Looking for Father’s Day gift ideas? The big day is right around the corner, on Sunday 20 June. But don’t worry – we’ve got you and your dad covered. We’ve rounded up some inspiration in the form of suitable gifts that have been tried and tested in the Which? lab.
Every item we’ve listed here – from a chef’s knife to a dash cam – has scored well in our tests. We’ve picked products at a range of price points to suit everyone’s budget.
Although all of these products are tried and tested by our experts, the best way to see something’s right for your dad is to check in with our full, independent reviews before you buy.
Best and worst shops – thousands of shoppers reveal which retailers are worthy of your money, and which aren’t.
Father’s Day gift ideas £30 and under
Kew Gardening Gloves – £28
If your dad’s keen on pottering in the garden, he’ll appreciate a brand new set of gardening gloves. The best gloves we’ve tested will obviously protect his hands, but they’re also versatile enough to help him with a variety of different tasks.
We liked: Thick leather, fleecy lining
These gardening gloves are available from the Kew Gardens website and come in two different sizes. A thick leather construction means they should protect your dad’s skin if he’s tackling climbing roses, nettles, thistles or brambles.
Take a look at our advice guide on the best garden gloves to see how these gloves compare to alternatives from Gold Leaf, Kent & Stove and Show, or buy them now from the Kew website.
Regatta Kruza Chair – £23.50
Every dad appreciates a nice sit down, and you can treat him to one with this camping chair.
We liked: Stable and comfortable
Whether your dad’s into camping, fishing or could do with an extra chair when the family comes over for a BBQ, this camping chair will come to the rescue. It even comes with a handy bag and a built-in drinks holder.
See our round-up of the best camping chairs or buy it now – it’s cheapest at Outdoor Gear, and also available at Amazon and Camping World.
Honor Band 5 – £30
For sportier dads not overly concerned about smart features, this cheap fitness tracker could be just the ticket. Step tracking functionality means this wearable can encourage users to hit their daily movement goals.
We liked: Good screen, solid battery life, step and distance tracking
The Honor Band 5 has a touch-sensitive display and comes with a black, pink or blue silicone band. It’s compatible with both iPhones and Android smartphones and, as well as tracking step count, monitor distance covered and calories burned.
This affordable wearable also has a heartrate monitor and a handy ‘find my phone’ app for those prone to losing things.
Read our full Honor Band 5 review to see if you can grab a Which? Best Buy fitness tracker for less than £50. Alternatively, buy it now from Amazon.
Do you have a bigger budget to play with? For premium wearables crammed with smart features, see our selection of fitness tracker reviews.
Autoglym Scratch Removal Kit – £18
You can help dad keep the car looking its best with the right scratch removal kit. We’ve tested a selection of popular kits to see which options can make shallow scratches disappear quickly and effectively.
We liked: Contains scratch remover plus polish
This Autoglym bundle is sold as an all-in-one kit, so you get a couple of different items in the box: 100ml Scratch Remover, 100ml Super Resin Polish, a Hi-Tech Finishing Cloth and a Scratch Removal Applicator.
You can read our full Autoglym Scratch Removal Kit review by heading to our expert advice guide on the best car scratch removers. Or buy it now from Halfords.
Father’s Day gift ideas under £50
Amazon Echo Dot, 4th Gen – £40
With a voice-activated smart speaker, your dad can play his favourite music, keep up with sports scores and schedule calendar events.
We liked: Good sound quality overall, easy to set up (even if you’re not particularly tech-savvy), affordable
The temptingly cheap Amazon Echo Dot could be a contender if you think your dad would enjoy a smart speaker. Amazon’s spherical Echo Dot is powered by the Alexa voice assistant, which can deal with thousands of requests – it can play music, answer questions and even control other smart products including wi-fi light bulbs.
Read our full Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) review to see how this smart speaker compares to its rivals or buy it now from Amazon.
If you’re fairly new to the world of smart speakers, you might want to consult our guide on how to buy the best smart speaker. To learn more about the power of Amazon’s voice assistant, see our complete guide to Alexa.
Netgear EX6110-100UKS wi-fi extender – £35
A patchy internet connection is a real pain and, more often than not, it’s caused by being too far away from your internet router. With the right wi-fi extender, your dad can enjoy video calls anywhere in the house without worrying about the signal cutting out, instead of ringing you for advice on how to fix the internet.
We liked: Simple setup, affordable, supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies (5GHz offers faster speeds)
This wi-fi extender from Netgear aims to boost internet coverage in tough-to-reach areas of the home. The setup process is simple and easy to work through, which is ideal if your dad isn’t particularly confident with tech or prone to calling you for advice.
Once installation is sorted, he’ll see the Netgear wi-fi extender appear on his smartphone, tablet or PC under a new wi-fi network.
