Here’s your complete guide to sports tech deals, sorted by category and updated constantly daily.
Most links here help support the site – which I greatly appreciate! If you know of a sports tech deal (gadget-focused), feel free to drop a note in the comments or in the contact form. As long as it’s not spam-like, I’m more than happy to share it out! 🙂
Watches & Wearables:
This covers anything you can wear that’s watch-like or activity band-like, including sensors. Generally speaking, you’ll mostly find deals here that are on things I’ve written about in the past. So you won’t find a deal on some random non-sports tech watch here, or on socks. Unless the socks have some crazy sensor or something in them.
I've been using these the past few months, after years of using the Beats Studio Buds...man, these things rock. My wife has already started stealing them, which means she'll probably get a set for Christmas so she'll stop sealing them.
These aren't the latest anymore, that's the newer 3rd gen units. But if budget is in mind, it's hard to beat these. It's still what my wife uses as her daily driver, including tons of time on the indoor trainer/bike.
⚡This is now the lowest price we've ever seen the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) - a very solid deal, especially with the new WatchOS 10 features adding in offline topo mapping, power meter support, and plenty more.
This is Apple's latest Apple Watch model, and did quite well in my review when it launched about two months ago. Especially notable is all the new sports/fitness features it got this year, such as cycling power meter/sensor support.
This is really the first slate of sales we've seen on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the lowest price to date. Note: It'll show $739, and then to get the full extra $10 more off, you have to check that 'Apply Coupon' button under the price.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $449 (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates. Also note: This deal is *STILL* available. Sometimes you'll have to click to show other retailers (on the right side), but it's still live.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $499 for Sapphire edition (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates.
[Note: This is a renewed unit] Obviously, the Fenix 6 isn't the latest anymore, but these are still very capable watches and frankly, at $329, there's absolutely nothing from any of their even brand-new competitor watches (COROS, Polar, Suunto, etc...) that can even remotely compete with the features here. Heck, not even Garmin's own pricing for their Fenix 7 Pro can compete with this. Fwiw, all Garmin renewed units go back to the same factory original units came from. Frankly, there's virtually no difference. If you're on a budget, this is where it's at.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡This is a strong deal if you don't care about the new optical heart rate sensor (including ECG) of the newer Fenix 7 Pro, especially given the Fenix 7 series has received virtually all of the Fenix 7 Pro's new software features, keeping them essentially identical.
This is Garmin's mid-tier running watch, and is a very polished option with good multi-band GPS, and of course, a boatload of running metrics. This model also includes offline music such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and this is now the lowest price we've ever seen on it. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. This is the SOLAR edition.
This is a good deal, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone.
This is a great deal at $199 for the smaller 2S units, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone. Plus of course all the existing triathlon/power meter/etc support it has built-in.
This is the first time we've seen the Instinct 2X on sale, and since announcement it's received a huge slate of firmware updates and new features. It's best thought of as an Instinct 2.5, as it has almost enough features to really be more of an Instinct 3 (which doesn't exist at this point).
While the new Pixel Watch 2 just came out a month ago, the Pixel Watch 2 got almost all the software features two weeks ago via software update. The Pixel Watch 2 does have a slightly better optical HR sensor, and better battery life, but otherwise is relatively similiar.
This is a great dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart (with two Bluetooth Smart connections) chest strap that you'll often find me using as a reference strap in heart rate sensor testing. We only tend to see deals on it around Black Friday, always topping out around 20%. Note, the medium- size is the one on sale.
This is the first time we've seen the new Suunto Vertical on sale, and especially notable given the huge firmware update it got this past week with tons of new features from the also-new Suunto Race watch.
⚡ At some point, everything becomes a steal. While the Wahoo RIVAL struggles to be comepetitive with higher-end watches, at $99, it's a pretty crazy deal - especially for triathletes where Wahoo does some cool stuff around automatic transitions.
This brings down the 1-year price to $17/month, which is the lowest it's been (only way to get that is normally a 24-month membership).
Cycling Gear & Trainers:
Got a bike? Then this section is for you. Everything from bike computers to bike lights to trainers, it’s all here. I won’t generally be adding things like brake cables or bike seats here, but if I find a good deal on a cassette to stack on that new direct drive trainer you just bought, I’ll probably list it here.
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Other site
Sale Notes
4iiii Precision Ride-Ready Power Meters - $100 off!
This is for their non-drive power meter, in either the 'Ride-Ready' config (they send you a completed unit), or $50 off for the factory-install (where you send in your crank arm). The Ride Ready option is really a solid deal, considering you get a reliable power meter for $235.
Ride Ready R7000 - 30% off
Ride Ready R8000 - 20% off
Factory Install - 20% off
⚡The Karoo 2 is down to $299 ($100 off), but you can use DCR coupon code DCRAIN40 to get an additional $40 off, bringing it down to $259!!! A very solid deal given all the software updates it's received!
