Best Budget Accessories

The small keychain Swiss Army knife: blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver and tweezers in a 58mm body.

The pick that is right more often than anything else at this money. The Classic SD is the small keychain Swiss Army knife — blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver and tweezers in a 58mm body — and the scissors alone justify carrying it, because they are the most-used tool on any keychain by a wide margin. It is small and light enough to live on a set of keys permanently, which matters more than the tool count: a multi-tool in a drawer is useless and this one is always in a pocket. For something that costs about as much as a sandwich lunch it is a genuine lifetime object, and Victorinox has been making them long enough that the recipient has probably wanted one without ever getting round to buying it. Two honest points. It has a small blade rather than a working knife, so this is not a replacement for a pocket knife. And it is not allowed through airport security, which means a frequent flier will lose it at a checkpoint unless they remember.

A woven nylon slip-through strap in a very wide range of colors and lug widths, from a long-established strap maker.

The best small gift for somebody who owns a watch, and the one most people never think of. A woven nylon slip-through strap in a very wide range of colors and lug widths, from a long-established strap maker. The reason it works at this money is that a strap changes how a watch reads completely — the same watch on black nylon, olive canvas and navy stripe is three watches, and a plain budget watch on an interesting strap looks deliberate rather than cheap. Nylon also survives water, sweat and a washing machine, which leather does not, so it is the practical choice as well as the cheap one. The color choice is the widest of any strap type, which means it can be matched to something specific rather than guessed. Two honest points. It adds a little thickness under the watch, which a few people notice and dislike. And the lug width has to be right or it simply will not fit — that number is measured between the lugs in millimeters and is usually in the watch's specification.

A tiny single-AAA keychain flashlight, bright enough to be genuinely useful, with a twist-on tail.

The pick that sounds dull and gets used constantly. The i3E EOS is a tiny single-AAA keychain flashlight with a twist-on tail, and it is bright enough to be genuinely useful rather than a novelty — the point of a keychain light is that the flashlight you have is the one that gets used, and a phone torch means taking out and unlocking a phone with your hands full. It is small enough that it actually stays on the keys rather than being removed within a week, which is where most keychain gifts fail. It runs on a AAA battery you can buy anywhere in the world, which is a real advantage over rechargeable lights on a long trip. And it is cheap enough to buy two and leave one in a glovebox, which is what most owners end up doing. Two honest points. It is not rechargeable, so it needs a battery eventually. And it has one brightness level only, which is the right call at this size but worth knowing.

An oversized triple-milled soap bar in strong scents, with packaging that does most of the gifting work.

The pick when something else is the main gift and this one has to make the box look full. An oversized triple-milled soap bar in strong scents, with packaging that does most of the gifting work — and the packaging genuinely is funny, which is half of a stocking gift's job and something no sensible accessory manages. Triple-milled matters more than it sounds: the bar is denser than a standard soap and lasts considerably longer, so it is not a gift that disappears in a fortnight. It is cheap enough to add to anything else on this page without changing the budget, and it is one of the few gifts that is improved rather than undermined by being obviously inexpensive. Two honest points. The scents are strong and entirely a matter of taste, so pick a plain one if you are unsure rather than the most characterful. And the bar is too big for a small soap dish, which is a real and slightly comic problem.

A six-pair box of cushioned ankle socks with a reinforced heel and toe, sold under a one-pair-donated model.

The pick that proves socks are not a joke gift when the socks are good. A six-pair box of cushioned ankle socks with a reinforced heel and toe, sold under a one-pair-donated model, and the reason they work is that they are the rare socks people notice and then re-buy for themselves — which is the single best outcome available for any clothing gift. Sizing is forgiving, so this is a clothing gift with almost no risk of being wrong, and a box of six is enough to be a present rather than a stopgap. The donation model also gives the gift something to say about itself, which helps when it is going to somebody you do not know well. Two honest points. They are expensive per pair compared with a supermarket multipack, and anybody who does not care about socks will not see the difference. And this is a supporting gift rather than a main one — pair it with something, or it reads as thin on its own.

Polarized sunglasses in a classic square frame, sold direct at a fraction of designer prices.

The pick that gets the most useful feature in eyewear onto a budget page. Polarized sunglasses in a classic square frame, sold direct at a fraction of designer prices, and polarization is the thing worth paying for — it cuts glare off water, roads and car bonnets in a way that tinted-but-unpolarized lenses simply do not. Getting it at a price where losing a pair is annoying rather than painful is the whole argument, because sunglasses do get lost and a cheap polarized pair that gets worn beats an expensive pair kept carefully in a drawer. The square shape suits most faces, which makes it a safer guess than aviators when you are buying for somebody else, and the wide color range means they can be matched to a wardrobe. Two honest points. Plastic frames feel light rather than luxurious, and anyone expecting heft will notice. And there is no prescription option, so a glasses wearer needs a different answer.

A tiny sealed brass pen that writes upside down, in the cold and in the wet, and fits in a coin pocket when closed.

The pick when the gift needs to feel like a thing rather than a consumable. The Space Pen Bullet is a tiny sealed brass pen that writes upside down, in the cold and in the wet, and closes down to something that fits in a coin pocket. The sealed pressurized refill is the reason for all of that, and it means the pen works in conditions that kill a normal ballpoint — which sounds like a specification until you are filling in a form in the rain. Solid metal makes it feel like an object rather than a stationery item, which is what lifts it above a nice biro as a gift, and the refills are cheap and sold everywhere so it does not become disposable. Two honest points. It is short and thick when closed and only moderately long when capped on the back, so it is not comfortable for a long writing session. And the polished finishes show fingerprints immediately — the matte versions age better.

The plain ribbed acrylic beanie Carhartt has sold for decades, in a long list of colors.

The pick when you need a clothing gift and you do not know a single measurement. The plain ribbed acrylic beanie Carhartt has sold for decades, in a long list of colors, and the properties that make it work are unglamorous: it is one size, so there is nothing to get wrong, and nearly everybody will actually wear it, which is rare for clothing bought by somebody else. It is cheap enough to pair with something else, which is how it is best used — a beanie plus a pair of good socks plus a brick of soap is a box that looks like a present rather than three small things. The Carhartt name also carries enough weight that it reads as a deliberate choice rather than a supermarket grab. Two honest points. It is acrylic rather than wool, so it is warm but not luxurious, and anybody who knows the difference will know. And it is very common, which means it may not feel special on its own.