See how this wi-fi extender deals with internet streaming and file transfers with our Netgear EX6110-100UKS review. You can buy this wi-fi extender from Argos or Currys PC World.
Over in the Which? test lab, we’ve reviewed wireless routers, wi-fi extenders and wi-fi mesh systems. Discover the best of the best by browsing our wi-fi router and extender reviews.
Robert Welch Signature Cook’s Knife – £40
Chef’s knives are the most commonly purchased kitchen knife. You can help dad cook up a delicious feast by gifting him a kitchen knife that’s great for sharpness, ease of use and comfort.
We liked: Plenty of weight in the handle, wickedly sharp
This kitchen knife has a smooth, curved handle – it’s comfortable to hold, offers good control while chopping and keeps your fingers protected. During testing we noticed that this kitchen knife is back heavy, which means it holds more weight in the handle. It’s suitable for both left and right-handed home cooks.
You can buy this kitchen knife from Amazon or Lakeland. Alternatively, see which knives performed well with our guide to the best chef’s knives.
Father’s Day gift ideas under £100
Ring Stick up cam Battery – £70
If you want to help your dad make some home security upgrades, note that you can buy a wireless security camera (suitable for indoors and outdoors) for less than £100.
We liked: Simple to set up, wide range of features
This is a 1080p resolution wireless security camera from Ring that can be used indoors or mounted to a wall outside. The camera has night vision capability, which means it’s still able to capture footage in low light if it detects movement. This camera has a built-in microphone, which means your dad can talk through it to get the attention of a delivery driver.
Read our Ring Stick up cam Battery review for more details on key features. This camera is available from Amazon and Currys PC World.
(A 2020 Which? investigation into Currys PC World suggests the firm has an issue with how it handles complaints about faulty products. So do consider this before making a purchase.)
Discover which cameras score top marks for video quality and ease of use with our Best Buy wireless security cameras.
Nextbase 222X – £99.99
Owning a dash cam can give your dad peace of mind on the road. Choose a camera that records clear footage and it can help prove what happened in the case of a crash, or protect him from frustrating false claims.
We liked: Easy to mount to your windscreen, sharp footage
The Nextbase 222X has a 2.5-inch display and records in Full HD 1080p at 30 frames per second. This capable dash cam comes bundled with a rear-camera attachment, which means your dad can record the front and back of his car while traveling from A to B.
Thanks to an ‘Intelligent Parking Mode’, the dash cam will automatically start recording if his car is bumped in a car park.
To find out more on this Nextbase dash cam, see our Nextbase 222X review. Alternatively, buy it now from Argos.
If you buy a dash cam that doesn’t offer clear video, it might not be able to help you identify details such as number plates. Choose wisely and consult our full list of Best Buy dash cams.
Father’s Day gift ideas under £200
Garmin Venu Sq – £150
A versatile smartwatch can help dad to track exercise sessions, heart-rate, sleeping patterns and, in some cases, make wireless payments.
We liked: Great battery life, host of smart features, GPS-based distance tracking
This smartwatch could be a suitable gift if you’re buying for somebody that’s fairly confident with technology. The Garmin Venu Sq has a host of fitness-tracking features, including GPS and a heart rate monitor. There’s a small colour touchscreen and two phyiscal buttons used to flick through the various menus.
The Garmin Venu Sq is compatible with both iOS and Android mobiles.
This smartwatch is available to buy from Amazon and John Lewis. Read our full Garmin Venu Sq review to see if this is one of the highest-scoring smartwatches we’ve tested.
Smartwatches are no longer luxury items, which means you aren’t forced to spend over £100 for a new model. To see which budget-priced wearables we rate highly, see our guide to the best cheap smartwatches under £100 and £200.
Swan Nordic One Touch SK22150GRYN – £125
If you think your dad’s kitchen is missing a capable, easy-to-use coffee machine, our expert coffee machine reviews will help you pick the perfect model.
We liked: Makes a tasty coffee, quiet, adjustable cup tray
This Swan Nordic ground coffee machine has recently returned from our test lab. It has a 1.7 litre water tank and a 500ml milk tank, so he’ll be able to make the family a few espressos and milky coffee drinks before he needs to refill it.
This model is sporting a simple yet classy design and has three physical buttons, a dial for frothing and a large temperature display.
For more information on how we got on during testing, see Our Swan Nordic One Touch SK22150GRYN review. If you want to grab it in time for Father’s Day, you can buy it now on Amazon.
Feature-packed coffeee machines can get expensive, so make sure you’re shopping savvy. Check in with our page on Which? Best Buy coffee machines.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/06/fathers-day-gift-ideas-what-to-get-the-dad-whos-really-difficult-to-buy-for/