Gift Guide 2013: Last-minute ideas

With the holidays now just around the corner, I'm getting asked a lot about gifts for geeks. I put together a comprehensive gift guide for photographers earlier this month, but a lot of you aren't photographers, so here's a gift guide for everybody else.

I've had a Swiss Army Knife of one sort or another since I was a kid, an while you can pick up cheap knock-offs from gas stations or DIY stores, I prefer to use the real thing.

The great thing about genuine Victorinox Swiss Army Knives is that there are so many to choose from that you can pick one that fits bets with your lifestyle.

Personally, I find the scissors, pliers and screwdrivers (not to mention the corkscrew and bottle-opener) invaluable on my SwissChamp (which I've had for over 20 years), and I'm sure that hardly a day goes by when I don't use it.

Link | Price: Varies.

It can be a challenge keeping devices charged up, especially when on the road. To keep my stuff charged up I use a dual-output Just Mobile Highway Max, which has enough kick to keep both my iPhone and iPad (or anything else I happen to have in the car with me at the time) charged up.

Link | Price: Around $25

The ultimate mount for anything that you might want to dangle from your windshield. There's an X-Grip mount for everything, from smartphones to the iPad.

Mote that a separate mounting kit is needed for the X-Grip, which is sold separately.

I can't recommend these highly enough. I've had various RAM Mounts for years and I can still get new parts and accessories for them.

Link | Price: Varies.

Keep your gadgets charged up when out and about with this awesome battery pack. It features a 15,000 mAh rechargeable battery and two USB ports, one outputting 1A and another outputting 2A, enough to charge up both an iPhone and iPad (or whatever else you might need to charge).

All that in a pack small enough to slip into a pocket.

Link | Price: Around $50.

Want a wallet that can not only block RFID signals (thus keeping your RFID enabled credit cards & IDs secure) but is also stylish and heard-wearing? Look no further than the Steward/Stand range. Here you will find wallets for both ladies and gents in a variety of styles.

Link | Price: Varies.

The ThruNite T10 is a lot of light packed into a small space. The Cree XP-G LED is rated to last over 50,000 hours and can output anything from 0.09 lumens (which is very dim, described as "firefly" mode) to 115 lumens (which is dazzlingly bright).

A single AA battery can give you light for anything from 147 hours to 1.5 hours, depending on the brightness you choose.

Awesome light. I've carried one in my pocket for over a year and it's never failed me.

Link | Price: Around $18.

This is a Swiss Army Knife that fits into your wallet, and has a variety of tools ranging from a knife to a pair of really sharp scissors.

Link | Price: Around $25.

Probably the most reliable pen I've ever owned. Not only can I safely carry it around in my pocket without fear that it will leak, it's very reliable and will write on almost any surface, and at any angle.

Link | Price: Varies.

Wipe fingerprints off your devices without causing scratches and smearing the grease.

What more is there to say? The description may be short, but these cloths are awesome.

Link | Price: Around $5.

The Kingston's DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 features USB 3.0 technology, which enables incredible data transfer speeds up to 150MB/s read and 70MB/s write when using USB 3.0. Sizes ranging from 32GB to 128GB.

Fast, solid, reliable.

Link | Price: Starting at $35.