The Seven Deadly Sins of Giving: Wrath

If your loved one insists on climbing hairball mixed (rock-and-ice) routes, the least you can do is make sure he or she has the best tools. Like Petzl‘s Ergo ice ax, which is as ergonomic and adjustable as it is wicked-looking. (Note the teeth on the underside of the pick.) $325; petzl.com

Atomic World Cup Skate FL Skis

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

Remember how you wanted to start skate skiing after watching the Olympics last year? Time to take action. Atomic‘s race-worthy World Cup Skate FL skis won’t slow you down; they weigh just 2.1 pounds per pair. $645; atomicski.com

Brooks-Range Igloo 35 Folding Saw

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

Think of the Brooks-Range collapsible Igloo 35 Folding Saw as a bit of added insurance. It weighs just seven ounces, takes up practically no room in your pack, and can be used for everything from snow-shelter building to pit digging to cutting firewood. (Yes, the teeth are plenty sharp.) $49; brooks-range.com

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

Gorgeously written, obsessively researched, and keep-you-up-at-night thrilling, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Knopf, $27), about a vindictive, poacher-eating tiger in Russia’s eastern Primorye province, is simply our favorite book of the year.

Quiksilver Travis Rice Backpack

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

Quiksilver‘s Travis Rice Backpack has universally handy features like specialized pockets for avy tools and a Velcro back panel that opens to form a snow seat. But it does play favorites: while it will carry skis (diagonally), it was designed specifically for ‘boarders and carries snowboards either horizontally or vertically. $120; quiksilver.com

Salomon S-Lab 3 XT Wings

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

Tipping the scale at just under 11 ounces, Salomon‘s S-Lab 3 XT Wings were originally designed for the company’s crew of elite mountain runners and adventure racers. In other words, yes, they’re as fast (and surefooted) as they look. $160; salomonrunning.com

Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

With its 4.8-inch combo blade and slew of extras—including a fire-starting flint in the sheath, safety whistle, and lash points (to make a spear)—Gerber‘s Bear Grylls Ultimate survival knife is a bit over the top. Of course, like its namesake, it’s also legitimately badass. $60; gerbergear.com

Head YouTek Prestige Pro

Our vice-themed handbook has the perfect present for everyone on your list, including the best sports gear of 2010.

When you wind up to really crack one, Head‘s YouTek Prestige Pro adds extra punch: the shaft’s d3o material—the same stuff you find in protective mountain-biking and ski apparel—instantaneously stiffens. Conversely, on slower shots, it absorbs impact, giving you better feel. $225; head.com

PENANCE: Patience

Penance: Patience
There tends to be one in every family: the dude who needs to chill. At age nine, his vibrating energy was tolerable. His parents thought, Let him be himself, and got him a skateboard. Now he’s 39, often injured, always late for supper (“Sorry, but the [powder/swell/wind] was epic!”), and wanting … a skateboard. What you should give him is a knife. A hefty and serious blade like the Wusthof Classic Wide cook’s knife ($150; wusthof.com) compels even the most restless man to pause and consider the possibilities. To plan an afternoon’s adventure so it ends at the butcher. To be—when carving or filleting or mincing—steady. Controlled. To be on time for supper, because he’s making it.