Struggling to buy for the sailor in your life? Yachting World's test team has spent a year on the water with this year's gear and whittled it down to 17 presents, from stocking fillers to big-ticket items. Here's what made the cut.

The surprise hero is the C-monsta Wetsuit Hanger, a purpose-built hanger that handles soaking neoprene without snapping or stretching shoulders, dries gear faster, and packs flat for trips. Unglamorous, yes — but anyone who sails regularly will use it constantly.

For a classic with real pedigree, the Victorinox Skipper Swiss Army Knife earns its place with a marlin spike for loosening stubborn knots and mousing lines, plus the obligatory bottle opener for post-passage celebrations. At the stocking-filler end, the Sealskinz Bacton Waterproof Beanie uses a three-layer waterproof-but-breathable construction — a genuine upgrade over the drawerful of soggy woolly hats most sailors already own.

Sunglasses get two picks. The Timberland TB00042 polarised pair survived a full summer of testing, cutting water glare in a snug but not overly sporty fit, with eco-friendly bio-based acetate frames. The SunGod Renegade 8KO goes further on sustainability — recycled frames and lenses, renewable-energy manufacturing, carbon-offset delivery and a lifetime repair guarantee — wrapped in a warm-tinted wayfarer style.

On the premium side, the Yeti Panga Waterproof Backpack is described as the tank of dry bags: laminated high-density nylon, a moulded EVA base, six lashing points and a hermetic zip seal that makes the bag double as a deck seat. The Yeti Hopper Flip cool bag (sizes 8, 12 and 18) covers day sails and dockside drinks — the Flip 18 swallows 20 cans at a 2:1 ice ratio.

Optics and tech get a look-in too. Steiner's Navigator Pro binoculars are nitrogen-filled, waterproof to 10m and available with an integrated compass; their weight actually helps steady the image for bearings in a chop. Racing types will recognise the Optimum Time Series 3 'big yellow' watch, a 65mm countdown monster ubiquitous at Olympic sailing — also in white, blue and pink. The Fenix Shadowmaster headtorch rounds out the practical picks.

Clothing-wise, the Gill OS2 Offshore jacket distils over 50 years of the British brand's experience plus feedback from 250-plus wearers: a two-layer XPLORE fabric waterproof-tested to 30,000mm, fully taped seams, and an abrasion test involving three hours of grit-paper rubbing. XTRATUF's collaboration ankle deck boots with Finisterre, tested in the Norwegian fjords, use plant-based Yulex rubber, grip wet teak and trails alike, and slipped on pain-free over thick socks.

For stay-at-home winter days, there's even a Lego Technic model of Emirates Team New Zealand's AC75 America's Cup foiler — a proper display piece for racing fans, and Lego also does a Jaws Orca boat build if that's more their scene.

Why it matters: this guide solves the classic problem of buying marine kit without knowing a halyard from a VHF. Every item has been genuinely tested afloat, so you're choosing between proven options rather than gambling on novelty tat. Budgets span pocket-money hangers to eye-watering Yeti prices, so there's something at every gifting level. Full detail is in the original rundown — Source: Yachting World