Don’t Know a Halyard from a Handheld VHF? Our Expert Sailors Pick the Must-Have Gear (and Stocking Fillers) for Christmas 2025
Let’s face it: finding the best christmas gifts for sailors can feel like navigating a minefield. As a gift-buyer, you’re faced with a unique challenge—the world of sailing gear is often filled with items that are either bafflingly technical or have specifications that look like pure gobbledygook. You want to buy them something they’ll genuinely use and love, not something that ends up shoved in the back of their locker.
If you’re buying for a loved one who spends time on the water, but you don’t know your halyards from your harnesses, fear not! Our expert team of sailors has done all the heavy lifting for you. We’ve spent time testing, sailing with, and—most importantly—loving every product on this list. We’ve curated this guide to feature the best Christmas Gifts for Sailors in 2025, hand-picking items that are guaranteed to earn you major points on Christmas morning.
We’ve also made sure to include a wide array of gifts at different price-points, ensuring you can find something fantastic whether you’re looking for a clever stocking filler or a generous, top-of-the-line gadget.
If want to look for a specific Christmas gift for the sailor in your life, you might want to browse some of the options below for a whole range of sailors’ favourites. And if you’re still stuck, there’s always the good old gift card…
Best watches for sailors
Best handheld VHF radio
Best books for sailors
Best gloves for sailors
Best binoculars for sailors
Best stand up paddle board
Buy Gael Force Marine gift vouchers
Buy Bass Pro Shops gift cards
Ready to find the perfect present? Let’s dive into the gifts!
The very Best Christmas Gifts for Sailors
Victorinox Skipper Swiss Army Knife
This Victorinox has been by my side for years and got me out of some scrapes as well as helped me to fix a few things on the go. It was a gift from my dad about 15 years ago and I whisper a little thankyou to him each time it has saved my bacon.
The built in additional tools make this more than just a knife. So yes, it’s a bit heavier and fatter than a knife that’s solely a knife. The marlin spike is used for every line I mouse in and out of my boats and the bottle opener… well, I always feel smug when I pull that out of the bag.
Probably the best knife I ever used on a boat and a gift that keeps on giving. Thanks dad.
For more sailing knives have a look at my guide to the best sailing knives
Timberland Polarised Sunglasses
Ask any proper sailor or watersports enthusiast what makes a pair of shades the best sunglasses for use on the water and the answer will usually be ‘polarised lenses’. And for good reason. For those not in the know, polarised lenses reduce glare from reflective surfaces like water (and snow) providing sharper vision and greater comfort.
Many moons ago I might have thought that was just marketing spiel to get me to spend more money on sunglasses, but these days I honestly don’t go anywhere near the water in sunny weather without polarised lenses (even if I do own some non-polarised ‘fashion’ sunglasses).
I’ve been wearing these (nattily named TB00042) Timeberland polarised sunglasses all summer and, to me, they are the ideal shape (avoiding being too wrap-around while fitting snugly on my face during activities). They are light and feel like they are manufactured to the kind of standards you would expect from a brand like Timberland. They’ve certainly survived my clumsy usage for the year.
Timberland say the glasses are made from ‘eco-friendly bio-based acetate’ making the frames essentially recyclable and they come in a nice hard cardboard case, so I guess there is (at the very least) some attempt at eco-friendly manufacturing.
Red Adventure Waterproof Backpack 30 Litre
Red is a really great watersports brand – delivering some of the best inflatable stand up paddleboards on the market. Their Red Adventure Waterproof Backpack is a fully waterproof backpack that is also comfortable enough to travel long distances. This is my ‘does absolutely everything’ regular use waterproof bag.
Red Equipment have cracked it with waterproof backpack. You’ll find everything you need from a decent backpack – well-padded shoulder straps and a chest strap are comfortable to wear, and mesh panels wick away sweat. Plus, there are plenty of external pockets including stretchy water bottle pockets and a zipped external compartment ideal for stashing wet kit in.
Red then add in extras to make this ideal for adventures, including waterproof zippers, a tough, abrasion-resistant base so you can stand the pack upright and a roll-down top to keep everything water resistant. Inside the pack is roomy and there’s a clever removable organiser which you can take out completely and hang up or keep in the pack – it’ll store a small laptop, toiletries and plenty of other bits and bobs.
Sealskinz Bacton waterproof Beanie
This waterproof Sealskinz beanie is warm dry wooly hug for your head. It is water and stain repellent, with a three layer construction for warmth, durability and waterproofing. The waterproofing will keep your head dry. The breathability will help to let the steam out even if you’re working hard.
