Christmas gifts, when you get them right, is a joy (especially SUP and stand up paddle board related presents). When you’ve bought something that makes you happy as well as making the recipient happy, you know you’ve nailed it. But if you’re anything like McConks, you probably find it a bit of a struggle every year to square the circle of buying interesting and meaningful presents and remaining sustainable and ethical.
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.
Christmas experience gifts and memories that last
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!
Buy Christmas gifts from a small company
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
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Reclaimed plastic heavy duty 15 litre waterproof dry bag | outdoor adventure ready£20.00Rated 4.75 out of 5 based on 4 customer ratings
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Sale Product on saleShop soiled: 180 litre Inflatable paddleboard bag | recycled plastic | McConks SUP
£100.00Original price was: £100.00.£75.00Current price is: £75.00. -
Padded protective paddle bag for 1 or two piece paddle up to 220cm long£35.00
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Padded protective paddle bag for 3 piece paddle£35.00
Ethical clothing for paddleboarders
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Reclaimed plastic heavy duty 15 litre waterproof dry bag | outdoor adventure ready£20.00Rated 4.75 out of 5 based on 4 customer ratings
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Sale Product on saleShop soiled: 180 litre Inflatable paddleboard bag | recycled plastic | McConks SUP
£100.00Original price was: £100.00.£75.00Current price is: £75.00. -
Padded protective paddle bag for 1 or two piece paddle up to 220cm long£35.00
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Padded protective paddle bag for 3 piece paddle£35.00
All about the fins
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Reclaimed plastic heavy duty 15 litre waterproof dry bag | outdoor adventure ready£20.00Rated 4.75 out of 5 based on 4 customer ratings
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Sale Product on saleShop soiled: 180 litre Inflatable paddleboard bag | recycled plastic | McConks SUP
£100.00Original price was: £100.00.£75.00Current price is: £75.00. -
Padded protective paddle bag for 1 or two piece paddle up to 220cm long£35.00
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Padded protective paddle bag for 3 piece paddle£35.00
A few more ideas of potential Christmas gifts for the stand up paddler in your life.
For the adventure paddler the following would work extremely as Christmas stocking fillers.
Kelly Kettle stainless steel outdoor wood burning kettle | outdoor adventure ready
Kelly Kettle stainless steel outdoor wood burning kettles are amazing bits of outdoor adventure equipment for a varied number of situations. You don’t need to jaunt off miles to make use of a Kelly Kettle. It could be a micro adventure along the river. Where you pitch up for a brew. In all instances, however, a Kelly Kettle will become one of your most prized bits of kit.
Are you ready for Kelly Kettle adventure?
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!
Scroll down for more info.
If you have any questions about this or other products get in touch.
McConks stainless steel mug | outdoor adventure ready
McConks stainless steel mug | outdoor adventure ready. a great piece of outdoor adventure equipment for paddle boarding or land based adventures.
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 | outdoor adventure ready
Journey Xstream water filter bottle allows you to fill your bottle up from the river, and drink it. Simple as that.
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 | outdoor adventure ready
Xstream Straw water filter & hand pump is a great piece of outdoor adventure equipment for all adventurers.
Xstream Straw water filter & hand pump removes bacteria, virus and cryptosporidium.
Scroll down for more info.
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.
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