Technically 2026 Last-minute Gift Guide

Wonderful items for my wonderful subscribers

What do you buy for that special engineer in your life who requires everything – from her mechanical keyboard to her espresso machine – to be just so? Or perhaps you’ve had a good year, and want to get a little something for yourself, as a treat?

They told me not to write this. They said “stay in your lane, Justin.” You just explain technical things, you can’t recommend gifts. You don’t know how to reach the hearts of loved ones. Well, I’ll be DAMNED if I don’t try!

By the way, I’m taking the last two weeks of the year off to go cook in a restaurant (literally), so Technically will be offline. I know it will be difficult to soldier on without my sweet voice hitting your inbox every week with technical explainers…but I have confidence in you.

Without further ado…

The Ohto CR02

Yea, I can type, but sometimes I like writing things down the old fashioned way. And nobody is better at crafting the instruments to do so than the Japanese. I tested 4 different Ohto pens and the CR02 was my favorite after a few days of furious scribbling.

It’s a ceramic rollerball, so it glides across the page. And at 0.5mm it’s the perfect thinness for my dainty preferences.

Price: $16

The Orbit Plus Turntable

It probably doesn’t surprise you that I’m a jazz guy (I even play drums occasionally). And the genre is best appreciated on vinyl for reasons that are set in the cosmos. Orbit makes affordable and high quality turntables that look great and are assembled in the USA. I’d recommend going for the Plus, which for an extra $150 gets you a much better cartridge.

Pictured: my setup at home

If you already have speakers, great. If you don’t I can highly recommend the Kanto YU4 alongside their SUB6 subwoofer. They’re reasonably priced, sound great, and have a built in preamp plus bluetooth so you can stream from your devices if you so desire.

Price: $399

The Salomon XT-6

If you live in Brooklyn you already know that these were THE shoes of the early 2020s. And now that they are slightly less cool it’s the perfect time to wear them without judgement from your family. These things are literally the most comfortable supportive shoes I have ever owned, better than running shoes for sure.

I already own 3 pairs and unfortunately for my roommate there are probably more in my future. You can purchase them from Salomon or any other reputable retailer.

Price: $180

A neo-vintage Rolex Explorer 16570

Modern Rolex is so overdone. What you really want is stuff from the 90’s and 2000’s, when the bracelet links were hollow and Rolex was still a working man’s watch. The 16570 is perhaps the best of this era, sporting the 3185/3186 caliber movement that’s pretty much still in use in their modern GMTs.

They say you buy a Rolex when you’ve made it. I say, you buy a Rolex to fake that you’ve made it. Shake the hand of a potential business associate and they will hear the rattle of that old world craftsmanship. They think, wow, this is a man of eminent taste and respectability. This is a woman I could do business with. Before you know it, you are running for president.

You’re welcome.

Price: priceless (but actually around $8-9K)

The Bradford Chef Knife in AEB-L Steel

This has become my workhorse in the kitchen, and I barely touch my fancy super thin Japanese Bunka anymore. It’s sturdy and thick, but can hold a great edge (at least for a week or two, it does need a lot of sharpening). I love the composite handle, because I don’t have to worry about water getting in there like with my wooden handle knives.

Bradfords are proudly hand finished in Washington since 2012. They have a lifetime warranty (including sharpening) and are insanely reasonably priced for what you’re getting.

Price: $219

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Be it a record player, a knife, or even a simple pen, I hope your gifts are well received. Happy holidays everyone.