Is it hard to buy for men? Not when you’ve got the West to shop for great ideas. Take a look at C&I’s Western gift ideas for men.
I’ve always loved shopping for guys. Birthday, Christmas, anniversary of whatever — any and every excuse to lavish thoughtful presents. If I can’t necessarily count on my generosity and thoughtfulness being reciprocated, I can at least be strategic. Those Lucchese boots I bought for Sexy Italian Suitor? Let’s just say seeing him wear them made him a whole lot sexier. Gift for him and for me.
In the hope you’re buying for guys — boyfriend, husband, brother, father, son, platonic pal — who appreciate you as much for your special self as for your presents, here are some gift ideas that bring a little Western flair to the holidays.
The Elevated Outdoors: YETI
My boyfriends have typically been outdoorsy, and in the past I’ve switch-backed within an inch of my sanity shouldering a heavy pack with only GORP to fuel my will to live and make it to the campsite and a miserable meal of MREs. Over the years, I’ve learned to encourage more refined camping instead of death-defying backpacking and cold-hard-ground tenting. Now I’m all about amenities and elevated campfire cooking. Enter this new favorite thing: a sweet little 8-inch cast-iron skillet from YETI. Their coolers tend to get all the press and accolades, but this skillet — which also comes in 10- and 12-inch — signals that they really know their way around hot and cold. With a YETI skillet, YETI coolers (I’m partial to the “hard” and the “wheeled”), YETI mug, and YETI tumbler, he’ll be all set to live his best outdoor life, and you can “rough” it right along with him.
True Western Ranch Wear: Schaefer Outfitter
Schaefer Outfitters has been around since 1982, when it was founded in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and quickly became a go-to brand for serious durability and stylish versatility. They make gloriously functional clothing for ranchers, farmers, cowboys, and horsemen, meaning their outerwear — fashioned with the company's Fenceline Canvas of 100-percent cotton canvas with a weather-resistant layer — stands up to the elements. For best-dressed hardworking guys, I’m partial to the RangeTek Western Guide Snap Shirts, the Rangewax® Mesquite Brush Jacket, and the all-weather Storm Cotton Hoodie. For pure pizzazz (and natural moisture-wicking ability), check out their 100 percent heavyweight silk Frontier Jacquard Wild Rags. Designed in Texas, they’re extra-large (35 x 35 inches) and finished with clean, hand-rolled edges. Now those you can totally borrow and conveniently forget to return.
Whiskey Wonderland: Distinctive Bottles From The West
A bottle of good whiskey is a shoo-in for his respect and appreciation, and a top-shelf bottle made in the West earns props beyond the anticipatory aroma and fabulous finish — it has a sense of place. In the Lone Star State, some brands that make the great-gift grade include Ryan Bingham’s Bingham’s Bourbon, Ironroot, Andalusia, Balcones, Garrison Brothers, Still Austin, Ranger Creek, TX Whiskey, Milam & Greene, and Maverick. New Mexico’s Big Nose Kate rates high for both the drink and the cool Western history backstory. And Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder is smooth as butter. If it’s too hard to choose, consider devising your own bottle-a-month club for a gift he can look forward to for an entire year and then re-up next Christmas for a new tradition. Check out our Whiskey Wonderland for festive sips to celebrate the holidays; handwrite a recipe card and tie it with red ribbon to the neck of the bottle with the promise to savor together, preferably fireside.
Cool Cutlery: Case Knives
If you’re looking for something practical that he’ll like not just for the utility but also for the craftsmanship, two words: Case Knives. For me, this is not just a boyfriend thing, it’s a father, brother, son, friend thing, too — in other words, universally useful to the male of the species. W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company (Case Knives) is an American knife manufacturer whose roots extend back to 1889, when four enterprising brothers — William Russell (W.R.), Jean, John, and Andrew Case (aka The Case Brothers) — started selling handcrafted knives from the back of a wagon in upstate New York. Almost a century and a half later, the company is still going strong, with an avid collectors club that no doubt went nuts last summer with the announcement of a collaboration with renowned Texas knife maker Bill Ruple. The Bill Ruple x Case Axe Handle is a lockback pattern that’s available in genuine Rogers jig Chestnut Bone, Standard jig Antique bone, natural Birdseye Maple wood, black marbled Carbon Fiber, and smooth Abalone. Between that model and the many, many other styles, the choices seem endless. The shiny Smooth Red Synthetic collection speaks to me; the three-blade medium Stockman would make a special stocking stuffer. But you really can’t go wrong with any of the models, and there’s something for everyone, from the Peach Seed Jig Amber Bone Stockman like the one Grandpa used to whittle with to the modern tactical folding Black Anodized Aluminum Kinzua with Spear that incorporates advanced steels in the blades for the knife aficionado in your life.
Sweet Somethings: Wild West Chocolate
Chocolate, like flowers, sounds like a girl gift. But Wild West chocolate — a women-led, purpose-driven company out of Missoula, Montana — will have you rethinking that. Organic and sweetened only with fruit (no added sugar!), it’s on the masculine side of dark and delicious. The company’s “Born to be wild. Made to make a difference” mantra alludes to Wild West’s mission of returning not just chocolate to its raw and rustic roots but also water. They miss “simpler times when every food was organic and clean water was the only kind” — and they’re trying to bring those times back, one chocolate at a time. They revere rivers, lakes, and streams “as the lifeblood of nature and an essential element of clean, plant-based ingredients in our chocolate” and donate a portion of their profits to the River Management Society to help protect North America’s wild water. So feel extra special good about that gift box packed with simple and honest chocolate. The wonderfully Western packaging is so cool you won’t even have to gift wrap.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of vendors
HEADER IMAGE: Courtesy of Stoecklein Photography
