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…
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.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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!
5
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.
Sigh, really double guessing my 235 purchase now that the Vivoactive is half the price!
Vivoactive is now $150 on amazon!
Any reason not to get the fenix 3 over the Garmin 630 (except for the slimmer profile/less weight)? The fenix 3 will be getting the lactate threshold information and the running dynamics, right?
Running dynamics, yes, LT, no.
I scratched my f3 glass the other day. I’ve had it since March, and only take it off to charge it. I don’t think the saphire is with the extra cost. I’ve smacked it in things many times, and was afraid to look, but no scratch. Then, I bump the marble counter with it and “awe crap”. LOL! Two scratches near the date in the pic.
Hey Ray,
i would love to know how much scales are bought over your affilliate link. Maybe you can wrap up some statistics at the end of the season.
Btw i just bought one ;)
The scale is on my Christmas list, but it’s probably too pricey even at the reduced price. So that means it’s going to be a present to myself ?
Do you think the $99 is a good value at that price? Either way, $69 is a no-brainer, especially now that I’ve committed to the Activite Steel. What a great platform.
Ray – thanks for this. Awesome. I am thinking of getting the RFKLT for when I rent bikes on travel. At 50 USD seems a good purchase. Do you have a link for it ? Cant find it online.
Hi Ray,
are you aware of any deals for the Europeans?
Merci,
Lukasz
You need to find an European partner site too, right now the deals are USA oriented. Is this where the majority of your readers reside?
Ha, I posted the same.
Ray recently published an overview where his readers are from (IIRC last year’s ANT symposium).
The majority is US based.
Malte
Most Europeans are stuck with Amazon offers, which by the way are not bad at all.
Beside Amazon I often use the services of price aggregator link to geizhals.at
Found many good deals with it
Same here, from europe an european partner would be excellent. At least for all the products.
Living in Germany/ Europe I’d love to get tipps for a Europe based shop as well.
Often CT had good prices, but shipping, customs and taxes make any offer unattractive or at least unpredictable.
Malte
Malte,
Stick with Amazon.de Offers as well as what is going on a Wiggle.co.uk . I found some nice parts already.
Cheers,
Daniel
I want spending money, but I just might have to.
Same Fenix 3 deals are at REI
Hi Ray,
i have read Your recommendation regarding choosing between 920XT and Fenix3 for triathletes, is it changed after garmin introduced quick release kit for F3?
Yup, took that into account. It really just comes down to preferences there on style, and whether or not you want the extra hiking/navigation features of the Fenix3.
Whats your thoughts on a $200 Fenix 2?
I would not spend $ on the Fenix 2. The Fenix 3 is a huge improvement over the Fenix 2. The Fenix 3 is one of the best Garmin products I have purchased. Light years above the Fenix 2 beginning with the screen. Overall it just works better.
I’m wondering the same thing Ray. Would the Fenix 2 make a good budget triathlon watch? I’m really not convinced I want to pay double the price for better OS, screen and activity tracking.
I just saw a FR610 on Amazon, albeit ‘certified refurbished’, for $120 – link to amazon.com. But the interesting thing (to me) was that it also said: discontinued by manufacturer. Did I miss something, is the 610 dead?
Yeah, it was discontinued roughly a year ago.
Wow- the RFLKT at $50 is a great deal for someone who wants a basic phone-driven “bike computer” (really, a display). Especially iPhone users, as they can drive it from either Wahoo or Strava.
Forerunner 230 with hrm 50% off,link to myactiveplus.com?
Also same site 235 for £135
And unsurprisingly out of stock. I wonder if those prices will stay the same when they have stock available?
They had stock when I posted it.otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. Its also listed albeit not by me on hotdeals, that’ll be the cause
That price is below cost (by a fair chunk), so I’m guessing they only had a couple – likely just used to draw people to the site.
Prices will be back to normal no doubt. If there anything like the company I work for we run promotions every Wednesday on a wigig basis. When its gone its gone. I bet they had maybe 5 of each item at most.
Just bit the bullet on that site. It says it is in stock. Also if you go to the AXA PPP web site the is a coupon code for £10 off (mine was APPP1015). So mine was £178.99
Two minutes ago their still showing just the watch at a great price
For those who missed last weekend’s sale on the 920xt… nytro.com still has them on Sale for $360 :)
Is there anyway to give you credit if purchased through REI. I can get an extra 5% for using my REI credit card even on sale items?
When I tried to add in the DCR discount code at Clever Training, it gave me $15 off but at the full price of $149 for the WS50. So I assume the further discount doesn’t work there.
He said to use this link on the Black Friday thread if you want to use REI: link to avantlink.com
Yup indeed, you can use the REI link (via Avant) anytime and that gives me credit for REI purchases. To make it easy, I just added the REI logo to the existing BF deals page located here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for the support!
