Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $699, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $249, (or the brand new Hero 13 or $299!) 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?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
Oh. That reminds me. I need to order another pack of CR2032s! :)
can’t wait for that Moto 360 review!
Agree!!!
I love mine, but I’m curious to see what Ray’s thoughts are…
I’m really looking forward to the Moto 360 review as well, especially since Xmas is coming and the “better half” has agreed to buy me a watch.
Looking forward to the GoPro 4 review too.
Is the qi charger for the 360 or have you used it to wirelessly charge a phone like the s5?
Looking forward to Zwift… I’ve been back and forth on a Virb and GoPro for some time now but thankfully my wife made the decision for me. She bought me a GoPro for my bday. Waiting on Clever Training to ship it but can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I look forward to any comments you have on Beddit. I am on my last Zeo headband and would love to find another decent sleep tracking device.
It’s pretty good, the sleep metrics aren’t quite are detailed as Zeo but there is other interesting things like heat rate and breathing rate during sleep. I think its the best sleep tracker available at the moment.
IMO this may take a while. Ray doesn’t seem to sleep much lately.
Will be a great test of sleep deprivation
Great Ray,
Cool as always, now waiting for Hero 4 in-depth review.
you should go to PC settings and activate windows :)
Yeah, I had just flattened the machine recently…hadn’t quite got around to activating yet. Lazy. :)
Who is that lovely coworker beside the girl ;-)
Focus on the products, focus, focus, focus. Well, doing that causes a problem in that as usual the cakes overwhelming look delicious. Never mind, continue as you were oogooling the staff.
Your blog rocks Ray! Thanks for helping us all better navigate the world of fitness gadgets. And the Girls’s booth looked great!
Ciao Ray,
about the meatballs: in Italy we say they are made with the sawdust coming from the furniture manufacturing… swedish art of recycling!
Ray, I am always baffled how you do all this alongside a busy job! Good for you, and keep it up!
Me too! Please do a post on how you get so much done. I bet technology is involved!
I have to agree! As an I.T worker also, I don’t know how you do it, but I can fully understand your enjoyment of all things gadget :)
What I’d really like to see is a feature on training whilst travelling with work etc, how do you do it?
Ray, is there a plan to look at the Basis Peak just launched? It sounds very interesting on the spec.
x2!
Based on reviews alone, I’m torn between Polar M400 and Basis Peak. Yes, some key choices to be made here!!
(Does the Peak REALLY not have stopwatch capability??)
Yup, we’ve volleyed some messages back and forth, once they get closer to release I’ll dive into it.
You are a good man!! Look forward to the results. Thanks Ray.
The real question is, was it a metric crapton. I mean you’d have to convert from imperial to metric when it forwarded from the US to France right? ;)
Ah looks like they sent you the new Blue SC. I just got one of those after my previous one got eaten by my back wheel having a massive failure, and noticed a few differences. One it’s duel BLE/ANT+ now, two it’s much stealthier black with white logo (no blue) logo, and three it appears to have blinking LEDs that indicate connection and and operation much like the TICKR does. Haven’t actually taken it out for a ride yet though!
Ray-
Where do you get your CR2032 batteries from?
I just buy them on Amazon, link here: link to amazon.com
$7 for a pack of 20. I’m not convinced they’re as good as some brands, but for the price I don’t mind if I have slightly higher turnover. I’ve been using them for years as my staple.
A beddit! Cool, I’ve had mine sitting in a box next to my bed for several weeks. Now, I have an excuse to tell my wife: I’m waiting for Ray to tell me what to do with it.
Thanks!
Nice to see ‘the Girl’ getting her staff to push her around in the trolley in Ikea. Slavedriver (literally)…
I’m not sure if you’re kidding or not, but she literally jumped on for about 3 seconds, because we (all) thought it would be funny.
Can’t wait for that CR2032s review! LOL ;-)
Hey, batteries are not all the same, though many times the difference is not worth it if one brand is cheaper/easier to obtain.
ikea has the CR2032 batteries now! :D
Hey- what is that GoPro USB double charger? I can only find this one, which looks different than yours- since yours appears to be end-loading.
It’s the new Hero4 dual charger, which uses different batteries than that of the Hero3 unfortunately.
Oh- and the BlueSC in the pic- I’ve been using it for months, I replaced the rear wheel magnet with a slightly thinner one so I could put the wheel arm down (tucked into the chainstay). It’s been completely reliable (better than the Wahoo android app crashes and RFLKT+ battery drain issues).
I suspect you’ve been using the BlueSCv1 for months (almost identical boxes), whereas the BlueSCv2 (shown above) just started shipping last week. The only difference being the v2 is dual ANT+/BLE, whereas the V1 is just Bluetooth Smart.
The Blue SCv2 also has blue/red indicator lights on it like the TICKR.
The green line on the pavement on Longchamp (second picture of #3) was the race line for the 20km de Paris on Sunday. Didn’t run myself (injured) but watched it some and heard it was a good race.
Yup! They also do one for the Paris Marathon too. I loves me the green line. :)
The first time I saw the line was for the 2013 20km de Paris. Took me a few kms to realize what it was…then I remember thinking, “brilliant!” The line really helped at the Paris marathon, a glycogen-deprived brain will often go weird places, as you know…but I remember referring to the line in my brain as “my happy place.” Haha.
Hello Ray. Which forwarding company do you use?
Here ya go: link to dcrainmaker.com
US Global Mail is the company name, love them.
Hey Ray, where’s the best place to order CR2032’s from? Lots of people complain about receiving fake batteries from Amazon etc. Sony the best you’ve found?
I just keep ordering the same units off of Amazon for years, never had a problem with that specific SKU (the Sony one). I just click re-order as I need them. It’s this SKU, if interested: link to amazon.com
Thanks Ray, appreciate it.
Hi Ray, did you ever get to play with the CatEye Strada Smart? Reason I ask is that I just got one for Christmas and am attempting to go Garmin-free, but am having one major issue (so far) and wondered if you noticed it also. Basically I can’t get my power reading from my G3 (with BTE cap) to upload from the Cateye iOS app to Strava. Strava just doesn’t recognize the power at all (no “lightning bolt”, just garbage from their estimate). TrainingPeaks, on the other hand, recognizes it fine. As you probably know, TrainingPeaks doesn’t fiddle with the data at all, it reports the same as measured by the CatEye app. Strava has other ideas. I hate the way Strava messes with the data! I am testing it on my trainer with a Polar H7 strap and using the G3 hub for the speed/cadence. I’ve turned off location services for the CatEye app on my iPhone so it won’t record a GPS signal and use the hub instead. I have a gut feeling maybe the CatEye iOS app didn’t follow the Strava API rules correctly for the power .. or something like that. Any thoughts? – Bernie