Best Gifts for Surfers in 2024: From $5 to $500
Last Updated on December 11, 2023 by Matt Hapgood
Best Under $20
A pack of surf wax is the easy option if you have a limit on cash.
Every surfer uses surf wax pretty much every time they hit the waves.
A no-brainer surfer gift!
Best Surfer Gift
A changing poncho is another great gift that every surfer will love!
Not just for surfing, these are particularly handy for camping, swimming and other fun activities.
My favorite is the Slowtide Sundown poncho.
Money No Object
So, the Apple Watch 8 is my go-to surf watch.
If you install the Dawn Patrol App, the watch is transformed into a ‘do-everything’ piece of kit.
A great gift for a surfer!
When I used to own a surf shop, I’d often have customers piling in at the last minute looking to buy the best gift for the surfer in their life. As a surfer myself, I was in a great position to offer a whole host of Christmas gift options – Gifts I’d be more than happy to receive myself!
I’ve listed a load of gift ideas below, ranked by price from low to high. So if you’re on a budget and looking for a cheap stocking filler for someone who loves to surf, or you’re feeling generous and want to drop 100 bucks on surf gear, I’ve got you covered in this gift guide.
This list is written with surfers in mind, so I’m sure they will be pretty stoked with anything on this list.
Let’s dive in!
Because this is a fairly long blog post, I’ve split it into sections – jump straight in with these quick links
What Gifts Do Surfers Love?
When it comes to gift ideas for the surfing enthusiast in your life, you can’t go wrong with useful gear to improve their wave-riding sessions.
Surfers love items like high-quality wetsuits to keep them warm in the water, traction pads for better board grip, or a pair of ear plugs to protect their ears from the saltwater.
Other great gifts include surf wax for extra grip, leashes to attach to their boards, or accessories like board shorts or rash guards.
Surfers also appreciate luxuries for relaxation like massage rollers for sore muscles or coconut scented sunscreens that remind them of the tropics.
And you can always inspire future surf trips with gifts like a changing robe, travel guidebooks, waterproof GoPros to capture the action, or surfboard wall racks to display their quivers at home. With this wide range of functional and fun surf gifts, you’re sure to score points and smiles with the surfers in your life.
Must-Have Surf Gifts Under $20
For a small stocking filler, or quick and easy gift for a surfer, have a look at the following options.
Sex Wax Air Freshener
A product loved by surfers and non-surfers alike, Mr Zogs car air fresheners are a great little gift. They come in a few different fragrances, but to be honest, coconut is the winner.
Sex Wax Air Freshener – $4+
Bring the smell of summer with you all year long. Amazinlgy popular the Sex Wax Air Freshener is the ultimate gift under 5 bucks.
Coconut flavor is THE ONE to go for, and the more you buy, the better value they are.
No brainer, easy surfer gift.
Sticky Bumps Surfboard Wax
Next up is an essential surf product we all need and use pretty much every surf – yup, you guessed it, surf wax.
Not a very exciting gift I get it, but I don’t think any surfer will be sad receiving a couple of bars of wax for their birthday or as a Christmas gift.
Surfboard Wax – $4+
Surf wax is another ideal gift every surfer needs.
If you are unsure which brand to buy, check out my ultimate buyer’s guide to the best surf wax. Failing that, opt for Sex Wax Quick Humps, or Sticky Bumps.
The important thing when buying surfboard wax is to make sure you are getting the correct temperature by checking this interactive map.
Sunscreen – From $10
Another essential consumable for the everyday surfer is sun protection.
A cool zinc stick I like is the Sun Zapper zinc stick, which comes in at around $10.
Sun Zapper Zinc Stick – $10
It’s important to look after your skin, and even in Winter the sun can be pretty strong in certain parts of the World.
I avoid traditional ‘sun cream’ – Not only does it run when you are in the surf, and often sting your eyeballs, but many contain substances you simply shouldn’t be putting on your skin.
Always try to use natural sun protection with high zinc content, like this Zinc Stick from Sun Zapper.
A nice little surfer gift.
Pickle Wax Remover – $14
The Pickle from the team at Sex Wax is a great little gift for a surfer. It makes cleaning the wax off your surfboard a lot easier than just scraping, and also eliminates the need for chemicals.
