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.
GoPro is for sale
link to dpreview.com
Not surprised, when you try and milk customers to an extent that frustrates them and overcharge for the latest kit. Great hardware ruined by stupid software design choices. It’s my camera so why the **** do I need to log in to change some settings !?!?!
I’m curious what Hero 6 feature are problematic for you? Certainly, there’s some minor software things that annoy me, but I’ve had really good experiences with mine. I do agree, the forced login is stupid though, but not a deal breaker in this day and age.
As for a sale, that’s gonna be a tough one for them. I struggle to come up with viable buyers.
Having lost days worth of videos using Quik I no longer bother unless using for updates.
All the apps require login now, desktop and phone just to do basic stuff I can already do on my Mac, my guess is this so they can try and upsell cloud storage. Now there is nothing more infuriating than getting to a location and setting up your camera only to have to log in to the app to check a shot or fire a remote picture or quickly change settings. Yes I know if you turn off cellular then it will just let you in but why should I need to do that. You also have to remember your account details so no complicated passwords – I gave them false info because why would I need to risk my details with GoPro just to use a camera. Also try finding your GoPro at a running event where 20 other GoPro’s all have ridiculously stupid names you cannot change. Yes as you say not a deal breaker but annoying, especially when the shot has run past you before you are set up.
The camera’s themselves I love, have a few but they are no longer the only player on the block. Look at the reviews on Amazon for what was a £500 camera and poor build quality and freezing.
Hmmm, wonder if Garmin would be interested? There may be some antitrust issues, but I’ve seen a lot worse. Certainly worth doing the analysis and some initial due diligence. Wonder if they need an in-house M&A lawyer…?
What about the unexpected? What about Red Bull going out on a limb and buying GoPro? Would be unexpected, but their marketing arm seems to have very little in limits.
often when a company is put up for sale the share price can rise.
if you take a look you’ll see it fell to a 5 year low
link to google.co.uk
@5krunner – I believe that the price dropped on earnings report and news of the jobs cut and then rose after it was announced that they were shopping the company.
@Ray – what about DJI? They could certainly wrap up the sports camera space, and both brand awareness and GoPro’s media operation would be a plus. Hopefully they could fix GoPro’s software miss-steps. And they may have deep pockets.
Yeah, I don’t see any US buyers. And probably not any European buyers that could afford it.
Perhaps some Asian buyers, but I don’t see DJI as one of them. For two reasons. First, they’d like nothing more than to make GoPro (specifically, Nick), hurt. And second, they’ve got the engineering to do this themselves, with no real benefit to buying GoPro.
I suspect we’ll see them enter the action cam market this year anyway.
I’m not sure what would make Nick hurt more than to steal his company ;) The advantage for DJI would be more in marketing then technology, plus no GoPro competitor with a different owner. I can also see some product synergy as they enter the action cam market. Although, you certainly know a good deal more about it than I. I am looking forward to the day when you take out your camera, flick the switch, tell it what kind of shot you want, leave it in the air and then just go do your ride or whatever.
In the middle of Paris, or any other large city it’s not an issue, but if one is somewhere more remote, where one doesn’t have cell coverage then it is an issue. Yes, those places still exist (& they’re usually where I take a lot of video)
It wasnt enough to upgrade year in and year out. Not to mention, GoPros are a niche market. On top of those…you have smartphone cameras that are getting better and better everyday. With that, GoPros for most consumers are useless unless you want it for sports..which again is a niche market. With all that being said…paying $500 is ridiculous.
Quick niggle in the opening para: “there was numerous signs” should be “there were numerous signs”.
Thanks!
“halving half the battery life”
Sooo a quarter battery life ?
No, due to the time-space continuum, it’s actually 1/8th the battery life. It’s complex, I know.
The latest GoPro desktop editing software makes me not want to use my cameras.
Yeah agree. Have had GoPros since the 2 and bought the 6 just before Thanksgiving. Love the 6 but stopped using it because of their ridiculous editing software. Have been planning to use Adobe’s Premier Pro and even got my subscription, but just haven’t had the time to learn it. Need something simple and less involved. Hours of great video on SD cards never to be viewed because of GOPro’s crappy s/w or because its just too involved to learn Premier Pro.
