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…
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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
Can the maps on 530 Europe version be swapped for North American ones so unit can be used here in States? Astonishingly cheaper.
Yup! You can either download them from free 3rd party sites (a guide is here on the site), or, you can pay Garmin $19 for the maps that also include all the popularity routing data ($19 for the entire North America set). Personally at that price I’d just pay Garmin to have the heatmap data.
Just bought the Euro deal 530, amazing price thanks for the listing! However I can only seem to buy the normal cycling maps which don’t seem to have heat map data, only OSM GBP25.99 per region. Where am I going wrong? Also can’t see anything for Asia, assume not covered? Cheers
These ones here have the heatmap data built into them, it’s called “Popularity Routing” in Garmin lingo, but they include it: link to garmin.com
Is is possible to copy maps from one device to another when connecting to a laptop? Eg, from an Edge 520+ to a MBA and then to an Edge 530?
Paid maps or free maps? If free maps, then it’s easy. But if paid maps, that’s a big ball of mess, as it’s locked to that device from my understanding.
The Assioma powermeter pedals (both the uno and duo) are currently discounted at Favero: link to cycling.favero.com
Thanks, I had a typo in a date column in my database, so it wasn’t showing up in the list. Fixed!
Saris H3 £575 at ProBike kit
link to probikekit.co.uk
I’d add there Forerunner 245 for 160Eur at Amazon.de (it is similarly good deal as Forerunner 245 Music you’ve listed)
amazon.de in EUR:
189 Apple Watch 3 38mm, Space Gray, sport
77 Huawei Watch GT2e
159 Huawei Watch GT2 Pro
104 Polar M430
152 Polar Vantage M
219 Polar Vantage M2
265 Polar Grit X
353 Polar Vantage V2
Thanks, added a bunch of these in!
(The Apple Watch S3 and Vantage M deals are basically the norm pricing these days). Cheers!
Tacx Neo 2 (T2850) for €899 at Futurumshop.nl
link to futurumshop.nl
That Edge 130 deal is insane, that’s much less than what I paid for an Edge Explore a year or two ago.
That Fenix 6 Pro is darn tempting too…. I was set on FR945 but the difference is almost 100€… in favor of the Fenix! If I was reasonable I would pass and keep using my trusty FR920XT for one more year but … damn… who invented Black Friday? ;-)
I meant Edge 530 of course
Indeed, it’s pretty insane!
Oura Ring Gen 3 is on sale for $50 off today.
Thanks, added in!
The Euro price for the CORE temperature sensor is excluding taxes. For The Netherlands the CORE costs €194.61 (why not €188?) and taxes is an additional €40.87 Shipping is free though.
I am intrigued, but I’ll let it slide; maybe next year.
Yeah, because the VAT will differ slightly between countries since it’s shipped from Switzerland.
I don’t know why not 188EUR though, that’s odd.
link to themagic5.com
Black Friday Week! SAVE 30% on singles (code: BFCM30) and 20% extra on bundles (code: BFCM20).
The 20% discount stacks on top of existing discounts to the combo deals. The 30% only applies to single items.
These swimming goggles are custom designed to fit your own face (3D printed) using a face scanning app that you access via your mobile phone selfie camera as part of the purchase process.
Hi, Ray, I noticed the sale on the Suunto 7, but my impression of your review is that the watch is basically not worth purchasing as a fitness device — it’s a great looking watch but that’s about it. Just curious if you feel I’m off-base in my interpretation of your review. Thanks for posting this information and for all of your hard work. Hope you have a great holiday season with your family.
The Garmin Varia RTL515 is £116.91 today* only (including 10% off code):
link to startfitness.co.uk
Been after one for a while, decided to take the plunge at that price.
(*today = 00:01 GMT – 23:59 GMT, Nov 26, according to their T&Cs)
Good catch!
Any idea why no deals on Apple Watch 6? Given the lack difference between AW6 and 7, was hoping for some great deals but haven’t seen any except for continued deals on the red version and the random cellular deal (neither of which I want)
The Series 6 was discontinued, so basically, unless retailers have stock of it, there’s nothing to replenish it. Whereas Series 3 and SE are kept in the lineup.
