Relax and take a deep breath. There’s still time to find Dad a gift. And not just any gift, like a tie or a boring wallet, but a gift that he’ll cherish and talk about for years to come. You just have to act fast. From rocking out to walking out, we’ve got you covered with the best headphones, fitness trackers, and more.
For more ideas, check out our Best Father’s Day Gifts. Our Mother’s Day picks would make good gifts for dads too. Don’t forget to check out our other guides, like Hiking 101 and Best Gifts for New Parents.
Updated June 19: We’ve added three new deals: A Kindle e-reader, a smart thermostat, and our favorite coffee grinder. We’ve also refreshed pricing and availability throughout this roundup.
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Health and Smartwatch Deals
WIRED contributor Simon Hill gave it an 8/10, WIRED Recommends because it offers health tracking features such as heart rate monitoring, ECG, and blood oxygen levels, all in a classic-looking design that doesn’t scream “smartwatch.”
The Jorn doesn’t have the most advanced fitness and health tracking features, but reviews editor Julian Chokkattu likes it for its intuitive UI and ease of use in spotting weather information, heart rate, and step tracking. Women’s sizing is also available for the same price.
Even upon a close look, it’d be hard to spot the Retro Pilot as a smartwatch, and yet it offers music playing controls, tracks step count, monitors sleep performance, and can even be configured to operate Dad’s phone camera when paired with his smartphone through the app.
We have mixed feelings on DNA test kits, but if you and your Dad understand and accept the potential implications of peering into his genetic history, Ancestry’s kits are among the most detailed on the market.
The Homelabs clock is my favorite sunrise alarm, not because it’s the most fully-featured clock on the market but because it does all the basics as well (or better) than sunrise alarm clocks costing several times its price. If Dad has a hard time falling asleep or waking in the morning, a sunrise clock could be just what he needs to ease his way into or out of bed.
Triple, flexible rotary heads ensure a close shave by following the contours of Dad’s face. Since it’s water-resistant, he can use it in the shower, as some people like to do when shaving. It also comes with an attachment for trimming up the edges of his beard, if he isn’t all-in on the completely clean-shaven look.
Audio and Music Deals
For a small speaker, the Roam is capable of a big sound that won’t distort at high volumes. That’s partly why it scored a strong 9/10, WIRED Recommends in our review. It offers not just Bluetooth connectivity but also Wi-Fi. Part of the speaker’s appeal is that it’s also the cheapest way to join the Sonos ecosystem of devices. This deal is also available at Target and Best Buy.
Fender’s Player series are my go-to recommendation for a Dad who wants a high-quality electric guitar that’s a step up from the entry-level axes but won’t break the bank. This model offers all the characteristic Strat chime and brightness with three single-coil pickups and a maple neck and fretboard.
The Beats Fit Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are one of our favorite workout headphones. Associate reviews editor Parker Hall calls them the best everyday headphones for iPhone users, thanks to their comfortable and secure in-ear fit and superb sound quality.
It’s not the biggest discount, but Apple AirPods Max rarely go on sale, and Hall says they’re the best wireless headphones he’s ever used. Their excellent sound and build quality snagged them an 8/10, WIRED Recommends in his review. Pricing varies by color.
Deals With Screens
The Go Portal (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a 10-inch display screen and can double as a Bluetooth speaker, but its standout feature is the smart camera automatically zooms and pans during video calls to make it look like there’s a personal camera crew at work. Meta is discontinuing it for consumer use but will keep it as a business device, so hopefully it will continue to get software updates.
Send Dad a digital photo frame to remind him of all the good times you’ve had together. The software will automatically choose similar photographs and display them side by side on the 1920×1200-resolution, 10.1-inch screen. You can ship Dad the frame and then surprise him by remotely uploading a bunch of photos of the two of you together through the Aura app.
The Totallee is one of our favorite iPhone cases because it offers a bump in scratch and drop protection over a caseless phone, but at only 0.02 inches thick it’s not chunky enough to make Dad feel like he’s carrying a brick. This case is compatible with MagSafe wireless charging. There’s also a case for the newer iPhone 13 if your dad has upgraded his phone recently.
MasterClass offers more than 150 online classes in 11 categories, taught by famous big names. He could take writing lessons from Joyce Carol Oates or science lessons from Bill Nye without ever having to leave the sofa. The Duo plans includes access to one account on two devices at the same time and lets the user download classes for offline viewing.
The three-lens starter kit is only $39 more than the two-lens kit, so you might as well spring for the extra lens. It includes an iPhone case that allows Dad to mount all three lenses that come with the kit. You can choose your combination of lenses, from fisheye to telephoto to macro lenses.