Lasko High Velocity Pro-Performance Fan (U15617) - 23% off
This is one of the most popular indoor trainer fan companies out there, which rivals the Wahoo Headwind fan but cost a fraction of the price. Of course, it lacks ANT+/Bluetooth integration, but realistically if you really want that you can add a smart outlet for $10 to toggle it on/off from your phone if need be. I've actually got this fan in the DCR Cave recently on advice of many people.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
Action Cameras & Drones:
Wanna record it? No better way than an action camera. Anything that’s action camera related or drone related you’ll find here. That’s especially true of action camera mounts, which are often found for great deals around the holidays. Same goes with drone and drone accessories. Usually a great time to pick up an extra battery or extra props.
The DJI Avata is DJI's smaller form factor FPV drone, and one of my favorites to fly. I don't use it all the time, but more for very specific things requiring a bit more agility (whereas most of the times I'll use the DJI Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, or Mavic 3 Pro).
There's definitely something cool about seeing a sub-$300 drone. And there's nothing wrong with this drone, it's very good. Just be careful though, because it's lack of 360* obstacle avoidance means it's pretty easy to get yourself in a pinch for a beginner drone.
Up till the Mini 4 Pro came out, this was my go-to drone. It's what I shot almost all my drone footage from, and is great for both cycling and hiking (or trail running with a hydration pack to hold it), as it's super lightweight and includes everything you need.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the DJI Mini 4 Pro on sale, for a product DJI rarely discounts so soon after release. This is a great drone, and my go-to unit now for most trips.
I actually quite like the Insat360 Go 3 and the combo of tiny form factor when you want it, and screen-box when you don't. I'm not sure $20 off is a sale worth jumping out of your seat for, but hey...a sale is a sale.
Other Sports & Fitness:
Anything else that’s sports and fitness related that I think is interesting will be here. It may not be super techy – but it’s stuff that most readers will be using in pursuit of their running/cycling/swimming/hiking/whatever.
⚡ 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 is one of the other more popular display-laden rowing machines. I haven't tried this, but my sports-tech reviewing buddy DesFit has (linked at side) and liked it.
Hyperice Normatec 3 Leg Recovery System - $100 off
Peloton has the Peloton Row on sale, both this base unit here, but also various bundled units as well. This is the first times we've seen the base unit (non-bundled) on sale.
This is arguably my wife's favorite sports tech gadget. She uses it pretty much daily. Thus, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this deal. Also, please don't tell her, she might just buy another one...
My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is just slightly more expensive than this model at $299 on sale right now. But hey, I hear good things about all of these.
I've long been a fan of the Withings WiFi scales, especially since they can connect/push data to so many platforms, including Zwift! Note that the Body+ simply includes more data.
Euro Deals!
What’s that? You’re not in the US and still want a deal? No problem! Note that on Amazon Europe deals, generally speaking, you can order from any Amazon European country site (i.e. Amazon France) and have it shipped within the EU (i.e. Spain). Thus, many times deals are duplicated across the sites. I generally try and just distill it down to one.
Remember these deals refresh each day for the most part, and usually only last a few hours. Jump if you see something you like!
There are no deals currently.
DCR Random Gadget List:
This is basically the mostly totally unrelated gadgets and things I think are cool deals that I’ve likely bought one or five of (you can never have too many, right)? Some of it’s probably photography stuff. Some of it’s random stuff like chargers and battery packs that I use daily, fun camera gear I use to make videos like sliders and turntables, and well…just random things you’ll find around the DCR Cave. It’s all random…but it’s all awesome randomness!
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Sale Notes
9th Gen Apple 10.2-inch iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - $100 off!
⚡ This is an awesome deal. I use my iPad primarily for TrainerRoad as well as Zwift when not with a larger display. I also occasionally use it for other apps, namely Wahoo SYSTM, Rouvy, and Peloton. But I pretty much test every smart trainer app on it. For all these cycling apps, the graphics capabilities is really pretty irrelevant, so having the absolute top-end/latest model won't make any difference. I prefer the budget options.
⚡I make no secret how much I utilize AirTags, mainly, cause they've saved my butt numerous times already. We have them in every suitcase, and every backpack, and every bike bag. They're also hidden in most of our bikes (sometimes two of them). We were able to get our cargo bike back when it disappeared, as well as figure out when all our suitcases went missing during an annual family vacation where they were (for 5 days!), and plan appropriately. Seriously, just get them.
There's just no competition in our minds on the best running stroller - it's what we used with all three of our kiddos for everyting from intervals to 20-mile long runs. In fact, we actually have two of them - one at home in Europe, and one with family in Canada that we picked up used. Go Bob Go!
We have more Nest cam's than I can count. No really, we have half a dozen at the DCR Cave alone, plus more at home. We love them. Nest Cam's really only go on sale about 1-2x per year.
These are the WiFi mesh access points I use both at home and the DCR Cave. Love them - I don't need to dork with them, they just work. Sure, there are fancier 'Pro' versions now, but really, I just have zero issues.
