The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered what to do with all of the coolness that people write, and while I share a lot of it on Twitter and Facebook, this is a better forum for sending it on to y’all. Most times these different streams don’t overlap, so be on the lookout at all these places for good stuff!
So with that, let’s get into the action!
Sports Tech Deals:
There’s a handful of sports tech deals out there right now, here ya go (the Fenix & Instinct Solar ones are new):
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Sale Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | AmazFit T-Rex 3 - $40 off | $240 | Amazon | |
 | Amazon Echo Dot Kids - 42% off | $34 | Amazon | Despite being a tech-focused dude, our kids don't actually get much tech in their lives. However, we got these two years ago for them in their rooms, to play music. They do lots of other things, but our kids mostly just use it to play music (from Spotify and Apple Music too), and occasionally they ask it questions. It has all the parental controls I want, so it locks it down from bedtime/etc...For $34? Solid deal (The coolest 'nice touch' feature is that if you whisper to it, it'll whisper back...in the owl kids voice it has.) |
 | Apple 11" iPad - (Wi-Fi, 128GB) - $70 off! | $279 | Amazon | ⚡ 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 Indievelo, Kinomap, 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. |
 | Apple AirPods 4 - $60 off! | $119 | Amazon | |
 | Apple Watch SE (2022/2nd gen) - $100 off $249/$299 (cellular) | $169 | Amazon | It's really hard to beat $169 for an Apple Watch. Again, like the other Apple units on this list, the SE3 was announce last month - which adds an Always-on Display, among other features. But at $169 with otherwise all the same software features as the higher-end Apple Watch units, this continues to be one of the best deals in smartwatches out there. |
 | Apple Watch Series 10 - $120 off $399/$499 (cellular) | $279 | Amazon | With the Series 11 out last month, you'll see sales on the Series 10. That said, there isn't a huge difference between Series 11 and Series 10. So if you were looking at the Apple Watch SE3, this might be worth grabbing instead for the added features. |
 | Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium - $150 off | $649 | Amazon | With the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 announced last month, it's time to clear some Ultra 2 inventory. This is pretty much the 'normal' sale price for the Ultra 2. |
 | DJI Mini 4K Drone - $60 off | $239 | Amazon | If you're looking to get into flying with a DJI drone, this is a solid place to start. Of course, moreso than that, the days are very limited for how much longer you can actually buy at DJI drone in the US. So, grab them while you can. |
 | DJI NEO - $30 off! | $159 | Amazon | This is the lowest price on this drone, and is a great option if you want a follow-me drone that's pretty hard to kill, at a price point that's still super reasonable. |
 | DJI OSMO 360 - $137 off | $412 | Amazon | NOTE: This is not sold by DJI directly via Amazon. DJI itself is NOT selling the OSMO 360 in the US, and WILL NOT support/repair it in the US. That said, it's a solid deal if you're ok with those risks. |
 | Garmin Edge 540 - $73 off | $267 | Amazon | ⚡At $267, it's pretty much impossible to beat this deal in terms of bike computers. There's no competitive option that beats it on features/battery/etc at this price, or frankly anywhere near it. Sure, it doesn't have a touchscreen, but it's not as bad as it used to be (I did a stint on it this winter for a week or so, and was fine). |
 | Garmin Epix Pro - $250 off! $899/$999 | $499 | Amazon | ⚡ This is avery solid deal! The Epix Pro has the latest optical HR sensor in it, and thus has full ECG support as well. Note, this is for a 'renewed' model. In Garmin lingo, it means it went back to the (same) factory in Taiwan, and went back to the assembly line and is effectively a new watch again. I wouldn't have any concerned with a renewed model, but some might. |
 | Garmin Varia Radar (RTL515) - $50 off | $149 | Amazon | This is Garmin's standalone radar+taillight option, and $149 is pretty much the standard sale-price. Even despite all the new radars out there, this remains the most accurate option on the market. Now, only if Garmin would just re-release it with USB-C. C'Mon Garmin... |
 | Garmin Venu X1 - $100 off! | $699 | Amazon | This is the first time we've seen the Venu X1 on sale, since it came out this past summer. This is a good deal, though, I do wonder if it indicates the original pricing wasn't quite right here. |
 | Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $40 off | $360 | Amazon | This is a pretty small deal for this product. 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. |
