Give Grads Gear To Stay In Touch, Protect Their Stuff And Be Mindful

"Gap year!" they screamed in unison. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

After what seems like an eternity, the end of the school year is upon us. Whether your kids are walking across the stage for the final time, or they're heading into summer with their eyes on the next stage of their educational journey, here are a few things they'll love.

Transformers Journals by Moleskine

Pretty much exactly what meets the eye.

Anthony Karcz

One of the most important bits of advice you can impart to someone who grew up with a screen in their hands is how to put that screen down. Journaling and notetaking with paper and pen is a focused, almost meditative, activity. Learning how to be productive offline is just as important as staying connected.

I might be biased (Narrator: he is) but these are the greatest licensed journals Moleskine has ever produced. Both the Autobot-themed Optimus Prime and Decepticon-themed Megatron journal have gorgeous cover art inspired by the G1 instruction manuals. Pop off the appropriately red or purple elastic closure and you'll be met with comic art from the original Marvel comics gracing the interior and back covers. The Megatron journal has art from the rise of Unicron while Optimus Prime's is about the Matrix of Leadership. And don't toss the paper band! There's more G1-inspired artwork lining that as well. The stickers hidden in the back pocket are fun too, made to look like they're a plastic sprue of additional parts.

The journal itself is the usual Moleskine quality, with thick, ivory-colored paper and a lay-flat spine. If your grad doesn't have one yet, they need one. Taking physical notes is one of those things that you never quite stop doing, and having a gorgeous journal like this to keep them in makes all the difference. Though if you really, really want to keep a digital record of your physical notes, you can do that too. You can pick them up for $25 each at

LifeProof Squamish XL

Don't get squeamish, it's just Squamish.


No matter what their next destination is, the new grad is going to need a good pack to hold their stuff. That $9.99 Walmart special with the busted strap isn't going to make it through the next 24 hours, much less backpacking through Europe, hitting the high school halls next year, or trekking across college campuses. Luckily, LifeProof has expanded from making only rugged, waterproof (and dirtproof and dropproof and snowproof) device cases and now has a line of seriously impressive backpacks.

The Squamish XL is the biggest of the bunch and has room for 32L of gear (including a few liters of water in the hydration pouch). It's a bit hard to visualize exactly how much stuff that is, so LifeProof made a handy video:

In addition to some serious carrying capacity, the Squamish XL is made with water-repellent Cordura fabric, has a bottom pocket for extra storage, and can fit a 15" laptop in the back pocket. No matter what your grads are doing or where they're going, this pack will keep everything they need safe and dry. You can find the Squamish XL for $179, along with the rest of their new bag lineup, at

Google Pixelbook

The Pixelbook can be configured any way you need it.


Now that school is over and they might be leaving the house entirely, you're going to want to give your grad the gift of technological independence. At least in my house, laptop ownership is complicated. My son wants me to stay off his laptop, but he rarely backs up his files and never runs system updates. It's basically inviting disaster as soon as he's on his own and I'm not there to play IT fairy anymore.

That's why the best system you can gift is a Google Chromebook. And out of those, Google Pixelbook is the best of the best. It's a convertible laptop that can switch to a tablet (and every configuration in-between). With 10 hours of battery life and quiet, backlit keys, it's perfect for cranking out last-minute term papers while your roommate sleeps.

Since it runs Chrome, there's no maintenance to worry about. Google regularly and automatically updates the operating system in the background. And as far as losing work goes, you don't have to worry about that either - everything is stored in the Google cloud, so it's available on all of your connected devices.

As far as compatibility goes - the Google Suite of productivity products are completely compatible with Office (and you can always log in to Office 360 if you really need Microsoft's software). And, honestly, where G Suite used to be playing catch up to the House that Gates Built, I think the opposite is now true. I do nearly all my content creation in Google Docs and see no reason to switch to another platform. It's more than robust enough for everything I do.

I've used a lot of Chromebooks and Google got it right with their in-house flagship model. It's a joy to type on, easy to operate and is faster than it needs to be. Being able to convert it to a tablet means I can enjoy comics, games, and streaming videos on it without having to haul around another device.

If you're ready to get off the Mac/Windows treadmill, head over to the Google Store and pick one up for $999. Maybe with this, they'll be a little more diligent about replying to your emails.

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