FYI Vivoactive on sale for EUR159 on amazon’s italian website link to amazon.it
“(sans HR strap).” ca fait tres Franglish :)
Sans is English too! Started off Latin, then became French, and then to English.
(According to Google) :)
Ray, Did you see this deal?
Free Praxis Chainrings or 30% of Garmin products if ordering a Power2Max in North America.
link to power2max.com
OR 20% off today only on the Europe site.
link to power2max.de
The BEst (If you need a crank based, affordable dual leged power meter) Just got Alot better!
note: I’m only Hyping this because I was going to buy one anyway and when I emailed them last night about specific options I needed they totally took care of me. Customer Service best I’ve experienced, next to DMM in wales but that’s a different story.. :-)
Happy Holiday CupCakes To All,
Karl
I had seen the US one (and added to the BF deal post), but hadn’t seen the EUR one. Just adding now – sweet deal!
I bought a Fenix 3 sapphire from Clever Training 2 weeks ago using the DCR VIP program and since it went on sale so soon after I bought it I emailed VIP support to see if they would price match. Just got an email back saying they would credit me the extra $40 discount between the DCR discount and the current sale price. :) You definitely picked a great retailer to work with Ray.
SlaneCycles.com has the cheapest Garmin Edge 520 I’ve found. 30% discount with BLACK10 promo.
If you buy in GBP at today’s exchange rate it would come to just under $272 USD (providing you have a no fees exchange card). Otherwise, it’s $278 direct in USD :)
I bought a couple at just under $377 AUD ea.
I just picked up a Garmin Edge 520 from Strava with 1 year of Premium Membership for $252US with the discount code TURKEYTRAINING. link to shop.strava.com
Wow that’s a pretty sick deal.
Not to derail the topic too much but do you find Strava to be worth it? I wonder if I should wait on the 520 or if the Strava deal is too good to pass up :/
Yep pretty decent too! I probably should have mentioned that my deal was with Garmin speed, cadence sensors and heart rate monitor included also.
Wahoo has the Kickr Snap at $699: link to wahoofitness.com
Hi Ray,
I am looking to buy the Fenix 3 but debating between the saphire version or the regular version. Beside the nice wrist band, is there a big difference between the glass itself? Is it worth the upgrade? Also the regular version, does the colour resemble the saphire? (Body of the watch)
Lastly it seems like every website has the Fenix on sale for $400. Do you know if this will be a permanent price reduction like what they just did for the 920?
Thank you and keep up the good work!
Cheers!
I personally don’t find the glass worth it. I’ve yet to hear of anyone actually breaking the other units, and I don’t off-hand remember anyone scratching the display itself (the bezel yes, but even the sapphire bezel scratches).
As for the deal, it ends Monday. Basically Garmin authorized retailers for the sale for specific dates and specific prices – so pretty much everyone’s in the same boat there (in the US anyway).
For the FR920XT, it was just temporary, so it’s already gonezo.
Thank you Ray for the info!
Stay safe! Cheers!
I have regular watches with both mineral glass and sapphire lenses. The mineral glass is on a Seiko divers watch and it gets banged around a lot and probably gets used the most. The fancy_swiss_made automatic is sapphire and I’m not particularly careful with that one either. Both have been in use for 7+ years. The mineral glass is showing some minor scuffs while the sapphire is clean. I’m going for the mineral glass Fenix as it’s good enough for a several year use technology watch versus a multi-generation heirloom.
I love your in depth reviews and have ordered many items based on them!!! Took a chance on your recommendation of ordering my new gps watch (went with Suunto Ambit3 Peak) from clever training instead of my usual go to running warehouse or amazon, and they have failed to even ship my item since ordering on Monday… just fyi, i reached out to them today and they still have not shipped due to an input error on their end. They did however charge me and collect payment on Monday, so a tad disappointed for the first time trying a new vendor for an expensive item!
Hi Colleen-
Sorry about the troubles. Definitely not the norm. I just checked with them on your item, and indeed, due to a weird systems error, yours didn’t get sent to the warehouse (I can’t remember the last time this happened – maybe a few years ago)?. They did however confirm they’ve upgraded the shipping to express and that it’s going out today.
Sorry again – I definitely appreciate the support! And enjoy the Ambit3!
Ray,
For those of us that missed the Fenix 3 offer, is there an precedent for this to be repeated (e.g. post-holidays)? Thinking I will go with the Fenix 3 over the new Forerunner offerings and trying to decide if I should hold out for it to be discounted again in the (hopefully near) future, or just acknowledge I missed the deal and fork over the “extra” $100. My fear would be that we won’t see that level of discount again until Fenix 4 is released.
Thanks for all your work (can’t imaging running and riding with as many devices as you wear/use).
Tough to say given that it was unprecedented for Garmin to give a significant price break on a current model of a high end watch. Given that Clever Training has a pretty generous return policy it seems you’d be somewhat protected if they were to offer a lower price within that time period.
Thanks George. Good point on the return policy – keeps the hope alive. :-)