Heads up – Big Garmin sales are out!!! The Garmin Fenix 8 is $250 off, the Forerunner 965 is $150, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is $249, and a ton of other Garmin gear has substantial discounts! Go check out the full list here! Plus all the action cam & drone sales here!
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered what to do with all of the coolness that people write, and while I share a lot of it on Twitter and Facebook, this is a better forum for sending it on to y’all. Most times these different streams don’t overlap, so be on the lookout at all these places for good stuff!
So with that, let’s get into the action!
DCRainmaker.com posts in the past week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page of DCRainmaker.com this past week:
While it was crazy busy for Amazon Prime day, and most deals have disappeared, there are a few holdovers from prime day that I’ve added below. I don’t know how long those will stay, they might disappear in like 5 minutes or 5 weeks. No idea.
Not a huge list, but certainly better than no list!
Of note below is that the Garmin FR735XT deal/price drop finally started. Given the ‘successor’ of that came out back in April, this is more of a logical price adjustment:
These are the just-released AirPod Pro 3, with optical heart rate sensors in them. These are my daily-driver headphones these days, and even more notably, the heart rate accuracy is incredibly good in these.
This is the first major sale for the Apple Watch SE 3, which came out just 2 months ago. It's essentially Apple's 'budget' offering, yet it still has all the same software features as a higher-end Apple Watch Series 11, as long as the hardware permits.
This is the first time we've seen the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on sale, and given it's $100 off, that tends to be the typical sale price for the holidays/Black Friday for the current/just-released version.
This is last year's model. And sure, the Action 6 came out 48 hours ago, but honestly, the initial rection hasn't been kind there. I just started testing it, so more to come very shortly.
Look, don't buy this drone. This is the drone that never should have left the napkin at the lunch table at DJI's HQ. The unit breaks easily (as I, and many others found out), and doesn't really do anything super well. Literally, buy any other DJI drone except htis one...you're welcome.
This is a great little drone as your first drone, especially for sports usage, where it'll do an astonishing job following you (running, cycling, etc...). And, you can crash it a gazillion times without any problem.
This is the activity tracker that both of our oldest daughters have used for years (age 8 & 9), as well as most of their friends now. They/we all like it. Check out my full in-depth review for all my thoughts. That said, the new Bounce 2 came out two months ago, and while my review isn't out yet, it's a far better product. But, quite a bit more too. The TLDR on that review will be that it's the best kids smartwatch/tracker to date (for both parents and kids), but obviously will cost you $100 more.
⚡This is a very solid deal, and is still one of the best bike computers Garmin has ever made, especially when you look at the battery side of things (it lasts far longer than the Edge 1050).
⚡At $249, it's pretty much impossible to beat this deal in terms of bike computers. There's no competitive option that beats it on features/battery/etc at this price, or frankly anywhere near it. Sure, it doesn't have a touchscreen, but it's not as bad as it used to be (I did a stint on it this winter for a week or so, and was fine).
⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. And notably, lower than the Edge 540 without solar (which is kinda silly, but hey, win for us!).
This is the lowest price we've seen on this to date. The Enduro 3 is simply the Fenix 8 with a MIP/Solar display (but without the scuba or voice calling features). It gets all the Fenix 8 features and updates otherwise.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a fantastic deal. By far the lowest price we've seen this! The Epix Pro has a flashlight which the regular Epix lacks, plus the newer Garmin Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor with ECG support.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a fantastic deal. By far the lowest price we've seen this! The Epix Pro has a flashlight which the regular Epix lacks, plus the newer Garmin Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor with ECG support. Note: Availability on this deal fluctuates, just keep checking back, I'm sure it'll pop back again (it always does).
⚡ If you wanted the battery life of a Fenix MIP series without the cost of a Fenix 8, this is basically your best deal. Plus, unlike the base Fenix 7 series, the Pro series includes the flashlight and Gen5 HR sensor with ECG.
⚡ If you wanted the battery life of a Fenix MIP series without the cost of a Fenix 8, this is basically your best deal. Plus, unlike the base Fenix 7 series, the Pro series includes the flashlight and Gen5 HR sensor with ECG.
⚡ The Fenix 8 keeps getting all the new software features of the Fenix 8 Pro that was launched two months ago. Setting aside that Fenix 8 Pro which gained LTE & Satellite Messaging, this is otherwise the most capable sports watch on the market.
⚡ The Fenix 8 keeps getting all the new software features of the Fenix 8 Pro that was launched two months ago. Setting aside that Fenix 8 Pro which gained LTE & Satellite Messaging, this is otherwise the most capable sports watch on the market.