This is something I use frequently when shooting out and about and I need to re-charge a crapton of drone batteries, action cameras, or just cameras and such. I also use it on trips to Eurobike and elsewhere to keep equipment charged. I've even bought a solar panel to hook up to it (surprisingly effective). Heck, I've even powered a KICKR trainer ride from it!
Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee & Espresso Kit - 30% off
⚡ Let's be honest: This place runs on Nespresso (or, well, the knock-off pods we buy). But, the machine is Nespresso. Without it, reviews most definitely would not get done (and certainly not on time). This is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!
We use one of these and so far after just about five years, it's working great for us. Love it, and works better than trying to stick a regular Nest Cam out the window (since it'll reflect both during daytime and at night with the IR sensor).
⚡ I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It's completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that that support gas didn't make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16" is appealing, realistically I've found this 12" more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle). Full in-depth review pretty soon...probably. Also, $244 appears to be the lowest price ever.
We have a few SONOS speakers around the house and DCR Cave (the Ikea variants at DCR Cave), but by far our favorite is the Roam, which we take outdoors into the garden during the summer, beach vacations, AirBNB's, etc... It has a battery in it, and also connects to both WiFi and Bluetooth. Love, love, love
I use a literal flotilla of these small SSD's for all my photo/video projects until they get moved off to the NAS system (Synology) for longer term storage. I have T5/T7 units, and are picking up a few of the larger T9 ones given the sale prices. Love them, incredibly fast and reliable.
⚡I use the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Cards exclusively for all my video/photo shooting on my Panasonic GH5 and Nikon cameras (video and stills), including up to 6K recording with the GH5. I've mostly used 128's, but more and more lately I'm filling up cards faster with higher bitrates, so this sale is gonna have me pickup a bunch of the 256GB ones instead. The 128GB/ 512GB/1TB ones are also on sale too viathe same link. Note that usually I wait till these are about $40-45, so this is a fantastic deal and I'll be filling up.
I’ll continue to add deals as I find them. I don’t expect *ANY* further smart trainer deals this year that beat the earlier 20% off deals. Cause frankly, there’s no reason for retailers to offer such a deal on trainers. They sell virtually every unit they get without even trying right now. REI’s inclusion was mostly just because they’ve always sold trainers as part of the deal.
With that – thanks for reading, and for supporting the site via the links above. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Have a great weekend!
There’s some general Black Friday deals at Wiggle & Chain Reaction, but nothing in the trainer realm yet. Most of the things sports-tech wise at this point are kinda old-hat sales.
Still, I remain optimistic we’ll see some solid Euro deals here in a few weeks.
I was wavering between upgrading my iPad and getting a Kickr Climb as my annual Christmas/birthday gift to myself. Eventually, although total cost was higher for the iPad, I decided to go that route because it was the better price to usefulness choice. But I can’t say that the price listed above for the Climb doesn’t make me rethink that idea.
So does this actually work? I had seen the pre-announcement of the sale, and the T&C explicitly exclude bike trainers: link to rei.com.
> Discounts not valid on car racks & accessories, roof boxes, bicycles, bike trainers, snowshoes, skis, ski boots or ski bindings; snowboards, snowboard boots or snowboard bindings strollers, paddle boards, hard-shell boats, any item with GPS technology, action cameras and accessories, fitness trackers, personal locator beacons, avalanche transceiver and airbag products.
Thx. Bit of a bummer for me. After I had seen the restriction, I finally decided to pull the trigger on a refurbished Kickr, as it was the same price as a new H3. For 20% off I certainly would have chosen the H3. Ah well.
I tried yesterday and was unable to use the 20% off coupon at REI on a Neo 2T. It essentially said that “..no items in the basket were valid for the discount” when I tried to do the coupon code for 20% off.
Thanks Ray! I’ve been looking for an excuse to upgrade my Tacx Vortex for the past four years and I just picked up a Kickr Core. Looking forward to this “road feel” and “inertia” and “accuracy” that people keep talking about.
As *I* understand it, you can’t blame REI (or your local running/cycling shop) for selling Garmin at full retail. Garmin mandates their vendors sell at the published prices unless they (Garmin) have an approved sale going on at the time. When you see Amazon vendors selling at below retail they are doing so with the risk of being suspended as Garmin resellers
Until today, the REI price and the Amazon price for Fenix 6 have been identical for as long at least the past 6 weeks (been looking since Prime Day, where pretty much only older models were on sale on Amazon)
Why be frustrated? You know what REI is and you are free to decide where to spend your money.
REI doesn’t promote it self as a discounter They sell top notch brand names and maintain very nice brick and mortar stores in many locations. Unless there’s a specific sale or an item is on clearance, REI charges full list and members get a 10% rebate (15% if you use their CC). Sale and clearance items don’t get the 10% rebate (but still get the 5% CC rebate). If you use the CC with the current 20% coupon, that’s a 25% discount. All that can lead to pretty decent deals, but maybe not the best deals, and certainly not everyday.
