By Kate Harvey
Writer | Kaituhi
I’m ashamed to say there have been a few Father’s Days on which my dad has ended up with the ol’ socks-and-chocs classic. He’s definitely the hardest person in my life to buy for.
If you’re in the same boat leading up to September 6, here are a few standout products we’ve found recently. They get the tick from our test team – and hopefully will get your dad’s tick too.
Delicious coffee at the press of a button
If you think Dad would like a coffee machine but wouldn’t appreciate the faff of using a manual one, check this out – it’s our favourite automatic option. With just the press of a button, it makes an excellent-tasting coffee. The price might throw you off, but it’s not hard to find it on special – you can often find it around the $600 mark.
A cheap but effective water blaster
Many years ago, when I was much younger and didn’t know better, I put an iron in a Mother’s Day gift guide. Needless to say, there was some feedback. At the risk of being accused of not having learnt the lesson, I reckon this waterblaster is a great gift! Sure, it might be giving Dad a subtle message he should get outside and clean the paths in time for summer – but I’ve seen some Instagram videos that make waterblasting look like a blast.
A versatile blender for culinary dads
If Dad loves to be in the kitchen, this Braun blender doesn’t just look impressive – it did excellently in our tests. He can make smoothies in the to-go bottles or whip up hot soup from cold ingredients. He’ll be able to play around with the frozen dessert setting to fine-tune some fantastic desserts in time for summer and make nut butters using the “spread” function.
A compact charcoal BBQ
You’ll be gifting Dad some magical summer memories with this portable charcoal barbie. It was good at grilling in our tests, and clean-up was easy.
Excellent earbuds for under $100
These headphones are some of the highest-scoring earbuds, and they’re also really cheap. Dad’ll be able to listen to whatever he wants without getting hassled for his choice, because they leak hardly any sound. They can be voice controlled, and they have ambient sound mode, so he’ll still be able to hear what’s happening around him.
An easy-to-use Apple speaker
If Dad is an Apple guy, you could gift him this home smart speaker. He could use it on its own – it has good sound – or add another one to get stereo sound. It’s very easy to use, so you don’t need to be a tech wizard to get started with it, and it has voice assistance.
A high-scoring gas BBQ for under $500
We don’t think you can go wrong with this beauty. It’s a great little barbie for the price. Our members who have reviewed it agree. Martin says – “Some real design improvements and I’m very impressed”.
A smartwatch for dads on a health kick
There’s a long list of things we like about this smartwatch. Most importantly, you can rely on it to accurately track sleep, heart rate, distance travelled and steps taken. Doesn’t matter if Dad’s an Apple or an Android guy – it works with both.
One more gift idea! A Consumer NZ membership
When you give Dad a Consumer NZ membership, you’re giving him:
access to all our expert product tests and member reviews
access to the Consumer Advice Line whenever he needs help with a consumer issue
in-depth investigations and practical buying advice
a Consumer magazine to read and relax (with the Online + Magazine membership)
