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The best Father's Day gifts: Golf rangefinders, Xbox controllers, headphones, and more
Father's Day is approaching, and sometimes finding the right gift for the Dad in your life can be difficult. It's important to show Dad how much he's appreciated, but does he really need another bottle of cologne? To help you in your quest, I asked some of ZDNET's editorial team members which gifts they've gifted that received a certified ZDNET Dad-approved rating.
Also: The best tech for pet parents from auto feeders to smart litter boxes
Based on my research, here are some gifts we're confident your dad will love whether he's a gamer, an avid griller, a "could-be" golf pro, an on-the-go worker, or a legendary landscaper.
- Price: $200
- Features: Sweat and water resistant | Adjustable earhooks | Fast charging | Supports spatial audio
If your dad is like mine and loves to listen to music but never invests in a high-quality pair of headphones for himself, consider gifting him a pair of Powerbeats Pro earbuds. No matter if your dad is completing an intense workout, mowing the lawn, or is just vibing to some music, Powerbeats Pro make a great gift.
With quick charging and extended Bluetooth range, these wireless earbuds are perfect for busy dads who take plenty calls on their earbuds but forget to charge them every night. Powerbeats Pro come with a charging case, so Dad can pop the earbuds back in the case and be confident they stay charged.
- Price: $179
- Features: Precise | Sleek design | Extra-long range | Lightweight
My dad loves to golf. You know, he's one of those "I could have gone pro but..." and of course, I entertain that slightly exaggerated statement. But my dad truly feels like a pro when he uses his Hoto Tools Golf Laser Rangefinder. It's sleek and elegant in design, accurate within one yard, and gives instant feedback within half of a second.
Hoto Tools' Laser Rangefinder has modes for uphill and downhill slope compensation, which is an obscure and difficult metric for many golfers to measure. But with Hoto Tools' Rangefinder, my dad is confident that the device's measurement takes the hole's slope into account, meaning he can spend more time perfecting his backswing.
- Price: $229
- Features: Improved battery | Durable | Advanced sleep coaching
If Dad has been wanting a basic, yet functional and sleek smartwatch, consider buying him a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is great for those who don't want to spend a ton on a smartwatch, but still want to buy something nice for Dad.
This watch has advanced sleep coaching to help Dad keep track of how well he's catching those Z's. Additionally, Galaxy Watch 5 has a long-lasting battery and pairs seamlessly with other Galaxy devices, making it easy to keep up with apps and notifications across all devices.
Also: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Most importantly, Galaxy Watch 5 is fairly priced for a smartwatch. It's not as tech-heavy as the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, but if your dad is like mine, a simple man loves a simple watch.
- Price: $144
- Features: Sleek | Wireless | Durable
My dad isn't a pro gamer by any means, but he raves about his Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. Even though the Xbox Elite controller is wireless, the battery lasts for up to 40 hours of gameplay. The controller's components are super durable, surviving even the most difficult final level bosses my dad needs a YouTube walkthrough to complete.
You can save up to three profiles on the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, meaning if you share this controller with another person, you can easily switch between profiles. If you use the Xbox Design Lab you can create a highly-customized controller. My dad loves the paddles on the back of the controller that he has in green. They help him stay engaged in an intense game without having to take his thumbs off the front-facing buttons.
If Dad needs a controller upgrade, or if you want to get him something to level up his Xbox gaming setup, you can't go wrong with a brand new, shiny Xbox Elite Wireless Controller.
- Price: $249
- Features: 3D motion detection | Alexa-compatible | Real-time alerts
It never hurts to by Dad a new doorbell, especially one that allows him to monitor every person that comes onto his doorstep. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has improved 1536p HD+ video, 3D Motion Detection, and Bird's Eye View to give Dad an aerial view of his property.
Also: The best wireless doorbells you can buy: Google, Ring, and Nest compared
If Dad is hard at work at home, he can pair the Ring Pro 2 to an Alexa-enabled device for two-way talking, so he can greet (or intimidate) visitors without leaving his desk (or the couch). When Dad is on package-collecting duty, he can access a live video feed on a compatible Amazon device and receive an Alexa voice announcement when a person or package arrives.
Buy Dad a Ring Doorbell Pro 2 to give him some piece of mind and to help him remember to pick up that super important package on the porch.
- Price: $130
- Features: Heavy-duty | Rechargeable battery
If Dad needs some help staying organized, consider buying him a Brother PT-E300 label maker. With this heavy-duty gadget, he can label his miscellaneous items that he keeps around the house. The PT-E300 label maker is also great for unnamed items that live outside the house too, as the labels are tough and can handle wear-and-tear.
One of ZDNET's experts, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, enjoys his PT-E300 label maker because it's easy to use when wearing gloves and follows a QWERTY keyboard opposed to an ABCDE keyboard.
Review: Why I love my heavy-duty label maker so much
The PT-E300 label maker has a backlit screen, making it easy for Dad to label things in poorly-lit rooms, like a garage or shed. The printed labels can withstand weathering and chemicals, according to Kingsley-Hughes, making the PT-E300 a rugged gift for dads that like to stay organized.
- Price: $45
- Features: OLED display | App syncing | USB-C charging
If you have a DIY dad, he would probably consider a tape measure to be a tool he can't live without. But if he's like my dad, plenty of tape measures have gone missing or been broken and sent to the tape measure graveyard.