Pickle Wax Remover – $14
The Pickle is a nice little gift for any surfer.
It may look and sound kinda weird but it’s basically a soft squishy tool to remove wax from your surfboard.
Made from soft pantyhose material and filled with surfboard foam dust, when you rub it over your board, the small remnants of wax stick to the Pickle – it also polishes your board a little, breathing back a bit of new life!
In the package, you’ll get the Pickle, a wax comb, and a sticker.
Surf Maps – $15
These maps are a really cool gift for any surfer. They are all priced under $20, and come in a range of locations, North Shore Hawaii, San Diego, Orange County and more!
Franko Surf Maps – $15
I stumbled across these maps when I owned a surf shop about 10 years ago.
A super simple gift, and actually really useful too!
My tip: Put the poster in a frame and hang in the best spot in the house!
Wetsuit Cleaner – $18
Another really handy gift that many surfers will probably not buy for themselves. Wetsuit cleaner or shampoo will get rid of any bad smells, and will also re-condition the neoprene material most wetsuits are made from.
O’Neill Wetsuit Cleaner – $18
Wetsuit cleaner or shampoo will get rid of any nasty smells from a wetsuit.
Sometimes over time, wetsuits become a bit crusty and lose their stretchy properties. Wetsuit cleaner will breathe a bit of new life into a wetsuit, also prolonging its life.
An easy relatively cheap gift for any surfer or watersports fanatic.
Best Surfer Gifts $20 – $50
Now we’re getting into more seriously priced gifts ideas for surfers – and they’re worth it right? There are a tonne of lovely gifts up to $50 that us surfers all love.
Wetsuit Changing Mat – $20
Ok, so I thought these were a bit kooky when I first saw them. But that was before I moved to Portugal and had to change into my wetsuit quite often on a sandy beach. A change mat will prevent your wetsuit from getting completely trashed by sand as well as dirt and grim from the parking lot.
COR Surf Wetsuit Changing Mat – $20
This is the best changing mat I’ve come across. 2 reasons. I’ll tell you why:
High sidewalls – helps to eliminate any sand or other bits getting inside the mat.
Large size – It’s a lot bigger than others on the market, which makes getting changed easier, and you can actually carry more than one wetsuit if needed.
Once you’re done, simply pull the drawstrings, and your wetsuit (and all of the water) is contained inside the ‘bag’ keeping the trunk of your car dry and clean.
Surfboard Leash – From $20
A new leash is a nice little treat in my opinion. Something you only really buy when your leash is either completely tattered, snapped, or you have just bought a new surfboard.
Creatures Reliance Surf Leash – $35
There are a whole host of leashes to buy these days.
I would recommend getting a quality brand over some Chinese knockoff off to be honest.
The last thing you want is for your leash to snap when you are out in big surf.
Important Tip: Ensure the leash you buy is roughly the same size as the surfboard. You don’t want to go too big or too small (you may have to get sneaky if you want this to be a surprise).
Rash Guard – From $25
Another simple gift to get a surfer is a rash guard or rash vest. There are two main types, the traditional tight-fitting rashie, or a more modern surf t-shirt which is looser fitting and a bit more stylish.
O’Neill Hybrid Surf Shirt – $35
This is a really cool surf shirt from World famous brand O’Neill.
If you want to do some additional research, I have an article entitled The Best Rash Guards here.
Made with a looser fit compared to your traditional rash guard, this is a great option for surfing in warm waters, or all sorts of other fun when you’re messing about on the ocean – SUPing, boating, or kayaking.
UPF50+ to keep the harmful UV rays at bay, and super quick drying, it’s a really well-made, versatile bit of kit any surfer will love.
Ding Repair Kit – $25
There’s not much worse if you are a surfer than getting a ding or dent in your surfboard. It’s always a good idea to have a ding repair kit before you ding your board, but not all of us are that organized! So, a perfect gift for a surfer is this small ding repair pack from Ding All.
Ding All Surfboard Repair Kit – $25
This pack contains everything you need to repair your board – mixing pots and sticks, resin, hardener, cloth and sanding pads.
It even includes a small tube of Sun Cure, which is great for those small quick repairs when you are travelling or away from home.
25 bucks is a great price point for a surfer gift, and if you are a surfer, having this ding kit ready to go is a nice feeling to have.
