worry about slopping suds all over the rug: excess water is sucked into the handheld via a hidden nozzle. Neat.
Filson Ballistic Nylon Travel Pack (£55)
Your pa might have been travelling since before you were born, but that doesn’t justify his keeping the same wash bag for 30 years. Offer your old man a toiletries upgrade with this lightweight-but-tough pack from Filson. Crafted in four colours from Ballistic Nylon, its 6L capacity is perfect for any arsenal of balms, beard oils and bathroom bits, while rugged twill reinforcement puts paid to any risk of a soggy-bottomed bag.
Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
