Bullz-Eye.com 2010 Holiday Gift Guide: Guy Stuff
Holiday Gift Guide

Stuff to Buy Channel / Bullz-Eye Home

We have tons of great suggestions for dads, uncles, sons and brothers in our other guides, like Gadgets, Games, Movie DVDs and TV DVDs. Here we've added more cool stuff that you can use for gift ideas or to add to your own wishlist.

COOL STUFF
If you're looking for t-shirts and other sports gear that has an original and unique look, check out the clothing from Sportiqe. Their tag line is "reinventing the classics" and it fits the style of the apparel. Sportiqe sells NBA licensed apparel for all 30 teams and also makes NCAA licensed apparel as well as gear for a variety of large companies like ESPN (who sent us this cool "Full Contact Karate" vintage shirt). Along with t-shirts they have a wide variety of products like the Zip Up we reviewed earlier this year. The styles are totally different from what you'll find at the typical sporting goods store, so check out it for some great gift ideas. We recently reviewed some new basketball shoes that are designed to help players avoid ankle injuries and we came away very impressed. The shoes also look great, so they make a unique gift that has a practical purpose along with some great styling as well. This is a great gift for anyone who loves Playboy magazine and has boxes of old issues in their closets and garages. Bondi Digital Publishing has come out with a product that every Playboy fan will love – a USB portable device that gives users immediate access on their computer to every issue from that first iconic Playboy featuring Marilyn Monroe in December 1953, all the way to the December 2009 edition featuring Chelsea Handler – and every issue, award-winning article and advertisement in between. There are over 650 issues and more than 100,000 pages covering a span of 56 years.

The device is pocket-sized and very easy to use, and it's fun to browse through all the old magazines, especially the pictorials! Priced at $299.95 this isn't an inexpensive item, but there's a ton of value packed into this device (check out our full review). Collectors will love it, along with casual fans as well.

Everyone has a golfer or two on their list, and every golfer can stand to improve their short game. Enter SYNLawn's Portable Golf Greens and Fairway Mats. We'll be honest – these things aren't cheap: the 4'x4' Fairway Mat sells for $124.99 while the Portable Golf Green comes in at $139.99 for the 3x8 version, and $209.99 for the 4x10 model. But if your wallet can handle the hit, these mats are great ideas for golfers who want to tinker with their games throughout the winter months with some extra putting and chipping practice. Made with 100% nylon fibers to look, feel and, most importantly, act like natural grass, SYNLawn's mats provide a consistent, predictable ball roll and ideal ball lie conditions. We sampled the 3x8 putting green, which came with two cups and flags (the 4x10 version comes with three cups and flags). Admittedly, you won't be able to practice any long-range bombs on the smaller green but as any golfer knows, those eight-foot putts are just as important as any 28-foot putt, and if you want more green to work with, just bump up to the 4x10 version. Your favorite golfers will thank you when they're draining more putts than ever next spring!
GAG GIFTS
These guys make hilarious fake workout videos with beautiful models. Their shows have been massive hits on the web and on Time Warner On Demand, and they even won an award!

The Dudes recently provided us with an eye-popping expose of Bullz-Eye favorite, Holly Weber, working the balls. We asked the Dudes to give us a short paragraph about Holly's participation in Ballwork4Dudes. Their response, "she's in her underwear bending over balls." Ask a stupid question... Holly also appears in their sublimely ridiculous "Yoga4Dudes." No balls in that one, but she does do a LOT of bending.

These gifts make a great stocking stuffer. Get over to Stuff4Dudes.com, check out "Ballwork4Dudes", "Yoga4Dudes" and their latest "TubeTopPilates4Dudes."

MEN'S GROOMING
These guys are devoted to the perfect shave, and they have a wide variety of gift packages available featuring high-quality shaving products. You can find four kits available ranging from a $25 starter kit to a $150 Fusion Chrome Collection ProGlide Power Shave Set. Each of the kits includes The 4 Elements of The Perfect Shave®, which combine The Art of Shaving's aromatherapy-based products, handcrafted accessories and expert shaving technique to guarantee optimal shaving results while relieving and preventing ingrown hairs, razor burn, tough beard and sensitive skin. The Ultimate Skin Comfort System is a great gift for any guy who shaves on a regular basis. All wrapped up in one neat and colorful package, this is the kind of value men look for during the holiday season. The Schick Comfort System includes one Hydro 5 razor, four Hydro 5 cartridges and an 8.4 oz Schick Hydro Moisturizing Shave Gel. The Schick Hydro 5 razor sports five blades with Skin Guards to reduce irritation, giving you an incredible shave day after day. The new Hydro shaving gel has a moisturizing hydrant that hydrates and comforts your skin for a super shave every time! A perfect gift this holiday season. "Everything about Crown Shaving Company's new line of premium shaving and grooming products harks back to the days when barbershops were sanctuaries where a man could enjoy a hot towel, spirited conversation and the relaxing ritual of a smooth, comfortable shave." We took this from their marketing materials, but we tried the products and they lived up to the advanced billing. These products make a great gift for the guy looking for a unique and high-quality shaving experience. Electric razors are popular gifts around the holidays, so we're happy to recommend this one from Philips Norelco. As we mentioned on our review, we were very impressed with the new SensoTouch 3D 1250 electric razor. It has the same three floating heads you've come to expect from Norelco, and we were struck by how comfortable the razor was when shaving. The three-dimensional GyroFlex component made a big difference. The UltraTrack shaving heads pivot around, tilt inward, and flex outward to adjust to the curves of your face.

