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!
![WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[2]](https://media.dcrainmaker.com/images/2017/11/WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb2-1.jpg "WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[2]")
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.
Respect to the pigeon.
That bird drafts WAY better than most age group triathletes.
There ends a compliment from someone (me) who REALLY does not like pigeons; well, at least the stuff that comes from them.
Ray – is it me just me?, I have not been able to this post on the main site all day. I am on Google Chrome.
Weird, definitely just you. :(
Tons of comments coming in. Any idea which page you’ve been rejected from?
Ray – I could only see up to the Black Friday post, so whilst I received the Week In Review email, I could not see physically see it appearing online via Chrome.
All the comments were also ‘stuck’ at an earlier point in time.
It seems to be back to normal for me.
Do you have a timeline for more infos on the rylo? Given that Christmas is coming, a hands-on would be much appreciated to understand if it’s a legit alternative to a Hero 6.
This week sometimes as apparently they want me to send it back tomorrow or the next day I think. A little nuts to only have a camera for a week, so I push a bit to get a bit more footage. ;)
Not sure whether I prefer Polar’s long term product support or Gamin’s fast paced abandonware. Pros and cons to both I guess :)
Heard any updates on the Garmin running power app?
Dec 8th.
I am one happy Polar V800 user! The new firmware also included a few bug fixes! STRYD now works fully along with a paired HR sensor, and sleeptracking is now working fine again!
I think Polar V800 combined with a STRYD is the best running watch on the market for any serious runner! I do not need a lot of smartwatch functionality: I need high quality data to improve my running!!!
Pioneer added high speed data capture to their powermeter/headunit
link to cyclo-sphere.com
I did not even know Apple TV still existed…
It’s honestly never been better.
Of course, it really depends on what platforms you use, but with apps it opens up a lot (albeit…with that remote).
Crazy to see the V800 still get firmware updates and support. The V800 and the Fenix 2 were the two watches I was choosing between before each was released. I chose the Fenix 2 because at the time of its release the V800 did not have open water swimming functionality (it was added a few months later). Seeing this, I feel like I made the wrong decision. Polar has continued to improve its product, while Garmin has released 4 new variants in that time frame (f3, f3hr, Chronos, f5/935), and hasn’t released a firmware update to the f2 since 2015. Polar has kept its product valuable and as reasonably competitive as its hardware will allow, adding functionality, while Garmin just tries to sell consumers new products every year. Sorry if this sounds like sour grapes, and my F2 is still totally usable and gets the job done (except every activity I sync shows up as unknown activity type). In fact, it is so close in core functionality to the newest watches that I still haven’t upgraded (and I could get a 935 through my insurance company for $409). I am not a Sith (only deal in absolutes), and so I will not say I will never buy another Garmin, but I will be very analytical and critical before purchasing anything from them, especially if there is a similarly priced/similarly functional bit of tech from a competitor.
I have the 935 and love it. The best fitness device I have purchased. Having said that, Garmin just does head shaking things with their software.
Like, not having training status on the 935 incorporate rides I do on my 520. This essentially makes all their advanced first beat metrics useless for me. There are of course other things, but this one thing makes me wonder who is in charge at garmin and do they use their devices at all?
Some of the best bike company’s are good because their employees love biking also.
also. Why have the 520 turn on when you plug it in to charge? Freaking annoying as hell. Come on Garmin. I really can’t think of a single reason why I would want the 520 to change state when I plug it in to charge.
RE: V800
I think in some ways you’re comparing apples and oranges. In the case of the V800 – it was dismally non-competitive at launch. So all these years have actually been spent release firmware updates to get it on a competitive footing with Garmin and Suunto. The Strava Live Segments is the very first feature out of everything on that watch that’s ‘unique’ to a watch produced in that timeframe. Of course, Garmin’s had it now on wearables for 18 months or so (FR735XT I think was first).
Not saying companies shouldn’t continue to add new features – they should. But keeping perspective is important. Otherwise we get into a case where we’re rewarding companies for doing things they should have done at launch. That’s no different than ‘rewarding’ Garmin for fixing a bug or issue (like the Vivoactive 3 not having manual lap).