As a general rule, the Fenix E is the watch that literally nobody is buying, and makes no sense at higher prices. The hardware is simply the Epix Gen 2 with Fenix stamped on it. That watch is going for $400, though I expect we'll see it down to $300 over Black Friday. However, one *KEY* difference with the Fenix E, is that it includes all of the software features of the newer Fenix 8, whereas the Epix Gen 2 doesn't get all the new software features. Otherwise, save your $200.
⚡ This is (by far) the lowest price on the Forerunner 265, which was recently replaced by the Forerunner 570 (but at nearly twice this price). What's fascinating about this sale price, is it's well beyond the usual sale prices for Garmin for this product. This pricing is 100% an Kansas-themed 'Hello!' to COROS and their just released COROS Pace 4 at $249.
The Foreurnner 55 is a great option if you simply don't want to spend a ton, but still want a super-capable runners watch (and general activity/sleep tracking watch). I've heard a lot of you get it for teenagers that run, as a great/inexpensive way to track their runs, and still be a good everyday watch.
This is the lowest price to date on the Forerunner 965, which is logical given the Forerunner 970 came out this past spring (which essentialy adds a flashlight and some other running metrics/features).
The Garmin Inded BPM is Garmin's medically certified blood pressure monitor. It integrates directly into your Garmin Connect account. I use it on occasion as a comparison for wearables, and it works just fine (obviously it's already medically certified by the FDA, so I say 'works' here in the sense of usability/functionality/etc...).
The Instinct 3 series came out earlier this year, with both an AMOLED and Solar variants. The big upgrade over the previous editions is the inclusion of the flashlight in all sizes, and a massive ugprade of sports features.
The Instinct 3 series came out earlier this year, and the Solar edition in particular has 'unlimited' battery life in certain scenarios. The big upgrade over the previous editions is the inclusion of the flashlight in all sizes, and a massive ugprade of sports features.
This is Garmin's radar without the light, so it's a bit smaller as a result. Same radar tech though, and compatible with Garmin/COROS/Hammerhead/Wahoo bike computers.
This is Garmin's standalone radar+taillight option, and $149 is pretty much the standard sale-price. Even despite all the new radars out there, this remains the most accurate option on the market. Now, only if Garmin would just re-release it with USB-C. C'Mon Garmin...maybe next year?
This is the first time this product has been on sale, since launching last spring. I'd argue it could have used a $100 off sale...but hey...they don't consult me.
⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on the newest product in the entire Garmin Holiday 2025 sale lineup. This is basically a blend of a Forerunner 970, Venu 4, and Fenix 8...but super thin. It's argueably one of the best deals here at $599, though, Garmin is still clearly trying to figure out the right pricing to drive purchases.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the Vivoactive 6 on sale, which is essentially a Venu 4, but without the voice/calling/ECG features (and a few other tidbits). It's probably one of the best deals in Garmin's lineup (sale or otherwise).
⚡ This is the lowest price we've ever seen for this. This is my defacto satellite communicator when out of coverage area, and I've used it on a number of major treks over the past two years when well outside of cellular service, both in a 24x7 tracking mode for friends and family, but also there in case of emergency. Would strongly recommend for anyone doing anything in the wilderness.
This came out last fall, and is the second time this has been discounted, but now to the lowest price to date. The key difference with the new Plus model is that it adds the ability to send photos and voice messenges via satellite. I've used it a bit, and it's pretty cool because it makes it a lot faster to just say something rather than type it out, but the $499 price seemed excessive. $399 makes it slightly more palatable.
This is GoPro's budget option, which includes a full color touchscreen on the back as well. The main benefit is it's super small, but note it's not quite in the same quality ballpark as their higher-end cameras. If you want size and GoPro ecosystem on a budget, this is an option. But with the DJI Action 4 just $20 more than $199, that offers notably better quality.
This has become one of my favorite drones, given it's tiny size (fits in my running shorts pockets) and ease of use. Plus, you can crash the crap out of it (hundreds of times for me and my wife) without any issues. This combo includes an extra battery and fast charger.
This is a solid deal on a solid drone, and one of the two main ones I use when taking videos of myself hiking or running. This includes the two extra batteries as well as the fast charger (so 3 batteries total).
This is one of the best 360 action cams on the market, alongside the GoPro Max 2 (both have their pros and cons, check out my full comparison guide linked).
This is the go-to sales price for the NEO 2T, though has become more frequent over the past year. It's still an incredible trainer, and is the top-end non-moving trainer from Garmin/Tacx.
⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen to date on the Tacx NEO 3M, and finally takes it down to a semi-logical price (compared to it's competitors). This is a good buy, and obviously, given it's only a year old, I definitely don't expectany sort of new version of this anytime soon (the last NEO series unit was about 5 years between versions).