 | Garmin inReach Messenger Plus - $100 off! | $399 | Amazon | This came out last fall, and is the second time this has been discounted. The key difference with the new Plus model is that it adds the ability to send photos and voice messenges via satellite. I've used it a bit, and it's pretty cool because it makes it a lot faster to just say something rather than type it out, but the $499 price seemed excessive. $399 makes it slightly more palatable. |
 | GoPro Hero 13 Black - $50 off | $349 | Amazon | |
 | GoPro Hero 13 Black Bundle (extra battery/SD card/floaty) - $100 off! | $379 | Amazon | ⚡ This is a very solid deal. It's a Hero 13 Black on discount, but then an extra battery tossed in, then an SD card, and then a floaty. |
 | GoPro Hero 4K - $20 off | $199 | Amazon | While the new Hero Lit was announced a few weeks back, which includes a front LED light, for the most part it's the same camera inside. Note I'll have a full comparison shortly though between the GoPro Hero Lit, DJI OSMO Nano, and Insta360 Go Ultra. |
 | Google Pixel Watch 3 (45mm) - $70 OFF | $229 | Amazon | The newer Pixel Watch 4 came out last month, and will start shipping this week. I see the Pixel Watch 4 as a pretty substantial hardware upgrade over the Pixel Watch 3, notably due to satellite SOS, as well as a user-replaceable battery. Still, this is a solid deal. |
 | Insta360 X5 360* Action Cam - $50 off! | $499 | Amazon | |
 | Polar H10 Chest Strap (Dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart) - $15 off $89 | $84 | Amazon | |
 | Polar Verity Sense - 15% off $99 | $82 | Amazon | I use this as one of my reference devices for heart rate accuracy testing. |
 | Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) - $100 off! | $549 | Amazon | |
 | Samsung Galaxy Watch8 - $35 off | $314 | Amazon | |
 | Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Camera w/ 28-70mm Zoom - $400 off | $2,398 | Amazon | This is the main camera I use for still photography and video b-roll. I recently wrote about all the photography gear I use, linked at side here. |
 | Suunto Run - $50 off! $249 | $199 | Amazon | This is a very solid deal. It's got virtually all the software features of Suunto's higher-end watches (minus the app store), and just came out this past May. |
 | Suunto Vertical - $120 off! | $379 | Amazon | While the new Suunto Vertical 2 just came out last week, if you wanted to stock-up on MIP-based display watches before they disappear, here's your chance. |
 | Suunto Wing headphones - $30 off | $119 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo ACE Cycling GPS - $90 off! $599 | $531 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo BOLT V2 - $30 off $279 | $237 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo KICKR 2022/V6 - $155 off! $1,299 | $894 | Amazon | ⚡This is actually the lowest price we've ever seen on the KICKR V6. Wahoo says we won't see a new top-end KICKR this fall, with them instead focusing on the new KICKR Bike Pro, KICKR CORE 2, and all their new bike computers/radar/etc... |
 | Wahoo KICKR Core Smart Trainer - $75 off! $499 | $427 | Amazon | This is basically the lowest price we've ever seen for this trainer as far as I know. It's still a very solid trainer, and the cornerstone to the new Zwift Ride bike as well (it uses the KICKR CORE as the base). It works with the Wahoo KICKR CLIMB too. |
 | Wahoo KICKR Desk - $30 off | $199 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo KICKR ROLLR - $130 off $599 | $569 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo ROAM V3 - $70 off! | $395 | Amazon | This is the first time we've seen the ROAM V3 on sale (notably the BOLT V3 is not on sale, though the larger ACE is). |
 | Wahoo TRACKR Heart Rate Sensor - $15 off $89 | $84 | Amazon |
DCRAINMAKER.COM Posts in the Past Week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week
Tuesday: DJI FPV Drone Review Published To YouTube
Wednesday: KOM Cycling $59 Trainer Desk In-Depth Review
Friday: Zwift Plans Three At Home Fitness Hardware Products
YouTube Videos This Past Week:
Here’s what hit the tubes over on the You of Tube, definitely don’t forget to subscribe there to get notified of videos the second they hit!
Stuff I Found Interesting Around The Interwebs:
Here’s a not-so-small smattering of all the random things that I stumbled on while doing my civic duty to find the end of the Internet. Also, there’s a few things this week that were actually from a week or two ago – I’m just catching up on this list:
1) FPV Drones Following a Golf Ball – Behind the Scenes: Even if you don’t partake in golf, nor flying drones – I think you’ll find this pretty incredible.
2) Peloton’s Coming to Australia: Get ready Lama, you too can own a Peloton Bike or two.
3) BikeRumor Sold to Lola Digital Media: This is part of the AllGear Media Group, and covers other sports tech sites like GearJunkie. The sports and gear realm is relatively small, with only a few entities in the grand scheme of things. Congrats to Tyler and his team.
4) Explaining how women’s prize money isn’t the whole picture: Good article detailing how just looking at the final prize money alone, can be misleading into the larger picture at hand.
