Heads up!!! Here’s your massive Cyber Monday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $619, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) 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.
Hi!
“So if you can define a different zone for Cross Country skiing or Yoga, that would be largely unique.”
Pls correct me if I’m wrong, but Polar has had sport specific zones as long as I remember – been using them already in polarpersonaltrainer ?
Good development from Suunto ?
Sorry, yeah, meant more largely unique from a Suunto standpoint. Will re-word a bit. Garmin doesn’t offer it though.
The product name on my Trainer “Outdoor” box is: Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR….not outdoor? ie name is unchanged on the box. Yours says outdoors? Sure they told me it wa the OUTDOORS version…but the box disagrees as far as the naming goes.
sport zones: I think running covers ALL *YOUR* running profiles not just the three you have shown (I’m sure you meant that)
Differentiation
Suunto also differentiate based on a real compass vs gps compass/heading
Suunto’s trainers are also GPS-only not the GPS+GLONASS of other models
Power Zones
Did they tell you that? Or are you deducing it (a sensible deduction of course).
My deduction from parallel announcements was that we might get zone based adaptive training based on zone-duration accomplishments per session (new Firstbeat clever stuff that is derived from the good old Firstbeat Athlete I used to use)
Naming: Mine says same as yours, I just assumed I got an beta box cover (which is pretty common there). At CES in various meetings it was referred to as the Outdoors name, so I’ll see what the final official name is.
Sport Zones: That’s the specific list I got from the Suunto devs as to which ones it covers. I haven’t tried creating wonky zones for some offset beyond the list to see what happens.
Differentiation: Yeah, the challenge there is still consumer confusion, without any tangible upside. Suunto is known in the space for things in that hiking realm, so removing those features on still expensive models seems a bit risky.
Power Zones: Yes, a conversation with them about it from a futures standpoint. There was actually zero discussion about adaptive training. They really didn’t seem to have answer yet on whether Suunto 3 Fitness features would carry over.
I think this has been a misunderstanding with PR material.
My press release only talks about “outdoor inspired”, but the name Outdoor is never implied to be “Trainer Outdoor”.
But if you go into Suunto’s website they are all Spartan Trainer with different color options. There is no “Outdoor” version as well as the “Premium” ones are all under the same umbrella.
I wish they would fix the Running Race mode so you can actually set a target distance (like it states in Movescount). Currently you can only set a target duration.
Yes! Lots of us would like that and they have stated in run mode you could choose time or distance…but you can’t.
Like the small size but will change trainer for garmin…
On their norwegian website they are simply marketing them as more expensive Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR devices.
Huh, they call it “outdoor” but it lacks the barometer? Wut?
strange..very strange..
aah i see..on the Suunto site it is stated as “outdoor-inspired design”, well that explaines a lot….
Hi Ray! What kind of method have you used to define your training zones?
A Coach. :)
How about Glonass? Did they fix offset which sometimes occured while glonass turned on?
no glonass on the TRAINER models
Off topic, but I’m hoping someone can confirm…
Am I right in thinking that you can’t currently get any dual sided power meters for mountain bikes?
I’m assuming that my best (non wheel) option is just going with a 4iii or Stages crank arm based meter?
Correct, not supported yet (for any type of bike).
I’d go with a full (non-dual) for this unit. So something like a Power2max, PowerTap C1, or Quarq.
Hmm,
The product strategy is strangely familiar to that of another Finland based company back 10 years ago. Multiple variants of same basic product differentiated only by their name, presumably meant for different demographics.
I wonder how many of those product planning wizards from that company are now working in Suunto? Answer: many… :)
ps. Fully agree, this is already impacting sales. How on earth can any consumer figure these out if even likes of Ray struggle.
Agreed, they should hire more software engineers, not marketing people. We all see where more marketing is leading them. :(
OMG. I should have thought of that myself. I worked at Nokia so experienced first hand how proud they were of their segmentation and how they couldn’t grasp how the iPhone was only one model.
I too have complained that as a consumer I can’t figure out the differences between their models so being faced with too many choices I don’t make a choice and they lose out. I guess they are not very good at listening to feedback.
What a pig ugly watch ?⌚!
Seriously though, for the size of the device, there must be only about 50% usable screen!? Imagine a smartphone with a bezel taking up that much space!
I would say this model and the Phoenix series are not sooo much different. By the end of the day, they are only “rugged” watches.
Hope to see a “Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR Outdoor Music” soon :)
Any hint at CES?
Nothing at all hinted at that direction. But, I made it clear that I think for any price point over about $250-$299, the baseline by the end of the year will be:
A) Barometric altimeter
B) Music
C) Contactless payments
They could get away with something maybe this fall that hits that price point but lacks some of those, but realistically with Fitbit/Garmin/Apple/Samsung all headed that way already, the headwinds are strong.
Thank you for the detailed background informations – as always!
I’m waiting for the Wahoo ELEMNT Rival HRM watch, hopefully it will be out soon.
link to fccid.io
2 cents update IMHO.
I believe that this update fixed a bug on my Sport WHR Baro. Let me describe.
I’ve had my Baro for about 3 weeks, and twice now it has burned to ~35% battery and then shut down. When I plugged it in, it showed 35%. However, the burn time was consistent with the watch’s specs – I would get ~9 hours of actual activity recording time. So I think the watch was operating as it should but the battery indicator was incorrect.
