2025 Holiday Gift Guide: the Best 14 Products of the Year

We test hundreds of products over the course of a year, from audiophile sound equipment for The Absolute Sound to cars for AARP. Here are our favorites--from less than $10 to almost $400--that will hopefully help you with your holiday shopping.

For the Home:

Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi Security Camera, $139

Reolink's ingenious Elite Floodlight WiFi security cam not only offers crystal-clear video monitoring and a dual-lens 4K camera that can see 180 degrees, but it also touts new data analysis software that automatically tags hundreds of objects, people, and animals. Reolink's video identifies and classifies objects it sees live, in real time, labeling people like "middle-aged man" or activities like "package delivery." The consumer home version of the software and service does not require a monthly subscription.The floodlight's brightness can also be programmed to suit the time of day, and recordings can be made locally (via a microSD card) or remotely.

First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm, $130

After annoying customers by bricking their expensive alarms, Google finally discontinued its Nest Protect sensor earlier this year. Fortunately, stalwart First Alert has stepped into the breech, offering essentially the same product--for roughly $100 less. The First Alert SC5 will send warnings to your phone if smoke and CO are detected through the First Alert app. Better still, it notifies you via the app when the batteries are low, eliminating late night chirps (“Which alarm is it!!”), and the SC5 delivers voice alerts and warnings telling you the type and location of the danger.

For the Car

Leather Honey Leather Care Kit, $43.99

It's amazing how quickly leather seats can turn dry and cracked, especially if you're over-wintering your prize poss. Leather Honey's gentle and PFAS-free, non-toxic cleaner and conditioner can prevent that from happening. The Leather Honey conditioner in particular will soak in and give leather a rejuvenated, rich luster. You can also use it on leather shoes and purses--and it is EPA Safer Choice certified.

Olight ArkPro Ultra Flashlight, $104

Flash lights can be an invaluable safety tool to have in the car. In fact, we found the Olight ArkPro Ultra to be such a powerful yet compact LED flashlight that we took it to the jungles of Costa Rica. It was able to penetrate the inky black nighttime there, even alerting us to a venomous coral snake in our path. The USB rechargeable flashlight has four different beams (up to a 1,700-lumens flood light), a UV light, and is encased in a thick, impregnable sheath of heavy aluminum.

Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio, $176 (a pair)

Anyone familiar with rural living is also familiar with a lack of cell service. So whether you're on a long country drive or out working on the back 40, having a backup way of communicating is a smart idea. The Rock Talkie Mountain Radios are perfect for the task, as well as a great option if you’re hiking or skiing (especially in the back country). These FRS radios have a maximum range of 35 miles when unobstructed and from 1 to 5 miles in mountainous terrain. They handled the mountains of Vermont with ease and are designed to handle the hard knocks of rock climbing or bone-chilling days in the dead of winter. The Rocky Talkies are also 

For the Outdoors

Paramo Mens' Velez Jacket, $380

Paramo’s Velez jacket quickly became our favorite pieces of outdoor gear this past fall. Named after an alpine area of the Andes, Paramo’s outerwear is all PFAS-free, shunning forever chemicals an in the process coming up with some outstanding designs, which are soft, quiet, and yet amazingly waterproof. The Velez jacket has a nifty ridged hood line to help keep the water out of your eyes, making it ideal for misty mountain hops, serious rain soaked hikes, and alpine climbing–it even kept me dry biking through a bucketing rain storm. The U.K. based company also has a great sustainability story.

Stio Skyrider Jacket, $349

Jackson Hole-based Stio has produced some of my favorite outerwear for skiing, snowboarding, and hiking over the years. The Skyrider jacket is a worthy heir to that ancestry. Made of a waterproof yet remarkably breathable recycled fabric, it's windproof and PFAS-free. Unlike such gear of yore, the Sky is supple and comfortable. It includes a helmet-compatible hood (of course), plenty of pockets (including an RFID compartment), zippered underarm vents, and an adjustable snow skirt.

Paka Mountain Crew sweater, $165

Staying warm and dry is all about layers. But eventually, something’s got to be next to your skin. A new favorite that’s earned that position here is Paka’s Mountain Crew sweater. Made of--you guessed it--54 percent baby alpaca wool, plus 33 percent recycled nylon and 13 percent wool. The Mountain Crew also features a unique weave that gives it a cashmere softness with a slightly spongy stretch. Perfect for damp days in the hills.One note: Just be kind to the Paka and hand wash only.

LifeStraw Sip, $34.95

On the road, you should stay hydrated—but you may not be confident in the local water source. The LifeStraw Reusable Steel Filter Straw is a perfect solution. Just dip it in your drink and start sucking. It doesn’t require batteries or power and removes microplastics, bacteria and parasites from the water. It’s reusable and the tiny built-in filter is rated to last to handle up to 1,000 liters of liquid – or about a year of daily use according to the company. We used it on our travels and never had a bad experience. 

For the Kitchen

Circulon Infinity Pan, $140

Past holidays have featured all-in-one pans, but none has deserved the title more than the new Circulon Infinity Pan. Constructed of heavy aluminum (but with an induction compatible base), the Infinity pan has deep rounded sides with a 9-and-a-half-inch cooking surface. The design has dual pour spouts and a lid with straining holes, making this cookware appropriate for everything from pasta and soup to stir fries and deep fries. The Infinity pan also touts Circulon's toughest non-stick coating yet, which the company says can endure the use of metal utensils (we stuck with wood). Another great feature is that it is oven safe up to 500 degrees. It can also handle dishwashers, although I do not recommend it if you want it to last as long as possible.

Proctor Silex Smooth Edge Cordless Can Opener, $35.99

A can opener? Yes,the Proctor Silex Smooth Edge Cordless can opener maybe the best can opener ever designed.Just lay it down on top of a can, push a button, and this device severs the lid from the can all by itself, no ragged dangerous edges, No wrist strain twisting a handle or getting frustrated when it jams halfway. In short, a little kitchen miracle for less than $40.

Green Pan Reserve Pro Cookware (($360 for 10 piece set)

One of the early companies to offer PFAS-free ceramic non-stick cookware, Green Pan's latest line is designed to improve durability and utility. Available in several different colors, the Green Pan Reserve Pro Cookware has a new ceramic surface that is supposed to be 10 times more durable than previous models. The pots and pans worked extremely well in our tests, from eggs to eggplant, and the handles have a convenient angled design that makes them easy to manipulate, and the domed glass lids let you keep an eye on simmering sauces. Green Pan says the cookware is dishwasher safe and safe for the oven up to 600 degrees. One caveat: this line is not induction compatible.

eat2explore Thailand, $29.95

There are more gourmet-dinner-in-a-box services than you can shake a cleaver at, but our favorite this year was eat2explore because it combines cooking with culture. It is perfect for those who want to do some culinary reconnaissance before their trip. The Thailand package we tested, for example, included recipe cards for three dishes, premixed sauce and spices, a shopping list, a booklet about the country, and a drink pairing brochure. Eat2explore also includes detailed preparation and cooking instructions, with photos. We made Thai larb, Thai crab fried rice, and gaeng keow wan (Thai green curry). Each dish was delicious, flavorful, and not too spicy (unless you wanted to increase the heat). 

Arrow Scissors, 2-in-1, 8-inch, $8.99

Finally, a stocking stuffer for those who have a utility drawer full of scissors that don’t cut it any more (you know who you are). Arrow, the company that makes the famous staplers, also has a line of supremely capable scissors, including the 2-in-1 Arrow AOP0100 that has ergonomic handles, rust-proof, non-stick blades, and an ingenious box-cutting tip that’s safe and effective for opening all those holiday gifts.