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.
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.
- 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?
-
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.
All sports glasses are usually extremely dorky but those Reconjets take the (cup)cake.
Any first impressions on the recon jet?
Hi Ray,
I’m going to pre-order the Vivoactive but am still trying to decided on whether to get the the strap or not. I already have a Scoche rhythm + which I’ll use most of the time but I’m curious to see what, if any, benefit I can get from VO2max and recovery. 2 multi-part questions:
1. Can I get that data if I use another strap like a Wahoo Tickr? Or do I need the official Garmin strap?
2. Is that data really useless? Is it too inaccurate? Or does it not change very often?
Thanks for all the great info.
No VO2Max stats on the Vivoactive, so that’s a wash there. And I didn’t see any recovery data either.
Thus, to that end, it wouldn’t really matter whether or not you had a Garmin strap. The Wahoo TICKR will transmit HRV/RR data though, in the event Garmin adds it later.
I don’t often find the recovery data that valuable, it seems to kinda be a bit variable.
I’ve been debating getting the reconjet for my half IM in August. I’m somewhat hesitant because of their constant and their blog had been very quiet. I know the battery won’t last for the whole bike and run segments, but is the screen good enough so that I don’t have to look at my watch or bike computer? Obviously, I won’t be bringing my phone so will it work well as a standalone? Hehehe. Nice cupcake:)
i just wait to read the full review on vivoactive. allready got one on preorder… i made the order at the same time with the fenix 3. fenix arrived a few days ago, but it apears that the vivoactive will take a little longer until it will get here.
the cupcakes looks delicious , especialy when bikes are arround :)
next time when i’ll get in Paris i will come to buy some.
as for the glasses… i think they’re a little too big
Curiously since I see you have a swim trainer, do you have or use a rower too, specifically one like in the show House of Cards with the water tank in front? Thinking of adding something like this to the home gym.
Actually, this converts to being a paddling trainer. :) You can check out Vasa’s site for all the details there (they sent a paddle actually, haven’t quite poked at that piece yet).
I love my WaterRower. It is much smoother and quieter than the Concept Ergo rowers and great for the house because it is so quiet and stores away easily. The slooshing of water is also quite therapeutic! The only downside is that the software for recording rowing workouts is not currently up to scratch, but I get around that by using my Scosche Rhtyhm+ with iPhone to record HR data, before exporting it to Training Peaks and adding the distance rowed. Not perfect, but a good workaround.
I don’t know if it was a glitch, but the Nasa video started showing subtitles about halfway through…
…and they were hilarious.
Funny, though odd. I don’t see any option on my end that’s enabled CC’s. :-/
How is the VivoActive’s touch screen? The prototypes previewed back in January seemed to have quite the delay when you swiped to another page, is it more instant now (with dry hands)?
Thanks!
I was concerned about that as well. The demo units (in the original video) seemed sluggish and, unfortunately, the shower video didn’t seem to indicate much improvement in that regard.
I trying to decide between the VivoActive and the Polar M400. The snappiness of the VivoActive touch screen vs the standard button layout of the M400 may be the deciding factor for me. I do, however, like to looks of the VivoActive better.
I just uploaded a non-water video, which shows it seems pretty responsive when water isn’t sitting on the display: link to youtube.com
Ray posted a video on that as well:
link to youtu.be
That looks, maybe because of 3 watches? :)
Is that an Epix next to the F3 on your right wrist?? I hope so
Nevermind its round. duh
It’s the Garmin Vivoactive on one side, and the Garmin Fenix3 & Epson 810 on the other. :)
Hi Ray, an observation about step count. Your VVA showed 19K+ steps for 13.3 miles. This may be a given, but steps can be a little deceiving. Cadence and step length have a whole lot to do with total steps. For me, around the same amount of steps my 920 shows 10.1 miles-which is pretty accurate. Having slowed over the years I find my cadence for EZ runs is around 165- which for me translates to about 11-11:20 per mile. With a 1/2 mile dog walk, an 8 mile EZ run and a 1/2 mile cool down+ my “normal” 1,000 steps for shower, shaving, and primping I get to 19,000+ steps which shows 10.1 miles. I share that because I am a body metrics geek and possibly alert folks that not all steps
are “equal”.
Yeah. In this case, about 10.3 miles of that was from the run, and then the remainder just bumbling around town. But definitely, it varies.
That is depressing, you throw cupcakes away?!
Even though I don’t have all the technology you review, its cool to read about it – thanks.
Indeed. Every day the cupcakes are baked fresh. Anything not used gets tossed, or occasionally given to various friends in the neighborhood.
We’ve tried donating to shelters, but that eventually resulted in messy situations with folks following the ‘breadcrumb trail’ back to the shop and waiting out front or causing problems with our staff. So we unfortunately had to stop there. :(
Can’t you deliver them by drone to your readers? I’m sure the technology must be available. I can give you my coordinates right now :)
What bench are you using with the Vasa? The one you have doesn’t seem to be for sale on their website, and it has a headrest?
If you can look up at that TV screen while using the trainer, you’ll have serious neck muscles; I have to improvise a headrest as it is, much less looking up.
So the portable bench (officially called ‘Folding bench’), is sorta an interim model for them. They noted to me it’s made by a company called Halo, and it’s somewhat temporary until they finish making their own.
I’ll include photos of the non-folding version from the same model I had back in DC when I initially tested it.
I do agree on the TV, I’m not entirely sure how well it’s gonna work…but gosh darnit, I got the TV mounted somewhere!
