Gifts for Dad

The painted finish is there to keep rust off the iron, so wipe the handle dry after a sweaty session and store the bell indoors rather than in a damp shed. At 23cm tall and 18cm across it tucks under a desk or beside the sofa between workouts, and the same bell comes in weights from 6 to 20kg, so a second one is easy to add later.

What owners say: The build quality and the sturdy, easy-to-hold handle get praise, and owners find the weight well spread for different exercises.

The Japanese SK5 steel blades are heat-treated to 60 HRC and slice cleanly through stems up to 25mm, on aluminium handles with a non-slip coating. They rarely need sharpening; when they do, a few strokes of a fine diamond file along the bevelled edge only, never the flat back, bring them back. At 230g they sit in a pocket through an afternoon of deadheading, and they suit left-handers.

What owners say: Owners find them extremely sharp and built to last, making short work of thick branches, and say they’re easy to use, smaller hands included.

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Lavalen gives Spain as its country of origin; closed it measures about 11 by 9cm and 3cm deep, a full wallet for a jacket or back pocket, with RFID blocking. The zipped section takes a spare key as well as change, and the care advice is to keep it out of the wet and feed the leather with a conditioner now and then.

What owners say: Owners find the leather lovely and soft and the wallet well made, and like the strong zip on the coin section and the room for cards and cash.

Each has Wera’s Lasertip end, made to grip rather than slip, and a coloured band on the handle shows the tip type at a glance: PH1, PH2, PZ1, PZ2 and slotted. The tips aren’t magnetised, so hold a small screw with a finger for its first few turns. The Kraftform handle, shaped with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute to fit the hand, went on sale in 1968.

What owners say: Owners like how the etched tips bite into a screw head and how comfortable the handles feel, and that the drivers stay put when laid down instead of rolling away.

It charges 12V lead-acid batteries up to 110Ah at 5A and maintains ones up to 160Ah, adjusting the voltage for the temperature as it goes. Choose the small-battery setting for motorbikes and mowers, the normal one for cars and the AGM option for many stop-start cars. It’s water-resistant, and CTEK gives a five-year warranty.

What owners say: Owners like how small it is next to most chargers, and that the eyelet lead can stay fixed to the battery terminals so connecting up takes seconds. They also find the instructions explain each charging stage clearly.

At 12.5kg with the stand, it stays put rather than going on trips, and it holds up to 205kg. Set it on flat, level ground before anyone climbs in, as a slope tips the bed to one side; adjustable hooks set the height. The polyester end strings cope with the weather, but the cotton bed is happiest stored indoors through the cold months.

What owners say: Owners say it goes together in minutes without tools and is comfortable and sturdy; they like the carry bag and the look, and children love it too.

It needs powered speakers or a hi-fi. Give the first set-up ten minutes: balance the tonearm with the counterweight, set the tracking force on the dial, then match the anti-skate to it. After that the preamp switch is all there is to it, LINE for powered speakers and PHONO for an amplifier with its own phono input. The platter is die-cast aluminium.

What owners say: Owners rave about the sound and the solid, weighty build, find it easy to set up, and like using the USB output to put their records on a computer.

The wave sensor means no fumbling for a button while holding a fuse box cover or a muddy lead. The narrow spot lights the path ahead and the soft flood suits close work like a plug socket, or run both together; a long press dims the beam down to 30%, handy when it bounces back off a white wall. Both are rated IPX5 for rain and snow, charge by USB-C and reach up to 150m.

What owners say: Owners find the white light very bright and the battery long-lasting, say it’s easy to switch on and off, and like it for dog walks in the dark, with a wide headband that stays comfortable.

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There are combination pliers too, an adjustable wrench, a spirit level and a tape, and the sockets run from 5 to 13mm on a quarter-inch ratchet, with the Phillips, Pozi, slotted, square and star bits on an extension bar. Open the case with the Enventor logo on top, as the maker advises, or the tools can tip out of their places.

What owners say: Owners say it covers nearly every job around the house, and like the range of tools and the sturdy case, which is compact enough to tuck away.

The kettle holds 0.9 litres and the frying pan is 22cm, and it all packs to 22 by 10.5cm at about 1kg, with a strap holding the nest together. It burns methylated spirit or bio-ethanol, carried in a proper fuel bottle; Trangia advises against packing the burner away with spirit inside, as it may leak. Trangia’s first spirit stove came out in 1951, and the sets are still made in Sweden.

What owners say: Owners count on it in wind and rain, say a full kettle boils in about five minutes, and find it very solidly built.