Der Triathlon-Geschenkführer von Zone3

Buying for a triathlete can feel like buying for three people at once. They swim, they ride, they run, and somewhere along the way they've formed opinions about all of it.

The trick is to skip the things they've already researched to death and go for the kit that wears out, goes missing or never quite reaches the top of their own list. These are the triathlon gifts we'd want to unwrap ourselves, and most of them are one size, so there's nothing to get wrong. If you're looking for triathlete gifts that will actually get used, start here. 

The ones that wear out. Goggles, race belts andanti-chafe balm all get used every week and replaced more often than anyone admits, which makes them the safest gifts on this list.

Goggles come first. Lenses scratch, straps perish and a spare pair in the kit bag is never wasted. The Venator X is our flagship open-water racer, with HORIZON wide-angle lenses and a LUCID anti-fog coating.

The Vapour is the do-everything performance goggle, as comfortable in the pool as in a lake.

The Attack is the comfort-first goggle, with a soft, flexible frame for anyone who has ever complained about goggles digging in.

A Protective Swim Goggle Case keeps them from getting scratched in the bag.

A race belt is the next easy win. The Endurance Race Belt holds the number with cord toggles instead of pins, sits on your back for the bike and spins round to the front for the run. Three gel loops keep nutrition at the hips, and the expandable Lycra pouch can hold other nutrition or essentials. Triathletes will need a race number belt for all races.

Then there's anti-chafe balm, the least glamorous gift here and one of the most used. 100% Natural Glide is made with shea butter, carnauba wax and vitamin E, and it goes on at the neck, wrists and ankles before every wetsuit swim. 

Training aids. Triathletes will spend happily on a wetsuit and then hesitate over a pair of hand paddles for weeks, and that hesitation is where a good gift lives.

Hand paddles build strength and show up faults in the catch phase of front crawl swim stroke, and a front-facing snorkel takes breathing out of the stroke so they can work on body position without rolling to breathe.

Both come in our gift bundles, alongside a swim cap.

Buoyancy shorts do a similar job for sinking legs, lifting the hips while keeping the full kick. Zone3 invented them in 2007, and The Originals are still the heritage staple. They're sized, so check before you buy.

Finish it off with the Large Mesh Training Backpack, a fast-drying mesh bag for wet pool kit that tends to end up living in the boot of the car.

Somewhere to put everything, and a quicker way through transition. Race day is where kit gets judged hardest, and transition is where it shows.

The Transition Backpack is the considered gift here, with 40 litres split into swim, bike and run sections and a fully waterproof lower compartment that keeps a wet wetsuit away from everything else. It's also airline carry-on compatible. It was a 220 Triathlon Best on Test winner at 90%.

The Wetsuit Changing Mat is the smaller version of the same idea: somewhere clean to stand while they change in a muddy car park, with a drawstring that turns it into a bag for wet kit afterwards.

Elastic Laces are a great stocking filler, the cheapest thing on this page and among the most useful, because spring-locked laces let them slip straight into their shoes in T2. 

For the triathlete who looks after their kit, the C-Monsta Wetsuit Hanger holds a wetsuit folded at the waist rather than from the shoulders, so there are no shoulder creases, and it's ventilated to help it dry. 

If they swim outdoors through the autumn and winter, cold water kit makes a thoughtful gift. Heat-Tech Swim Gloves and Heat-Tech Swim Socks are 3.5mm neoprene with a thermal lining, and the Heat-Tech Swim Cap is 4mm and fleece-lined, with an adjustable chin strap. 

They come in sizes, so check theirs first. Our Neoprene Accessories Guide goes into more detail. 

Only if you know their size and what they like. Wetsuits and trisuits are fitted kit, and the close fit is the whole point, so a guess rarely lands. If they've been talking about a particular suit, a Gift Card lets them choose the size and pick it up themselves.

If you do know their size, the Activate+ is our recycled performance trisuit and the Activate is the entry level trisuit.

For wetsuits, the Wetsuit Guide compares the range, from the Agile, the starting point for performance, to the Aspire, the race-day benchmark. 

Anything sized that you haven't checked, anything branded with a race they haven't entered, and a new version of something they spent months choosing. Bike saddles, running shoes and watches all sit firmly in that last group. 

What do you buy a triathlete who has everything?

Kit that gets used up or lost: a spare pair of goggles, a race belt, anti-chafe balm or swim training aids. Nobody minds having two.

What are good stocking fillers for a triathlete?

A silicone swim cap, elastic laces, a race number belt, anti-chafe balm or a goggle case. All one size and all in regular use.

Is a gift card a good gift for a triathlete?

Yes, especially for anything sized. It lets them choose the fit themselves, which matters most with wetsuits and trisuits. 

What do triathletes want most for the swim?

Goggles they trust, and training aids such as paddles or a snorkel to work on technique over the winter. 

Buy the goggles. A spare pair never goes to waste, and there's a good chance they'll be using them before the week is out.