I purchased them and my experience is the opposite of Ray’s – really glad I bought them! I’m 5’10”, 165lbs and found the medium feet really give a far more comfortable and natural ride compared to pre-installing them. I find myself less fatigued after long rides, and sprinting feels a lot more natural
I upgraded to the Axis feet. Only have about three rides on them, but really like them, 205lb I use the large ones. Not a lot of sway, but enough to make a difference on the backside.
Ray, what’s your link/code for REI in general? I know you had it up at one point, but I’m not finding it. I’m considering the Aerobars at REI for doing some duathlons next year. The 20% might finally push me over, if I don’t use on something else.
Some additional info on the topic of upcoming sales, I sent a query to Clever Training today about the upcoming semi-annual VIP 20% only to learn it is unlikely to happen. Here is their reply—
Clever Training: “At this time we do not have any information regarding upcoming promotions and sales. The best way to be one of the first to learn about upcoming promotions, sales or new product releases is to sign up for our company newsletter. However, I do not believe we will run the usual VIP 20% sale this November but if that changes the newsletter can notify you of that!”
The REI discount on trainers must have been a mistake, because I read the fine print a week ago and it said they wouldn’t be valid for the sale, which led to me biting the bullet and paying full price for the Core. They must be selling so well right now that no one sees a need to discount them.
I would encourage folks to consider not purchasing from Amazon just to save a few bucks over a local business (if possible). Retailers are suffering during these times … Amazon is not.
Not sure if you’ve noticed but any of the “product deals” sections you have in your RSS feed that show up in Feedly are pretty much unreadable. Any chance you can change the formatting so they show up in a nicer layout?
When can we expect a 2020-2021 Sports Tech Buyers Guide? Is it by any chance coming before mid/late December? I’m debating which new GPS watch to buy and could definitely use your advice in that area, esp. with black friday coming soon 🙂
I know it’s not as feature rich and capable for sports, but the new-this-year Fitbit Charge 4 is $50 off, from $150 to $100, You have at least reviewed those.
How about the Garmin Fenix 5s plus sapphire, is this a good deal (€399)? How does it compare to the fenix 6s pro sapphire these days. I’ve read the review of the 6s, but i believe loads of the software based items are now available on the 5s plus too? So it’s mainly the hardware based items that wil differ like Pulse Ox, Batterylife, size (thickness). Am i correct or am i missing something?
Hmm. I’d say it could go a touch lower. But not much. We saw it on sale in the US for $349 a month ago by Amazon. So my guess is we’ll see that or slightly lower in EU for Black Friday.
For the most part, very few of the Fenix 6 features ended up on Fenix 5 Plus – almost none really. So I’d look at it more a case of if you’re happy with the features on the Fenix 5 Plus – its a solid unit
Not sure there to be honest. I suppose at this point you can wait another week – any sales would happen by Friday morning. One could always pickup the Fenix 6 just in case, and just not open it too.
Hi Ray,
Just a heads up — Sam’s Club has special on Fenix 5 plus for $330 — starting today.
I’m tempted to upgrade or perhaps waiting to see about a FR 945 (for no other reason than the weight difference).
Second time that there is a hefty discount on the Garmin Instinct. Is this more likely due to there likely to be a newer model soon, or that Garmin’s happy to sell them and then make money on the subscription?
Yeah, there’s no such thing as a subscription for Garmin fitness/outdoors products. Garmin has historically discounted the Instinct lineup each Christmas and each May. Just as they do most product lines during those timeframes.
Is there any point in mulling a Fenix 6 vs Coros Pace 2? I have an additional benefit (that only applies to garmins) that would put the Fenix 6 at $100 CAD more than the Pace 2 …
Depends on what’s of value to you Peter. Do you need pulse ox? I didn’t.
Do you use maps? I did but only on foreign vacations, where I’d also take my phone, which I wouldn’t do at home in the UK. Lastly do you use music? I don’t, I like to hear what’s going on around me, like the time a riderless motorcycle came sliding up the road not two meters away from me.
So yeah I sold my F6 Pro and got the coros pace 2, mainly for it’s full support of my stryd power meter. But I’ve done pace based workouts with distance from stryd too and that also seems pretty stable. Sold my index scale and got a withings one that integrates with runalyze. I’m chuffed with the setup I have now.
Only potential negative if your unwilling/unable to pay for example Runalyze/trainingpeaks is that natively you do get far more info on Garmin connect than you do on the coros app.
Thanks Robert! That’s very helpful. Indeed the things you mentioned are my situation as well. I rarely listen to music ( though if I could somehow load an audio book ). I also rarely use Garmin connect. One thing I am curious about are the first beat metrics ( like body battery, all day hr tracking with high and low warnings, sleep tracking). Are those features worth the 100 extra? Or is that super Coros battery really win the day?
