Father’s Day Gift Guide

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

This GunsAmerica Father’s Day Gift Guide marks the fifth annual edition. The products here are some of the best I have covered. As a dad, I can appreciate a great Father’s Day gift, and this guide is intended to give your loved ones an easy list to consider. As always these are products I have actually used and have experience with. The one exception is the last item I learned about right before my deadline. It is impressive and comes with recommendations from people I trust, so I had to put it in this gift guide.

Buy Local, Buy Often

While many items can be obtained for Father’s Day by purchasing online, buying from your local retailer is often a better option. Buying local supports area businesses and you don’t have to pay for shipping or wait for delivery. If you live in a lefty state like me, you have no doubt seen the onslaught of unconstitutional “laws” promulgated by legislatures hell bent on the destruction of small businesses. This is particularly the case for your local gun shop. My area’s full-service gun store, Sporting Systems in Vancouver, Washington, offers gift certificates.

Ask your local FFL if they sell gift certificates or something similar. Buy one of these for that someone special and let them buy what they want. Well, they probably can’t buy what they want because that’s already been deemed unnecessary and dangerous by our betters. However, your Father’s Day giftee can use a certificate to buy one of the things we are still permitted to obtain. Sporting Systems’ gift certificates are better than others because they are made of thick, alpha male metal. Available in $50, $100, $500, and $1,000 increments. If you buy the $1,000 certificate you get to keep it as a souvenir.

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Cut to the Chase On Father’s Day

If there’s one thing dads like, it’s a knife. This is especially the case when that knife is something crafted with skill, purpose, and attention to detail like those at the Montana Knife Company (MKC). These knives are great to look at, serious tools to be used, and made in Frenchtown, Montana USA. They are impressively popular, with new models routinely selling out in minutes. I recently watched as a new “knife drop” sold out in nine minutes.

MKC is now committed to keeping their flagship knife, the Blackfoot 2.0, in stock at all times. I picked one up a few months ago and have been using it regularly. I love this knife. It is extremely sharp, handles well, and keeps an edge. Built from cryogenically treated high-carbon ball bearing steel and featuring a 3.5 inch drop point blade, the Blackfoot 2.0 is designed to do pretty much anything in the field. Overall length is 7 ¾ inches and the blade weighs just 3.6 ounces.

The name, Blackfoot, comes from the Blackfoot river valley where MKC founder Josh Smith grew up. He wanted to design a knife that could do it all in that valley – dress deer, elk, game birds, and fish. The G10 handle is available in black, orange/black, olive, black/tan, green/black, and grey. There is also what they call a Magnacut version, which has a mirrorlike stainless finish rather than the regular Parkerized version. The Blackfoot 2.0 ships with a Kydex sheath and there is a leather sheath available as well. Finally, MKC will sharpen, clean, repair, or even reshape your knife indefinitely under their Generations Promise. And all you pay is $300 to make this Father’s Day cutting-edge.

Pack It, Stow It, Carry It

5.11 backpacks and pouches have been around forever. I have several and I’ve used them in many different circumstances – two-week hunts, day hunts, business trips, weekend getaways, etc. Give one to the father in your life and get one for yourself. I have used the 5.11 LV8 Sling pack for coyote hunting, and there’s plenty of room to stow a pistol, spare mags, water, calls, snacks, and so on. It is an over the shoulder sling pack with many pockets to keep gear organized, and two grab handles. The padded shoulder strap is very comfortable, and the main compartment is also padded.

LV8 Sling Pack

Today the LV8 sling pack serves as a medical bag that stays in my vehicle. In the unfortunate event of encountering a car wreck or similar situation, this bag holds and organizes multiple tourniquets, packing gauze, chest seals, Israeli bandages, a splint, trauma shears, a headlamp, a flashlight, hemostats, emergency wound laceration closures, a knife, and rubber gloves. It also has a bag with the basics such as Band-Aids and wound ointment.

Another potential use for the 5.11 LV8 Sling pack is as an urban carry bag. With everyone carrying book bags these days you would blend right in and not look like someone toting a tactical bag. It has performed very well for me. $90 in blue, black, or grey makes a great Father’s Day deal.

AllHaula Water Resistant Duffel

Also new from 5.11 is the AllHaula Water Resistant Duffel. It sounds like Valhalla, but you can haul all-a-ya stuff. Get it? The duffel measures – 10.5″H x 22″L x 11.5″D, weighs 2.7 pounds, and has 45-liter capacity. For $140 you get a roomy duffel with padded stowable backpack straps with one main clamshell compartment. For reference, two bump helmets with night vision binoculars will just fit in the main part of this bag (with one bino set removed and stowed in the helmet).

Then you still have a large, zippered pouch on the front for more items. I’ve used it for that purpose as well as just a clothing duffel for traveling. A padded waist belt is available separately if you want it to be a pack rather than a duffel. There is also a removable mesh pouch secured to the inside. Black and brown are available.

Father’s Day Organization With Magpul

Another gear organizing system I’ve used a lot lately is the Daka line from Magpul. In particular, I use the Daka Utility Organizer ($30-$45), the Daka Window Pouch ($22-$35), the Daka Lite Pouch ($15-$23), and the Daka Can 2.0 ($20). The Utility Organizer is a small, somewhat rigid, zippered, water-resistant pouch that features pen/pencil holders, pockets, and a zippered admin pocket. The Window Pouch is great because you can see what is in it (the new version is waterproof).

