I’m a GenX tech professional. Listed here are 15 presents and devices only for the dudes

Ryobi 18V Hand Vacuum

Once I fired up my Ryobi hand vac the very first time, I used to be shocked by the aggressive suction energy. It’s received extra oomph than another hand vac I’ve both damaged or misplaced earlier than. Whether or not it’s lint from my dryer or filth tracked in by my footwear, small particles is dispatched with a quickness.

It’s received a pretty big capability for a handheld vacuum, and this mannequin is certainly one of some 300 different cordless Ryobi merchandise that use the identical 18-volt battery system. Meaning the battery and charger that include this $99 bundle will work with Ryobi’s ONE+ cordless activity lights, store followers, energy drills, impression drivers, tire inflators, and different 18-volt merchandise.

Simply don’t get the leaf blower. Leaf blowers are Devil.

Twinkly Christmas Curtain Lights

Jon Phillips/Foundry

Dude, I’m in my 50s. I need to fulfill my neighborhood lighting obligations (that are 100% solely in my head), however I’m accomplished with placing a tree within the window. So, a number of years in the past I started researching programmable string lights, and landed on the Twinkly Christmas Curtain Lights, which are actually $114 on Amazon. They’re festive as all hell… AND PUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON BLAST.

Every curtain accommodates 210 RGB lights that may be animated with pre-programmed results, or you may design your individual results, mixing up stripes, sparkles, gradients, and different designs throughout the RGB spectrum. It’s all Wi-Fi managed, and you may set brightness ranges and even a timing schedule with the Twinkly app.

I now have three curtains projecting pleasure to the neighborhood. I swap out the consequences a number of occasions between Thanksgiving and New Years to maintain the neighbors guessing.

These animated sweet canes are for you, Peterson. Your yard show is weaksauce.

Epson SureColor P900 Picture Printer

Jon Phillips/Foundry

OK, this one is costly at $1,129. However even in the event you can’t afford Epson’s 17-inch P900 photograph printer, I need to make a case for why you could need to purchase a photograph printer of this caliber.

You journey. You will have family members. You will have experiences. You shoot tons of pictures. You shoot tons of pictures in your outrageously priced smartphone. After which, what? These reminiscences simply sit in your cellphone? Otherwise you publish to Fb and Instagram? For what? The likes?

Printing your reminiscences in wonderful excessive decision, on 17×22-inch, museum-quality, archival paper will be the interest you’ve been in search of. Sure, it’s costly. And, sure, you’d do nicely to be taught the nuances of digital imaging to provide nice giant format prints (particularly in the event you’re capturing on a cellphone and never a DSLR).

However there’s one thing extremely satisfying about seeing your reminiscences so spectacularly reproduced, and hanging in your partitions. I do know: It’s loopy. A printer, of all issues, has develop into certainly one of my most coveted items of tech.

The P900 makes use of 10 completely different inks to breed vivid colours and deep, wealthy grayscale (there are 4 completely different ink cartridges devoted to simply grey and black!). If you wish to avoid wasting cash, think about the Epson P700 for $719. It makes use of the identical ink system, however paper measurement is proscribed to 13×19 inches. It can save you much more cash by printing on 8.5×11-inch paper, as seen right here.

Ezvalo Image Gentle

Jon Phillips/Foundry

Are you an grownup? Do you may have artwork in your home that’s not only a Star Wars poster caught on the wall with thumbtacks? Would you want your grown-ass man paintings to look higher? Have you ever thought-about an “artwork show gentle” however don’t need cords slithering down your wall? I received you, man.

The 16-inch Ezvalo Image Gentle exceeded my expectations. At simply $28, this cordless, USB-C-powered gentle is tremendous simple to put in; options three colour temperatures; greater than adequately illuminates my paintings even at its dimmer settings; and lasts between 13 and 60 hours, relying on the brightness setting you select.

The sunshine bar attaches to its mount with a robust battery and is definitely eliminated for recharging. I adore it. And it doesn’t look low cost regardless of its low cost value.

