Heads up!!! Here’s your massive Cyber Monday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $619, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
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.
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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.
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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.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
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- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
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- What kind of camera do you use?
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In Depth Product Reviews
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.
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
Have some fun in the travel section.
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.
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
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!
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
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.
For anyone looking at sport/fitness tech like a 620 or an edge 1000 and thinking they are expensive, dont even look up the MSRP of the boat stuff :) i helped a former boss with some Garmin and Furuno installs, yeah.. nothing cheap at all there….
I think you may have mentioned it before, but take another look at Motion X GPS on the iPhone. It will give you all your recent tracks (for your personal heat map) as well as lots of other navigation options – it even has marine maps so you could have taken it on your fishing trip. Although it does allow you to connect a heart rate strap, I just use it to record my tracks or navigating while using another app or just my watch for fitness stuff. It does mean you have to carry your phone, but I just stick it in a pack and forget about it till my run or ride is done.
How do you find importing stuff into Europe ie. customs etc. US to UK is a pain.
Generally no problems at all. For the most part, I could march an elephant with a goat standing on top of it (and a rooster on top of that) through French customs and they wouldn’t blink an eye.
I think most handheld garmins (etrex, 62/64, oregon series) can do the track plotting. I really like the feature. When we moved to a new city I used it to memorize areas and nice roads, since we now finally live in a nice hilly area of the rest so flat Netherlands.
Do you have to import all those shopping or since you are an Expat there are different rules?
Versailles party would have been great to visit, thanks for the special about it.
There’s no difference in rules since we’re residents now (you get an exemption the first X number of months for initial import).
For shipments into the country we pay 20% of whatever is written on the value of the package.
Wondering where you rented the bike from in Siesta Key… stayed there this year and saw a bunch of beach bikes, but didn’t see anything like what you rented… would be great to know for next year…
I rented from Sarasota Cycle: link to sarasotacycle.com
All of a 5 minute drive from the center of the Key.
Just wondering, with all your traveling do you ever miss the states or does Paris truly feel like home?
I miss certain aspects of the states – primarily ease of physical access to products/food/places (just way more efficient to get around in the US and knock out errands), and the customer service components. But, Paris definitely feels like home most days.
Beautiful pics from FLA ! Def. happens to me on US shopping trips, though you guys are good at planning the return trip and packing. I don’t think about this until much later … when there is no longer space in the suit case. This means that family and friends often don’t get their own presents ;) I haven’t quite mastered the “packing light” thing.
Garmin has some of the best marine chartplotters / gps units on the market. I’ve been using them for over a decade, and is what lead me to try their bike units. Their marine interfaces are superb and extremely easy to use. The tracking feature you saw is but one of many, many fantastic features for boaters. I have a sonar unit that combines the maps of the bottom with live data to let me have a fish-eye view of the underwater contours, and follow underwater ridges to try to stay where the fish are. The units wca. also automatically calculate an optimal and safe aster route between two points (captain must remain engaged!). Add an autopilot unit and the boat can steer itself to a destination. Really, really cool stuff in the marine world.
And my understanding (even more impressive) is that if you use the Quatix unit with it in a man overboard scenario it’ll actually drive the boat right back to you (though, it’s unclear to me if it then runs you over or not…).