I think this update fixed that issue – I plugged it in to install the firmware with the battery indicator at 65% (approx half of the battery burn time with the incorrect indicator) and after the install it was at 44%.
I’ll report back later if this is true.
Yep, this issue is now resolved on my watch. It seems likely that it was the firmware update, or I guess it could have been some other form of black magic.
Also – love the watch!
It does look much better than the… first version… whatchamacallit… eh well, than the one you are comparing it to.
Especially that metal edge makes it look way more like a nice watch, and glass is a nice addition.
Sounds like a Suunto version of the Sapphire editions Garmin makes.
Agree, I also like this design..now they only have to make the hardware on par or even better as a Fenix 5x and I will buy it. I really want to keep supporting Suunto, but it’s though not to switch to to Garmin side…
After latest update (owner of Spartan Sport WHR), slep tracking is sorta confused. After observing last 3 nights, I get sleep tracking only after midnight. The sleep sumarry of the actual day says, I fell asleep exactly at midnight and counts sleep time untill I woke up. There’s no sleep time from previous evening. Do not disturb set from 21.00-7.00, as well prefered sleep times (21.00-7.00). Anyone else?
Thanks, P.
Is it possible to broadcast HR with the SUUNTO Spartan like the Garmin 735XT/935?
No, Garmin’s really the only one out there that does that. Polar does it on one unit, but it doesn’t 100% conform to spec, still, better than nothing.
Sometime ago I was considering to buy a suunto watch instead of replace my Garmin Fenix by a newer model. However, after some research, I wasn’t able to identify the correct model for my needs. Really annoying! I even started to compile a spreadsheet with all models vs features in order to make a choice. After some hours compiling that, I thought “wth I’m doing here? Not my problem if they just sucks with naming their products!”. Just quit and still with my F3
Good decision. Still on F3 and Ambit3, looking into F3HR right now. Only thinking to update due to Firstbeat, but I am no athlete.
Hm. I have a problem with these specific hr zones. Nice to change them in the watch. But why is there no transmission to movescount??
You wrote that you can see the SAME zones in the training summary. But this is not true. Zones in movescount are based on the main settings in movescount. The summary doesn´t show the specific zones.
If you compare the picture from the watch and the summary you will see what i mean.
Having zones in the watch is nice, but really poor that they did not connect it with movescount!!!
Agree, the ability to set them on the watch directly is good, but why it doesn’t sync with Movescount settings with doesn’t make sense. Like a lot of the Spartan releases it’s seems only partly thought through and implemented. for a 3 month wait it’s not an overwhelming update, maybe a little less time on creating/releasing new variants and a bit more on fixing the core product would be good idea
Sleep tracking can correctly identify that say I fell asleep at 2am and woke at 6am, but still claim I slept for 7 hours there’s something fundamentally wrong
I like seeing them focus on smaller units and still eagerly waiting for a smaller watch (think size of a Garmin 220/235) but with Suunto’s superb build quality. Will it ever happen?
Will Suunto ever get where you can pair more than one HR sensor to their device at the same time and also allow you to name it and it show up as being connected?? I really like there stuff but it seems so far behind Garmin. I have a multitude of Bluetooth HR devices that I like to use.
Dale
Nice fix to add a sorely missing feature for my Suunto SWHR (trademark pending), and for a small fee, I can simplify the ridiculous naming convention :)
A few items I appreciate about Suunto’s strategy for the firmware.
– Common firmware across the new model range.
– 2 months since the last update, so I hope this is a portent of ongoing fine tuning of the firmware. Because the base hardware is really well made and attractively styled.
OK, so first run with new firmware, in basic run mode.
Observations:
1. There is a dial indicator around the very edge of the screen indicating your HRM, potential a nice additional to a future bezel design.
2. Now includes a zone number next the HRM and the colour changes as you move in and out of zones.
3. Time in each zone is displayed whilst you run.
So minor upgrade but cleanly executed.
1. I’m still super very happy with the Suunto Trainer in its basic model. I tried it in many sports now (running, swimming, biking, football (indoors: futsal, it’s winter-sport season here in Canada), skating, treadmill, etc., and I find the info very useful for my needs.
2. Until I read this post, I only noticed in the new firmware the HR zones indicator around the edges when I exercise, and I find it a nice and useful addition.
3. My feeling is that I need to adjust the zones for when I’m biking, but being a total amateur I’m not sure what would be the right readings for me. Any suggestions for literature in this respect?
I’m answering myself: googling a bit, I found this interesting article (with interesting comments at the bottom):
link to runworks.com
Now, what I’d like to see is some guidelines how to adjust zones from running to biking (and swimming, perhaps). While the zones that came with the watch seem correct for running (I guess, adjusted to my age), they don’t seem appropriate for biking (I bike at a lower HR for a longer time, and my guess that’s the case with most people, but I’m not sure).
Any suggestions?
Hi all
Can the suunto spartan range also Broadcast hr via at least ant+ just like Garmin can?
Hey, how do you get the WHR not to lock on cadence while running? I can’t run for more than a few mins until WHR shows 175-185 constantly despite running at slow pace. Also please try firmware 2.0.42. Press lower right button. My Trainer dies and must be connected to pc to recover. Press once or twice and it always happens! Worked in previous firmware….
Kind regards, Jens