Now that everyone has had time to take a breather (though likely still waking up in a bit of a post-giveaway extravaganza hangover), it’s time to announce the winners!
First up, I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who entered yesterday. Or…at least attempted to enter. The load was pretty unprecedented around these parts, and while the rockstar development team made tweaks throughout the day to try and minimize issues, I know a few of you still ran into troubles getting in entries, especially at the top of each giveaway. Fear not, we’ve got some good lessons learned for next year, and even smaller items for future giveaways to streamline things a bit – especially for mobile users. Note that all duplicate comments by unique e-mail address were removed earlier this morning (within a given giveaway). So thanks again for hanging in there!
Now, let’s get to the goods! Below are each of the giveaways, along with the winners. And of course, a massive thanks to Clever Training, who helped support this giveaway. You’ll see the links below to them as well, and in buying through Clever Training you’ll get 10% off for DCR readers (non-sale/clearance items), and still support the site in a big extravaganza way.
12:00AM Giveaway: Suunto Ambit 2
First up this year, the Suunto Ambit 2! This triathlon focused watch crossed over from starting off as a hiking/ultra-runners watch and then within the Ambit 2 line, they added in all triathlon sports (swim/bike/run/multisport). Of course, even if you don’t swim/bike/run, you can still create your own mode, such as…underwater golfing. And create an app on the watch to track how many cupcakes you’d burn while underwater golfing. The world is your oyster here. Or at least an oyster about the size of a metallic wrist watch.
There’s no question that the RC3 is my most favored Polar product to date. It’s the first Polar unit to fully integrate GPS into the watch itself. The unit is primarily aimed at the running crowd, but can easily do cycling as well – and both activities support a variety of sensors. Of course, just running and cycling is only part of the approval package. After all, if it doesn’t get The Duck’s approval, it won’t likely get a positive review. Thankfully, despite spending quite a bit of time in the shower with The Duck, the watch was no worse for wear.
6:00AM Giveaway: Timex Run Trainer 2.0 GPS Running Watch
Why a photo with a glass of chocolate milk? Well, it has a ‘Nutrition Alerts’ function that puts this watch completely in my ‘favorites’ category. It will remind you to both eat and drink based on the time intervals of your choosing. Pretty cool.
Of course, it does everything else you’d expect a GPS watch these days to do – including tracking your pace and distance, both indoors and outdoors – as well as all the heart rate goodness. And full waterproofing 50 meters! But most importantly, it clearly seems to go well with a cupcake…or chocolate milk.
What? You thought I’d be just doing watches? Oh how wrong you are…you just wait…I’m only getting warmed up.
The Quarq power meter allows you to more accurately pace your race and training efforts, ultimately increasing the likelihood of a more successful day. By using power instead of speed, you’ll be able to normalize the impacts of wind or hills, and keep a constant effort according to your race plan. Wait, you did have a race plan right? You know, something roughly sketched out that said more than just ‘find finish line’? Oh dear…maybe we ought to just start with nutrition first…
Sometimes you just need a friend when you’re going out and swimming, cycling and running 140.6 miles. No, not scuba fins like Finman. But something more technologically advanced, like, the FR910XT. This multisport watch will track your swims, bikes, and runs and has plenty of battery for even the midnight finishers. Whether it be indoors or outdoors, the FR910XT is there to watch and track me flail about aquatically. Same goes for cycling and running (minus the aquatic part…mostly). Now if I could only have it give me a little extra propulsion on that swim…
I told you I wasn’t going to stop with just watches and power meters….
While it may be a few days into summer for those of us up north, that doesn’t mean you can’t spend some quality time on the trainer. The Wahoo Fitness KICKR is the first trainer on the market to blend both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart, and allow any app to connect to it and control it. The unit is essentially a modern-day CompuTrainer, ready to completely own you. Or at least, it owns me during my workouts. Pretty much every Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes Friday’s. Occasionally Sunday’s. Really most days now that I think about it…
Sometimes you just can’t decide. Like when eating donuts. Apple fritter or maple bar? That’s sorta how it was for this giveaway. I couldn’t decide between the 510 or the 810. Some folks want mapping, and some want a slightly slimmer model. Thus, I figure I’ll let the winner decide. You win, you decide. And, if you want the slightly more aged Edge 500 – you can have that instead. Your choice.
At any rate, the Edge 510 & 810 are the first cycling units on the market to connect to your phone and broadcast your current speed, cadence, power, heart rate, and location data to friends and Facebook feeds everywhere. And, when it comes time to find the way, both units some various forms of navigation – just like I used last week. Of course, you’ll still have to do all the pedaling, for that, it won’t do.
