need present idea for 27 year old guy? (1 Viewer)

I need b'day present ideas for a friend of mine in the $40 - $100 range. Any ideas....I'm completely out of any.


He's a 27 year old techi, heavy into computers, volleyball, racing motorcycles, and video games. He already has almost any Xbox or PC game you can think of (including xbox live), so those are out.

He often gets free Cubs and Sox tickets through his job and a number of have season tickets to several Nascar speedways, so that's out as well.

I thought about getting him a portable breathalizer and a bottle of scotch, but that would push it up to about $200, which is more than I really want to spend.

He has a girlfriend which normally helps with ideas, but she is at a loss this time as well. Damn, it is so hard to come up with good present ideas....and I hate to give presents that just sit on a self or aren't used.

Any suggestions? Please post links to specific items if you have them.

I bought a portable breathalyser off Ebay for $30, I think that would make an excellent gift.

I'd have to get one that went to three decimal places, since there have been several bad reviews of the ones that only go to two decimal places. The legal limit in most states is 0.08 (or something close). The ones that only go to two decimal places have two problems: 1. they round 2. they all get out of wack and need to be calibrated, the error is much larger in the two decimal place ones.

All the ones on ebay only go to two decimal places, and the three decimal place breathalizers online are all $110+.

I'm a 28 year old male, and my favourite sub-$100 presents that I've received in the last couple of years were:

-Scalextric '69 Sunoco Camaro (one of them big 1/32 scale slot cars -- I have a track and love it, if he's in to those things you might want to look for a kit with some track and a couple of cars. There's a good looking kit coming from Scalextric that's based on the Italian Job movie. All the new Scalextric cars are both phenomenally detailed and run great)

-Toronto Blue Jays jersey. Pick his favourite sport, team and player and get him a customized one.

-a pair of "Birkis": they're vivid orange Birkenstock clogs, incredibly comfortable and really silly-looking. They come in a number of different colours.

-Star Wars Lego. I was given the X-Wing, which totally rocks, a couple of years ago, and got a bunch of small sets this year.

Weed.

How about a nice detailed model of his favorite motorcycle? I've always liked some of the little models you can get directly from the manufacturer or cheaper aftermarket. I have an MR2 Spyder and think it would be cool if I could find a model in green, most of the ones I've seen are red. I guess I'd have to find one that I can paint but they should be under $100 and it would be cool to put on your desk.

Jay

The motorcycle model is the only suggestion so far that I think he might like, but he is stand-off-ish about what his favorite bike is, so it's a little hard to do.

Benchmade makes some very nice, high-quality utility knives. For $75 you can get him something that he can use for a lifetime.

what kind of bike does he have? there's ALWAYS something he needs. Ask him what kind of tires he prefers and buy him a new front or rear tire if he races or participates in track days I guarantee he ALWAYS needs tires

Since he's a computer guy ...
I think this watch with 128MB Flash memory & USB connector is a very cool gift for $88.50


These Sony noise cancelling earbud headphones might also be nice for a motorcycle enthusiast ... but they're $110, unless you can find an amazon coupon.

Scott

you could be like seinfeld and get him....CASH?

CJ

Hit the used video game shops and buy him one of those Nintendo 64's shaped like Pikachu.

Hire a stripper. Make sure it is a girl this time.

Where are these friends who spend that kind of cash on birthday gifts?

I agree with cash most. Guys don't think of it like you didn't put much thought into this gift did you. I really like cash that way I can get what I want when I want. Maybe something he really wants is $200 if you give him $100 he is that much closer to getting it.

Get him the P5 glove from Essential Reality. It's $79.99. If you do then give me a review of the product. I was thinking of getting this myself.

http://essentialreality.com/

Kurt, whenever I need gift ideas I check out www.surprise.com. It's full of suggestions broken down by price, personality, holiday.. etc...

My suggestion: electric nose-hair trimmer. He may not thank you right away.. but he will when he gets older.

The knife idea was good, but how about something like a Leatherman? Was at a wedding last year where the groom bought a Leatherman for his best man and the other gents in the bridal party.

http://www.leatherman.com/products/tools/default.asp

I recommend the 'Pulse' model. It has a great locking mechanism and a moderate variety of tools so that it doesnt look ridiculous.

Sam

Thanks for all the ideas. I really like the suprise.com website; it will be really helpful for other ideas.

I ended up going with a Nelson-Rigg Motorcycle cover and a few other small things.
http://www.motorhelmets.com/htm1/acc...rigg-table.htm