This simulates the up and down motion on Wahoo KICKR trainers moving your bike up and down. Also, there's virtually no product except SNAP, that Wahoo likes to put on sale more. Wouldn't be a sale around here unless this thing was discounted.
⚡ This is a very solid deal for this bike, and the lowest price to date. I actually like the KICKR BIKE SHIFT more than the higher-end KICKR BIKE V2/Pro, mainly because it's both quiter, and seems to be more resillient to issues (less complex design).
⚡This is actually the lowest price we've ever seen on the KICKR V6. Wahoo says we won't see a new top-end KICKR this fall, with them instead focusing on the new KICKR Bike Pro, KICKR CORE 2, and all their new bike computers/radar/etc...
Also of note is that ELEMNT $80 rebate for the larger unit. Helps to equalize the price compared to the smaller BOLT. Both contain the same software, though the larger unit has an additional LED stripe.
Stuff that I found interesting around the interwebs:
Here’s a not-so-small smattering of all the random things that I stumbled on while doing my civic duty to find the end of the Internet.
1) Airdog ADII announced on Kickstarter: This latest version of the sports-tracking focused Airdog just launched. You’ll remember my in-depth review of the V1 version here. And you’ll be able to find a First Look post of the ADII here on the site on Wednesday. In the meantime, the below photo from testing:
2) The decline of USAT in events? After Life Time triathlon decided to forgo the USAT requirement, many are asking why day-passes need to be as high as they are…among other things. Of course, USAT supports more than just your individual race, but also pro athletes too. But there needs to be some balance for trying to get new people into the sport.
3) The World’s Largest Super Soaker: Seriously, how awesome is this? It shoots water at 272MPH!!! I like how this former NASA engineer wrote in the description of the video (where they share the CAD files), that if you make it and kill yourself, he’s not coming to your funeral.
5) Some more GoPro Fusion sample footage: I always like looking at sample footage from in-progress units. This looks pretty darn good from a stitching standpoint, as well as the lighting portions too. But do take this with a grain of salt, my suspicion is that the GoPro team edited it, and likely did some post-production work like they did on their announcement teaser video (since GoPro staff are seen holding the camera). Nothing inherently wrong with that at all in a video like this that’s meant really more for show-casing the team than GoPro, but just beware your mileage will likely vary when it comes to stitching.
8) Apple extends 1st gen watch warranty to 3 years: That’s a nice touch. It’ll be interesting to see what Apple does in this area over the next few years (with other watches), and whether or not companies like Garmin or Fitbit (for higher end units) might match it. In Europe, these companies are held to a 2-year minimum warranty, but in the US it’s only a year.
9) GoPro water bottle mount: While I’m not a huge fan of most Indiegogo projects, this seems incredibly low-risk and incredibly cheap. Plus, they plan to ship next month. At worst, I’m out about 2-3 Starbucks drinks worth of cash.
Stay tuned!
Sports Technology Software/Firmware Updates This Week:
Each week I quickly highlight some of the new firmware, app, software and website service updates that I see go out. If you’re a sports technology company and release an update – shoot me a quick note (just one-liners are perfect, or Tweet it at me is even better) and I’ll make mention of it here. If I don’t know about it, I won’t be able to post about it. Sound good? Oh – and if you want to get a head start on things, this page is a great resource for watching Garmin firmware updates.
{Best I can tell, there were actually no sports tech firmware updates in the last 7 days}
Would it be possible making a separate session for the “Week in review” series? Like you have it for “Product reviews”, “How to tips”, “Race report” and “Travel”…
For you to study: link to en.wikipedia.org
Because noticed, that you are using the unit abbreviations incorrectly. TdF race report. If you write 10 KM, it means Kelvin Mega…
Thanks for the link, Pedantic!
I found it very useful, however I was unable to find a section there, which is dealing with hidden subject in sentences… How pedantic is that?
Robert Black,
I assume, that you convert power also. To lbft times minutes?
To all witnesses of imperial system, let me post a quotation, which is expressing my opinion:
“In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade—which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. An amount of hydrogen weighing the same amount has exactly one mole of atoms in it. Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Get lost,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.” Wild Thing by Josh Bazell.
Ray,
Have you seen the Chinese knockoff stages on aliexpress? Brand is xcadey. I have one in hand and it does indeed produce watt numbers, can’t really say much more than that, but it’d be interesting to see an accuracy comparison. It seems we’re starting to see a race to the bottom on price.
Yikes,
old news apparently, I don’t check the twitter. Anyway, I have one, and it seems to legitimately detect power, but I don’t really have anything to compare it against besides other left-arm power meters. If it seems to match up decently then maybe I’ll leave it on the indoor trainer bike rather than swap cranks back and forth.