PhoneLock Professional – Retractable Anti-Theft Cellphone Holder

PhoneLock

I had my cellphone pick-pocketed in Mexico Metropolis this 12 months. It was a basic distract/bump/snatch gambit. The criminal stole it proper from my entrance pocket.

I vowed by no means once more, and after testing a number of anti-theft cellphone tethers, I made a decision the $20 PhoneLock Professional is the most suitable choice on Amazon.

The idea is straightforward. You sandwich a PhoneLock attachment between your cellphone and cellphone case, proper above the charging port. That attachment then connects to the PhoneLock’s retractable tether, which you connect to your entrance belt loop.

Your cellphone is now reliably leashed to your individual, and it’s simple to drag it out of your pocket all through the day. I’m positive a criminal may nonetheless steal the cellphone in the event that they yanked actually laborious on the retractable twine. However by that point, you’ll know you’re being robbed, and you should use your mad combating expertise as wanted.

Consumer critiques say the PhoneLock can be good for “festivals” the place cellphone theft is rampant. OK, GenZ.

Worx Zipsnip Cordless Electrical Scissors

Foundry/Jon Phillips

We within the tech-testing sport break down lots of cardboard packing containers, and for many of my profession I’ve accomplished that with a utility knife. However this 12 months, TikTok turned me on to a complete new product class: cordless electrical scissors. This $43 specimen—the Worx Zipsnip—has a battery-powered rotating blade that slices by cardboard and blister packs with a satisfying whir. It’s very ASMR.

The Zipsnip is nice for reducing actually huge items of cardboard into smaller items, which suggests you may pack extra into the recycling bin. Plus, it’s kind of enjoyable to Zen out and minimize issues. Such is the fact of getting older.

Milwaukee Fastback Press and Flip Utility Knife

Jon Phillips/Foundry

Who am I kidding! I nonetheless love a very good utility knife, and this $20 Fastback Press and Flip mannequin from Milwaukee is excellent. Push the button and it opens with one hand. It’s received a wire stripper, and with the press of one other button, you may change the blade with no different instruments essential.

A belt clip assures you’ll by no means lose it, and whenever you do lose it, you may see it from a distance as a result of it’s vivid crimson. Is it bizarre to get excited a few utility knife? I don’t care. This one taunts all of the utility knives you’ve ever used earlier than, daring them to match its greatness.

TCL 32-Inch Sensible TV

Jon Phillips/Foundry

I like, love, love my 55-inch LG OLED TV. It’s beautiful… and it goes in the lounge. However typically a dude wants extra of a “burner TV”—one thing small, low cost, and really low-commitment for the storage or house gymnasium.

So, let me suggest the 32-inch TCL S3 Sensible TV for simply $150. It’s received a 60Hz, 1080P show that’s completely serviceable, and comes with Hearth TV OS for simple entry to all of the streaming apps.

The TV has been a sport changer throughout exercises downstairs. Most frequently, I play podcasts on YouTube. For instance, The Watch (above), staring Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald, two remarkably considerate TV critics. Nevertheless it’s additionally good for music video playlists (shout out, Rolling Quartz). Or typically I simply play Deadwood or Band of Brothers as “background reveals.”

Larksound Small Sound Bar

Jon Phillips/Foundry

A burner TV wants an appropriately burner-caliber soundbar, as a result of these music movies I reference above ought to nonetheless sound higher than a conveyable AM radio from 1979. I went with the Larksound Small Sound Bar (attractive identify, proper?) which prices a “positive, what the hell, why not” value of $35.

It’s 16 inches broad and rated for 60 watts. It has some audio system inside. There’s additionally a distant to decide on EQ modes: Music, Film, Voice, and Regular.

OK, now cease asking questions! Man. It’s not the perfect soundbar on the planet, however improves the tiny TV’s audio sport by about 10x.

