The Real Man Travels 2016 Father's Day Gift Guide

The Real Man Travels 2016 Father's Day Gift Guide.

We here at Real Man Travels consider ourselves experts of sorts when it comes to buying gifts for Dads. With 60% of our staff being dads, and 100% of us having fathers you could say we have the required experience to make such a bold claim. Without further delay here is this years gift guide:

Gift Ideas from Ed

1. BBQ Light 

If your dad is anything like mine, then drinking in the sunlight trumps cooking in the sunlight. For the dad who doesn’t spark the grill until 8:30-9:00pm a BBQ light is the solution to night time cooking. These come in a variety of styles, the most common being an attachment to the BBQ’s handle. You can pick one up for as little as $10, just remember you get what you pay for!

Grill anytime with Weber BBQ light

2. Mounted Beer Opener 

You could take the easy route and buy a pre-made mounted beer opener for your dad. Or you could finally show off all the skills your dad taught you throughout the years by making him a custom one. Look around the interwebs for any opener that suits your needs and get out into the workshop to make a custom mount that your dad will not only be proud of, but use every day! My tips for this gift is to have a cap catcher on it and tie in some elements that speaks to your Dad, favourite sports team, favourite brand of beer, etc. Bonus if you end up making one that your Mom doesn’t mind having on the wall.

Mounted beer opener available on Etsy.

3. Secrid Wallet 

It is time for your old man to lose the bulky wallet system he currently has (he probably still has a Blockbuster membership card in there). Bring your old man into the present with Secrid’s line of sleek and sexy wallets. I’ve personally been using the Slimwallet for almost a year now and people always look at me when I press the button to slide my cards out like I have some space age contraption. The main compartment can hold 5-6 cards and it has slots for an additional 6. There is also a plastic fold for any cash your Dad may need to carry. The best part is the amount of pocket space that is freed up, and how much more comfortable sitting for long periods has become.

Secrid Slimwallet in Brown

Gift Ideas from Sam

1. Gillette Shave Club 

About a year ago I used a gift guide to recommend dollar shave club, So what's changed you ask? Up until recently if you wanted a razor delivered to your door you were restricted to Dollar Shave Club. Finally an entry from a major name in men's grooming is entering the subscription razor market, and I am in favour. I would describe myself as someone with sensitive skin, so other than finding a barber to offer a straight shave, the Gillette fusion was the pinnacle for me. Quite frankly my first shave was with a Mach 3, and it still might be the best shave on the market. Gillette Shave Club options are available on a subscription basis, as well as the most recent addition, the fusion ProShield, offering lubrication before and after the blades. for as little as $16.99 every 5 months (Gillette's cartridge may last up to one month each depending on your shave schedule) you can send your "Old Man" the best a man can get.

Gillette Shave Club package, the best a man can get.

2. Solar Powered Bluetooth Speaker

Bluetooth Speakers have been all the rage for over a year now. With every passing month they have been made smaller, longer lasting, more colourful, more powerful and even waterproof . Well now there's even solar for the dad who enjoys the outdoors. Now he can enjoy enjoy soaking up the rays while pumping out the kind of music that embarrasses you in front of your friends.

Eton solar powered Bluetooth speaker

3. Beer and Meat 

Sometimes it's the simple things that bring us the most joy. Plus, what dad doesn't enjoy grilling steaks while sipping back a cold one. Vegans and vegetarians, that's who. Alright, so there's a few dad's this won't work for, but if your dad is the carnivorous type, pick up some T-bones, or tenderloins, and pair it with a 6 pack of his favourite beer, and you'll be good to go.

MEAT!

Gift ideas from Chris

1. Muskoka Brewery's SummerWeiss

Is your dad a Weiss man? If so then he will love this unfiltered nectar of the gods.  If you are unsure of his taste get him a beer mixer pack, you're bound to get one or two that he will like

Muskoka Brewery Summerweiss

2. A Super Sweet Hawaiian shirt

If your dad has a good sense of humour and a terrible sense for fashion, BOOM! Perfect gift. Just promise me one thing, make sure that you get him a shirt that fits him properly. Everyone will at least thank you in advance for that.

A Hawaiin Shirt...actually looks good!

3. Matching Kid and Dad outfits

I may be a huge sucker for cuteness but I love matching my kids sometimes. Sometimes it feels like we are Luke and our little one is Yoda on our back. Or we are Arnold and he or she is Danny Devito. Or in this instance we are Maverick with your partner goose. Totes Adorbs.

Matching Dad and kids clothes

Gift Ideas from Scott

1. Power washer 

Dads like to keep their stuff clean. Cars, patio, siding, lawn mower – Dads know they all look, feel and function better when well maintained. Don’t worry, a power washer won’t be looked upon as a judgement of the current level of maintained cleanliness, or as an implication of work expected; it will be valued as a secret acknowledgement, a carefully directed wink and gun if you will, of Dad’s manly value of steadfast meticulousness.

Power wash all the things!

2. Undershirts

Dads have a lot on the go. They also tend to hate shopping for anything that doesn’t have 250+ horsepower or 80,000+ BTUs. Thus, Dads tend to wear underwear past its best before date. Consider picking up some high quality small clothes for the man who tackles the big stuff with ease.