Most of us a have a few beanies at home of some description. But a waterproof one is a genuinely really helpful bit of kit when the weather is so bad that it would leave you with a sodden head when wearing a ‘normal’ knitted hat
Looking for a different style? Check out our guide to the best sailing hats on the market.
Sugru Mouldable Glue
Looking for a stocking filler or an extra gift for the person in your life that has everything? Might I suggest getting them the world’s handiest material!
Sugru came out several years ago now, but I’m still genuinly amazed ever single time I use it. Fresh out of the pack, Sugru feels like play dough but mould it around something, leave it for a while and it acts like superglue and sticks to most objects and surfaces.
It’s very user-friendly, highly malleable and waterproof and comes in 10 bright colours. It’s ideal for both fixing things and giving items a new lease of life as it sets like silicone rubber (flexible and insulated) – it’s also surprisingly fun to apply.
So, Sugru might not feel like the most exciting present to buy, but believe me, this is a gift that keeps on giving well beyond Christmas day alone.
C-monsta wetsuit hangar
Yes, you are reading this right this is a clothes hanger. And yes, correct again, I’m recommending it as a Christmas gift. But hear me out.
This odd looking hanger is designed especially for wetsuits and its accoutrements like the gloves and boots. It’s lightweight, so easy to bring with you and strong enough to take the extra weight of soaking wet neoprene. The design also helps wetsuits dry quicker and reduces wear and tear.
Honestly, all of that might not seem very impressive, but anyone who had wrangled cold, wet wetsuits onto a standard hangar only for the hangar to break, or stretch out the neoprene, will be eternally grateful for this gift – or at the very least will like it and know you’ve tried to get them something more useful than some last minute tat you’ve grabbed because you never quite know what they might want.
What they want is this. Do it. Buy the hangar.
Gill Deckhand Sailing Gloves – Long Finger
l’The Gill Deckhand gloves have been my go to glove for years now. For a while there was a women’s option available which was a much better fit than the unisex version.
The way the glove is tailored to the curve of the hand makes them easy to wear and easy to grip lines and other control surfaces. They do get a bit soggy to wear when wet and I keep a few pairs to be able to swap out while the others dry off. They usually last me a season and need replacing but I keep buying the same gloves because they are so comfortable to wear.
Steiner Navigator Pro marine binoculars
Steiner is one of the oldest names in optics and their Navigator Pro model, available with and without a compass, is designed for sailors.
The Navigator Pro is nitrogen-filled, waterproof up to 10m depth, and has a nano-coating on the lenses to enhance visibility and reduce glare. At 1.05kg they are comparable to the Minox binoculars in weight. A rubberised coating helps them to bounce off the hard surfaces around my boat. I love them for the fact they just work. They’re easy to adjust for my pupil distance and optical correction. They’re a bit on the heavy side but this has never stopped me getting a good fix when using them for pilotage, even in a choppy seaway.
Optimum Time Series 3 big face sailing watch
The popular ‘big yellow’ Optimum Time Sailing Watch is a highly functional racing watch. If you tune into the Olympic Sailing at the Games every four years, this is the watch that the vast majority of the racers will have. And it’s ubiquity remains almost anywhere you see serious racing sailing.
It truly is big – far too large for my wrist in any ‘normal’ applications at a gigantic 65mm (2.56” in) diameter and 16mm (0.62” in) thick. It’s also available in colours other than yellow – including white, blue and pink.
Standard Horizon HX890E VHF handheld marine radio
Best handheld VHF on test
With features like a large screen, built-in GPS receiver and DSC capability and great battery life, it’s easy to see why it comes in amongst our top editors choices. The handheld radio floats with a highly visible strobe light activated when in the water and is fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating.
It comes with an additional battery tray, which can use 5 x AAA standard disposable or rechargeable batteries, in addition to the set’s main rechargeable battery.
Looking for more options? Check out our guide to the best handheld VHFs.
Yeti Hopper Flip
When two fishermen brothers couldn’t find a robust icebox/cooler, they started Yeti, which produces a variety of top-quality adventure stuff. The brand started out with extra rugged coolers but have since expanded dramatically.
Still, their coolers remain market leaders and for those who don’t want a hard cooler box, the Hopper is a formidable portable alternative, complete with backpack straps for lugging cold ones to or from the boat/beach.
A no-nonsense leakproof zip gives instant clues to the build quality. Closed-cell foam is used for the insulation.
