Grads, Dads, & Do-Dads Gadget Guide 2018

It’s June!  Time to celebrate our Grads and Dads!  Whether you’re celebrating your grad, dad, or husband, there’s nothing like technology to make life more convenient, fun, or safe. 

We found a number of unique items that both grads and dads would appreciate – from tools for the car to keep your loved ones safe to a brilliant picture frame that reminds them of how good life is.

Here Are Our Top 5 Do-Dads for Grads and Dads!

JOLT All Purpose Jump Starter

The TOUGHTESTED JOLT 5200 All Purpose Jump Starter is a must for any grad or dad and a gift to keep in the car.  It’s a sturdy 1000 lumen flashlight that is powerful enough to jumpstart a 3.8 L V6 car, amazing, huh?

It can also jumpstart any 12V car, truck, motorcycle, boat, quads, or jet ski.  Not bad for a flashlight!  The JOLT 5200 comes in a bright red carrying case which houses everything you need, including the mini cables to jumpstart your car. 

The heavy duty flashlight (10 oz.) can be used to break glass in an emergency as well as shines the light in 5 LED Modes (Low, Medium, High, Stobe, and SOS).

We love that it is both a jump starter and a flashlight.  I have never kept a flashlight in the car before but I certainly needed it one night when I was the first on the scene where a vehicle ran through a stop sign, went up a curb, and landed in a wooded area. 

I grabbed my JOLT 5200 flashlight to help the unharmed driver check for damage.  One of his wheels had fallen off the axle and the flashlight helped us see behind the tire to see what it was still attached to.

The driver did not have a flashlight and it was quickly becoming dark.  It made me think that not only would I want to equip my kid’s cars with a jump starter, but a heavy-duty flashlight too.  The JOLT 5200 takes care of both of these tools in one nice package.

The beauty of the JOLT 5200 is that if your grad or dad gets stranded, s/he doesn’t need to flag down a stranger to jump her/his car.  The JOLT 5200 is self-contained.  Just follow the easy instructions and your grad or dad can jumpstart her/his own car, all by her/himself.  So get rid of those bulky jumper cables, they don’t need them anymore!

Oh, and did we mention it is also a power bank???  It can charge a standard cellphone 3 times or more!  And TOUGHTTESTED stands ups to its name because they offer an unheard of 5-year warranty guarantee on the JOLT 5200 All Purpose Jump Starter.

The JOLT 5200 All Purpose Jump Starter is available through the TOUGHTESTED website for $149.99.

Bigfoot Solar Power Bank 

The Bigfoot 24,000mAh Solar Power Bank with USB-C is the ultimate mobile charger with 24,000 mAh of power and the ability to charge it using the sun.  The Bigfoot is another TOUGHTESTED product, offering durability and its unheard of 5-year warranty.

This rugged power charger uses the fasts charging technology of Qualcomm QC3 for lightning-fast charging for phones, tablets, and even laptops, up to 65 watts.  We love that it includes three USB ports to charge multiple devices at once. 

Just to give you an idea of its power, a 24,000 mAh battery is 12 times bigger than an iPhone 8 battery and it can charge an average smartphone up to 8 times!  That’s powerful!

The Bigfoot 400mAh solar panel provides renewable energy to your devices.  After about 4-5 hours in the sun, you’ll have enough power to charge your devices, up to 1 full charge.  Perfect for camping, hiking, or to have in the car for emergencies.

The Bigfoot comes with its own carabiner to hang to a backpack and its rugged casing protects the charger from dust and is waterproof up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.  Its built-in LED light shines up to 30 meters and has 4 modes (High-Low-Strobe-SOS).

Grads and dads will love the Bigfoot, not only for it’s portable charging abilities for their phones but also because it can charge their laptops (Macbooks and Chromebooks with USBC 3A/5V power).  They can use it for camping, traveling, beaching, and commuting.

We have tested the Bigfoot and it lives up to its claims and certainly a must-have for camping.  

The BigFoot Solar Bank sells for $129.99 on the ToughTested website.

Cauldryn Fyre Mobile

Now here’s something different your grad or dad is gonna love.  Whether commuting in bumper to bumper traffic or camping in nature, a good cup of hot coffee goes a long way to embrace the day. 

The Cauldryn Fyre Mobile is a unique and powerful mug that keeps your coffee hot and your water cool with its stainless steel, vacuum insulated interior.

And we mean HOT.  With the 16 oz. Cauldryn Fyre Mobile, your grad or dad can choose Hot, Extra Hot, Brew, or Boil to get his/her beverage to just the right temperature.  But it doesn’t need to be for just coffee.  They can keep their soup hot all day long, brew tea at their desk, or boil water from a river for clean sterilized drinking water.

