Gift Ideas Under $25
Your loved ones deserve to Be Ready Every Day. The first step in achieving that, after awareness, is the right tools. A good knife and a flashlight, at least. Here are 20 gift ideas under $25 that are sure to be a hit on any occasion.
All of the gifts on this list are suitable for everyday carry (EDC), too!
Note: We promised to stay under $25 for this list of gift ideas. However, there are some excellent choices just over that price limit that are worthy of consideration as well. Don’t forget to check out Amazon’s “Recommended” items, too.
Folding Knives
Kershaw Faultline
For that person on your shopping list that just needs “a knife,” the Kershaw Faultline is an excellent choice in a modern folding knife. I own a number of Kershaw knives and I have been consistently impressed with their value for the money.
With a 3 inch blade, good ergonomics, and decent blade steel for everyday carry, you can’t go wrong with the Faultline.
In fact, we like the Faultline so much that we included it in our Holiday Stocking Stuffer list too!
Outdoor Edge Chasm
The Outdoor Edge brand is well known in the hunting community for their fine line of game processing knives and tools. What some might not know is that they also produce a number of excellent quality folders suitable for everyday Carry.
The Chasm is a nice looking knife at an excellent price. Good blade steel for its intended purpose and a little smaller than the Kershaw Faultline with a 2.5 inch blade. It also comes in three different colors!
Smith & Wesson SW609
Smith & Wesson knives are made under a licensing agreement with Battenfeld Technologies Inc., the same company that owns the Scrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, and Imperial brands.
There are some excellent, and affordable, knives in the S&W line. For this guide, we recommend the SW609. This is a bigger knife at 3.6 inches on the blade and 8.3 inches overall, but not at all too big for EDC. It boasts a classic blade and handle shape, an attractive drop point blade with a stonewashed finish, and a good quality blade steel for EDC.
Fixed Blades
For some, a folding knife isn’t the best choice for an every day cutting tool. For those folks, we’ve found two excellent fixed blade knives from the folks at Schrade. I own and use both of these knives, so these recommendations come with the BRED Seal of Approval!
Schrade SCHF16
From everyday carry, to bushcrafting this knife is a great choice. If you don’t believe me, run a search for it on YouTube! At 7 inches overall length and a blade length of 3.1 inches, this is a great choice for a neck knife, belt knife or backup camp knife.
Schrade SCHF57
This knife is actually part of my EDC rotation. I carry it when I think I might want the extra stability of a fixed blade knife. The blade may seem short at 2.6 inches, but it’s plenty big enough for most day-to-day and small camp chores. And at 6.3 inches overall, it even fits my large hands well. This one is a gift under $25 that definitely carries the BRED Seal of Approval!
Swiss Army Knives
Here at BRED, we love the Swiss Army knife! In fact, we love them so much that we’ve come up with our own special twist for the knives we use in giveaways and prize drawings.
For this list of gift ideas under $25, we focus on five models that fill most everyday carry situations.
Besides all the tools you get in these knives, these are extremely good choices if you’re looking for a present that is legal to carry almost everywhere.
Spartan
The Spartan is the modern-day evolution of the basic Swiss Army knife. It boasts 12 tools in it’s small package, not counting the keyring!
Two blades, bottle opener, can opener, two screwdrivers, wire strippers, reamer/awl, corkscrew, tweezers, and toothpick. All in a package only 3.5 inches long and about a half inch thick!
Tinker
The Tinker is the exact same tool set except that the corkscrew is replaced with a #2 phillips driver.
My son and I debate which is better all the time. He likes the Spartan, but he drinks wine. I live and work in a fairly urban environment and I do a lot of work on computers, so the phillips driver comes in very handy for me.
Sportsman
The Sportsman has found its way into my EDC rotation for one simple reason; it replaces the small blade of the Spartan with a nail pick and file.
Having a nail file handy to maintain my fingernails has become so important that I carry this knife almost daily.
Classic SD
Almost everyone is familiar with the Classic SD. A good set of basic tools that fits easily on a keychain. Not to mention all the cool designs it comes in! My wife carries the “Llama Fiesta” design on her keychain and has a ruby red version in her car’s first aid kit!
The Classic SD sports an impressive toolset for its size with a small blade, a nail pick/small screwdriver (that’s where it gets the “SD” in the name!), nail file, scissors, tweezers, and toothpick.
Signature
I added this one to this year’s gift list for one reason; Covid-19.
The Signature is really nothing more than a Classic SD with a retractable pen instead of the toothpick. For me, that’s a great trade!
How many times have you been somewhere and needed to sign something? You’re offered a pen off the desk and cringe as you sign, then run straight for the nearest dispenser of hand sanitizer, right?
Not if you have a Signature! You know where it’s been, you’ve taken care of it, and you can use it to sign anything instead of using what I call the “Covid pen.” Heck, at these prices, grab one for yourself too!
Looking for a great way to carry any of these SAKs on your pocket and find them easily? I use the UltraTac Keychain Pocket Clip. Check it out. I have one on every SAK that I carry regularly.
Flashlights
We’ve all been there, looking at something, or for something, wishing we had more light to cut through the shadows (See what I did there?). All of these gift ideas are under $25 and are small enough to carry with you every day!
Streamlight Microstream
When it comes to great quality, dependable everyday carry flashlights, you can’t go wrong with Streamlight.
The Microstream is a staple in the industry for good reason. This AAA torch utilizes a simple on / off tail switch to provide 45 lumens of illumination. More than enough light for the demands of a handheld pocket light
Olight I3T EOS
The Olight I3T EOS is another AAA size pocket light, again with a tail switch and dual position pocket clip. However, the Olight steps it up a bit with a maximum 180 lumen output and a 5 lumen moonlight mode as well. Top that off with a choice of four colors and the I3T EOS certainly lives up to the manufacturer’s reputation.
ThruNite Ti3 EDC
Thrunite is another well-known and respected name in the flashlight industry. The Ti3 rides very comfortably in the pocket and has three brightness levels, with a maximum output of 120 lumens, plus a strobe setting. This light differs from the Streamlight and the Olight in that it uses a twist cap interface rather than a tail cap switch for operation. This allows for a light that is smaller, barely longer than the AAA battery inside it. Small enough, in fact, that you could use it as a keychain light, if you wished.
Lumintop Tool 2.0
The Lumintop Tool is one of my favorite pocket flashlights. It has found its way into my EDC rotation a number of times over the years. It’s hard to find a more versatile pocket flashlight than the Tool. With four operation modes, the Tool has a maximum output of 270 lumens with a AA battery. Or you can install a 14500 rechargeable battery for an output of 650 lumens. That’s right, this light will run on either a AA or 14500 rechargeable battery! This is a clear winner. Definitely BRED approved!
GearLight M3
We’ve focused a lot on pocket lights in this gift guide, but there is a very special place for the GearLight M3 and the plethora of others like it. This AA flashlight has three modes, plus strobe, and a maximum output of 300 lumens. The ability to “zoom,” or focus, the beam makes this a great light to stash about the house, in the car, or in a kit bag.
All the gift ideas on this list are an excellent value. For more great give ideas, check out our list of stocking stuffers under $25!
What would you add to this list? Or take away? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Featured image by monicore from Pixabay