The Lite Pouch is less expensive and great for when you don’t need the pouch to be as heavy duty. Finally, the Can 2.0 is a fully rigid, top loading container that is great for eyewear, tools, etc. Any of these make great gifts because they are inexpensive and once your giftee starts using them they grow to appreciate their usefulness. I have several of each and find them helpful for organizing flashlights, headlamps, first aid kits, and other smaller items. Easily labeled and available in several colors, this Daka stuff makes keeping your gear squared away very simple.

Crashpod Container

For night hunting it is important to be organized. You don’t want to be searching for something in the dark while you should be calling coyotes. I combine all my Daka stuff with the Crashpod container from Crashpad for the ultimate UTV night hunting container. I covered the Crashpod in the 2021 Top Ten Tactical Christmas Gift List here. With this setup I know where everything is, can access it quickly, and I can see it all through the transparent lid.

My set up has two boxes of ammunition, a first aid kit, two loaded magazines, a cleaning kit, some Dude Wipes, my thermal rifle manual, my Form 4 copies, a Leatherman multitool, spare IR/red/white lights, fire-starting kit, headlamp, rubber gloves, and spare batteries for everything (thermal, lights, caller, etc.). Having tried everything for this application, this has been the best set up by a wide margin.

The Daka stuff fits perfectly in the small Crashpod 6.3×17.7×8.7 inches ($60), but there is also a large version 6.3×17.7×12.6 inches ($65). My Crashpod stays set up this way all the time, so it’s just grab and go. Dad will absolutely love this set up.

Woobie Robe

Give (or request) the gift that is uniquely suitable for dad, the Woobie Robe from Sheepdog Response. While the average person has no idea what a woobie is, recent veterans deeply understand the comfort factor of that military blanket of simple snuggliness. Woobie is the nickname for a poncho liner that has kept US soldiers and Marines warm and comfy for decades.

The Woobie Robe is made of that familiar woobie material in Black Multicam, and features two buttons, a belt, and two roomy pockets. Embroidered with the Sheepdog Response logo, the Woobie Robe wraps dad in ultimate comfort while making a bold fashion statement at the same time. It is surprisingly warm, and well suited for wear to and from a cold plunge.

But be advised – it is cut high to show off those mighty dad legs. Be ready because you might get more attention than you planned for. At the time of this writing, I am told this item will be promoted and on sale around Father’s Day, so act quickly before inventory is depleted. Regular price is $175.

Now You See Me . . .

What is a Faraday case or pouch? It is a structure or device that shields someone or something from electromagnetic fields. In plain English it’s a way to secure your smart phone, credit cards, passport, etc. from prying electronic eyes. Want to stop Big Tech from tracking your position? Get a Faraday pouch. If you recall the movie Enemy of the State with Gene Hackman and Will Smith, one version of a Faraday cage is a room lined with chain link fence (by the way, I’m not sure that will work).

In any case, a chain link fence is a little bulky to carry around, but the X SLNT Faraday Pouch from Dead Air Silencers is very portable. It also looks cool – Mike Pappas cool. Made from weatherproof nylon it shields your phone, key fob, etc. from pretty much everything: cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, RFID, NFC, EMP, and EMF Radiation. Shielding is MIL‐STD‐188‐125‐2 compliant, based on High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse Protection Testing. $35

Father’s Day Preparation

Does the dad in your life like to read? Good, get him “Prepared: Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios” by Mike Glover for Father’s Day. You may have heard of Glover already because he has a very successful company called Fieldcraft Survival. That company makes premium outdoor gear and offers training courses in firearms, survival, preparedness, and other things. As a 20-year combat veteran in the US Army and Special Forces, Mike knows what he is talking about.

In his book “Prepared” he covers everything from the Resilient Mindset to Planning, to EDC, Mobility, and Homestead. It is very well written, a quick read, and packed with useful information. The forward is by Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and bestselling author. Dad will thank you for this book. I bought the spiral bound version for about $45, but you can find the hardcover for as little as $16.

Water, Water Everywhere, but not a Drop to Drink

Speaking of being prepared, a while back I listened to a Shawn Ryan podcast in which a guest described the simplicity with which a bad actor could wreak havoc on the US by attacking the electrical grid. The threat of foreign ideological actors doing domestic harm is not new, but we certainly have many new unvetted entrants recently.

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The one thing that jumped out at me in the podcast was water, or the lack thereof. If the grid is down, access to potable water is severely restricted. You can live for three weeks without food, but people die after three days of no water. The guest described to Mr. Ryan the estimates of just how many people would die from lack of access to good water.

Those statistics were staggering. Be prepared. Get a water filter. Get more than one. I have several, but what I don’t yet have is the Nosler Grayl Ultrapress Titanium Filter and Purifier. This lightweight (14.1 oz) titanium half liter bottle functions as a water filter, water supply, and a cooking vessel. The ultra-powdered carbon filter removes protozoa, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals. With a flow rate of 3L per minute the UltraPress is no slow poke. The cartridge lasts 300 presses (40 gallons). $169.95.

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