Apple Watch Sequence 10

Jon Phillips/Foundry

For years I used to be a mechanical watch snob. I didn’t need a display screen on my wrist. I needed a phenomenal marriage of artwork and engineering. Then I found the attraction of private information monitoring (sleep, steps, coronary heart charge principally) and I used to be off to the races with FitBit smartwatches.

However every little thing modified final July. Getting increasingly more dissatisfied with Fitbit’s app and sleep monitoring, I did my analysis and located Apple Watch has a number of the greatest wrist-based sleep monitoring obtainable (shout out, The Quantified Scientist). However would I be OK with Apple’s pathetic battery life? May I deal with the every day recharging? I made a decision to take an opportunity.

Seems the Apple Watch Sequence 10 at $364 is the wearable to beat. I’m assured the sleep monitoring is extra correct than different wrist wearables, and as a smartwatch, it enhances the iPhone expertise a lot, significantly better than the Fitbit Versa.

The Sequence 10 has develop into certainly one of my favourite tech purchases of 2025, and it seems that charging the watch every day, as quickly as I wake, isn’t a trouble.

Cella Crema Da Barba Shaving Cream

Cella

I’ve been shaving since I used to be 12 years outdated, and for almost all of my tenure I used to be dumping cash on disposable blades and cans of shaving cream. Then I found the rewards of old-school security razors and artisan shaving soaps. Not solely do you get a better shave, you finally save some huge cash, and don’t pad the coffers of Schick and Gillette, the dual titans of Huge Shaving.

Even in the event you’re too rooster to make use of a straight blade or security razor, you may stick to disposable cartridges and baby-step your manner into artisanal shaving with Cella’s Crema Da Barba. This components lathers up extraordinarily nicely, and smells superb with almond and cherry notes.

The reward field pictured right here even consists of the requisite shaving brush—and as an additional bonus, everybody who makes use of your lavatory will see the outdated Italian man on the packaging and ask, “What is this?” For those who simply need the shaving cream itself, it’s a really inexpensive $14.69 on Amazon. Simply bear in mind, you’ll nonetheless want a brush.

Communicate language studying app

Jon Phillips/Foundry

I’ve accomplished Duolingo. It’s enjoyable and high-quality, however it’s extra of a language-learning sport. I’ve additionally tried Pimsleur (too troublesome and inscrutable) and Jumpspeak (gradual, irritating UI).

I lastly landed on Communicate as my most well-liked language-learning app as a result of it’s filled with so many entry factors for studying the nuances of language. Completely different modules enable you to construct vocabulary, enhance pronunciation, and follow in simulated, AI-driven conversations.

The Communicate UI is intuitive, partaking, and reliably responsive, and that’s particularly crucial whenever you’re within the AI free speak mode. The annual Premium membership is at present $84, and lets English audio system be taught Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Korean.

Communicate is unquestionably tougher than Duolingo, however it seems like rather more like a real-world curriculum, with a way to enhance by publicity to native audio system (nonetheless AI they might be!).

FlexiSpot C7 Workplace Chair

Jon Phillips/Foundry

I gained’t even attempt to lie: I moved the C7 workplace chair, $299 direct from FlexiSpot, into the lounge as a result of my house workplace was too cluttered for a very good {photograph}. However let that be an affidavit to the chair’s consolation. It makes me really feel comfy sufficient in my house workplace to, … wreck my work-life steadiness and watch my work area flip into Sanford and Sons.

I’ve gone by no fewer than 4 different workplace chairs within the final 20 years, and the FlexiSpot C7 is the primary I’d fortunately purchase a second time. It ships direct to your property, and you must assemble it your self, however this retains prices down. On that time, it’s a really agency, comfy, ergonomically sound chair for its value.

The C7 provides close to limitless adjustment prospects, and has glorious lumbar help (my important requirement). I like the arm rests, and it even reclines into full kickback mode (although I don’t know why anybody would need to). I’ve been utilizing it for about two years now, and it nonetheless feels as strong as Day One.

Hell, I believe Boomers would really like the C7—as soon as they get previous complaining in regards to the meeting directions. Switch me to your supervisor.