Just as a side note CNBC is reporting that GoPro was shopping for a partner or seeking to sell the company. The competitive action camera landscape may be shifting.
…and here is something for the droners:
link to dronestagr.am
Hey Ray,
The session intrigues me at this price point. Any updates on better gimbals for running though? I’d love to have them on some of my trail runs, but obviously I need better stability.
The Hero 6 has 3.7 stars on amazon at $399. The Yi 4k+ has 3.9 and $279. For the research of many, that says that the Yi is a better camera at a lower price. GoPro has failed to dominate the action camera market, despite acquiring some great IP/knowledge (Dashware?) along the way. The video quality itself doesn’t really stand out against peers in a meaningful way that makes up for the freezes/fails/short battery life of the GoPro. The Sony FDR-X3000 was released in 2016 and its video quality is on par and better in all my use cases than the Hero 6 Black.
Despite the dashware acquisition for me the decision tree is: want overlays? Virb. want great video with OIS? Sony. Want cheap? Yi. Want good low light performance over everything else? GoPro in some situations.
Having used the Yi (and owning the 4K+), it’s hardly a better all around camera. It’s just that they do a better job of having people write Amazon reviews. ;)
It’s more resolution at a lower price, but things like build quality are also lower, and that matters when you start talking using it in rougher conditions.
GoPro has totally botched the Dashware acquisition. Such a waste on both sides.
Typo?
” And that ignores that the hardware was less capable, ”
I think you mean software
…or maybe not.
I thought that you had finished talking about hardware as the previous section started
” First, there was the hardware piece”
Obviously wasn’t paying enough attention.
I’m just talking to myself now so I’ll stop.
Ignore! :-)
so… is it risky to buy a GoPro now? If they go under, will I be a proud owner of a brick should they shut down all their servers?
I see no risk there. To be clear, GoPro is doing just fine (albeit missed a target). It’s just that they realized they don’t make any money making drones that are uncompetitive.
I plan to keep on buying and using GoPro’s.
A quick question about European pricing. Does the price drop for Gopro Here 6 Black apply to Europe as well (I could not find any such press release with figures). I checked the price trend on Idealo Germany. Their price watcher shows the lowest prices over a period of time. It debuted at ~ 560 EUR, then recently stabilized at around 500 EUR and since January 7th has dropped to 429 EUR. Is that it? Or can we expected a further price drop?
Directly from GoPro it went down from €569 to €429 when they announced the cut; it also went down to €429 on Amazon.de and other European Amazon sites, so I presume that €429 is the new suggested retail price.
I was actually following the price before they announced the cut as I’m interested in purchasing one. It’s much more appealing at the new price. Like steve24601 above, I wonder if it would be a risky purchase though.
As all things I buy I do a huge review search, forum, ask friends, a laborious job. At that time I went to the Gopro 4 Silver. The thing that disappointed me most was the menus and such, they were just terrible – almost like a military software. But all in all it had “right from the box” quality that all my friends guaranteed that their “gopro lookalike cameras made in the same factory for half the price” had but in fact they didn’t. After some time I went to the 5 Session because the 4 Silver was just too bulky for mountain biking. It has a brilliant design and so far so good.
I still remember one of the key factors that made me buy a Gopro, I wanted something that didn’t give me a headache, a niche camera on the niche market, I wanted something that everybody else had, lots of info, forums, feedback, accessories, market for selling it second hand, etc.
I think that “pack” it’s still their biggest asset, as long as they dont keep making mistakes. They built a brand even if nowadays others have similar quality they are still followers.
Hi Ray,
what’s the GoPro price tag in Europe after the price drop?
I can’t find it in Germany anywhere near 400€. E.g. Amazon.de has it for 429€. Any chance to get it cheaper?
Thanks.
Martin
Given the price drop for the Karma drone, does that change your view on the buying decision? I’ve been thinking about the DJI Spark, but essentially for $100 more, I can get the Karma with an extra battery and equivalent accessories (controller, grip, etc.) as I would get with the Spark Combo. I already own the Hero 5, so I don’t need a camera.
Which, between those two, would you suggest?
Spark every day. Or wait for DJI’s announced upcoming announcement on Tuesday…