It’s no secret that men are impossible to buy gifts for. And when it comes to the urbane yet rugged adventurer—the sort who is resolute and annoyingly self-sufficient—characterful accessories, head-turning toys, and useful stocking stuffers can be elusive. But here’s what we’d recommend that the man of means and taste put in a letter to jet-set Santa to help him cut a dash on journeys across land, sea, and air. If only he would listen!
You’re going away for the holidays, and a stopped watch is wrong 1,438 minutes a day. Before leaving home, place all your precious timepieces in a watch-winder safe so they’ll be secure and their automatic movements will be ticking perfectly upon your return. Rapport’s Savoy safe even offers fingerprint access. And while you’ve left the Rolex, the Chopard, and the F. P. Journe at home, wear the no-nonsense Omologato Dakar chronograph instead. It is designed to be worn on the world’s toughest desert rally, so you have your choice of a khaki or sand-colored nylon strap.
You’ll also need luggage for your travels, naturally. A gentleman packs light and doesn’t require wheels. Patricia Gucci’s Aviteur bags are timelessly elegant, especially the Cristallo weekender in walnut. Don’t forget your passport. Keep it in Métier’s Indiana Jones Runaway clutch bag, which works well on its own or clips into a larger bag so one can have his whip and pistol hands free.
The weather is unpredictable where you’re going. A vest is a versatile base layer, and this reversible Air Mail x Marfa Stance item—a collaboration between this fine journal and former Burberry designer Georgia Dant—looks just the ticket in town and country. Likewise, direct from one of London’s most charmingly eccentric shops, a James Smith & Sons umbrella knows no equal in a downpour.
Winter can be a harsh mistress. The Rivay Somerset double-breasted officer’s greatcoat imparts the cozy feeling that it may have been inherited from a great-grandfather in the merchant marine. It’s made with merino wool from Fox Brothers & Co, a 250-year-old fabric mill in the west of England that has found favor with Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, and the current King.
If you go properly off-grid, take the fetching, Maharishi-designed Cave tent, by German outdoor supplier Heimplanet, which is inflatable and extremely stable, thanks to its geodesic-dome construction. Out in the wild, you mustn’t go without your Craighill folding Rook knife, which is a lesson in distilled design. And to capture nature, what better than a brace of Leica optics? Its Noctivid 8x42 binoculars would be beloved by the most well-heeled spy, while the limited-edition M6 Set Leitz Auction camera, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the vintage photographica sale, is nothing less than a work of art. It features walnut-veneer armoring and is nobly engraved in gold and red.
One should travel independently and under the radar. When it comes to the sea, no one will see you coming behind Geneinno’s S2 underwater scooter. This compact and easy-to-use thruster motor will have you keeping pace with parrotfish and will dive to a depth of 98 feet. Above the waves, try getting air on an Awake electric surfboard.
Few destinations are as indebted to the humble motorbike as Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City’s Bandit9 workshop builds the most stunning custom café racers around humble Honda small-capacity motors. The Eve Odyssey looks like it’s arrived from the edge of space and, sure enough, it uses the same grade aluminum as NASA. A 125-cc. engine has never looked more alien. What should you give the grease-streaked rider as a stocking stuffer? Perhaps some of Christophe Pourny’s Very Dirty Hands soap.
For the younger petrolhead, the Little Car Company’s officially approved, scaled-down, and hand-built vintage Bugattis, Ferraris, Aston Martins, and Bentleys are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and I checked with the company’s C.E.O.: few are finding their way into children’s hands. These (up to) 45-m.p.h. mini-masterpieces are the latest craze among wealthy car collectors.
If you like your classics “reimagined” and full-fat, though, show me a motoring connoisseur who wouldn’t be delirious at the sight of the RML Short Wheelbase. It is essentially Ferrari’s coveted 250 SWB, born in 1959 and now rebooted for the 2020s, with Apple CarPlay, a differential that won’t try to kill you, and headlamps that work, but still with a glorious Ferrari V12 up front. Only 30 are being built, priced at an eye-watering $1.65 million. At least the accessories are attainable. A pair of Dents driving gloves and these Cutler and Gross sunglasses would look on point while working an open-gated gearshift.
Back on the water, how does a luxury hydroplane boat sound? Alpha-Centauri is the first boat builder to bring such a sports boat to the leisure market. It’s capable of up to 60 knots. In matte black, this thing looks like it got lost on the way to the Batcave. The yacht club may not approve of your new toy, but you can try and class it up by hitting the harbor in a pair of Sea Star Beachwear’s Mariner slip-ons.
Why stick to sea or land when you can plow through both in the same vehicle? The Sherp is a remarkable Ukrainian amphibious hero that can traverse pretty much anything. Over the last decade, the company attracted the patronage of oligarchs and rappers (Kanye owns 10), but since the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it has diverted its efforts to getting them into the hands of rescue organizations.
Meanwhile, flying cars are no longer the stuff of fiction. The AeroMobil is a cloud-commuting machine you can park in your driveway, converting from road to air mode in under three minutes, and with 430 miles of flight range. Following 33 years of development, this ultimate reach-for-the-stars gadget has finally gone on sale.
Every man fancies himself a bit of a globe-trotting secret agent and wants to be self-reliant. But he must be made to realize that every James Bond needs his Q, and it’s quite all right to ask for help, especially during the season of giving.
Adam Hay-Nicholls is the author of Charles Leclerc: A Biography and Smoke & Mirrors: Cars, Photography and Dreams of the Open Road