5) Popular Vacmaster fan in UK now makes a trainer mode: All because too many TrainerRoad users kept buying it, since they can’t get Lasko fans here in Europe. I’ve actually been using a Vacmaster fan as well for a long time now too. Works great. mixed on whether I’d pay the premium though for the remote switch, since I’d just rather use a smart connected outlet instead (since I rarely change intensity).
6) Gatorade makes a wearable patch telling you how much Gatorade to drink: Though, in reality it’s not actually connected to your phone. It’s an interesting concept, and I’d love to understand from a science aspect whether or not this…umm…holds water. (via Hugh)
7) The Ice Bike: I know, this is like three weeks old. Four weeks almost. But gosh darn it, it was in my list floating around and didn’t make it. Despite the fact that 62 million of you have already watched it, here’s a link nonetheless….just in case!
8) Google measures heart rate via camera: This is slated for tomorrow, to Google Pixel devices. I’ve got an OG Pixel, so not entirely sure if it’ll work there. But if so – I’ll give it a whirl. My expectations are low…but I’m happy to be surprised!
Sports Tech Device Firmware Updates This Week:
Each week I quickly highlight some of the new firmware, app, software, and website service updates that I see go out. If you’re a sports technology company and release an update – shoot me a quick note (just one-liners are perfect, or Tweet it at me is even better) and I’ll make mention of it here. If I don’t know about it, I won’t be able to post about it. Sound good? Oh – and if you want to get a head start on things, this page is a great resource for watching Garmin, Wahoo, Polar, and a few other firmware updates.
(A very quiet week this past week for updates);
Garmin Forerunner 45 Beta Firmware: Just bug fixes
Garmin Instinct & Instinct Solar Beta Firmware: Just bug fixes
GoPro Hero 9 Firmware Update: Performance-related tweaks
Polar Vantage V2 Firmware Update: Stability fixes and backlight switch fix
With that – thanks for reading!
Several apps in the App Store claim to do the same kind of HRM using the camera for iOS. Haven’t tried any of them.
I’ve used Azumio’s iOS Heart Rate app and it works pretty well.
Yeah, I’ve seen various apps over the years. I think it’s mainly notable to see en entity the size of Google getting into it.
I have used the android version of Azumio’s Instant HR on my old Android 2.3.4 phone back in the day. I was very surprised at how accurate it was when I compared it to my Garmin chest strap. My experience was it would pass the DCR accuracy test. It is interesting to see Google brining it to their fitness app.
Another Azumio user here (not much as I used to though). Bought a pulse oximeter several years back and the app (on android) was pretty much spot on with it. I wouldn’t use it for exercising but for checking resting HR in the mornings or evenings, it will do the job greatly.
There are a few apps for checking HRV. Fibricheck and HRV camera for example. It is for those who have a heart rhythm disorder, like me since a year (too much exercise according my cardiologist; especially a risk for men in their fifties who have done lots of ultra’s, biathlon, cyclists and triathlon, read the Haywire heart about it)
Have I missed something? What has happened to the newsletter?
I’m ordering popcorn now for the Lama review of Peloton.
Suunto updated their app last week, and you can now (finally!) create and sync POI’s to the Spartans, 5s, and 9s.
Interesting – VacMaster will do you the standard fan for 69.99 with a 5 year guarantee – bang a remote on it, charge 30 more and they’ll only promise it’ll work for two years – not a great look!
I agree. To make it more bike specific I’d look to give it 5 power levels rather than 3.
But still, it’s half the price of the Wahoo fan!
The golf shots look like GGI.
Great content as always. Little off topic but… I just bought some new tech, based on your reviews, and am wondering if you have recommendations for using hrm pro, edge 830, vector 3, kickr core, and zwift on imac? I’ve tried a few options and not sure of best setup. Any advice much appreciated!
NB some issues: want indoor rides to be included in training effect; am concerned that edge’s sync with kickr might be interfering with zwift erg(?), and finally rides that I haven’t actually done in zwift are being sent to strava…
Lastly, referring back to your last summer I think post about Garmin’s acquisition of first beat, will garmin eventually allow training effect to be computed from zwift recorded workouts (so I could leave edge out of indoor)?
Interestingly…. Garmin Australia have a sale right now with A$400 off the entire Fenix 6 range
Thanks to this deal I now own a 6x pro. $849 AUD ($650 USD). Used gift voucher deals to get an extra 5% off
Vacmaster claims to ship to Switzerland for £15, but when you click through to complete the order it gives an error saying that they don‘t deliver (and gives the same for Germany). Also doesn‘t appear to deduct the UK VAT even if they do deliver. Disappointed!