10 Delightfully Practical Father’s Day Gifts
...plus lots more options vetted and selected by CR’s shopping experts.
Dinner’s on dad: This well-priced grill is one of dozens of great picks in CR’s gift guide.
When I think about picking a Father’s Day present for my dad, the first thing that comes to mind are the kinds of gifts he’s given me over the decades. Here’s a sampling:
A tire gauge
A sun shade for my windshield
A subscription to…Consumer Reports
A truly excellent umbrella
A copy of his favorite book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie
A very sturdy ice cream scoop
My husband and I each brought an ice cream scoop to our marriage, both gifted to us by our dads.
What’s remarkable about this list of practical gifts is how they contrast with my dad’s true desire of dadding; he wanted his daughters to have everything, while also making sure we could recognize when we didn’t need anything.
It occurs to me now that the tire gauge my dad gave me when I was in college, with instructions to keep it in the glove compartment, was less about its specific application than it was about an idea: This is how you care for something. Okay, I see what you did there, dad.
Dad and me out to dinner, around the time he gifted me a subscription to Consumer Reports.
Practical gifts can be, in some ways, the most loving gifts. They say, I want you to be safe, I want you to be ready for anything, I want you to back up important files with an external hard drive. They are gestures of thoughtfulness and care.
CR’s shopping team, headed up by Mary Beth Quirk, has put together a Father’s Day gift guide with something special for every type of dad. I pulled up some of my favorite practical picks that say all the things practical gifts can say. They’re for dads who might approve of a bit of indulgence, but also, for example, show up at your new place with a housewarming gift of a fire extinguisher. You know: Those types of dads.
A chef’s knife that cuts like butter
This Henckels knife has a contoured handle that makes it extremely comfortable to hold. In our tests it excels at “force transmission” from handle to blade (translation: you don’t need to exert as much effort when cutting).
Shop: Henckels Premio 8” Chef’s Knife, from $39
A fitness-focused smartwatch
With built-in GPS, sensors for stress-monitoring, and a claimed battery life of 6 days—better than that of most smartwatches, including popular Apple and Samsung models—this watch scores 5 out of 5 in our tests for water resistance.
Shop: Fitbit Versa 4, from $146
A great duffle
Lightweight, affordable, and available in an array of handsome color combos, this generous (45 liter) nylon bag has faux-leather handles and comes with a padded crossbody strap.
Shop: Herschel Novel Duffle Bag, $110
A lightweight drill
With a brushless motor, this well-priced drill makes it easier to, say, swap out an overhead light fixture—but it’s still forceful enough to bore holes in hardwood without bogging down.
Shop: DeWalt DCD701F2, from $118
A super-slim wallet
A sleek, simple cardholder that stood out in CR’s evaluations in this category, this cleverly designed wallet has a slot on the outside for high-use items like commuter cards. And it’s packaged in a beautiful box.
Shop: Ekster Senate Cardholder, $76
A sleek grill
This mid-sized stainless steel grill—which preheats quickly and scores well for even heating across its surface—gets the job done at a great price.
Shop: Monument Grills 24367, from $450
An adjustable pillow
Made of shredded memory foam, and scoring “excellent” in our tests for support, this top-rated pillow comes with extra foam so it can be customized for height and comfort.
Shop: Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Loft, $89
A smart thermostat
Easy to operate—both manually and via its smart features—this thermostat works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home/Siri, Google Home/Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings.
Shop: Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced EB-STATE6L-01, from $168
An electric toothbrush
With a timer, pressure sensor, and battery-level indicator, CR’s top-rated toothbrush checks all the boxes—and for techy types, it can connect to a smartphone app.
Shop: Oral-B iO7 Series, from $220
A smart carry-on
In our tests of impact resistance and construction quality, this hard-shell suitcase definitely impresses. And based on our member surveys, Away is a top brand for carry-on luggage. It has an unusually generous limited lifetime warranty (dads love that) and a 100-day trial period.
Shop: Away The Carry-On, $275
For more Father’s Day gifts—practical, indulgent, and in between—check out our full list of recommendations.
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Love the Dad stories and you just reminded me a subscription to CR would be the perfect gift for the upcoming birthday of the son who has everything.