RE: Training Status across Garmin devices
Yup, Garmin knows it’s an issue. Their plan is to start doing that cross-device in Q1. You’re actually seeing some minor things already to that effect on the platform side. There’s a lot of aspects of it more than purely just training status. But I had a very frank conversation where they totally get they’re hurting their very best customers (the ones who buy multiple generally high-end devices).
RE: Powering on
My suspicion here is that it’s powering it on because it wants to offload files. If you plug it into a computer, that’s what it does. I suspect that it doesn’t know for a bit after USB is inserted whether it’s data + power, or just data.
Now, as for powering on AFTER you unplug…I’ve got no idea why that does that. Though, it does auto-shut down within 15 seconds on mine.
all good info/points. But for data transfer, it would make more sense to have to turn on the device then plug it in via usb, not have it auto on.
Also, with phone syncing I never plug it in to a computer anymore, just plug it into charge.
For the first beat cross device stuff. I wonder if this would require them to make major software changes. Like, on the 935 it appears that the training status is on device calculated. But for cross device, it would make more sense to have garmin connect calculate training status and push it to the device. But this brings more problems. As, if a runner goes on vacation for a week and doesn’t have access to GC for some odd reason that would make training status not work if it were to be GC centric.
So, in the end they need some hybrid syncing process where it is calculated on the device but can also pull workout data from GC and utilize it. I can see how this could create many errors.
I think the logic on auto-on is that if you just plug it into your computer it’ll take care of itself (be it transferring files, updates, etc…).
As for the cross-device, indeed, it’s a much bigger fish to fry than at first glance. There’s a ton of pieces that all have to be proper on all platforms: Device A, GCM, GC, Device B. Each of the devices that end up cross-platforming also have to understanding how to accept the data from other devices. So if you just update the Edge 520, then how does the FR935 know to get the Edge 520’s data? So both need updates. As does every other device.
The real quick is where they draw the line on devices to get firmware updates that cross-platform?
They’ve been working with FirstBeat on normalizing much of this on the backend since this summer. Most of it’s not visible, but if you’ve been watching super carefully you’ll notice every few weeks or so a new metric will show up on GC/GCM that wasn’t there previously. All stuff that’s been on the devices (2017 devices), but not previously on the platform.
I think their hope is that it goes as smoothly as the TrueUp stuff they did two years ago with calories/steps across devices. They quietly turned on that switch one day and it just kinda worked. No real major issues, which is somewhat impressive when you consider how many moving parts are involved with something like that.
Why can’t the auto on logic be a configed thing? When I plug in my 1030 I’d much rather have it turn on enough to be in USB sync mode but seems like it likes to fully turn on. Yes some people want that (especially with the special external battery) so can be the defauly by why not make it configurable? Boot up isn’t that fast to make it a non issue when trying to quickly load a ridewithgps course.
As to cross device use I hope they come up with a better way of handling indoor riding like zwift. Sure maybe you’ll have to record on a garmin device to get the data but then the software should know if a recording straight from zwift ride overlaps with a garmin device ride and allow the user to pick one to count towards stats. Maybe make it more generic so it can detect activities that overlap in garmin connect and allow the user to pick the one that counts with some logic to have a good default so it can default to the recording with the most data. All files have date/time stamps so should be possible
From an environmental point of view, Polar’s approach makes a lot more sense. Similar to smart phones, I prefer to keep my sportswatch for a couple of years, rather than to be forced to buy a new one every two years simply because the manufacturer stopped supplying it with updates.
Also, as a running and cycling watch, the V800 was, IMO, always competitive.
Furthermore: The running power meter support also got added to the V800, which is also rather unique for a watch from that time frame.
It would be great if they just started with removing the bug between GCM and in my case a FR935, whereby a device sync from GCM deletes any of the alarms on the device if they are not in GCM – sad late-for-appointment Panda!!
Love the Monty Python reference with the drafting pigeon post, always fun and educational reading your blog!
Yeah, I was half expecting to see coconuts somewhere after that Monty Python intro