<p>Does anyone have a good suggestion for a graduation gift for a neighbor's son about to go to West Point? I'm guessing most items are supplied by the military as standard-issue like dorm sheets, blankets, alarm clocks,etc. Thanks!</p>
<p>phone cards are always good.</p>
<p>Our plebe son is a minimalist when it comes to packing gear and furnishing his barracks. Here's a couple items even he used:</p>
<p>Mini-leatherman pocket knife (mini model is important for ease of carrying during CBT)</p>
<p>black liner socks for hiking.</p>
<p>white or army brown shortsleeve v-neck "underarmour" shirt</p>
<p>i-tune gift card (will use later in plebe year)</p>
<p>mail order gift cards (our son does most of his limited shopping online)</p>
<p>Thank you so much - those are great suggestions!</p>
<p>A gift certificate to Grant is MONEY.</p>
<p>What do you mean by Grant - is that a nearby department store?</p>
<p>lol... No. It's kind of like this restaurant thing on post. It's great for when the mess hall sucks and you're feeling too lazy to walk to the extra 50 feet to grant turnaround, or you simply don't have the energy to pick up the phone.</p>
<p>Even though cadets won't be able to use this right away, at some point in the future plebes will be allowed to watch movies on their computers. At that time, a Netflix subscription would be a great gift. Having 1 dvd at a time would cost $9.99/month. Everytime the cadet gets a movie, they can think of you again. Please note that each company will have different rules regarding privileges like watching movies and listening to music. So you'll have to wait until that joyful communication telling you that it's allowed.</p>
<p>Grant is a Hall. Cadets can buy food there. Maybe m4m or other current cadets can tell us what kind of food is available?</p>
<p>I ate in Grant when I took my son to visit. If I remember correctly they have deli sandwiches, hamburgers/cheeseburgers, pizza, fresh fruit, chips, cookies, and drinks. I think there were some other food choices but it was so crowded that I grabbed a sandwich and a drink and got out of there. I am sure m4m can fill in what I missed. :)</p>
<p>If I were to get him a leatherman tool, should it be in stainless steel, or in a color (for ease of finding, if lost). Is colorful allowed, or does that make it "out of uniform"? If a regular leatherman folds up into only 4", why should I get something small, a mini? Is a leather man better than a Swiss Army knife? thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>I really think the Swiss Army knives are becoming a tool of the past. A leatherman, while it may be slightly more expensive, is infinitely more useful. Besides being a handy all around tool, they have many tools including the pliers which the SA knives do not. I've found the one handed opening on the exterior knives of the leathermen to be very useful. I mean I could go on, but unless you are an ultra-lightweight backpacker I think the Swiss Army knives will always be inferior to their bigger brother Leathermen/Leathermen clones.</p>
<p>Everyone suggests a Leatherman, but I would actually go with the Gerber Multi-tool. I had a leatherman, and found the gerber to be much more useful. In fact, the PX ONLY sells Gerbers. You don't need to get a mini, just get a regular size. Don't get stainless steel, get the kind that is blackened. It will prevent it from rusting and act as a sort of camoflauge so it doesn't reflect the light. The stainless steel leathermens DO rust, trust me.</p>
<p>Spinner1020: Regular size or mini leatherman is a personal choice. Our son is an avid backpacker and always prefers smaller, lighter items. "Mini" leatherman is under 2 inches in length and easy to carry. Colors are fine.</p>
<p>Are plebes allowed to have leathermans in basic?</p>
<p>Well if you read back in the forum concerning them, you will see that it is Company specific. You will have to wait and see and hope you got something your company agrees with.</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone not being allowed to have one during Beast. On a side note, they're called "Candidates" during Beast. :)</p>
<p>I thought after the oath ceremony on R-Day we're "New Cadets"</p>
<p>Yep. On R-day you a Cadet Candidate. After your oath, your a New Cadet. After A-day you are a regular old 4th class Cadet. I suppose you are a "candidate" for acceptance until Acceptance Day though...</p>
<p>Aspen, Thank you so much for your suggestion of a leatherman as a gift to a plebe-to-be. When he opened the package, our neighbor's son was so surprised and happy - it was worth seeing the look on his face!</p>