In the good old days, the “manly arts” meant building log cabins, wrestling bears, and felling trees with a single stroke of an ax. The need for these feats has diminished with time, though, and manliness is quite different today.

If you really want to impress people with your machismo, you could learn how to change your own brake pads or take up boxing. For the most part, however, the modern man is expected to be a good father and griller, not a lumberjack or warrior. Still, if you or your husband has a bit of an atavistic streak, you might both get a kick out of tactical gear.

This “tactical” barbecuing apron is definitely a gift for people who don’t take themselves too seriously, but it does turn out to be surprisingly useful. Depending on what kind of grill you have, chances are that you never have enough space to set down all your seasonings and tools.

With a total of five pouches in which to keep bottles of spice mixture, basting sauce, beer, and other necessities, as well as loops you can hook utensils onto, this apron does away with the need for a table. Of course, you might not want to wear it around the wrong types of guests: pacifists might not like the faux-military design, while actual cops and soldiers will tend to make fun of it. Then again, as a gift that may be precisely what you’re looking for.

Apart from its weight (almost a pound, unloaded) and the fact that it can get a little hot on sunny days, we have little negative to say about this apron. It’s machine washable and made of non-flammable cotton, without which it wouldn’t be of much use as a barbecue apron. It can be adjusted to fit almost any adult, while the pouches can be repositioned for greater convenience. It is not, however, made to accommodate armor plates.