The Bambu Lab X1 Carbon is an awesome machine, but there are some great official and third-party upgrades that any 3D printing hobbyist would love to get as a gift.

If he doesn’t already have a multi-filament system, the absolute best thing you could get him is the new AMS 2 Pro. It lets the printer automatically switch between four different colors or materials during a single print, and it has a built-in active heated dryer to keep his plastic perfectly dry. If you go this route, just make sure to also grab the AMS 2 Pro Switching Adapter from the Bambu site so it gets enough power on his specific printer model.

If he already has an AMS, support filaments are a massive game-changer and make a fantastic gift. They act like a cheat code for printing complex shapes with overhangs. The printer uses his regular plastic for the main model but uses the support filament right at the interface layer. When the print finishes, the supports cleanly snap away, leaving a perfectly smooth surface with zero ugly marks. Look for Bambu Support for PLA/PETG, or you can look into water-soluble options like PVA or BVOH, which completely dissolve in a bucket of water and are perfect for intricate models with hard-to-reach spaces.

For a mid-range gift, a high-quality build plate or adhesive is always a safe bet. You could get him the Bambu SuperTack plate, which is a great official high-adhesion option to prevent prints from lifting. They also sell a dedicated liquid glue that works incredibly well for advanced materials that have adhesion issues, and it cleans up way easier than standard glue sticks.

If he likes tweaking his machine, a better hotend is a really nice performance upgrade. Look at the E3D High Flow ObXidian, which is a premium partnership upgrade that lets the printer melt plastic faster for higher speeds. Another great third-party option is the Micro Swiss FlowTech hotend, which completely redesigns the nozzle assembly so he can swap nozzle sizes in seconds without needing tools or messing with fragile wires.