Christmas gift ideas for athletes
Another year, another season, here are some gift ideas for the Holidays!
Click here to see my 2019 list!
Last year I posted about what gifts to buy triathletes, and this year I’m doing the same thing, but with a bit broader perspective as I’ll cut the three sports up as individuals as well. So this blogpost should be named:
“Gifts ideas for swimmers, cyclists, runners and/or triathletes for the holiday season of 2015”
But that is a bit too long to fit properly on my website so I opted for the abbreviated version. But anyway, as always everybody has a budget, but I’ll try to give some options. If you have any suggestions yourself, drop a comment below, maybe you’ll make somebody very happy! Let’s start with the first discipline, swimming
Gifts for swimmers
AudioFlood Waterproof Ipod was one of my first reviews and still I love it. The waterproof iPod makes me forget the boring lanes in the pool. Not advised for open water swimming though. Pick it up for $140 on Amazon.
If you’re a swimmer who usually wears ear plugs but don’t enjoy music or have to listen to a coach, have a look at SwimEars. These ear protection plugs allow you to keep your ears dry without losing much of your hearing. Great for squad sessions when you want to still be able to hear what the coach is saying.
Gifts for Cyclists
If you’re looking for a cycling computer, the Garmin 520 ($200 on Amazon) has some really nice features, including Live Strava segments! If you are an a tighter budget, consider buying the Bryton Rider 310 ($77 on Amazon). It’s a very complete computer, just no maps or strava and not as shiny.
Garmin Varia Lights – They may be a bit pricey compared to basic lights, but these smart lights come with some special features. The front light can adjust its angle depending on the speed. So the faster you go, the further ahead it will cast its beam of light. A feature which is actually very useful. The other features are that th etai llight (when paired with a Garmin Edge) will adjust brightness to the conditions and function as a break light too. You can using the tail light as turn indicator (when you have two).
Rear $70 on Amazon
Front $190 on Amazon
Bundle $247 on ProBikeKit
If you already have tri bars, have a look at the Profile Aqualite Aero Bottle for tri bars ($18 on Amazon). Aerodynamically designed bottle which you can easily refill during a race. These is about the most popular bottle I’ve seen around.
Gifts for Runners
For runners you can have a look at some nice headphones called the Jabra Sport Pulse ($95 on Amazon). Jabra has a set that includes a heart rate monitor (Bluetooth based so not Garmin compatible). If you don’t need the heart rate, have a look at the Jabra Sport Wireless for $43 on Amazon. Both of these are ‘plug in ear’. But you can also get some very nice Philips Phyton headphones which are amazingly light, affordable and comfortable for $30 on Amazon.
Nathan has some nice lights available, for instance the Light Bender ($14 on Amazon). A wrap around light with great visibility.
Looking for a watch? Have a look at the Garmin Forerunner 225 ($198 on Amazon). A very light watch with built in heart rate monitor and HR-zone gauge. An absolute pleasure to run with!
Gifts for Triathletes
Obviously for triathletes all of the options mentioned above or great ideas as each discipline is usually trained separately. But if you want to give something that can be used on all the disciplines it’s mostly expensive, but you can thing of the following:
A multi sports watch. There are three main brands, Garmin 920XT (with HRM for $312 on Amazon), Polar V800 (with HRM for $329 on Amazon) and Suunto Ambit 3 (with HRM for $254 on Amazon). With three top watches. The choice of which watch depends on personal preference. Read about the Garmin 920XT here, the Polar V800 here and the Suunto Ambit 3 here.
You can also have a look at the list I made last year.
P.S. I need a better photo to go with this post!
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