Air Horns for Father's Day

Socks, steak rubs and yet another phone gadget all blend together by July. A train-horn-style air horn that draws its power from the cordless-drill battery in his shop, though, is the kind of thing he'd never think to buy for himself — which is precisely what makes it a winner.

It checks every box a Father's Day gift should: a bit ridiculous in the best way, honestly handy, and bolted to the parts of life he's already into — the pickup, the workbench, weekend cookouts and the lake. He understands it the second he squeezes the trigger, and from there it earns its keep instead of disappearing into a drawer.

Level with him up front: air horns aren't permitted inside most stadiums, arenas and indoor venues, and staff at the gate will send one right back to the car. It isn't a grandstand gift — and it's absolutely not for spooking people, animals or the folks next door for laughs.

Its home turf is everything he does in the open air: the driveway and the backyard grill-out, the tailgate and the lot, the dock and the lake, a weekend at the campground, the trail, or out in the garage. Frame the gift that way and Dad will keep the trumpets aimed at wide-open ground, well within the rules.

Most handheld air horns sit somewhere from 110 to 150 decibels. The units here climb to 150 dB — a low, locomotive-style roar that thumps in the ribs and clears an open field or a full parking lot without strain.

Worth slipping into the card: at 150 dB this can hurt hearing from close up, so the trumpets need to face wide-open ground, stay far from ears, little ones and animals, and go off in quick taps rather than long holds. Big sound is the entire point — it simply has to be sent somewhere with room.

Here's the detail that seals it. You won't find a compressor, a fill tank or any truck wiring to cut into. A pump built into the housing drives real metal trumpets, so the entire thing stands on its own and works straight out of the box.

It feeds off a cordless-drill battery, the same kind he already has topped up on the charger. Snap one onto the base — it takes Milwaukee® M18™, DeWalt® 20V MAX, Makita® 18V LXT® and Ryobi® ONE+® packs, among others — and pull. Certain models throw in a remote that fires the horn from as far as 2,000 ft. Once a pack runs down, he charges it back up on the gear he already owns — and there's no canned air in the picture at all.

• Trumpet count. One, two or four trumpets build the tone in layers — the more you add, the bigger and farther-reaching the sound.
• Tone style. Go LOUDEST for a bright, piercing crack, or LOW TONE for a deep, gravel-bottom locomotive rumble.
• Remote range. The remote-equipped versions reach out to 2,000 ft — and that's the part that gets the loudest cheer at the table.
• His battery brand. Line the model up with the drill packs already living on his charger, so he has nothing else to chase down.
• Grab-and-go. It turns up built and ready — no Saturday-afternoon project — so the first blast can happen the day it lands.

• Line up his battery brand — grab the model built for the drill packs already on his charger.
• Choose his tone — a piercing crack (LOUDEST) or a low rumble (LOW TONE).
• Throw in the remote — that up-to-2,000-ft trigger is what owns the moment he opens it.
• Think through his spots — driveway, tailgate, dock, trail or shop, every one of them outdoors.
• Check out before 2 PM PT for same-business-day shipping, so it shows up ahead of Father's Day.