The Fantastigift rowing gift guide; featuring inspired and original rowing gifts and rowing gift ideas
Rowing gifts sure can be difficult to find and as the founders of Fantastigift met rowing we had to make this special gift list of the best rowing gifts we could find to help you in your hunt for the best rowing gifts. There’s a wide selection of rowing related gifts below; we’ve taken care to make sure there are gifts suitable for all, including gifts for beginner rowers, experienced rowers, indoor rowers and even gifts for rowing fans. Whatever brings you here you’re now sure to find the best rowing gifts and rowing related gifts out there, we hope you enjoy it.
‘Rowing Blazers’ by Jack Carlson
Price: $25-50
Classic American style was born in British boathouses, where the very first blazers were created for college rowing clubs. This book, created by legendary coxswain Jack Carlson, offers an insider’s guide to the famous rowing blazer as well as the stories of the historic rowing clubs and their athletes that go with them.
Find it here.
Oakley Radar Path Sunglasses
Price: $100-200
Oakley RADAR’s really are the best sunglasses for rowing out there, as well of course as looking seriously fast. They feature Oakley’s own hydrophobic lens coating which prevents rain and sweat from building up on the lenses. It also repels skin oils and other contaminates so that the lenses are resistant to smudging and easy to clean. On top of this, the lenses feature Oakley’s own plutonite filters to block 100% of UV A, B and C radiation completely eliminating water surface glare and safely protecting the eyes.
Find it here.
TriggerPoint Foam Roller
Price: $25-50
The effectiveness of foam rolling as a method for stretching stiff muscles and working out knots has finally been realised across all disciplines of sport over the past few years and they can now be spotted in every gym up and down the country. The foam roller’s value is no more clear than in rowing though, especially for staying loose in race season and through the cold winter season with long winter miles and the cold doing their best to seize up muscles. This foam roller is the pick of the crop with its patented multi-density exterior enabling firm and soft pressure to be applied simultaneously to ensure muscles are being stretched and tension released in the optimum possible way. If you know a rower who doesn’t have one a good quality roller makes a really great rowing gift.
Find it here.
DJI Mavic Pro Drone
Price: $500+
We’ve only featured 3 cameras on this list and perhaps this is our favourite; drones have become massive in recent years with DJI leaving competitors struggling to keep up. This, their latest offering the DJI Mavic Pro released in early 2017 is by far the most powerful drone they’ve made yet; it’ll shoot 4K footage at 30fps or silky smooth 1080p at 60fps, it has subject tracking, 20 minute + flight time… The list goes on but in short; this is the drone to have for making the very sweetest rowing videos in 2017.
Get it here.
‘Boat Race 1923’ Poster
Price: $10-25
A lovely print of the iconic poster produced for the 1923 Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race that is sure to go down well with any rowing fans.
Find it here.
USA Rowing T-Shirt
Price: $10-25
Show your patriotic support for the mighty US National Team with this 100% cotton T-Shirt available in all sizes for youth, women and men.
Get it here.
Polar M400 GPS Heart Rate Watch
Price: $100-200
Activity tracking watches by the likes of Fitbit and Basis (before they recalled all their Basis Peaks) have taken off in recent years but this has not infringed on the value of a truly dedicated sports watch for dedicated athletes. The M400 from Polar is the pick of the crop and the perfectly suited training partner to any serious rower. In short it’s accurate GPS can be viewed on screen in real time – highly useful when out on the water. It’s proper and highly accurate HR provided by dedicated chest strap will also deliver much greater accuracy than the optical wrist sensors used by most smartwatches. As an athlete if you could have just one training tool the M400 is hard to beat for its cohort of training aides designed to provide feedback on and to maximise your training performance. It may not be the cheapest but the Polar M400 is a powerful training aid and thoughtful rowing gift for any crew rower or competitive rower.
Find it here.