I pretty much never used any of the firstbeat features. As mentioned I outsource everything. However the readiness metric made me laugh. Some days I’d feel lousy and sluggish and it’d say +5, other days I’d feel great and it’d say -2. Your milage may vary when it comes to built in metric side of things but as said I laughed/took it with a pinch of salt. Both are good devices in their own way. But I train with power and coros hits it out the park
I was searching for last years deals to see if I can expect something on the DJI Mini 2. It seems that you code things in way that’s there is a « deal table » am I right ?
I keep seeing this latest deals table on other years page.
Correct, it’s a dynamic table in all locations. I do have historical information saved for the most part (better data on more popular products, less updated data on smaller/less popular products).
That said, I can pretty much answer that question off-hand. No sale on the Mini 2 this year. Instead, DJI is running a sale on the Mini 1, which kinda matches what they did last year with running older products on sale.
Ray – Im looking at getting a Varia 800 light, urban edition. The mount alone is like, what? 40 bucks from Garmin? and I think I can use it with my edge 1030? Am I wrong?
Do those ever go on sale? If so, do you recall where or when and at what price?
Also, iyho, how does that compare with the bontrager (ion RT and Flare) price not being an object (IE – I have a varia radar, and could use the same mount for the varia as the bontrager ion rt, etc..). ?
thanks and keep up the good work. What were those tacx neos on sale at rei for this am, btw?
$74.99 from Clever Training at the moment.
Order from their ebay store for free shipping at same price for just the unit itself (No $99 free shipping minimum as with their website).
Also Ray – lots of deals on Garmin watches from “Kohls” in the US. Pricing is the same or slightly higher than deals from other retailers running sales, but you get a not insignificant amount of “Kohls Cash” to spend on a future order (time period applies).
For example – $250 for Venu + buyer receives $75 in Kohls Cash to spend on whatever else they sell.
Since there’s no MAP in Europe (Minimum Advertised Price policies), it’s the wild west when it comes to Black Friday…which is great for consumers. Whereas in the US, we know already that the Fenix 6 won’t be any lower than what we see, except if a retailer accidentally makes a mistake – since they’ll get a 6-month ban by Garmin for even going a cent lower.
In any case, earlier this year we saw them dip into the mid-500EUR range, so not much more below what you’re seeing them. My bet is we’ll see one of the Amazon’s (probably Amazon IT or ES) do a quick drop to something like 499EUR for a few hours. Stay tuned to Twitter!
Garmin Fenix 6s Sapphire €590 @ Amazon.it, sharpest deal i’ve seen so far! Dont know how to change the link into one with Ray’s affiliation in it. link to amazon.it
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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! 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 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.
Heard of any delas for European customers?
There’s some general Black Friday deals at Wiggle & Chain Reaction, but nothing in the trainer realm yet. Most of the things sports-tech wise at this point are kinda old-hat sales.
Still, I remain optimistic we’ll see some solid Euro deals here in a few weeks.
Garmin Venu is 33% off in the UK
link to currys.co.uk
I was wavering between upgrading my iPad and getting a Kickr Climb as my annual Christmas/birthday gift to myself. Eventually, although total cost was higher for the iPad, I decided to go that route because it was the better price to usefulness choice. But I can’t say that the price listed above for the Climb doesn’t make me rethink that idea.
REI also has the Fenix 6 line on sale – is this the start of the Garmin pre-holiday sale?
link to rei.com
$100 off Inreach/Inreach Mini, instinct solar, and a few other garmin products too
link to rei.com
So does this actually work? I had seen the pre-announcement of the sale, and the T&C explicitly exclude bike trainers: link to rei.com.
> Discounts not valid on car racks & accessories, roof boxes, bicycles, bike trainers, snowshoes, skis, ski boots or ski bindings; snowboards, snowboard boots or snowboard bindings strollers, paddle boards, hard-shell boats, any item with GPS technology, action cameras and accessories, fitness trackers, personal locator beacons, avalanche transceiver and airbag products.
I didn’t go as far as paying for something, but when I put the code in for a direto, it applied the discount at checkout
Thx. Bit of a bummer for me. After I had seen the restriction, I finally decided to pull the trigger on a refurbished Kickr, as it was the same price as a new H3. For 20% off I certainly would have chosen the H3. Ah well.
I can confirm that it worked on my order @ REI for a Tacx NEO 2T.
I tried yesterday and was unable to use the 20% off coupon at REI on a Neo 2T. It essentially said that “..no items in the basket were valid for the discount” when I tried to do the coupon code for 20% off.
Anyone know if there’s a way to see what’s eligible for the 20% off without going all the way through the checkout processes?
Since it says “Discounts not valid on…bike trainers…” I assume it’s not all of them and also hoping other things in that list have some exceptions too
I’ve tested a boatload of things, GPS units are definitely not working, as are action cameras. Those have always been in the list.
Just purchased a Kickr core with discount.
Vector 3 worked with discount.
I just tried a Kickr Core and it didn’t work… 🙁 I’m buying from Minnesota, USA not sure if that changes anything
Kickr Core worked for me through checkout.