In fact, the Cauldryn Fyre Mobile can boil water up to 212 degrees several times from a single charge of its base unit.  And it gets really hot, we tested it, wow!  In fact, you can boil water from ice in only 16-18 minutes.

The base is rechargeable so your grad or dad can be on the go and adjust the settings as needed. The Cauldren Fyre Mobile comes with an AC charging base to keep his or her beverage hot while at the office as well as the mobile battery pack that makes the heat portable and long-lasting.

But wait, there’s more.  Cauldryn included a 1 amp and a 2 amp USB outlet to charge devices with the mobile base as well as heat coffee or hot cocoa.  Just plug in a USB cord and grads and dads can charge their phone, tablet, or another mobile device on the go.

Perfect for the commuter or camper, Cauldryn has thought of everything.  People have even used the Cauldryn Fyre Mobile to cook top ramen, freeze-dried meals, and frozen meals when camping, it’s very convenient and they don’t need to light a fire to get some heat.

A multi-functional commuter or camper mug is perfect for your new grad or dad. 

Karaoke Star Plus Speaker

Now that your grad is done with studying, it’s time for a new hobby…Karaoke!  Dad will get into this too.  ION makes Karaoke easy with its Karaoke Star Plus Speaker, sure to spice up any party or family gathering.

No matter if your grad or dad can’t sing, the Karaoke Star Plus Speaker provides voice correction so voices can always be in tune.  In fact, it includes 60 vocal processing effects like dramatic reverb, Pop Star or Rap effects, and much more.  And Dad can even sound like Barry White with little effort!!!

The Karaoke Star Plus speaker utilizes an 8-inch 2-way speaker and a powerful 50-watt amplifier to fill the room.  And it makes any duet possible with its two included quality microphones.

The beauty of the Karaoke goes beyond voice enhancement, it also lights up the room with its sound reactive LED lighting with numerous light display patterns.

The Karaoke Star Plus Speaker offers Bluetooth connectivity, 3.5mm ports for input and output devices, a USB charge port to keep your iPad or phone charged…and it even contains a rechargeable battery for hours of entertainment in the backyard, at a tailgate party, or in a room without outlets.

What about the songs? Gone are the days of paying for each karaoke song, one by one.  Nowadays, you can search for songs on YouTube, complete with lyrics, thanks to many Karaoke fans who have taken the time to upload Karaoke videos for free.

Grads and dads will love their new fun toy! 

The ION Karaoke Star Plus is available on Amazon for just under $120 and plus $20 shipping (this is a really great price, despite the shipping cost).

Aura Digital Picture Frame

Culminate your grad’s and dad’s life with the ultimate in digital picture frames, the Aura Picture Frame.  Undoubtedly, the most beautiful picture frame we have ever seen with metallic finishes and frosted glass. 

The Aura goes beyond skin deep beauty with advanced technology that fills your picture frame with zero effort after you set it up.

Use the Aura app to connect to your WiFi then choose the pictures, folders, or collections you’d like displayed on your phone.  With Aura’s Ultra HD 1536×2048 pixels 9.7-inch LED-backlit display, pictures are bright and vivid.

Choose either one picture for a constant display or Aura can show a slideshow.  Want to go through the photos faster or just turn to the next picture, simply wave your hand past the picture frame to move onto the next picture.

Where do the pictures come from?  Your phone. But they can also come from Dropbox, Instagram, Google Photos, and more by turning on applets in the app and IFTTT.

Aura Picture Frames are energy conscious, using minimal energy, auto dimming, and they automatically go to sleep once a room is dark.

Aura’s software is pretty amazing too.  In the app, select a person or pet that you’re fond of and Aura will go through your photos – past and future – and send them automatically to your Aura frame, careful not to send duplicates or low-resolution photos.  Take a picture of your son’s turn at bat during a game and it will be on your Aura frame when you get home, it’s beautiful!

I have to say, the display of pictures on the Aura frame is stunning and the Aura frame itself is eye-catching in itself.  Available in Quartz, Charcoal, Seaglass, and Ivory, each color will certainly be noticed in your grad or dad’s family room, office, or bedroom.

The Aura Frame is a stunning keepsake and is available for $299 (currently on discount by $100) with free shipping on the Aura website.

We think you’ll find our suggestions unique and no doubt multifunctional.  Today’s devices include so many more functions than the technology of yesteryear. 

You’ll notice that charging devices is a common feature to typically non-charging products- as you saw in the Cauldryn Fyre Mobile, JOLT 5200 All Purpose Jump Starter, and the Karaoke Star Plus Speaker.  We are all power hungry to charge our phones and companies are meeting this need.

Enjoy those graduations and Father’s Day with your family!

*We were given each of these products for review and possible inclusion in this guide dependent upon our testing.  All opinions are our own.