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!
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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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.
SRM X-Power review! Been *so* waiting for that puppy to drop. Thanks for getting it ready for publication!
Yup, just want to get one more MTB ride in. Though, getting tight on time now before kids pickup, so going to knock out trainer ride and do last MTB ride early tomorrow morning side (since I have to commute quite a ways there).
I own the Insta360 Go. It looks like for the Go 2, they have not fixed some of the things that I hated.
The recording button is still difficult to use and the tactile feedback isn’t intuitive. I have no idea which mode is the camera recording in or whether it has started recording at all (same experience as Ray). Most of my footage begin with shots of me peering at the recording light.
There was a limitation on the duration of video clips that can be shot. Wonder if it has been improved. It also heats up after prolonged recording, hope that has been fixed.
On the point about the pendant, I actually use it quite a fair bit when cycling on roads. Never had it fall off once. The only problem though is that you wouldn’t want to use it with loose fitting clothing because when the clothing flaps around, so would your footage. A tight fitting cycling jersey works just fine.
Its an ok action camera for $199. But where it really shines imo is a camera that you would want to stick on your fpv drone. $299 is just too much, considering that they haven’t addressed my main pain points.
Limitations are still there:
Pro Video mode (FlowState stabilization): 10 mins
Video mode (Basic stabilization): 15 mins
FPV mode: 30 mins
Timelapse: Adjustable interval, record up to 110 minutes with the Charge Case for a 7-minute clip
I ran into the video one once while mountain biking, though, didn’t realize it till reading the spec sheet later.
I agree on the pendant. I’ve worn it with a jersey and every with a jersey plus a very thin shell. It hasn’t fallen off on long road rides, cobblestones, or light gravel. It’s one of my favorite features of the camera, I rarely use any other mount. If I’m going to bother with a big GoPro mount I’ll just use the Insta360 OneX.
I’m really struggling to see where this fits in to the market with those specs at that price point. The storage and resolution specs are underwhelming for 2021 and the price isn’t especially cheap. Yes, it’s small, but that’s about all it has going for it, and it’s not like its competitors are exactly huge.
100% agree. What, who, when is this for? Makes you think twice as an impulse buy when a bit more will get you substantially better devices.
For once I’m not getting (yet another) Insta 360 camera.
Yup, I agree. To me the target market for this is a $129-$149 price point. Which..is roughly what the Go 1 sells for these days.
Is there a handlebar attachment that would work with this?
Some form of GoPro or third-party GoPro compatible would be by guess.
Yeah, they had a GoPro mount (which is what I used). Supposed to be listed shortly (if not already).
Then from there I used a variety of regular GoPro-compatible accessories. A chest mount, a out-front mount, etc…
Steamed video? I prefer to grill or fry.
Pffft…everyone knows steamed…then seared dumplings are the best.
Just like their original camera, this one doesn’t have a replaceable battery, which means it will be useless in a couple of years.
I agree it’s non-optimal. Though, in this small form factor I don’t think there’s a realistic alternative.
Hi DC,
I think you meant ‘stream’ here “It’ll still connect to your phone though and steam a video ” I think if you steam videos you might have some issues, unless you want steamy videos which is another thing entirely. :P
I’m all about diversification in videos. :)
if only there was more memory, would be perfect as a running cam but who goes on 10min runs?
I’ve long said I wanted something almost like this for runs / rides. I use my gopro when cycling in timelapse photo mode to stitch into a fast video. But the gopro uses same battery on timelapse as it does video.
I’m interested in this one if it is able to take an almost instant photo from standby/off. I’m not worried about a full 60fps video, I just want to be able to grab a snap of the ocean/lakes/hills as I’m runnign /riding to go on strava /instagramme.
Duncan,
Quick question. How GoPro in photo mode works for you (quality, battery, operations on the bike). I’ve been looking for action cam (photos mainly) but can’t find anything that takes photos instantly and deal with shakes on the bike. Looking for my iPhone when I go fast downhill to get a standing pic of the surrounding is not ideal.
Sorry for slow response. Photo mode quality is fine for instagram timelapse videos. It’s less good for car number plates as they do tend to blur. And battery is unchanged from video, so without supplementary power still limited use for road rides. So the alternate is to record in 60fps video and grab still frames for that, and then use a backpack battery to be able to get the 5hour + run time I need. That’s still less than ideal as the mount prevents access to the USB for downloading and 5 hours of 60fps video takes another 6 hours to download via wifi…..
SO my ideal is the go pro video for crashes/evidence and just delete each week assuming noting on there, and the go2 would be for grabbing the photos for the Strava / instagram posts.
Edit: For example I had a car pass me at speed with a trailer last week that nearly had a head on with a car coming the other way. From the video I was able to clearly read the rear number plate of the car as it passed in that side angle before the trailer blocked the view of the plate. realative speed was about 30kph. and the frame either side didn’t show the full plate.
Thanks.
I love the fact that you have caused “outrage” at the Register for not using their standard of measurement.
link to theregister.com
Good to see I’ve managed to cause outrage in more than one sphere there. :)
I’ve also outraged all the paid influencers/sponsored videos on that product too. My bad…
Ray, I’ve enjoyed your YT videos for a couple of years now, as I’m into cycling and tech.
I’m planning on buying an Insta360 Go 2 in the coming weeks, and since I’m getting one anyway, wanted to see if you had an affiliate link so you’d get some benefit?
Hi David!
Thanks for thinking of me, I appreciate it.
Oddly, Amazon doesn’t seem to currently stock the Insta360 Go 2, so that’d be about the only place that would that would help the site. No worries though – I appreciate the thought!
Cheers!