November 17, 2000

Recreation gifts cover the gamut: kayaking, snowboarding, air hockey

In Colorado, you really can’t go wrong with a sports- or recreation-oriented holiday gift, even for those on your list whose idea of climbing is to haul out the step stool to reach that bag of nacho cheese Doritos.

The trick is to define recreation. For some, recreation looks suspiciously like napping. For others, it entails enough equipment to set off 14 airport metal detectors.

Say, for instance, your idea of recreation is to drive around in a cool car. Unfortunately, to get what many think is the spiffiest model introduced this year, you’ll have to wait.

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According to Eddie at Longmont’s Prestige Chrysler Dodge Plymouth, the Plymouth PT Cruiser — you know, those cars that look like they were built in the 1940s — are on back order. This despite the fact that Plymouth built 150,000 of them this year, the largest quantity ever for a first-year car. To get a PT Cruiser, you put down a $500 deposit and wait until the factory ships you a car. Some customers have waited more than six months; some a month.

“Basically, it seems to be a lottery system,” Eddie said. PT Cruisers range in price from $16,500 to $22,000.

If those on your holiday gift list prefer a more active way of getting around, look into scooters. They’re the rage for kids, but adults also like them. A foot operated, two-wheeled Razor, which folds up for easy toting, is $100 to $150. Or check out the $550 Zappy electric scooter, which at three feet long, has room for a small, adventurous friend.

In Boulder, you can’t go wrong with kayaking-oriented gifts.

“Kayakers always want kayak stuff,” says Crash of the Boulder Outdoor Center. Crash recommends Pelican boxes, which are waterproof and indestructible even if you drop them off a 50-foot cliff. They’re good for storing stuff you don’t want to get wet, like cameras. Prices run from $20 to $170.

If your friends are just kayaker wannabes, sign them up for the real thing. The Boulder Outdoor Center offers kayaking classes every month in the winter. Three classes, held on consecutive Sunday nights, cost $109. By the time your loved one is through, he or she should be able to tackle a Class 2 or 3 rapid.

For those who prefer a less-complicated form of transportation, check out the new Soap shoes. They look like a normal tennis shoe, but have a plastic cup under the arch of the foot that allows the wearer to jump on a surface and slide down it. They’re the rage, Crash promises. Prices range from $50 to $100.

While we’re on the subject of unusual transportation, the competition pogo stick at Galyan’s sells for a mere $35 and counts up to 999 jumps. You’ll look like less of a dweeb if you wear an official Tilley hat while jumping. This cotton duck hat is de rigeuer for in-the-know travelers, whose stories about their hat’s adventures are printed in the Tilley catalog. Guaranteed for life, Tilley hats retail for $55.

If your friends prefer more traditional sports, Mike at Gart Sports in Westminster recommends Ride snowboards, which — new for this year — have beveled edges that make for a harder curve. These snowboards, unlike the pricier and more popular Burtons, cost between $200 and $300.

For Peter Forsberg wannabes, check out Galyan’s all-electric air hockey tables. They make foosball look like a 19th century pastime. Salesclerk Ian recommends the Marquis Turbo, which, unlike other air hockey games, has goals set away from the table boundaries. Think ice hockey, where the players can skate behind the goal. This configuration makes the Marquis much more difficult to play than other air hockey games, Ian says. The catch: The game costs $700 and takes four to six weeks to ship. Galyan’s will deliver it to your house and assemble it for another $100.

But say hockey is just a little too brutal for your friends’ sensibilities. Invest in a Spalding World Pro croquet set, which has official size balls, mallets and wickets, assuring that if croquet ever becomes an Olympic sport, your friends will have a jump on the competition. Plus, the set comes in a cool nylon carrying bag so you can toss it in your trunk and pull it out whenever the urge to sip tea and discuss sticky wickets comes upon you. The set sells for $100 at Galyan’s.

For your friends who believe recreation means lying horizontal to the ground, the answer is a Byer of Maine Amazona’s hammock. This extra-wide hammock is designed to be lounged in Brazilian style-diagonally instead of straight up and down. Apparently Brazilians often sleep in hammocks and have determined the diagonal position keeps the back straight and the head and feet level with the body. Plus, the hammocks are made out of a comfy cotton fabric rather than rope. They’re also less expensive than other hammocks, at $50 to $80.

While one friend is lounging, another can be cooking on a top-of-the-line Weber Summit 650 grill, available at Galyan’s. This $3,000 cooker isn’t your traditional backyard barbecue. It has three heat zones, six burners, and is about five feet long..

For those who prefer cooking outside on a Coleman stove at 12,000 feet, purchase Natural High all-natural gourmet freeze-dried food. No western omelets here. Instead, you can dine on spicy Thai chicken or honey mustard chicken, finished off with chocolate fudge mousse with toasted almonds. At $3 to $6 a pack, this food is pricey, but you’re paying for that lack of preservatives.

If your friends and relatives are the types who get lost while toting their freeze-dried goodies up poorly market trails, give them USGS maps. Galyan’s has a National Geographic map machine that prints out a waterproof, seamless topographic map of any area in the state for $7.95. Or buy the Rocky Mountain wilderness and ski areas map CD ROM for $49. For $199, some lucky hiker can have a set of seven CD ROMs that map every inch of Colorado. Features include the ability to dot trails in color and to list the distance and elevation of each cross section of land.

And don’t forget the most important people on your list: children and pets.

For the infant, it’s never too early to think about a football career. And good footwear is essential if junior is going to sign that multi-million dollar contract and support you in your old age. Start him out right in Galyan’s Little Rookies First Shoes with a Bronco insignia. These leather shoes fit babies up to 10 months old and sell for $20. Fido can also have his own Scott nylon dog boots for $15 a pair.

In Colorado, you really can’t go wrong with a sports- or recreation-oriented holiday gift, even for those on your list whose idea of climbing is to haul out the step stool to reach that bag of nacho cheese Doritos.

The trick is to define recreation. For some, recreation looks suspiciously like napping. For others, it entails enough equipment to set off 14 airport metal detectors.

Say, for instance, your idea of recreation is to drive around in a cool car. Unfortunately, to get what many think is the spiffiest model introduced this year, you’ll have to wait.

According to Eddie…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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