Thanks Ray! I’ve been looking for an excuse to upgrade my Tacx Vortex for the past four years and I just picked up a Kickr Core. Looking forward to this “road feel” and “inertia” and “accuracy” that people keep talking about.
Thanks! Jus got me a Kickr climb for Xmas
I continue to be a very frustrated REI member. 20% off Garmin at REI usually means it gets it down to the daily Amazon price.
As *I* understand it, you can’t blame REI (or your local running/cycling shop) for selling Garmin at full retail. Garmin mandates their vendors sell at the published prices unless they (Garmin) have an approved sale going on at the time. When you see Amazon vendors selling at below retail they are doing so with the risk of being suspended as Garmin resellers
Until today, the REI price and the Amazon price for Fenix 6 have been identical for as long at least the past 6 weeks (been looking since Prime Day, where pretty much only older models were on sale on Amazon)
Why be frustrated? You know what REI is and you are free to decide where to spend your money.
REI doesn’t promote it self as a discounter They sell top notch brand names and maintain very nice brick and mortar stores in many locations. Unless there’s a specific sale or an item is on clearance, REI charges full list and members get a 10% rebate (15% if you use their CC). Sale and clearance items don’t get the 10% rebate (but still get the 5% CC rebate). If you use the CC with the current 20% coupon, that’s a 25% discount. All that can lead to pretty decent deals, but maybe not the best deals, and certainly not everyday.
Hey Ray – are these Wahoo AXIS feet recommended? Do they help with fatigue on the trainer?
I purchased them and my experience is the opposite of Ray’s – really glad I bought them! I’m 5’10”, 165lbs and found the medium feet really give a far more comfortable and natural ride compared to pre-installing them. I find myself less fatigued after long rides, and sprinting feels a lot more natural
Thank you!
I upgraded to the Axis feet. Only have about three rides on them, but really like them, 205lb I use the large ones. Not a lot of sway, but enough to make a difference on the backside.
Wahoo! Had an order for the Flux S but def getting a Kickr core instead. Awesome and thanks for this.
Seems that it might have been an error on the REI side because I just tried to order a KICKR CORE and it is not applying the code.
No dice for me with the Kickr Core, it’s telling me that it doesn’t qualify.
Yeah, none of the trainers work for this code on REI. Probably should remove this post.
They yanked trainers mid morning due to overwhelming demand apparently.
Ray, what’s your link/code for REI in general? I know you had it up at one point, but I’m not finding it. I’m considering the Aerobars at REI for doing some duathlons next year. The 20% might finally push me over, if I don’t use on something else.
There’s a few links around here, and there, but this one works: link to dcra.in
Appreciate it!
Or, you can always follow nay REI link on the site and then once you’ve landed on REI you can buy anything else and it’ll support the site here.
FYI Coupon code GEARUP2020 does not appear to be valid for trainers at REI.
Will ROI honor the trainer discount if it was purchased before it was pulled?
Some additional info on the topic of upcoming sales, I sent a query to Clever Training today about the upcoming semi-annual VIP 20% only to learn it is unlikely to happen. Here is their reply—
Clever Training: “At this time we do not have any information regarding upcoming promotions and sales. The best way to be one of the first to learn about upcoming promotions, sales or new product releases is to sign up for our company newsletter. However, I do not believe we will run the usual VIP 20% sale this November but if that changes the newsletter can notify you of that!”
The REI discount on trainers must have been a mistake, because I read the fine print a week ago and it said they wouldn’t be valid for the sale, which led to me biting the bullet and paying full price for the Core. They must be selling so well right now that no one sees a need to discount them.
Thanks!
Do we expect deals on Garmin Forerunner 245 music on Black Friday?
Not sure, but I’d be semi-surprised if not.
I would encourage folks to consider not purchasing from Amazon just to save a few bucks over a local business (if possible). Retailers are suffering during these times … Amazon is not.
Thanks,
Rob
Not sure if you’ve noticed but any of the “product deals” sections you have in your RSS feed that show up in Feedly are pretty much unreadable. Any chance you can change the formatting so they show up in a nicer layout?
link to photos.app.goo.gl
Ick, that’s horrible. Noted, will add to a list somewhere to fix. Thanks!
I take it the Garmin Vector 3S is just a single pedal?
Yup, correct.
Hey Ray,
When can we expect a 2020-2021 Sports Tech Buyers Guide? Is it by any chance coming before mid/late December? I’m debating which new GPS watch to buy and could definitely use your advice in that area, esp. with black friday coming soon 🙂
Definitely next week. I pretty much always release it the week before Black Friday.
Interesting. I just noticed next week is Black Friday. Ok, it’ll be out Tuesday. 🙂
Thank you so much, appreciate it!
‘Sup ?
holding you to it ?
I know it’s not as feature rich and capable for sports, but the new-this-year Fitbit Charge 4 is $50 off, from $150 to $100, You have at least reviewed those.
