There’s little joy greater than receiving a package in the mail. These rare occurrences bring about fleeting emotions thanks to their juxtaposition with No. 10 envelopes marked with bills. Enter subscription/crate services, the finely curated collections of products that will add elation on delivery day and help foster that feeling the rest of the month. While the bulk of these services may be for the ladies, there are a slew of exceptional entries for the fellas. So men, grab your plastics and get ready to order yourself up some happy with these 10 awesome subscriptions and crates…
The Mantry
The subscription service that started my current obsession with subscription services, The Mantry is a carefully curated compendium of six amazing eats and treats from small, artisanal producers. Each month, you’ll receive a new themed package of some of the finest and craftiest food products and accoutrements you likely would never stumble upon. I just received my Awards Night crate filled with six amazing products from James Beard Award Winning Chefs, including Buttermilk & Sage Brined Fried Chicken Mix, Sweet Potato Habanero Sauce, Som Drinking Vinegar, Smoked Onion Jam, Pork Rub, and Acorn Borsellino Salami. Jealous?
Frank & Oak
Online men’s retailer Frank & Oak created the Hunt Club, a monthly subscription where you’ll receive a notice that new threads have been released on the site (curated for your style type), and you pick and choose what to receive. Like what you’re sent? Keep it. Hate the duds? Send ’em on back. It’s the stylish man’s sartorial saviour.
Manpacks
Let’s face it, many gents are too busy to be bothered with procuring the essentials. Enter Manpacks, your new bromance. A little different than the average subscription, simply logon to Manpacks and order up a box of basics, from underwear to socks and shirts, condoms to shaving products. With the essentials in place, your superhero self will be ready to take on the world.
Quarterly Co.
One of the coolest concepts for a subscription service, Quarterly Co. is designed to help you bridge the gap between the online/media realm and the touch-and-feel reality of the day-to-day. This service lets you connect on a more tangible level with those influencers – like Pharrell Williams (Producer/Musician), Gretchen Rubin (author of The Happiness Project), Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten (founders of Cool Hunting), Megan Collins (the Style Girlfriend), Timothy Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Chef), and more – that you follow regularly. Each quarter, they’ll release a cool new package/product they’ve curated, and you’ll receive those amazing pieces that fuel their obsessions… and now yours as well.
Bespoke Post
Presenting Bespoke Post‘s Box of Awesome, where the awesomest of awesome products is delivered to awesome men 12 times a year. Each delivery is themed around something imperative to the bespoke man’s life – like a six product shave kit, a consortium of barware, or six pairs of swaggeriffic socks.
Craft Coffee
For the gent who loves a fine grind, there’s no better subscription service than Craft Coffee. Each month, you’ll get a carefully curated selection of beans sourced from some of the world’s top artisanal producers. With 4oz samples from three different roasters, you’ll be able to brew 42 cups of java – or as we like to call it, “liquid life.”
Dollar Shave Club
Shave away some stress with Dollar Shave Club‘s monthly essentials subscription. Join the club, choose one of three of DSC’s blades, and await the monthly arrival of your stubble samurais. After all, you’re a too-important man to be wasting time visiting the drug store. Don’t worry about quality either; Dollar Shave Club promises their blades are “f***ing great!”
Man Crates
Boasting “bragworthy gifts for guys,” Man Crates are shipped with a crowbar so you to experience that testosterone rush missing in your daily life. What’s in the crate? Depends, but recent offerings have seen an assortment for Whiskey Lovers (including a suave black matte flask), a New Dad Tactical Bag (Red Bull and Baby Owner’s Manual as part of the parcel), and a Clean Shave Crate (stuffed with Imperial products). And fellas, fear not, as Man Crates are shipped sans bows, ribbons, fluff or wrapping paper.
TOTA Press
This monthly mail-out is for the fella who loves some fine craftsmanship. TOTA Press is a handmade lettercard subscription that delivers hand-pressed and custom-designed cards each month for those who appreciate the understated elegance that comes from the throwback art of using ancient mail services (read: Canada Post) to deliver good tidings.
PaleoPax
With the ever-growing shift toward Paleo dieting – of which I could not fathom following – it should come of no surprise that a service like PaleoPax was born. The concept for PaleoPax was derived from finding ways to eat Paleo on the go, and each month you’ll be treated to snackables suitable for any modern-day caveman.