T-Bar 10mm for speedy rigging
Price: <$10
Rigging and de-rigging can be a bit of a chore, especially if it’s cold and wet… It’s a lot easier with one of these, believe us! One person can quickly go down one side of the boat, loosening all the 10mm nuts to finger loose as another rower follows behind to take them off. Rigger jiggers days are numbered! A wise investment indeed and a staple rowing gift, suitable for all rowers…
Find it here.
JL Pogies
Price: $25-50
Love ’em or hate ’em rowing pogies have been dividing rowers for years. If you are a lover then they don’t get much better than this warm and waterproof set from well known and american company JL Rowing.
Find it here
Patagonia Torrentshell Jacket
Price: $100-200
The Torrentshell features Patagonia’s 2.5-layer H2No® fabrics which are completely waterproof, windproof, breathable and foldable great for stuffing in the bottom of bags. They combine a water-repellent shell with a waterproof/breathable membrane and a protective top coat barrier. Together this makes it the perfect jacket for commuting to and from sessions in the harsh winter months. It’s a rowing related gift that’ll sure be appreciated when the colds of winter are biting and the sessions become just that bit harder!
Find it here
Ergstick
Price: $100-200
Moving on, you may not yet have seen this great little gadget only recently developed and brought to market. Although the Concept2 rowing machine delivers some information to the user the Ergstick aims to extract all the available information from the rowing machine and presents it on an iOS device such as an iPhone. This means you can view previously unseen data such as stroke length, in real time, through your workout. As well as transmitting this data it also records it, so that you can go back and look through it, stroke by stroke, analysing it in as much detail as you need to. Personally we think this is one of the best rowing gifts out there.
Find it here
The Erg Book
Price: $20-50
This book has over 375 of the best indoor rowing workouts of all time, categorized by skill level, training goals, time and difficulty to help you push on to new PBs and stay motivated throughout the year, but particularly over the long winter slog when ergs might need spicing up a bit!
Find it here.
Empacher T-Shirt
Price: $10-25
There’s no more famous boat-builder than Empacher and its hard not to look fast wearing this loud Empacher yellow branded t-shirt. Probably best to reach a reasonable standard of rowing before strutting round the club in it though for risk of looking like a massive plonker.
Find it here
GoPro HERO Session
Price: $100-200
Video analysis is a priceless training tool. It’s also invaluable for making sweet videos of yourself rowing. For either purpose there’s no better camera out there than the new, great value, GoPro HERO Session. It records 1080 footage at an incredible 60fps, perfect for reviewing in slow-motion after the session to check on catch timing and synchronicity in the recovery.
Find it here
Bucket Hat
Price: $0-10
You’ve got to look fast to go fast and on that subject…. What is faster than a bad boy bucket hat such as one of these, available in a range of colours to suit your club’s own. Love ’em or hate ’em they’re an absolute classic…
Get it here.
JL Seat Pad
Price: $25-50
Aside from the technical reasons as to why a seat pad might be useful for a shorter than average rower in a crew, or one with an unusually proportioned body a seat pad is also a useful training aid purely from a comfort perspective. This JL model has a non-skid bottom meaning it’ll stay firmly placed on your seat, has comfortable gel inserts and a handy webbing loop to attach it to your seat so it doesn’t end up in the water every time you take the boat off the water and take it to heads!
Find it here
NK Speedcoach with GPS
Price: $200-400
Although there are several brands out there battling for position as the best stroke coach maker we’re still sold on the Speedcoach with GPS by NK Electronics. It’s got great GPS accuracy, broad range of useful functionality and above all, a decent battery life easily lasting multiple sessions on tough training days on training camps even in cold weather. Although it doesn’t float it has a strap to attach it to a rigger/otherwise and it is fully waterproof meaning if you ever did capsize it should be there safe, and undamaged on righting the boat.
Find it here
Polar Insulated Sports Bottle
Price: $10-25
These great BPA free 24 ounce bottles will keep your drinks nice and cool thanks to their clever insulation for long sessions under the heat of the sun in summer. They’re dishwasher safe, rugged and durable perfect for the tough demands of a rower….
Find it here.
Yoga Mat
Price: $10-25
A humble yoga mat should feature in every rowers bedroom or lounge, with just 15 minutes before bed each day able to make a massive difference to flexibility and thus injury avoidance as well as length, and thus boat speed, out on the water.