How about the Garmin Fenix 5s plus sapphire, is this a good deal (€399)? How does it compare to the fenix 6s pro sapphire these days. I’ve read the review of the 6s, but i believe loads of the software based items are now available on the 5s plus too? So it’s mainly the hardware based items that wil differ like Pulse Ox, Batterylife, size (thickness). Am i correct or am i missing something?
Hmm. I’d say it could go a touch lower. But not much. We saw it on sale in the US for $349 a month ago by Amazon. So my guess is we’ll see that or slightly lower in EU for Black Friday.
For the most part, very few of the Fenix 6 features ended up on Fenix 5 Plus – almost none really. So I’d look at it more a case of if you’re happy with the features on the Fenix 5 Plus – its a solid unit
Ray,
Any chance the 945 is going to go on sale or should I grab a fenix 6?
Not sure there to be honest. I suppose at this point you can wait another week – any sales would happen by Friday morning. One could always pickup the Fenix 6 just in case, and just not open it too.
Good idea. Backcountry returns are pretty painless. Fenix 6 in route…
Did I see the wahoo kickr on for 999 at rei?
It was. But no longer.
Wow, even without a code? When was that? Refurbished?
Thinking of grabbing a Fenix 6S with the $150 off, but hesitant with a possible 7 coming out soon. Do you have any info on that? Thanks so much.
Is there any reason that the Fenix 6 watches are being discounted so heavily? Are they trying to indicate that a Fenix 7 is right around the corner?
Nope, just typical November Garmin sales. The Fenix 6 was on sale last spring for $150 off.
Hi Ray,
Just a heads up — Sam’s Club has special on Fenix 5 plus for $330 — starting today.
I’m tempted to upgrade or perhaps waiting to see about a FR 945 (for no other reason than the weight difference).
** just noticed same price n free shipping at Amazon
Second time that there is a hefty discount on the Garmin Instinct. Is this more likely due to there likely to be a newer model soon, or that Garmin’s happy to sell them and then make money on the subscription?
What subscription for the Instinct? Not familiar with features that require it.
Yeah, there’s no such thing as a subscription for Garmin fitness/outdoors products. Garmin has historically discounted the Instinct lineup each Christmas and each May. Just as they do most product lines during those timeframes.
My mistake. Should have said InReach, not Instinct. InReach is the satellite communicator, which requires a subscription: link to discover.garmin.com
Is there any point in mulling a Fenix 6 vs Coros Pace 2? I have an additional benefit (that only applies to garmins) that would put the Fenix 6 at $100 CAD more than the Pace 2 …
Depends on what’s of value to you Peter. Do you need pulse ox? I didn’t.
Do you use maps? I did but only on foreign vacations, where I’d also take my phone, which I wouldn’t do at home in the UK. Lastly do you use music? I don’t, I like to hear what’s going on around me, like the time a riderless motorcycle came sliding up the road not two meters away from me.
So yeah I sold my F6 Pro and got the coros pace 2, mainly for it’s full support of my stryd power meter. But I’ve done pace based workouts with distance from stryd too and that also seems pretty stable. Sold my index scale and got a withings one that integrates with runalyze. I’m chuffed with the setup I have now.
Only potential negative if your unwilling/unable to pay for example Runalyze/trainingpeaks is that natively you do get far more info on Garmin connect than you do on the coros app.
Thanks Robert! That’s very helpful. Indeed the things you mentioned are my situation as well. I rarely listen to music ( though if I could somehow load an audio book ). I also rarely use Garmin connect. One thing I am curious about are the first beat metrics ( like body battery, all day hr tracking with high and low warnings, sleep tracking). Are those features worth the 100 extra? Or is that super Coros battery really win the day?
Hope I’m not too late for you to get a deal,
I pretty much never used any of the firstbeat features. As mentioned I outsource everything. However the readiness metric made me laugh. Some days I’d feel lousy and sluggish and it’d say +5, other days I’d feel great and it’d say -2. Your milage may vary when it comes to built in metric side of things but as said I laughed/took it with a pinch of salt. Both are good devices in their own way. But I train with power and coros hits it out the park
Hello
I was searching for last years deals to see if I can expect something on the DJI Mini 2. It seems that you code things in way that’s there is a « deal table » am I right ?
I keep seeing this latest deals table on other years page.
Thanks
Correct, it’s a dynamic table in all locations. I do have historical information saved for the most part (better data on more popular products, less updated data on smaller/less popular products).
That said, I can pretty much answer that question off-hand. No sale on the Mini 2 this year. Instead, DJI is running a sale on the Mini 1, which kinda matches what they did last year with running older products on sale.
Garmin just dropped “Flash Sale” on whole bunch of devices -Venu ($249), VA4 ($249), Instinct ($169!)
link to buy.garmin.com
Thanks Peter for the heads up yesterday! Looks like we both got those e-mails about the same time. Got them all added in!