My-In-Depth Product Review:Garmin Edge 510 & Edge 810 In-Depth Reviews Total Entries:2,839 Winning Entry: #379 – Mike
9:00PM: The ‘iPack’–Wahoo RFLKT, 4iiii’s Viiiiva, Blue SC, and more!
All good things must come to an end…and the end is regrettably here. And by here, I mean after explaining this last giveaway.
I decided to make a bit of a basket of things for the iPhone/iPad/iPod carrying person. First up is the Wahoo Fitness RFLKT. This iPhone powered bike computer displays whatever your phone tells it to. It works with 3rd party apps, and displays everything from speed and distance to power and current songs.
Next we’ve got the 4iiii’s Viiiiva HR strap. This strap not only does heart rate, but also consolidates ANT+ devices like ANT+ power meters and running footpods, to your iPhone, without any ANT+ adapter required. Plus, it gives you heart rate too. It does this all using Bluetooth Smart.
Then, since you’re cycling I figured I’d toss in the Wahoo Blue SC speed/cadence sensor. That works with gazillions of apps out there today, and going forward you’ll see more devices and companies utilize it (like TomTom).
And finally, in order to give you a place to stash your phone/iPod, I’ve added in an iPhone armband holder. It’s the Wahoo Fitness one, as that’s what I use most of the time. It’s simple, it just works. Note, if you want to run/ride outdoors with your iPad, I’d suggest duct-taping it to your shirt.
Thanks again everyone! I’ll be in touch with the winners here later today, via the e-mail addresses you provided.
Even if you don’t win, you can still support the site by using either Clever Training or Amazon, both of which are listed next to each product. If you purchase through Clever Training, DCR readers can use coupon code DCR10BTF to save 10% off any order (virtually everything I review is available there), plus for orders over $75 shipping is free within the US. Support via Clever Training makes giveaways like this possible!
Thanks for all the work you put in, Ray. I bought my FR-910xt about a month ago, at the 25% off price for ten days, and would NEVER have even known a sale like that was going on, if I hadn’t been following your site.
Bummed I didn’t win, but you get a serious e-high-five for your extravaganza giveaway.
Interesting, but just “rough” math here. If one individual entered in all 8 giveaways and based on a rough 18000 entrees between all the giveways, that one person had .04% chance of winning atleast one option.
Either way it was a lot of fun, and honestly felt like a Woot off but without buying anything.
Awesome thing you do here. And the same goes for Clever Training. I had fun playing. And your reviews are the best out there. Thanks for everything you do.
Thanks for the event. I appreciate how quickly you fixed the response time to post via mobile so I didn’t have to scroll through all the comments. Congrats to all the winners!
Tech gadget or not, always lots of good information on the DC Rainmaker site. Now if someone could let me know the trick to portion control at the table, I’d be much better off.
I love the work that you do Ray. It truly is a great gift to everyone in the community! I think that it’s amazing that you organize giveaways like this, and I think we can all thank you for that.
Cheers Ray. I had a klaxon alarm set every three hours, so when it went off, everyone thought it must be something important when I slipped out. Little did they know how important. Well done to you and CleverTraining. Brilliant.
Just as a quick FYI to all contest winners – e-mails have been sent out to everyone based on the e-mail provided in your profile. Since ‘winner’ e-mails probably look a bit like spam from an African prince seeking your establishment, if you haven’t heard from me yet due to getting something caught in a SPAM filter – please drop a comment here.
I have more instruments than I can handle and I could start a giveaway any time but that power meter was something UGLY but desperately needed… hopefully next time.
gonna do a good DDOS and make sure I am the only one to apply.
Ray, Thank you much for the fun giveaway. I enjoyed having the opportunity to win. And thank you very, very much gor all you do for us. I really appreciate the efforts you make to share your knowledge, experience and valuable time with us. Thank you. Thank you.
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Check out
my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Thanks for the give away. Congratulations to the winners.
Epic!
Congrats all
Thanks for the contest Ray. Even if I didn’t win, your site is always the first stop when I am looking for new tech gear. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for a fun give away. I didn’t win, but a 10% discount is a nice consolation prize
Thanks for the giveaway Ray! Even though I didn’t win! Best site out there, keep up with the amazing reviews so we can continue to spend money!
Excellent event.
Thanks Ray and Clever Training. Keep up the good work ;)
Thanks for all the work you put in, Ray. I bought my FR-910xt about a month ago, at the 25% off price for ten days, and would NEVER have even known a sale like that was going on, if I hadn’t been following your site.
Bummed I didn’t win, but you get a serious e-high-five for your extravaganza giveaway.
Congrats to the winners. Looks like I’ll be sticking with old faithful (Forerunner 305) for now.
Great contest, keep up the great work!
Enjoyed the Extravaganza. Thanks for the opportunity and for all you provide on the site.
