Stocking Stuffers That Are Actually Good

What not to gift

Each of these is popular, and each lost its comparison. The linked review explains why and what to buy instead.

• Sun Bum CocoBalm Lip Balm - Banana Cream A flavored coconut and aloe balm from a sunscreen brand that states it contains no sunscreen.
• Celestron Elements ThermoTorch 3 Astro Red A red-light astronomy flashlight with a warming function, not a hand warmer you should buy for warmth.
• Coal The Uniform Recycled Knit Cuff Beanie A popular, colourful cuffed beanie whose yarn content is not stated.
• Buff Original EcoStretch A single-layer recycled polyester tube built for sun and sweat, not winter warmth.
• Stance Serape Mid Poly Snow A fun-patterned polyester snow sock that costs about the same as merino socks with better guarantees.
• Gerber Paraframe I A long-running, widely sold folder, sold without a single published dimension.
• Muc-Off Rim Stix Tyre Lever A perfectly ordinary pair of POM and nylon levers sold on adjectives, with no weight or size published.
• Lezyne Classic Brass Bell A handsome brass bell on a machined base, sold in sizes called Small and Medium with no millimetre range published anywhere.
• Kingston DataTraveler Exodia Onyx Cheap and widely stocked, but the slow writes show why it's cheap.
• Kingston Canvas Select Plus microSD (UHS-I, A1) A cheap, reliable card for basic storage that falls short for serious video or app-heavy workloads.
• Mighty Bright MiniFlex 3 A 1.1 oz, 10-lumen micro light on a single AAA - a travel light, not a nightstand light.
• Redbarn Filled Bone An oven-roasted beef femur bone with filling, the kind of bone treat the FDA has warned about.
• Smithey Ironware Chainmail Scrubber A good-looking pad from a good brand that publishes less about its own construction than anything else here.
• Nextmug Docking Coaster The Nextmug's charging base, sold separately - it warms nothing without the mug.
• Pilot Varsity A pre-filled disposable fountain pen: writes fine, then goes in the bin.
• Trim Deluxe Nail Clipper The clipper in every drugstore checkout: it works, and owners report that the thin steel and alignment issues show fast.
• Wild Willies Beard Oil The loud-marketed pump oil: the maker publishes no ingredient list, so you cannot compare what you are putting on your face.
• Bevel Safety Razor A brass-weighted fixed razor sold on razor bumps, with no settings and few published specs.
• Sticky Be Socks Be Strong Grip Socks A well-specified mantra sock let down by fit: one size fits most, and the grip is described only as non-slip grips on the sole.
• Benvo Weighted Ropeless (Cordless) Jump Rope A cordless novelty that is genuinely useful for a narrow purpose but a poor everyday rope.
• Gymreapers Gym Chalk, 1 lb A pound of blocks to crush yourself, with no grind or country of manufacture published.
• Snow Joe Brass Blade Ice Scraper (SJEG01) A metal-edged pocket scraper that solves a problem a good plastic blade already solves, and adds a way to ruin trim and paint.
• Milton S-921 Single-Chuck Pencil Tire Pressure Gauge (5-50 PSI) A tough, battery-free glovebox classic, but the coarse slide-bar readout is too imprecise to recommend as your main gauge.
• Little Trees Tree Hanging Air Freshener The scented paper card that has been hanging from mirrors since 1952, and still the purest example of putting fragrance on top of a problem.
• Klein Tools 70540M Compact Folding Hex Key Set, 8-Key, Metric A perfectly decent pocket tool that a lot of people buy as their only hex keys, which is the mistake.
• Craftsman CMHT10588 Quick Change Utility Knife, 2 Pack A retractable with three cut depths, sold in a two-pack, on a spec sheet that does not describe the object in the photo.
• INBIKE IH23C203 Half-Fingered Cycling Gloves The cheap generic half-finger gloves: fine for a spin around the block, not a season of riding.
• ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2 The entry-level ThermoWorks, with a maker-listed 2 to 4 second read and no magnet.