Guys don't mind practical gifts, so an electric razor is usually a safe choice for your dad, brother, etc. This one is easy to use and it produces a great shave, so you can't go wrong with this choice.

BOOZE

You can't go wrong with some quality liquor when buying gifts for the holidays. Whether you're wrapping them up or just bringing a bottle to a holiday event, most men appreciate a nice bottle to add to the bar over the holidays. Go to any liquor store and you'll find a wide variety of brands, and you will find something that meets your needs. We've listed some of our favorites that we tried over the past year.

We had some fun this summer trying out some samples of each of the Johnnie Walker Scotch labels below. You can choose among five different labels for Johnnie Walker, each with a different color. Check out the web site and you can choose the best one for you or the lucky gift recipient. After extensive taste testing, we're partial to Johnnie Walker Black Label and Johnnie Walker Blue Label, though all the labels were excellent.

Two hundred years in the making, Black Label is the signature blend from the House of Walker. Big whisky flavors with hints of rich fruit and smoke make this Scotch whisky the perfect gift for the father who stands strong as the cornerstone of his family. You can't lose with this one, and at a retail price of around $34 it won't break the bank.

If you're looking to spend a tad bit more, try the Blue Label which runs around $220. This is the rarest, most exceptional whisky from Johnnie Walker, and it's a good choice if you're looking for a more memorable gift. Just make sure you're around when he opens the damn thing!

Holiday Gift Guide The Captain celebrated his 375-ish birthday this past year, and you can't go wrong with this excellent brand if you're buying for a rum drinker. We featured the Captain and Cola as one of our drinks of the week, but as you know there are all sorts of great drinks you can put together with a quality rum like Captain Morgan, and it's a great way to spice up a holiday party. With Marisa Miller now on board as First Mate, what more could you want? If you really want to get a party going, you have to have some tequila, and the Cabo Wabo brand created by the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar is one of our favorites. The tequila is excellent, and the bottle have an excellent design as you can see from the photo above. Everyone will be thanking you as they're pouring more shots, though they may be cursing you in the moring!

Holiday Gift Guide

Back in July, Snoop Dogg teamed up with the folks at Landy to serve as a celebrity spokesperson for their cognac, at which point we summed up the news with the following equation: Snoop + LANDY Cognac = $WAGGER. That, however, was before we'd even had a chance to taste the stuff. Now that we have, we can confirm unequivocally that all of Landy's three predominant brands – V.S, V.S.O.P, and Désir – will all take your breath away…but, then, that's only if you're unfamiliar with just how strong an alcoholic punch cognac packs. (It hovers at around 80 proof.) Once you prepare yourself and sip the stuff accordingly, it's smooth as silk. The V.S. provides a nice blend of orange and grape flavors, while the V.S.O.P. takes the fruit that's already on the table and adds a bit of vanilla, along with a hint of oak. If you've got a little extra to spend, though, and you know someone who enjoys both the finer things in life and the coolest packaging around, then we'd have to recommend that you go with the Désir. Not only is the smoothest of the bunch, but it comes in a full-figured bottle that's decked out in a form-fitting red dress and matching hat. With this kind of presentation, it's a given that this beverage is strictly for true playas, but if you're a Bullz-Eye reader, then we know you qualify.

In last year's Holiday Gift Guide, we raved about Balvenie's 17-Year-Old Madeira Cask, a whiskey with a pricetag floating in the vicinity of $100. Although we can tell you from personal experience that it was worth every penny, we here at Bullz-Eye have been affected by the economy as much as anyone else, so we can understand if you don't have that kind of money to throw around at the moment. Fortunately, Balvenie's got something a bit cheaper to offer this year. Granted, if you've done the math, you know that the Doublewood has five years less age on it, but the combination of having been aged in two different casks – first a traditional whiskey oak cask, then an oak sherry cask – results in the same depth of flavor that you've come to expect from a bottle with the Balvenie name emblazoned upon it. The Doublewood has a sweet nose and creamy body, leaving a hint of sherry on the palate and a long, warm finish. Now, keep in mind that you're still looking at spending the better part of $50 to get yourself a bottle of this stuff, but just think of it as getting all the taste for half the price, and it'll be a very happy holiday, indeed.