The Yeti Hopper Flip comes in various sizes (and a myriad of colour ways), but for my money the big ’18’ size is the best option. The additional space in the 41 X 27 X 33cm cooler makes it really useful for keeping plenty of stuff cool.
Obviously if you want something more portable then pick one of the smaller coolers – coolers work best when completely full, so buying the bigger option abut only filling it 1/2 full most of the time is not a great idea.
Lego Emirates Team New Zealand AC75 Americas Cup
Is there anything more fun than building something out of lego? Well, yes actually there is but on a cold wintery day when you’d rather be indoors than out, then this lego model of the Americas Cup boat from 2024 will keep your hands occupied for a while. It doesn’t look too bad either for a display piece. This is one for the fans, but if you’re not into the America’s Cup, there’s a lot of other specialist models to choose from, Including my own favourite, a scene from the 1975 Spielberg movie, Jaws.
Helly Hansen HP Foil V2 Sailing Shoes
I’ve had these deck trainers for the past two and a bit years and they have been utterly brilliant. I bought them as a gift to myself, but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a pair for someone else.
These They’ve been so grippy and so easy to wear. They dry fast and they’ve travelled thousands of miles with me. They slip into my kit bag easily and I’ve found myself reaching for them time and time again for every boaty job, foredeck, mast climbing, rail monkey and they slip off easily when I need to get my head down quick when going off watch.
Fenix Shadowmaster headtorch
What makes the best head torch for sailing? Is it the red light facility? How about the ability to dim the white light? Or do you want an ultra bright light for picking out mooring buoys in the dark? Great waterproofoofing? Or maybe you want all of the above.
The Fenix ShadowMaster’s two button controls make switching between white and red incredibly easy and simple.
The headband is breathable and adjustable, featuring silicone strips for a secure fit.
The Fenix HM65R ShadowMaster stands out for its powerful illumination, durable construction, and versatile lighting options.
It’s particularly well-suited for activities requiring both high-intensity lighting and night vision preservation. In short, it’s pretty faultless.
Bluetti Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station
This little powerpack is a blooming marvel and what a brilliant gift it could be for the boater or camper vanner in your life. Full disclosure, I currently have one of these on long term test and so far it has performed really impressivly. But I’ve yet to be able to fully test every single function.
What I was most interested in, however, was the Power Lift capacity, that should allow high wattage devices – think kettles and hairdryers – to be operated. I’m really impressed with this mode already and the idea that you can use something that is so power hungry in a 4kg package is… staggering.
Elsewhere connectivity is great and I was also really happy to see a 140W USB-C outlet as well at a 100W one and, as ever, the avbility to take charge from solar panels provides a genuine ‘off-grid’ option.
Frankly, if you are camping or sailing or living in a van or going to be away from grid power for any extended period, it’s difficult to know what might be more useful than the Bluetti Elite 30 V2.
Check my tested guide to the best powerbanks.
Garmin InReach Mini 2
For the adventurer in your life, give them the gift of track and traceability. From hiking the Appalachian trail to sailing offshore out of sight of land. There’s a whole array of ways this little device can help you and the ones you love to communicate and feel a little bit safer with it’s SOS capability. I used this one during an Atlantic crossing and despite having starlink, I had more fun with this and plotting text comments along the tracking line.
It does require a subscription after purchase but you only need to activate that when the device is going to be used. It really is a tiny device with a mighty capability.
For more beacons, have a look at my guide to Best personal locator beacons and AIS units: 16 top options for boating
Garmin Quatix 7 Pro
Best smart sailing watch
The Quatix 7 has actually just been superseded by the Garmin Quatix 8, and while the 8 does deliver some cool functionality that the 7 does not – voice command is its main selling point – there’s honestly not a huge amount of difference from one to the other.
By all means splash out on the Garmin Quatix 8 for that special someone, but if I were buying a Garmin Smartwatch for the sailor in my life – and I was spending my own money – I would be picking up the Quatix 7 pro.
Our boat test editor, Toby Hodges has been testing the Quatix 7 Pro for the last year and is very enthusiastic about it’s capabilities:
‘I’ve been using the Quatix 7 Pro for a year now has proven to be a revelation. It’s like going from black and white days to full technicolour instantly (illuminating even, as it even has a torch setting).
‘I’ve come to really appreciate the wealth of information it provides, particularly from a watersports, health and fitness side, yet I’ve still barely scratched the surface. Speaking of which, the scratch-resistant lens and titanium bezel have also proven seriously rugged.’
If this watch doesn’t tick your boxes, then read our guide to the best sailing watches available right now.
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