After the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you might be a little sick of false bargains and gimmicky marketing tricks – we definitely are! So these are our tips for buying gifts that paddleboarders will love, without buying yourself a guilty conscience.
Study after study, along with personal experience, have shown that the best types of Christmas present are experiences rather than things: you remember and talk about experiences for years, but material things lose their value quickly as the next best thing becomes available. And if you don’t buy an experience (maybe you’re worried about that useless loved one forgetting about the voucher, and it expiring – been there, done that!), the next best thing you can do is to buy thing that helps them get out there and make their own experiences!
Lots of our brand partners and friends are schools, guides and instructors who offer amazing experiences year round. But on the basis that you might not want to buy a gift to be used in the cold winter months, nearly all of them all also let you buy gift cards. Check out the list of providers who gift cards for experiences below.
SUP4 – SUP lessons and tuition.
GoExperience – Croatian adventure SUP and experiences.
smoc smoc – eco, waterproof dry robes.
Check out our long read on the 5 psychological reasons why experiences are the best gifts. If you’re not convinced, this article will convince you!
Buying from a small company sometimes takes a bit more effort, or planning, than buying from amazon, or ebay for example. But it is so much more rewarding. Often, the personal customer service you get is way better than anything offered by a nameless, faceless multi-national. And the products are often much better as well.
We personally recommend all of the small companies in the article below, but also check out the SUPhubUK map to find your nearest SUP shop or SUP provider
At McConks we pride ourselves on being as sustainable and ethical as we can be – whether that be low impact manufacture, or organic and fairwear clothing. And that’s why you can buy with confidence from us, guilt free. If you’re interested, you can find out more about our ethical principles here, or you can read about what we do to give something back through our Go Inspire initiative here.
Floating handmade shades for SUPers
Ethical clothing for paddleboarders
All about the fins
For the adventure paddler the following would work extremely as Christmas stocking fillers.
Ready to head our for a long day or overnight trip and want to use sustainable, minimal kit for eating and drinking? Kelly Kettle have been the world leader in wood burning kettles and fires for decades. If you want the four S’s – sustainability, simplicity, speed and stowability, this is the answer!
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If you have any questions about this or other products get in touch.
McConks stainless steel mug is ready for all you can throw at it. And essential but of gear for those all important brew ups!
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Journey Xstream water filter bottle filter has been tested to perform as well as day 1 at the end of its life (1000l). And then replace the filter for less than £30. That’s just 30p per litre. A lot cheaper and more sustainable than plastic water bottles.
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Xstream Straw water filter & hand pump removes bacteria, virus and cryptosporidium.
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If you’re still having a head scratching time finding the right Christmas gift then why not the McConks elves do the work for you? Get in touch to find out how we can help.
