Essential Father’s Day Gift Guide

Surely there can be no better way to celebrate the glory of your paterfamilias than with the greatest gift of them all: Empire! They’ll get 13 issues a year of the world’s biggest movie magazine delivered straight to their door, ensuring they’ll always be fully informed as to the very best offerings on both small and big screen. What’s more, we even have a special Father’s Day Offer for you. Subscribe now!

If the only thing putting your old man off laying down his well-thumbed paperbacks in favour of a cutting edge e-reader is the monochrome e-ink display, then Kobo has the solution. The Libra has long been among the top tier of e-readers and the Libra Colour adds a full spectrum colour display to that device, meaning the not only will your book covers and illustrations pop in all their technicolour glory, but you can highlight passages in different shades as well. The Colour retains the Libra’s tactile page turn buttons, 330ppi 7” backlit display (with warm white option for night reading) and bluetooth connectivity for listening to audiobooks. Plus it’s waterproof, so if the e-reader takes a dip in the bath it won’t be game over for whatever Grisham novel your dad’s currently got his nose in. Add epub support, which doesn’t anchor him to any one book ecosystem and you have what may be one of the best e-readers money can buy.

As the ubiquity of their door-side silver boxes will attest, Ring has long dominated the video doorbell market, and with good reason. However, this year marks an expansion to their range with the release of an all-new, top-end model in the Battery Video Doorbell Pro, which might just be the best doorbell on the market. Entirely wireless (unless you want it to be wired, which works too), this features a 150 degree view to make sure no package goes unnoticed, radar technology to ensure it doesn’t bother you when the neighbour’s cat strolls across the lawn and a pin-sharp 1536p HD+ camera. There’s even a bird’s eye view mapping feature, which lets you track people as they wander across your property. Never answer the door to nuisance callers again!

Manners maketh man, but if there’s a close second then it’s undoubtedly what he wears on his feet. Sneakerheads in the know have long been onto Allbirds, firstly as they’re trainers that more than a few Hollywood A-listers have been spotted with on their feet, but secondly becasue these are very likely the most comfortable shoes to ever hug your toes. The new Go represents a welcome glow-up for the traditional Tree Runner, which is still being made from recycled and sustainable materials, letting you keep control of both your carbon as well as actual footprint. With an all-new, super sleek profile to go with their cloud-soft treads and breathable eucalyptus upper, these are the perfect summer shoes to keep your dad comfy and cool.

If a picture speaks a thousand words then a thousand pictures speak… considerable more. Traditional photo frames are *so* noughties — what you want is a high end digital frame you can fill with *all* your memories, rather than being limited to just one. Aura’s Mason frame can be set to vertical or horizontal, streams unlimited pictures from the cloud and can even play videos on its vibrant, high resolution 9” display. The best part is, even if your dad wouldn’t know one end of a USB from the other, he can still enjoy this gift as intended — just configure the Mason as a gift and you can pack it full of snaps without opening it, uploading all the photos you want beforehand so it’s ready to go the second it comes out of the box.

There’s no shortage of media streamers out there, but Amazon’s Fire TV Cube ranks among the most feature-packed. Not limited to just Prime Video, the Cube will run all your streaming apps and far more capably than your smart TV thanks to its 8-core processor — it will even upscale HD content to 4K into the bargain. Has your dad got a Sky box? Not a problem, as the Cube has HDMI passthrough as well, allowing another device to your TV via Amazon’s box. The killer feature here, however, isn’t that it has enough horsepower to deliver a snappy, lag-free user experience (although it has and it does) but that the Cube also doubles as an Echo Dot, acting as a mini smart speaker and providing access to Alexa so he can control his streaming life entirely through voice commands.

Yours wouldn’t be the first dad to enjoy a little game-related R&R and if that’s the case then you might want to treat the gaming godfather in your family to a high quality set of gaming cans so he can keep his late night Fortnite sessions on the QT. The newly redesigned Stealth 600 is entirely wireless, is available for Xbox, Playstation or PC, boasts an impressive 80 hour battery life and has powerful 50mm drivers that deliver a sharp, punchy sound. The microphone, meanwhile, deploys a clever machine-learning algorithm to reduce ambient noise and enable him to yell threats at NoobMaster69 without being misunderstood.

Like Thor himself, your old man can go from dad bod to god bod, and he doesn’t even need a gym membership to do it. A genuinely innovative piece of kit, the Gymproluxe gives you everything you need for a full body workout from home. The Band and Bar set 2.0 (basic and full portable gym models are also available) is deceptively simple - literally a bar and a three-band exercise belt that can be tweaked to offer different levels of tension. From deadlifts to bench presses, bicep curls and shoulder presses, there are over a hundred different exercises you can do, giving almost all your muscle groups a decent workout. While it doesn’t quite replace a full gym if you want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with The Rock, with up to 90kg of resistance it’ll go a decent way towards toning you up. Solidly made, with a premium feel, the Gymproluxe won’t give out any time soon, either — certainly not before you do.