Ray,
The “Girl” may want to look for a nearby homeless shelter or soup kitchen to give her stale cupcakes a second chance. Many will send someone to pickup her donations.
Yeah, we’ve tried that in the past. Unfortunately we had issues with folks starting to trace back the source and show up on our doorstep causing troubles. :-/
Morning Ray,
If you or Bertie ever want any customised perspex stands made, for custom orders like weddings, birthdays etc, let me know. My fiance makes lots of them for friends (as a hobby, no money) with her Lazer cutter.
Only in the UK so posting to Paris is no problem.
Could make some with the cupcakes logo on for example or different colours.
Anyway, just thought I would offer to help you out as you help us all out.
Kind Regards
Garry
Wow, awesome – really appreciate reaching out. I’ve just chatted with The Girl about it, and will probably be in touch. Cool stuff!
Anytime good buddy :-)
The vivoactive (all lower case ???) looks quite like a MotoACTV and both can (or could) do run, bike and golf! Look forward to the golf section review :)
Unfortunately there probably won’t be a lot on the golf section…I like any athletic capability there (unless it has miniature golf courses with windmills and all).
As for the all-lower case, yeah, it’s a Garmin thing. Something I completely ignore as it looks stupid in normal writing.
Any way to get a preview of the music player functionality on the vivoactive?
Can it store music files on the device and broadcast via bluetooth without a phone?
Sure, I’ll create a video on it tomorrow.
So what objectives are you setting for using ANT+ power with the Vasa? Could you explain a sample workout?
I’m curious if one should perform intervals like you would on a bike to build power over time? Is there such a thing as Swim FTP or what metric would be used as the baseline to build fitness off of? Like the 8 minute or 20 minute FTP test, I’m wondering how one would go about this? Any ideas?
Also, just out of curiosity….what bracket did you use for the tv? I like the setup! :)
I’m honestly still getting to that aspect of it. They sent me some workout to utilize as a starting point. With the goal I suspect being to increase the power to pace or power to HR ratios in some way. I think I’ll be stumbling through that as part of the review (process).
As for the TV bracket, it was honestly a complete no-name brand that I picked up at Leroy Merlin (like our Home Depot). It was I think 29EUR on some sort of sale. They had a giant palate of them piled up, and apparently no takers.
I appreciate your honest answer and have gotten the same response when I’ve asked several other owners of the ERG. This being said…..what’s the reason to spend the additional monies for the power meter? Is there one? Is there anything coming in the future that will make the data more useful?
Thanks!
I think right now that answer is a bit tough. But, it was the same when power meters first started trickling out too – the ‘how to train by it’ aspect just wasn’t there yet.
Now, with swimming we’re lacking the ability to also measure it in the pool today. There’s been some chatter on doing aspects of that (within the industry), so eventually there’s no doubt we’ll get there. Not this year, or probably not next, but sooner or later.
I think the power meter is the key to the ergometer, much like a bike powermeter, you can track stroke rate and power output and build power based training sessions. The PM has some great functionality, allowing you to view right arm vs left arm watts in real time. This gives the athlete feedback to work on stroke.
The Ant+ PM is compatible with trainer road. you can build your own power based workouts, and save the data. This can be transferred to WKO+ for detailed analysis. This swim data is not available in the pool, so can give important insight into swim performance.
Lastly, data gathered from the PM can be invaluable if you are working with a coach which is familiar with the Vasa erg.
Hope this is helpful. I have been coaching swimmers and triathletes with the ergometer for years and find it a key part of our training.
I have been playing around with various types of swim FTP tests on the ergometer for a few years. we have tried 20 min Time trials, but power and form drops off too much to be valuable. I have found a 100m TT and 400m TT to be the best measures for setting up workouts.
the 100m TT gives you max sprint power, while to 400 is a good measure of sustainable power. I like to keep intervals at 200m or less, so the 400m is a good Field test, plus its easy to replicate without taxing the athlete too much.
knowing your pool stroke rate is important, as is maintaining good form and finishing the stoke on the back end. when doing the Field test, aim to keep stroke rate close to that of swimming for the accurate power data.
I’m interested in what other use to test power on the ergometer.
I have used a couple of different distances for determining FTP on the Erg.
For less experienced swimmers, the 400M distance that Tim Crowley mentioned is ideal. I have found for more experienced swimmers using 1000M distance to be a better gauge.
The Ant + power meter allows you to experiment with various stroke rates. This allows you to identify your best sustainable power. Similar to cycling, some athletes will be limited by their ability to sustain stroke rate, while others will be limited by their muscular endurance.
Can’t decide between the new pebble or vivio active.
1. Does the vivio active push a notifications?
2. Does the time remain displayed all the time?
3. Does it allow you to set daily alarms?
Thanks
Yes to all three.
Personally the Vasa Trainer or any swim trainer seems like a really odd concept to me. Personally if I can’t get in the pool I would opt for a different type of workout.
I’m however excited about the Recon Jet! and the potential for this tech in the sports field. A Recon Sea or something of that sort would be sweet!
How are you using the Vasa in conjunction with TrainerRoad? It sounds like a great idea!
In this case, just recording is my plan. I haven’t dug into seeing if there are some plans that would mesh well with it.
So, I know it has been awhile since you posted this, but I was wondering how the VASA ERG trainer is working for you, has it helped, and have you figured out how to utilize the power?
Thanks.
Hello,
I am looking forward to reading your review on Vivoactive. I am planning to finish my first ironman 70.3 this year and looking for a watch. I am going to choose between 910 XT tribundle or Vivoactive.
Your comments are highly appreciated,
Thanks,