But it doesn’t surprise me. It’s a tough market with a lot of competitors and not a lot of interest.
I’ve said a bunch that too many of these companies are targeting the wrong user types at the wrong price points. Recreational runners don’t give a flying fudge about these metrics, and no amount of telling them that it’ll make them faster/safer/whatever is going to make them go out and spend $150-$200 on a device they don’t really need.
(The same statement can largely be applied to the influx of ‘smart training/coaching’ type apps/platforms lately, most of which will fail because there isn’t enough of a reason for someone to abandon the Strava’s/TrainingPeaks/etcs of the world.)
Now, to SHFT’s credit, I don’t think they were targeting that market (thankfully) – and their product is pretty good. I think their challenge is just the general trying to get people interested in what they are doing piece.
Not to go all pedantic on you, but technically the Elemnt is not so much a rebate as a trade in program. You have to send in an old bike computer to be eligible. And here is the link for it link to wahoofitness.com|cid:789744843|agid:44937388041|tid:kwd-1427500752|crid:204462847324|nw:g|rnd:7721014770356066738|dvc:c|adp:1t1|loc:1002451&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2J_P2sqn1QIVEIGzCh3yYQX6EAAYASAAEgKo1_D_BwE
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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 2024 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.
![WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[1]](https://media.dcrainmaker.com/images/2017/07/WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb11.jpg "WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[1]")
Hi Ray,
Would it be possible making a separate session for the “Week in review” series? Like you have it for “Product reviews”, “How to tips”, “Race report” and “Travel”…
For you to study: link to en.wikipedia.org
Because noticed, that you are using the unit abbreviations incorrectly. TdF race report. If you write 10 KM, it means Kelvin Mega…
10km means 6.21371 miles to me
For you to study: link to grammarbook.com
“Because noticed” your use of English isn’t that great.
Call me pedantic!
Thanks for the link, Pedantic!
I found it very useful, however I was unable to find a section there, which is dealing with hidden subject in sentences… How pedantic is that?
Robert Black,
I assume, that you convert power also. To lbft times minutes?
To all witnesses of imperial system, let me post a quotation, which is expressing my opinion:
“In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade—which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. An amount of hydrogen weighing the same amount has exactly one mole of atoms in it. Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Get lost,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.” Wild Thing by Josh Bazell.
Ray,
Have you seen the Chinese knockoff stages on aliexpress? Brand is xcadey. I have one in hand and it does indeed produce watt numbers, can’t really say much more than that, but it’d be interesting to see an accuracy comparison. It seems we’re starting to see a race to the bottom on price.
See comment #5 here
link to dcrainmaker.com
Yikes,
old news apparently, I don’t check the twitter. Anyway, I have one, and it seems to legitimately detect power, but I don’t really have anything to compare it against besides other left-arm power meters. If it seems to match up decently then maybe I’ll leave it on the indoor trainer bike rather than swap cranks back and forth.
Ray, what’s your thoughts on shftrun’s parent company filing for bankruptcy?
Interesting, I didn’t realize they had.
But it doesn’t surprise me. It’s a tough market with a lot of competitors and not a lot of interest.
I’ve said a bunch that too many of these companies are targeting the wrong user types at the wrong price points. Recreational runners don’t give a flying fudge about these metrics, and no amount of telling them that it’ll make them faster/safer/whatever is going to make them go out and spend $150-$200 on a device they don’t really need.
(The same statement can largely be applied to the influx of ‘smart training/coaching’ type apps/platforms lately, most of which will fail because there isn’t enough of a reason for someone to abandon the Strava’s/TrainingPeaks/etcs of the world.)
Now, to SHFT’s credit, I don’t think they were targeting that market (thankfully) – and their product is pretty good. I think their challenge is just the general trying to get people interested in what they are doing piece.
Wahoo released an elemnt update today 17.07.2017, mainly focussed on live tracking improvements.
Does the rebate on the Garmin Edge 1000 mean we are getting close to the newer version soon?
More than likely, as history had a habit of repeating itself, but Ray will be tied to a NDA
Not to go all pedantic on you, but technically the Elemnt is not so much a rebate as a trade in program. You have to send in an old bike computer to be eligible. And here is the link for it link to wahoofitness.com|cid:789744843|agid:44937388041|tid:kwd-1427500752|crid:204462847324|nw:g|rnd:7721014770356066738|dvc:c|adp:1t1|loc:1002451&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2J_P2sqn1QIVEIGzCh3yYQX6EAAYASAAEgKo1_D_BwE
Yup, totally valid. I thought I had that in the description. My bad, fixed.