Gift Guide: For the Techie

I live in San Francisco, startup capital of the world, and I have a lot of techie friends. If you’ll allow me to generalize, one thing I’ve noticed: Most techies won’t go out of their way to find stylish goods–they’re a utilitarian bunch and when handed a company sweatshirt, they’ll wear it thin–but when the opportunity presents itself, techies really appreciate good design.

To make sure we’ve got everyone on your list covered, we’re posting a new gift guide every weekday from now until Christmas. See all of the Gift Guides to date in our archive.

Above: Help upgrade the Zuckerberg look with the Men’s Heavyweight Full Zip Hooded Sweatshirt or Women’s Heavyweight Full Zip Hoodie, made in the US and designed with the help of a former industrial designer from Apple; $89 each from San Francisco’s American Giant. Read Slate’s article about it, This Is the Greatest Hoodie Ever Made.

Above: Replace the startup-branded backpack with a duck canvas Bread Bag made by Stanley & Sons. Stitched on an old-fashioned single-needle sewing machine and measuring 12 inches tall and 16 inches wide, the bag is $167 from Hickoree’s Hard Goods. 
Bread bag olive drab duck canvas 141

Above: For the techie with a traditional streak: the Harris Tweed Laptop Sleeve; $125 from Seattle-based Filson. The padded interior is lined with moleskin and Scotland-made tweed wool. 

Above: For the person who hates to be parted from his or her phone: the Splash-Proof Speaker for Smartphone allows for not only music in the shower, but typing emails and browsing the internet, too; $69.50 from Muji.

Above: Made of American hardwood and designed to deliver for bass-heavy music, games, and movies, Vers 7E Extended Bass Earphones have play/pause controls and an integrated microphone. Shown here in walnut; $79.99 from Vers. 

For fresh gadgetry straight from France, check out A Good-Looking Wireless Charger and Other Breakthroughs. Navigating the uncharted terrain of Parenthood 2.0? See our post 10 Tips for Keeping Tech in Check, Family Edition.