If you must walk around the house with no pants on Dad, please look good doing it!

3. SoundTouch® 520 home cinema system from Bose 

For those who really want to make Dad happy, consider automating his life with a sweet home entertainment system from Bose. Give Dad the gift of controlling his music from anywhere in the house, including the backyard and garage. I’m not saying you’re going to win kid-of-the-year for this, but, really, you probably will.

Loud noises thanks to Bose.

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The Anatomy of a Great Shave

A post by Scott F

It’s not every day you get to talk with a thirteenth generation sword maker about blades… let alone essential oils, ginger root and “lubricity.” We were introduced to Randy Weyersberg at the Gentlemen’s Expo in Toronto a few weeks ago, where he wasn’t shy when asked to unsheathe one of his family’s handmade sabers for us to admire.

Randy was representing King’s Crown, who have used 500 years of Wyersberg family sword making experience to move into the domain of hand crafted cut throat razors, which they’ve been making for over 100 years. “These are real shaving instruments,” Randy remarked when I talk to him again following the expo. “You cannot make quality cut throat razors with a machine. A craftsman has to grind it by hand and hone it by hand, then you have to strop it by hand every time you use it. It’s an instrument that hasn’t changed in 200 years.”

At the expo, along with showing off their infamous straight blades, King’s Crown launched their line of men's skin care products, stylish safety blade handles and accessories. The handles are really what brought us in. Made of resin, wood, nickel, and even ox horn and antler, these handles, which actually work with standard Gillette Mach III and Fusion cartridges, add all kinds of style to the regular monotony of retail shaving products. Marianne, partner and co-founder of King’s Crown, explained that these stylish razors, along with their other accessories, allow men to carve out their own place on the bathroom counter.

Man Island on the bathroom counter

Randy and Marianne agreed to send one of these fancy razor handles along with their three step facial care line for me to try. For a guy who’s only ever used bar soap and shaving gel, the Enriched Papaya Enzyme Facial Cleanser, Ultra-Rich Shaving Cream and Enriched Vitamin C Moisturizer were a tad daunting. So I decided to chat with the expert, Randy, about what it takes to achieve a great shave, and this is what he told me:

Make it a ritual

Many men consider shaving a chore, something to be “gotten through.” Randy explains, “The marketplace has made shaving all about the convenience, get it done fast. The reality is, people have lost touch with what is the most important aspect of achieving a great shave, that it’s actually step-oriented. It’s a ritual. Three steps, pre-shave, shave and post shave.”

It’s all about lubricity, which means shave cream, not foam or gel

Having only ever used foam or gel, I was surprised to receive a shaving cream in my package. “Foam and gel are predominantly convenience products,” Randy explained. “They are made with a lot of air, which creates bulk. Just like how Coke created the vision of Santa Clause, marketing has created this belief that you need this enormous lather on your face. We worked with formulation experts and found that lubricity is the key to a great shaving experience. Lubricity is slide, the thin barrier between the sharp edge of the blade and your face and it is best achieved when your minimize water and air. When you talk cream, you talk extract and essential oils that not only achieve the optimal lubricity through ingredients like glycerine and cocoa butter, but also add conditioning properties that help avoid irritation.”

Avoid irritation and discomfort

All of the King’s Crown products are infused with ingredients like eucalyptus, menthol and ginger root to help avoid discomfort and actually treat your skin. “The reason why so many men say they don’t like shaving," explained Randy, "is largely because of discomfort. It can hurt! Particularly for those who have sensitive skin, or who are prone to ingrown hairs or razor burn, it can be very uncomfortable.  That’s why it’s great to get all the feedback we’ve been getting – ‘love the shave, not only was it close but it was irritation free, no razor burn!’ That’s why we make our ultra-rich shaving cream.”

Choose products that are made for you

How many of us guys have used our partners silky, lavender-scented, pink packaged moisturizer or body wash in a pinch? “Our products are a reflection on what men have had to do to have a positive grooming experience. They’ve had to compromise. We want to design the experience for men and give them options. Why do I have to rely on women’s products when I’m trying to look after myself? That why our mission is to create an unforgettable grooming experience for men, only.”  

And Randy explained that it’s not just about products that are for men, but for specific men. “We aim to meet the needs of different men. One of our lines is called oil defense which is for individuals prone to blemishes. We also have the ageless line, which is designed for more mature skin; primarily for age 40 plus, when skin typically has less moisture.”

I followed Randy’s advice in shaving off my Movember mustache with my new razor. Having shaved my whole life, I didn’t have high expectations that following the steps would make a huge difference. I was wrong. The cream made the shave so much smoother and the cleanser and moisturizer made my skin instantly softer. Having now shaved with the products for over a week, the irritation that used to appear on my neck has disappeared. In fact, the discomfort I used to think was just part of the process, is gone. Amazing what a little self-care can do!

Near the end of our conversation I asked Randy what the market was like for high-end shaving products. He explained: “In a world that is less tactile, less touch-oriented because of digital technology, there is almost a resurgence of what was old, things from our grandparents generation, things that were more tactile. Our parents wanted value (i.e. lower price) and convenience; quality and performance seemed to have skipped a generation, but now are coming back.”

Check our King's Crown at: kingscrown1774.com. Share your tips for a great shave in the comments section below. 

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