To mitigate this problem, my dad uses a Smart Laser Measurer from Hoto Tools. The Smart Laser Measurer can measure up to 98 feet and is accurate up to 1/16 of an inch. It has an integrated OLED display, which helps my dad see the measurements even in bright lighting. And with USB-C charging, he can reuse his current USB-C charging cables, eliminating the need to buy a cable for this device.
- Price: $34
- Features: Water resistant | Works on iPhone and Android | Long-range tracking
TV remotes, keys, wallets, earbuds, reading glasses, luggage, phones, and even his own kids (true story). You name it -- my dad has misplaced it. And I have spent many hours of my life helping him look for things that were either in his hand, in his pocket, in his truck, or in between the couch cushions.
For a quick, modern day solution, I bought my dad a Tile Pro to stick on the things he misplaces the most. Tile Pro can make your phone ring when you can't find it -- even if it's on silent mode, which is the feature my dad finds the most useful.
Tile Pro is water-resistant and can track items up to 400 feet, making it the perfect tracking device for even the most forgetful people. You can register your Tile Pro trackers in the Tile app to keep track of where they were last and the tracker's battery life.
And for $10 more, you can buy a 2-pack of Tile Pro trackers, so Dad can turn his top two misplaced items into trackable treasure.
- Price: $89
- Features: Long-lasting light | Portable | Waterproof
Here's a fact I'll shed some light on: Dads love really bright flashlights. If Dad is fixing something in the house, looking for the TV remote, or showing off his flashlight collection when the power goes out, consider adding the Olight Warrior Mini 2 to his flashlight lineup.
The Olight Warrior Mini 2 has a maximum output of 1,750 lumens with a 220-meter light beam distance. It can be used for every day carrying or for more tactical purposes with its six different modes.
Weighing in at only 4.2 ounces, the Warrior Mini 2 can fit in Dad's pocket or small tool bag. No matter if he's camping, hiking, tinkering, or helping out in an emergency, he's sure to enjoy the Olight Warrior Mini 2.
- Price: $59
- Features: Compact | Micro USB charging | Cordless
ZDNET's technology editor, June Wan, gifted his dad a Eufy HomeVac H11 handheld vacuum last year for Father's Day. June says this vacuum is best for small-scale vacuuming projects like, desk spaces, beddings, and the hard to reach places in a car, all without needing cables or cords.
The HomeVac's suction power of 5,500Pa allows June's dad to pick up dust, small debris, and crumbs stuck in any crevice or corner. He also enjoys that the HomeVac uses a Micro USB cable, the same cable he uses to charge his other electronic devices.
June's dad gives his Eufy HomeVac a four star Dad rating, saying that fifth star could be granted with a more ergonomic design that contours to his grip. If your dad can't resist eating in his car or at his desk and ends up getting crumbs everywhere, he'll thank you later once you gift him a Eufy HomeVac.
- Price: $99
- Features: Compact | Full-range Speakers | Wide and natural frequency
If Dad loves staying in and watching movies, a Vizio V-Series 2.0 sound bar can make his living room feel like an IMAX theater. Taylor Clemons, a ZDNET staff writer, bought their dad a V-Series sound bar to add more excitement to Monday Night Football.
But he also enjoys that the V-Series boosts the audio in any TV show or movie, as he's hard-of-hearing and the amplified audio allows him to fully immerse himself into what he's watching.
The Vizio V-Series has two full-range speakers and 95 decibels of loudness, amplifying sound without distorting or compressing the audio. Taylor's dad enjoys his sound bar so much, he gives it a Dad rating of four and a half stars.
- Price: $16
- Features: Cleans all screens | Odorless
If Dad loves his TV, smartphone, tablet, or laptop, help him keep those screens squeaky clean with Whoosh Screen Cleaner. This gift was suggested by ZDNET's Editor-in-Chief, Jason Hiner. This Whoosh cleaning kit comes with a full-sized bottle of Whoosh cleaner, a mini bottle for on-the-go cleaning, and three microfiber cloths for maximum cleaning.
Also: How to clean and sanitize your AirPods
He says Whoosh cleaner is effective and quickly cleans all of his device screens, which is important if you have kids (or dads) who swipe sticky mystery substances on their device's screen.
Whoosh cleaner cleans any and all screens, from LCD monitors and LED TVs to smartwatch faces and camera lenses.
How did we choose these Father's Day gifts?
When putting together this Father's Day gift guide, I considered the following:
- Gift giving experience: Some of these gifts, such as the Hoto Tools Golf Laser Rangefinder, I have personally gifted to my dad, and he really enjoyed them. Other gifts in this gift guide were suggested by members of ZDNET's editorial staff who reported that their dad's had great hands-on experience. A dad himself, ZDNET's Editor in Chief, Jason Hiner suggested a gift he's benefited from.
- Reviews and research: I looked online for reviews that mentioned how much someone's dad enjoyed it when he received them as past Father's Day gifts.
- Helpfulness: This whole guide considers gifts that have the potential elevate your dad's life in small or big ways.
When is Father's Day?
This year, Father's Day falls on Sunday, June 18.
What's a good tech gift to buy Dad?
The answer to this question depends on what kind of tech Dad is missing or needs an upgrade to. Smartwatches are always a nice gift if he doesn't have one or has an old one. Smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 have health-tracking features and can seamlessly connect to other Samsung devices.