Surf Hat – From $30
Last year I did a deep dive into the best surf hats on the market. I’m currently in the process of adding more hats to the test but in the meantime, my top pick is the Da Kine Indo Surf Hat.
Da Kine Indo Surf Hat – $45
A wetsuit hat is a pretty handy bit of kit for most surfers – especially if you often surf or hang out in parts of the World where the sun is particularly strong.
The Indo Surf Hat from Da Kine was my favorite when I ran a test some months back.
Quality materials and great features, it’s a little more expensive than some other surf hats, but I feel like it’s money well spent.
A versatile surfer gift.
Traction Pad – $25
This is another one of those things that as surfers we rarely buy unless we have just bought a new surfboard. But a new traction pad or deck grip is a nice little gift that won’t break the bank.
Ho Stevie Surfboard Traction Pad – $25
A traction pad is an essential extra bit of gear – giving you improved grip on the tail of your board a good deck grip will prevent your foot from sliding off the back of the board, and allow you to perform more radical maneuvers.
This offer from Ho Stevie is an amazing price and comes in a great choice of colors.
The fact that it’s split into 3 makes it suitable for a wide range of surfboards too – thumbs up from me!
Surf Booties – From $50
In colder waters us surfers need to wear booties and sometimes gloves and in extreme cases a wetsuit hood. Any surfer who has to surf regularly in cold water will be STOKED to receive a brand new, fresh-smelling pair of booties (yeah, after a while they can smell a bit funky, to say the least).
O’Neill Heat 3mm Wetsuit Booties – $50
If the surfer in your life has to deal with cold water, they will for sure need a pair of wetsuit booties to get them through those chilly days.
Depending on the water temperature, either 3mm, 5mm or even 8mm (thick) booties will suffice.
For more info on this, check out my guide on what to wear surfing.
O’Neill is the go-to when it comes to wetsuits – they were invented by Jack O’Neill over 70 years ago, and the brand O’Neill was born.
Changing Poncho – From $40
I love my change poncho! I never really saw the point in these, to be honest – but once you buy one you realize how fricken handy they are. From getting changed in the parking lot, to keeping warm by the campfire when you’re camping, a change poncho is one useful thing to own.
Slowtide Sundown Changing Poncho – $85
A little on the more expensive side compared to other changing ponchos, the Slowtide brand makes quality gear that is designed to last.
To learn more about other surf ponchos on the market, check out my blog post on the best surf ponchos here.
A few things I love about Slowtide in particular are the following:
They’re made from super thick terry cotton, all come with a nice oversized hood, and they’re made in the USA. What’s not to love?!
C-Monsta Wetsuit Hanger – $45
This is a great gift choice for all sorts of water goers – Surfers, wild water swimmers, or any water sports enthusiast. This wetsuit hanger helps to prolong the life of your wetsuit, by hanging it to dry from the waist rather than the neck and shoulders.
C-Monsta Wetsuit Hanger – $45
As a surfer, this is the one piece of kit you never knew you needed until you own one.
I recently bought one of these for myself after seeing them in my friend’s surf shop.
Super strong, and easy to drape your wetsuit over, it also has places to dry your booties and gloves too.
The hook and strap attachment means you can hang your wettie virtually anywhere – great for those days when you want to surf twice but only have one wetsuit.
45 bucks well spent in my opinion!
Best Gift For Surfers – Over $50
I’ve listed 3 different gifts for the top of the pile. Any surfer will be over the moon to receive any one of these I’m sure.
Surf Coaching – From $49
OMBE Surf Coaching – From $49
Surf coaching is not restricted to needing someone on the beach anymore.
With the power of the interwebs, you can now get a top-class surf coach online for as little as $49.
The OMBE team is my surf coaching brand of choice – clear instructional videos, weekly Q and A sessions, and they are just fun guys to hang around with.
Check out the packages on OMBE.co
Surf Watch – From $99
Rip Curl Rifles Surf Watch – $99
I recently did a full tear-down of the best surf watches you can buy for 2024. Read the full article here.
Depending on your budget you may opt for my top pick which the Apple Watch series 8.
But if you can’t stretch to $300 plus, the best budget option in my opinion is this one – The Rip Curl Rifles Surf Watch.
It has a load of beaches pre-programmed with tide information, is very well built and has a great battery life.