DIY is to dads what nails are to hammers and if you’ve ever wanted to lend your old man a hand in the handyman department then a little tech can go a long way. The M-Cube laser measure from Hozo does away with the traditional retractable metal ruler (mind those fingers), instead using a precision laser to measure down to the nearest millimetre. With a range of 50 metres, it’ll cover even the most cavernous of rooms and has a handy touchscreen display that’s easy to read and to use. And if you opt for the full Pro Kit, it'll also come with a selection of mudular extras including a scale roller to measure awkward curved surfaces and a smart planner that creates accurate floorplans! Who said fixing up the house couldn’t be combined with geeky fun?

What better way to repay your paterfamilias for all those years of stress and worry than with the gift of calm. It may seem unconventional, but the curious-looking Sensate wearable is surprisingly effective. A practical meditation aid, you place the pebble-like device on your sternum, link it to the smartphone app via Bluetooth and, as the app plays an assortment of soothing soundscapes (10-30 minute sessions are available), the Sensate 2 vibrates in breathy, fluttering patterns designed to stimulate the vagus nerve and bring about a sense of calm. It may sound like hipster twaddle but the device works just as advertised, stress and anxiety palpably fading as the little buzzing stone does its thing and sends low frequency vibrations humming through your chest. For those who struggle with straight-up mindfulness or want to ramp up their meditation, this one is definitely worth a try.

No one wants a phone with no charge. Or a tablet. Or a laptop. Luckily, the Nitrocharge 120 will happily juice up all three, and with energy to spare. With an eye-watering 20,000mAh capacity, it can charge several devices simultaneously, thanks to both USB-A and USB-C ports as well as magnetic wireless charging for your dad’s phone or smart watch. With a 120W output it will charge a smart phone to 85% in an hour or a laptop to 60% — all in the time it takes to watch a Season 3 episode of Ted Lasso. Super sleek with a fabric exterior, it may not be pocket-sized but it's not an eyesore either. It will charges to full capacity itself in just an hour, and a handy LED lets you know how much juice is left at any given time.

The world of streaming might be intimidating but nothing simplifies music quite so much as Sonos' seamless multi-room setup. The entry level One SL might not have all the bells and whistles of its more expensive siblings, but it packs a sonic punch well above its size and is a breeze to set up. With clean highs and gratifyingly rumbly lows, it can hold its own solo or be paired with a twin for a more immersive stereo sound field. As a replacement for Dad's ailing seventies hi-fi, the One SL is a welcome upgrade.

No one needs a rats' nest of tangled cables cluttering up their home and no dad needs to hunt around for the correct type of lead when charging their devices. If your dad is invested in the Apple ecosystem then Belkin's Boost Charge Pro 3-in-1 might be the ideal solution, juicing up his iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch simultaneously one a single charger. It's compatible with the Apple Watch 7's fast charging too, minimising downtime, and uses MagSafe to keep his devices firmly in place.

Folio Society books are never less than stunning and this gorgeous double-volume edition of A Clash Of Kings is no exception. For the Thrones-loving dad, this is the best edition of George RR Martin's Ice & Fire series you can buy (even if George has yet to finish it). Still, imagine how good it'll look on his bookshelf, and how grateful he'll be to receive it. A Lannister always pays his debts.

It might seem far too obvious to give your dad slippers on Father's Day, but these are far from your average foot-warmers. The Lamborghinis of indoor footwear, Mahabis Curve slippers not only come in a variety of funky colours and look super slick, but they're wool-lined and ultra comfy to keep things toasty in the winter months.

Proof positive that you can never, ever grow out of LEGO, this glorious recreation of Autobot MVP Optimus Prime is not only a hugely enjoyable build but actually transforms from robot to semi truck in the same way as the original eighties toy. Autobots, ROLL OUT!

If there's one thing Twin Peaks taught us, it's that you can put up with almost anything as long as it comes with some damn fine coffee. Combining smart tech with the joy of a maintained cup of joe, the Ember is one of the best ways on the market to keep your beverage bubbling away. And as a gadget, it's part convenience, part toy.

Does dad feel the need... the need for speed? If he's already got a copy of Top Gun: Maverick, have him head for the danger zone with this HDR release of the 1986 original, featuring fast planes, quick quips and more bar singing than you might remember. One of the best 4K remasters out there, this is a reference-quality disc, with the glowing sunset, soaring jets and sweaty volleyball players all but popping off your screen. There's also brand new bonus content and an immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack that really comes into its own when, to quote Tom Skerritt, there are bogeys like fireflies all over the sky.

Jaws is as much a classic now as it was when first released, so why not have Dad celebrate that with this shirt from the team at Last Exit To Nowhere. He'll find it for three, but catch and kill it for 10...