Help me figure out an awesome adventure-y anniversary gift

June 19, 2013 9:21 AM

I'm searching for an awesome 5th anniversary gift, made from wood or silver, with an adventure-y theme (this can be pretty loosely interpreted). It'll be a supplement to a primary gift I've already splurged on, so I'm looking for something <$100. My only idea so far has been a compass, but the wooden ones are more like decorative desk sets (I'd prefer something practical and usable) and the silver ones are either really expensive or really ugly. It's for a man, and he doesn't wear much jewelry. And I need to be able to get it by Friday. Help!
posted by rhiannonstone to Shopping (6 answers total)

This?
posted by carmicha at 9:33 AM on June 19, 2013

A brass telescope with leather wrap. Barska is a legit optics manufacturer (I think they're a budgety brand.)

Nautical Adventure Ahoy!
posted by Sunburnt at 9:42 AM on June 19, 2013

I would do a cool old/distressed wooden box with a treasure map in it. The treasure map would have important places from your history, such as where he proposed or the site where one of your relationship in-jokes began, etc. This could also involve a day of revisiting some of those places in scavenger hunt form, and at the end he gets his other present. The time together and reliving important memories would be very meaningful to a recipient who likes that kind of thing. More work than simply buying something but I think it would be worth it if you have the time.
posted by emkelley at 9:56 AM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

A really nice carved walking stick, or maybe a fancy journal or book related to adventures in a way which is meaningful to you guys (paper being wood, sort of?).
posted by ChuraChura at 10:20 AM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Have you tried brass compasses? I think they may hit the sweet spot between nice and affordable. Alternatively, a bosun's whistle? (That may be my own wishes coming to the fore!)
posted by brilliantine at 10:55 AM on June 19, 2013

If he's the sort of person for whom a compass would be practical and usable, in the wood-related vein, would he have any interest in/use for a good camping axe? This multi-purpose one looks cool (a bow saw is really handy if you need to cut up small limbs). Or you could go with a simpler axe and an assortment of equipment for burning up that wood, like a firestarter, waterproof matches, a cord saw, etc. which are pretty readily available even at places like Walmart.
posted by drlith at 11:10 AM on June 19, 2013