Another thumbs-up for all you do. A truly valuable service.
If I had my way, you would be Knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to Society’s Health & Wellness: Sir Ray :-)
Congrats to all! Amazing job Ray, thanks!!!
Oh well. Maybe next time! Thanks for the awesome blog, stories and reviews. And thanks to Clever Training.
Fun!
Maybe next time….. but lot of fun in any case. Well done, Ray.
No luck this time, but many thanks Ray for what you do. Cheers mate!
Thanks Ray. Keep on with your excellent aid!!!
Interesting, but just “rough” math here. If one individual entered in all 8 giveaways and based on a rough 18000 entrees between all the giveways, that one person had .04% chance of winning atleast one option.
Either way it was a lot of fun, and honestly felt like a Woot off but without buying anything.
As always great review/site and thanks again!
Congrats to winners. Thanks to Ray by this opportunity and all the reviews.
thanks for the fun event. Congrats to the winners.
What an awesome event!
Thanks for the event Ray!
thanks Ray for the site and the giveaways, great stuff. congrats to the winners.
Thank you for the extravaganza opportunity!
Yet another reason I check in every day.
Thanks for the great reviews and the opportunity to dream big…congratulations to the winners.
Thanks for the chance to win – not this time but I got excited for 24 hrs ;)
Thanks for the give away. Congratulations to the winners. Keep up the good work.
Even though I didn’t win that was fun. Keep up the great work you do.
no luck :(.
maybe next time…
thx a lot anyway, your site is fantastic!!
This was the shortest I’ve ever spent time on your site…1st prize…nope, 2nd…nope…8th…nope…close tab ;-)
but this was the ultimate sport gadgets giveaway of the year for sure, congrats Ray!
While I didn’t win it was a great experience. CONGRATULATIONS to all of the winners. :)
That’s why readers keep coming back (on top of the excellent articles!)
Awesome give away Ray! And congrats to all the winners.
Darn :-). Congratulations everyone.
Congrats to the winners and you, Ray! Great fun :+)
Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations to the winners!
Congrats to the winners. Nice job DCR, as usual!
Awesome thing you do here. And the same goes for Clever Training. I had fun playing. And your reviews are the best out there. Thanks for everything you do.
How has there been no comment about the last winner’s entry?
“Sex me plz…” haha, I now know my future comment for these!
Well done to all the winners and thank you Ray for the opportunity!
Maybe next time!!
Ross
Gratz to winners. That was fun!
Didn’t win, but still had fun tracking the site yesterday. Thanks and congrats to the winner (that power meter…)
Awesome RAY!! Thanks for the opportunity! -Marc Virginia Beach, VA
Bummed I didn’t win, but thankful for the opportunity! Thanks again for the contest and amazing site!
Awesome Giveaways! Congrats to all the winners!
when is the next giveaway ?
Great contest, congrats to the winners. Look forward to more reviews and giveaways.
Great event Ray! Keep the nice work up!
Greetings from Antwerp, Belgium
Congratulation to all winners!
Thank you, Ray. It was fun. My 310 from CT arrived this evening. I promised myself I will only unbox it after I’ve completed my work today. :)
All the best! Will look forward to your next review. :)
Great Contest… Great Site… Use it whenever I’m looking for something :)
Thanks! Congratulations to the winners!
That was fun!
Lol… nothing as usual : )
Congrats to all the winners but!
Thank you and keep up the good work!!
Darn! Now I have to go out and buy my own Wahoo! Thanks for the contest and congrats to the winners.
Awesome! Thank you for doing this Ray, and congratulations to the winners!
Thanks again. :-)
Awesome giveaway, Ray. Thanks for the chance to win!
Congratulations to the winners!!!
Thanks for putting on this awesome event!!!
Many thanks for the contest! Congrats to all winners!
By this way Ray if you’re in Paris area you could join our ride next WE or later
Hope that all the winners enjoy their booty and use the hell out of them!
Train hard (and measure everything!)
Congrats to the winners!
Keep the GREAT work, DC!
Great give away! Hope all you winners enjoy your prizes! :D
Johan, Sweden
Ray, thanks for the contest!!! Congrats to all the winners! I hope this items won’t became a dustcatchers!
Great contest, congratulation to winners.
Great contest Ray! You make even the boring part of tech fun to read. Can’t wait to see what you post next.
That giveaway was such a great idea and surprisingly addictive, every 3 hours i had to run and find somewhere to get online.
Brilliant
No luck this time.. Thanks Ray!
thank you – it was a fun experience
Thanks for giving fantastic gifts, congratulations to all winners. This site is way awesome!
Congrats to all the winners!
Thanks for doing this. The give away is great. I love the blog and your amazing reviews keep me coming back.
