@3puppies: I am sorry to say that for guys in the PNW tube socks and sandals are not mutually exclusive.
This, with his initials:
Or a Swiss Army knife kind of thing:
There are more expensive ones, but this one is in the under-$50 range.
A nice key ring from the college book store. Or a hammer. Yes, my 25yo son was just telling me how much he liked the hammer a family friend gave him for HS graduation.
Thanks for the suggestions, this definitely helped! He has narrowed the list to a “Tile” for finding lost things, a leather passport holder with RFID protection, a Cross pen, and a leather portfolio, so I sent him links to look at for all those things. (I am sending the kid a check… college is just too darned expensive, and no one needs more “stuff”)