AskMen Guy Gear Awards Best Man Cave Essentials
Build Your Dream Room With Our Picks for the Top Man Cave Essentials of 2023
The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.
The concept of the man cave was much derided in the 2010s, and, you know what? Fair enough. The fact that we call it a cave — as if hearkening back to manlier caveman days, when it fact it was just a guy-themed room with some gadgets in it — was probably ripe for some light-hearted skewering. But if women are allowed to have gender-affirming spaces that are very feminine, well, we’re allowed to have our gender-affirming spaces too.
That’ll be different for every guy, but we’ve put together a list of options to please the various senses — sight, hearing, smell, taste, and even gaming. That’s the fifth sense, right? Without further ado, welcome to the 2023 AskMen Guy Gear Awards, man cave essentials edition:
Best Watching Options
Best TV
LG C2 Evo OLED TV
If there’s one thing America’s been good at over the past few decades, it’s iterating new and better TVs every six months or so. Given that, we make this pick not expecting it to last the test of time. But right now, LG’s C2 Evo might be the cream of the crop. In addition to its 8 million OLED pixels and 4K resolution, it also boasts options like Filmmaker Mode, which allows you to watch movies the way the directors intended, not the way TV designers presume you do. Now that’s a concept worth voting for.
Check out the LG C2 Evo OLED TV
Best Projector
Vankyo Performance V700W Projector
Sick and tired of the TV rat race? Projectors tend to not become obsolete quite as fast, and they have the added bonus of allowing for a massive picture while not taking up permanent space on your wall when you’re not watching anything. The main downside is that they can be quite expensive. This model from Vankyo offers high quality sound and picture for a decent price. That’s a winner in our books.
Check out the Vankyo Performance V700W Projector
Best Streaming Stick
Google Chromecast
OK, but what if you really do want the TV instead of the projector? Then you’re going to want a Chromecast streaming stick to go with it. It’s jam-packed with features, from voice control to the ability to sync other Google-connected devices like your smart thermostat. It works with thousands of other apps, packs in millions of songs, movies and TV shows and boasts personalized watching recommendations.
Check out the Google Chromecast
Best Recliner
Alec Power-Lift Recliner with Heat and Massage
There are tons of recliners out there, and if all you want is to sit down and then lie back a little bit, most of them will get the job done for you. But this isn’t an article about getting the job done, it’s the AskMen Guy Gear Awards. We’re going for the recliner with all the bells and whistles, figuratively speaking, and that’s this bad boy. (By “bells” we mean “heat” and by “whistles” we mean “massage.”)
Check out the Alec Power-Lift Recliner with Heat and Massage
Best Couch
Enzo Leather Reclining Sofa
A man cave couch has to be a leather sofa. No offense to fabrics generally — you do a lot of good in the world — but you just don’t give off the man cave vibes that leather does. This bad boy from West Elm not only hits those notes to perfection, but it also features reclining capabilities and (wait for it) secret concealed storage space in the arm rests. Now you just have to figure out what to put in them.
Check out the Enzo Leather Reclining Sofa
Best Listening Options
Best Bluetooth Speaker
Gravastar Mars Pro
From an aesthetic perspective, Gravastar’s products are some of the most self-evidently “Guy Gear” products out there. Thankfully, they also perform great in addition to looking cool. The Mars Pro is a statement piece; a hunk of futuristic space-war detritus thrown back through time to play your favorite music real loud. It’s got great sound, a variety of lighting options, and it plays little hydraulic sounds when turning on and off. It’s a gem.
Check out the Gravastar Mars Pro
Best Soundbar
Sonos Arc
Really craving a roomful of sound in your man cave? Maybe you want to step up to a soundbar. The best one around right now is probably the Sonos Arc. Apart from being gorgeous, it boasts serious power under the hood, as well as app-controlled features like Speech Enhancement to make sure you don’t find yourself guessing at any of the dialogue when watching movies and TV, and the ability to wirelessly connect more speakers, if you want to really take your listening experience to the next level.