Find it here
BatLogic Erg Adaptor
Price: $100-200
For the serious erg monkey the BatLogic Erg Adaptor is an effective way to eek out and extra few watts in hope of smashing out a big new PB. Why so? The adaptor means that purpose built Nike Batlogic shoes from the boat can be used in the gym, on land. Why are these shoes so good? They’re designed and shaped to deliver maximum power transfer throughout the stroke, something not matched even when using lifting shoes on the conventional Concept2 footplate.
Find it here
‘Eat Sleep Row’ T-Shirt
Price: $10-25
Rowing has always been a hard sport to describe to non-rowers – the levels of commitment required for success hard to fathom for people who have never rowed. This simple and now famous t-shirt sums it up better than any others have in just 3 words…
Wooden Decorative Oar
Price: $100-200
For rowing fans wanting to add a bit of class and a hint of rowing to a room in your house these solid hardwood oars are hard to beat. At 92″ long they make a quirky curtain pole and make a perfect gift for any ex-rower.
Find it here
Concept2 Model D PM5 Rowing Machine
Price: $400+
There’s a reason the Concept2 is the best-selling and best known rowing machine in the world and it’s not because it’s the cheapest, or best looking, but because it’s the best. The Model D is the latest incarnation of Concept2’s classic design and features the new PM5 monitor with wireless HR monitoring, to view your HR data on screen as well as USB compatibility to log your whole workout. Even for non-rowers, the Model D makes great sense for those looking to get back into exercise, or those out of shape and needing to lose weight without risking joint damage – rowing machines are completely non-impact whilst still utilising every major muscle groups. For those that haven’t tried rowing is one of very few genuine whole body workouts, perhaps only rivalled by swimming.
Find it here
Insulated food flask
Price: $20-$30
Rowers need food, a lot of it and this, the largest insulated food flask from thermal flask champions Thermos, is about as good as it gets for keeping meals nice and hot for that essential hot meal to warm you up following a long, cold, session on the water in winter.
Find it here.
Rowing Socks
Price: $0-10
Perfect for getting a subtle extra hint of rowing into everyday life these comfy socks are just as suited to day to day life as they are for sessions on the rowing machine or on the water; they’ve got 5% spandex and are effective at wicking to keep your feet fresh and cool throughout the day.
Find them here.
Rowing Heartbeat T-shirt
Price: $10-20
This casual lightweight cotton t-shirt looks classy from afar and up close reveals the subtle heartbeat graphics with a single sculler in its middle; a great rowing gift for scullers.
Find it here
Mind Over Water
Price: $10-20
The classic book ‘Mind over Water’ by Craig Lambert is a beautiful book and must read for keen rowers, and non-rowers alike too, about what it means to row and race and how these lessons can be applied to life.
Get it here.
GU Sports Energy Gel
Price: $25-50
All this rowing requires its fuelling and this multipack from well known sports nutrition company GU is spot on for delivering essential carbohydrate fuelling in an easy to consume format at a reasonable price point – when it comes to rowing gifts and the needs of rowers food should not be overlooked and energy gels sure make well received rowing gifts for rowers…
Find it here
The Boys in the Boat
Price: $10-20
This incredible true story tells the tale of Joe Rantz, a farmboy from the Pacific Northwest abandoned as a child at the time of the Great Depression. The Boys in the Boat has an amazing crescendo to it that will have you racing to the finish – the 1936 Olymipcs, and the final of the Men’s 8. A must read for any passionate rower or those interested in the history of sport, a highly moving page-turner.
Find it here.
360fly Video Camera
Price: $250-500
So last but by no means least we bring you this awesome 360 degree 4k recording video camera from 360fly. The possibilities are really endless; check out this footage of the US National Team or Holland National 8 for some inspiration…
Get one here.
We hope you enjoyed our Rowing Gift Guide of the very best and most original rowing gifts. Please give us a share or a like if you think you know friends who would enjoy the content as well…