The Fenix 6 Pro is available for £450 from John Lewis in the UK, which I think is as low as it’s been.
link to johnlewis.com
@Ray, it seems both 20% REI and Backcountry links in the intro go to REI!
That’s less than ideal – thanks, fixed!!!
Just saw this: link to rei.com
Wow, that’s an amazing deal. Good find!!!
Well, that didn’t last long.
I wonder why they are doing this. Getting rid of product returns?
Ray – Im looking at getting a Varia 800 light, urban edition. The mount alone is like, what? 40 bucks from Garmin? and I think I can use it with my edge 1030? Am I wrong?
Do those ever go on sale? If so, do you recall where or when and at what price?
Also, iyho, how does that compare with the bontrager (ion RT and Flare) price not being an object (IE – I have a varia radar, and could use the same mount for the varia as the bontrager ion rt, etc..). ?
thanks and keep up the good work. What were those tacx neos on sale at rei for this am, btw?
sam
Garmin Venu for 159 pounds equal to around 180 euros. Amazing deal.
link to amazon.co.uk
Stages l10 only went to $104. Still a good deal, just not 75$ good ?
Hmm, weird. I’ll ask, supposed to be $75.
$74.99 from Clever Training at the moment.
Order from their ebay store for free shipping at same price for just the unit itself (No $99 free shipping minimum as with their website).
Also Ray – lots of deals on Garmin watches from “Kohls” in the US. Pricing is the same or slightly higher than deals from other retailers running sales, but you get a not insignificant amount of “Kohls Cash” to spend on a future order (time period applies).
For example – $250 for Venu + buyer receives $75 in Kohls Cash to spend on whatever else they sell.
Still $104. Any update
the garmin instinct is back to 150 in Amazon: link to amazon.com
Sweet, updated!
@Ray, do you have any idea to what price the Fenix 6S Pro should go in Europe? I see them around €560 now? Is that supposed to drop more?
Since there’s no MAP in Europe (Minimum Advertised Price policies), it’s the wild west when it comes to Black Friday…which is great for consumers. Whereas in the US, we know already that the Fenix 6 won’t be any lower than what we see, except if a retailer accidentally makes a mistake – since they’ll get a 6-month ban by Garmin for even going a cent lower.
In any case, earlier this year we saw them dip into the mid-500EUR range, so not much more below what you’re seeing them. My bet is we’ll see one of the Amazon’s (probably Amazon IT or ES) do a quick drop to something like 499EUR for a few hours. Stay tuned to Twitter!
All right good to know thanks for extensive answer ✌️
Garmin Fenix 6s Sapphire €590 @ Amazon.it, sharpest deal i’ve seen so far! Dont know how to change the link into one with Ray’s affiliation in it.
link to amazon.it
Good find!
Starting tomorrow sometime the Europe deals page tracker will be lit up (well, table, it’ll be on this same page).
Also, you can always paste Amazon links here and they’ll automagically get converted to help support the site!
Insomnia means one can see Fenix 6x Pro l just for 510 euro. Just switch from the expensive France to cheap Germany and you can see it too.
There you have it: €499 @ amazon.de
link to amazon.de
Boom, thanks for sharing! Added to the newly created Euro deals list, and adding about 5-10 more deals as we speak in that section too.
But I’d be surprised if we see it any lower than 499EUR, or 521 for the Fenix 6 Pro (non-S).
(link to amazon.de)
Varia 515 (rarely discounted) for £130 here vs normal £170:
link to startfitness.co.uk
Varia RTL315 £96 here link to sigmasports.com
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro for £439 at Amazon UK – link to amazon.co.uk
Apple AirPods Pro at $169.00 right now – In stock on December 11, 2020
Here you go
Shame…gone. That said, I suspect we’ll see it back!
$119 Garmin Forerunner 235 down from $149
link to amazon.com
Thanks for the updates! I tried the code for the NPE CABLE and it is invalid. Was there a specific timeframe for the discount?
My understanding was from today. I’ll poke.
Hi,
Looking for a tri smartwatch with a smaller size. Using a fitbit v2 now. Not a fan of massive sized watches. Like to find a garmin model if possible?
Suggestions?
Thank you,
Steve
Amazon UK 25-27% OFF Fenix 6x/6x Pro/6s etc.
link to amazon.co.uk
So even the 6’s are highly discounted…
Just a few deals at Westernbikeworks that looked attractive. . .
GARMIN HRM-Dual Heart Rate Monitor $47.99
GARMIN Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire $349.99
There’s actually much better deal for the 530 in Germany at 230 EUR.
link to probikeshop.com
Hi,
I’m about to buy Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire Titanium here in Europe.
So far the best price (28% discount ) I found is 667,58 € (link to bike24.com)
Can it go any lower? What do you think?
JR
Apple Watch 3 is on/off $119 on Walmart.com. Definitely works when on though as got one
Wiggle has a few more deals for UK peeps.
Varia RTL515 for £129.99
link to wiggle.co.uk
Vector 3 (dual sided) for £599.99
link to wiggle.co.uk