Check out the Sonos Arc
Best Record Player
Audio Technica AT-LPW50BT
For a long time, vinyl has been the domain of audiophiles who possess arcane knowledge and things like “amplifiers” that connect to their speakers. No longer! Audio Technica’s turntables can be hooked up directly to a Bluetooth speaker (like, say, the Gravastar Mars Pro) or headphones, and cut out the middleman entirely. The future is here — it’s time to start buying vinyls. (Yes, we know how that sounds.)
Check out the Audio Technica AT-LPW50BT
Best Ambiance Options
Best Lighting Solution
Globe Electric Wi-Fi Smart 4-Light LED Track Lighting
If an all-knowing, all-seeing God does indeed exist, they probably wonder why we spend so much of our time using boring old white lighting. Make that hypothetical God proud with one of the many offerings from Globe Electric, which is hell-bent on giving us easy, Wi-Fi based phone app access to light of any and all colors, whenever we want. Their excellent track lighting rig takes things a step further with four bulbs, meaning you can light up every corner of your man cave at once.
Check out the Globe Electric Wi-Fi Smart 4-Light LED Track Lighting
Best Candle
Diptyque La Droguerie Odor-Removing Scented Candle
Let’s be real — the phrase “man cave” doesn’t exactly conjure up the most pleasant of smells, in no small part because if you’re spending a lot of time cleaning your man cave, you’re not spending that same time using it for its intended purposes. Thankfully, there exists such a thing as an odor-removing candle. No need to buy a “man candle” — this one comes from a fancy candle brand who know what they’re doing, and it’s basil scented. Basil truly is one of the greatest scents.
Check out the La Droguerie Odor Removing Scented Candle
Best Decoration
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Skateboard Triptych In Italian
No man cave is fully complete without something on the walls, right? The classic preference might be for framed movie posters and sports memorabilia, but why restrict ourselves to tradition? These Basquiat-printed skateboards are the perfect way to show off the fact that while you used to be cool (into extreme sports), you still are cool (into collecting awesome art). Sometimes you really can have it both ways.
Check out the Jean-Michel Basquiat: Skateboard Triptych In Italian
Best Gaming Options
Best Console
Playstation 5
At AskMen, we pride ourselves on being able to share great products with our readers, especially ones they’ve never heard of before. This isn’t the case here — if you have a pulse, you’ve heard of the Playstation. Surprise, surprise — along with everyone else in the world, we think it’s the best gaming console around.
Check out the Playstation 5
Best Gaming Mouse
SteelSeries Aerox 5
Highly customizable, RGB-lit, water- and dust-resistant, and more — the Aerox 5 mouse from SteelSeries has everything you need to ensure your gaming experience is a pleasant one and not a source of frustration or disappointment. Whether having a really cool and high-performance mouse leads to repetitive strain injury or not is your call.
Check out the SteelSeries Aerox 5
Best Gaming Keyboard
Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini Wireless
When your mouse looks that cool, you’re going to need a cool keyboard to go with it. Thankfully, Corsair has stepped up with this gorgeous number, which packs a wealth of function into a 60% board that won’t take up any unnecessary space. Plus, unlike many other keyboards, it’s incredibly customizable — you might find yourself popping the keys out just for fun.
Check out the Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini Wireless
Best Gaming Monitor
ViewSonic Elite XG270QG
Quit settling for a monitor designed for spreadsheets when you’re gaming and get something that was actually designed for gaming, like this ViewSonic Elite model, with its adjustable setup meaning you can get the angle you need just right. Plus, it’s got a ton of features that produce a great picture, and its small bezel means you can line up a few of them for a multi-monitor setup — if you’re feeling nasty.
Check out the ViewSonic Elite XG270QG
Best Gaming Chair
Vertagear PL4800
They say you should invest in a good mattress because you spend about a third of your life on it. Well, if you’re a serious gamer, your man cave needs a quality gaming chair for the same reason. Vertagear’s PL4800 is our pick — packed with high-tech features like odor-eliminating fabric, air-cylinder-based cushioning and yes, LED lighting, it’s a little piece of the future to sit on (even if you’re playing a game set in the past).
Check out the Vertagear PL4800