Thank you for the opportunity, Ray! Congrats to all the winners.
Incredible. It was fun. awesome site. keep up the good work.
Thanks for the event. I appreciate how quickly you fixed the response time to post via mobile so I didn’t have to scroll through all the comments. Congrats to all the winners!
Woo Hooo!
I think I won!
Tech gadget or not, always lots of good information on the DC Rainmaker site. Now if someone could let me know the trick to portion control at the table, I’d be much better off.
Dave
Koen, you’re a lucky man!
Enjoy.
Thanks Ray for hosting the giveaway. And thanks for all the time you put into your blog. It is so much easier to buy gadgets once I read your reviews.
Thanks Ray for the giveaway. Congratulations to all winners.
OMG I won the SRAM powermeter….. Really can’t believe it!!
Thanks for the giveaway. Congratulations to all winners.
I love the work that you do Ray. It truly is a great gift to everyone in the community! I think that it’s amazing that you organize giveaways like this, and I think we can all thank you for that.
Keep on making great content!
Congratulations Koen… That’s a awesome prize. I’ll surely try again next time
congrats to all winners! thanks DC!
Congrats to all the winners. Ray, u are awesome
This is a great contest Ray! Even the boring part of Gadgets are fun to read. I Can’t wait to your next post.
Honor where honor is due!
Thank you for all your efforts. Congratulations to all who won one of the drawings.
Great giveaway congrats to the winners.
And a great site
You have some big fans here in Israel, Ray. We love your work!
Tnx for the cool giveaway event.
Keep up the good work Ray
Thanks
Congratulations to the winners! It was fun to follow your giveaway. Thanks! Thanks also for a very usefull site.
Thanks for the giveaways Ray – much appreciated. Hoping I’m luckier next time!
Great event, congrats to the winners !
Thanks Ray! Great event! Kept me excited for a day :-D
Awesome event! Keep up your good work!
Cheers Ray. I had a klaxon alarm set every three hours, so when it went off, everyone thought it must be something important when I slipped out. Little did they know how important. Well done to you and CleverTraining. Brilliant.
Thanks Ray & CT!
You’re First Class Ray,
Thanks for all you do. :)
Mark
Congrats to all the winners :)
Thanks Ray… always top notch
Congrats to everyone! Thanks for a fun event.
Woke up to find out that I won the Ambit, absolutely stoked.
Thanks Ray, you are a LEGEND!
All that give away I didn’t win again. Rey have you noticed that the random numbers are always towards the ending number range?
I had noticed that this time. Thus proving my motto that procrastination is important…
This was fun. Thanks…
Congratulations to the winners!
I’m waiting for Ray to giveaway his bike :)
That was an exciting day AND night, thanks to your contest ;)
This is just one of the myriad of things I like in your website.
Thanks a lot, to you and to Clever Training,
See you soon!
YES!
congrats to the winners. looking forward to the next
waiting for next
hard luck..but no worries…will continue and support this site…
Awesome!
Sad not to win, but thanks for an awesome give away!
Great give away! Great site!
Thanks for doing this Ray! Your website is the best!
Thanks Ray… and congratulations to the winners!!
Thanks for this awesome giveaways!
Thanks Ray for the fun and for your work! You’re the best!
Congratulation to winners and Clevertraining
Wow, i won the polar RC3. thank Ray!
I can’t wait to start using it!
Thanks for the contest, Ray.
And keep up good work. :-)
Thanks for the give away and congratulations to the winners!
Didn’t win anything this time, bu thanks anyways :)
Thanks for the great game! And congratulations to the winners!
Congrats to the winners, too bad I am not one of them :P
It was fun. Thanks a lot
Great contest, keep up the great work!
Great Contest.
Well doen too all the winners.
Just as a quick FYI to all contest winners – e-mails have been sent out to everyone based on the e-mail provided in your profile. Since ‘winner’ e-mails probably look a bit like spam from an African prince seeking your establishment, if you haven’t heard from me yet due to getting something caught in a SPAM filter – please drop a comment here.
Thanks!
I have more instruments than I can handle and I could start a giveaway any time but that power meter was something UGLY but desperately needed… hopefully next time.
gonna do a good DDOS and make sure I am the only one to apply.
BWHAHAHAHAHAAHAH! :-D
I don’t know of anyone else doing this. You’re so generous. I appreciate all your efforts. Thanks, Ray.
I miss you printing the names cutting them up and pulling them from a hat.
I miss having that many free hours in the day. :)
That was big fun, thanks for the contest.
Ray, Thank you much for the fun giveaway. I enjoyed having the opportunity to win. And thank you very, very much gor all you do for us. I really appreciate the efforts you make to share your knowledge, experience and valuable time with us. Thank you. Thank you.