If Pops is notorious for cracking down on thermostat changes, this will be right up his alley. Nest’s intelligent thermostat will act like his sidekick, saving money and energy by adjusting a home’s temperature without negatively affecting the folks living inside. Brownie points may be awarded if you hand him tools while y’all install it together. This price is $5 higher than it was during Black Friday sales last year.
This basic e-reader earned second place in our guide to the Best Kindles. It lacks the page-turn buttons and modern charging capabilities of the more expensive Paperwhite, but the 2019 Kindle is still a capable little gadget. It has a backlight, and the 6-inch display is meant to look and feel more like paper than a screen. The battery lasts for weeks on end, and Dad will be able to fill it with hundreds if not thousands of books. No more lugging tote bags of nonfiction novels to the beach!
Home and Kitchen Deals
If Dad wants to give takeout the boot and get into cooking, this 17-piece set will form a solid basis for a kitchen loadout. From frying and sauce pans of varying sizes to a three-piece nylon cooking tool set, he’ll have everything he needs to become the household’s newest chef. Just remember to tell him to use that included deep fryer basket sparingly.
Whether he’s just getting into tea or likes sweet snacks, this gift set will last Dad a while. It has 20 tea bags, marmalade, lemon curd, scone mix, pastries, and more. As a nice bonus that most other Harry & David gift baskets don’t include, Dad will receive a few kitchen tools in this set, too: a ceramic tea pot and a bamboo honey dipper.
There’s nothing like a little gravity-assisted pressure to help Dad nod off. If he needs a little help falling asleep at night or if he just likes to cozy up on the couch, give him a weighted blanket in 10-, 15-, or 20-pound weights, all available for $99.
Electric kettles heat up more quickly than stovetop kettles, so if Dad is the kind of fella who wakes up and heads straight for his coffee or tea, speed up his mornings with this digital kettle. The gooseneck design allows for more control while pouring, if your pop is into making pour-over coffee.
Coffee is good hot, coffee is good ice-cold, but coffee is not good lukewarm. Make sure Dad never recoils from a sip of off-putting, room-temperature java again with this rechargeable mug that’ll let him keep his coffee (or tea) warm for up to 80 minutes. The temperature is adjustable from 120 to 145 degrees—the perfect temperature for good, steamy coffee.
Photograph: Amazon
For when Dad just needs a push-button cooker that he can set and forget while he goes about his day, the Foodi offers a laundry list of capabilities. This Instant Pot competitor does pressure cooking, air frying, steaming, slow cooking, yogurt-making, searing, sautéing, roasting, broiling, sous vide, and more.
Senior product reviewer Scott Gilbertson likes the Gevi because it meets two important criteria for an espresso machine: It’s made largely of metal, and it can reach 15 bars of pressure. And it does all of that at a budget price when many espresso machines cost a pretty penny.
This is the very best coffee grinder for most people. It’s usually pretty affordable, but this discount makes it even more attainable. There are several different settings for different brewing needs, and it won’t take up too much room on the counter either.
Outdoor Deals
Even cooking temperatures and burners that are easy to adjust make the Spirit II our favorite gas grill. It’s a little small for large families and lacks a side burner, but the porcelain-coated cast iron grill grates make up for it.
Ray-Ban’s classic Wayfarer gets all the attention, but the New Wayfarer is perfect for dads who might feel the original is too big. The New Wayfarer has slightly smaller lenses and is less canted forward, so Pop can have all the style in a sleeker package.
Bike helmets don’t have to detract from Dad’s style when he’s on two wheels. Portland, Oregon-based Nutcase makes some of the WIRED team’s favorite helmets, thanks to a range of gorgeous designs and Multi-directional Impact Protection (MIPS) that provides extra protection from rotational impacts.
Parker Hall gave the 7S an 8/10, WIRED Recommends due to its quality components and low cost (for an electric bike). It’s lightweight at 37 pounds, has seven mechanical gears, reaches a top speed of 18 miles per hour, and has a range of 20 to 40 miles per charge. Also, through June 20, Propella will throw in free shipping.
It can hardly be called cheap, but even the more affordable 52-watt version can reach a top speed of 38 miles per hour and go for up to 40 miles on a charge. For when a bicycle just takes up too much room in storage, the foldable Phantom V2 can be easily taken into Dad’s office or home.
Father’s Day Retailer Pages
If you’re still on the hunt, here are the full sale pages from some major retailers. We wish you luck!