Yeah, I understand it is no longer part of the lineup but I also see it available at all the major retailers in stock and full price
I am considering getting an Assioma Favero PM. Do you know how long this sale should last (through cyber monday maybe, or just today)? Also, should I go with the duals at $550 or the singles at $340? The dual sided cycling dynamics I will get a use out of. That being said I am not too concerned about L/R power differentials unless somehow it creeps into my subconscious to push more on my left side.
Also my family is considering getting my dad a Peloton treadmill, is there any screen shake while running? I tried it at the peloton store and didn’t notice but some people online claimed there was.
I can’t find any details either on when the Favero ends. But I can say you should go with the dual.
As for the Peloton, no screen shake on my newly purchased one (base Peloton Tread). One of the things they changed after recalling them was the screen attachment. Previously it was held together by a single bolt (seriously).
Saris H3 for £550 at Probikekit
link to probikekit.co.uk
Hi Ray, I tried asking this on Twitter, but I’ll ask here instead: do you have any information on when Garmin will release the 840/540 etc? To help people make good purchasing decisions on these 30-series now..
Not sure. I provide a bit more historical thoughts at the end of this post though from yesterday: link to dcrainmaker.com
Cheers!
The Sandisk Extreme pro portable 2TB is showing $319 at the link you posted. Is there another link where it can be had for $229?
I show it at $229 for the 2TB version (same as posted above): link to amazon.com
Is that showing now? Sometimes we see very brief blips in Amazon pricing throughout the day. For example, the Beats Studio Buds blipped for about 30-45 minutes yesterday where it dropped price, then disappeared, then came back at a lower price.
4iiii much cheaper at ProBikeKit
Much better range of 4iiii too, covering all product and sizes;
link to probikekit.com
Probikekit now at £550 in the UK and $833.99 in the US, not sure why the prices above are called out , maybe he gets kickback from those retailers but not PBK even though they’re cheaper.
On the H3
I don’t see 550GBP on the H3, I see it as £739.99 (attached).
Nor do I see $833USD for the H3 using the US site (it shows the $1,000+ price). If I use the UK site, then I get the $833USD offer, shipping from the UK. But, I’ve got a super-long-standing policy of not posting deals that are cross-ocean for trainers specifically (I post them for everything else), because history has told us numerous times that if something breaks on your trainer, then it’ll cost you more than the savings to ship it back across to the retailer/vendor.
I’ve included countless deals above that don’t have any affiliate aspect to them, including cross-ocean ones. But I’ve seen far too many people disappointed when something has gone wrong with their trainer and then have to spend $150-$200 to ship a trainer back across the ocean. Thus, I’ve found the middle ground as leaving these deals in the comments, but not highlighting them above.
Finally, I’d ask that when you comment, you use the same name each time. Commenting once under Tom, then another time under Andy, makes one look more like spam than anything else.
Except Andy and Tom are different people as that’s my comment above?
Hmm…odd. My backend tools show it came from the same IP subnet (which is true), albeit astoundingly, a couple digits apart. As in, like, someone on your same street. Small world!
In any event, I’ve managed to get the PBK Saris H3 UK deal to show up about half the time, so I’ve added it to the list above. If it works for someone, great!
Finally upgraded from Forerunner 45 to Fenix 6 Pro, nothing missing now I guess :D
For European residents who prefer avoiding UK sellers and Amazon, bike24.com is selling the Tacx NEO 2T for 988.23€. Bike24 adds shipping and handling to that, but I think it’s still a good deal.
Oops, the price is probably a little lower in Germany. I gave the price for my location.
Bought it there for 1078 a few months back, don’t regret it at all so far :) Shipping was about 6 EUR to Eastern Europe.
Curious your thoughts on Sapphire crystals. You use a lot of watches and use them a lot – do you notice issues with the “normal” glass versus Sapphire or much difference? Sale makes it it more interesting.
Any deals on Garmin Rally XC conversion kit (Reg $250)?
Training peaks at 25% off for the annual subscription right now
Was contemplating either a new 745 or an apple watch (as i’m growing really tired of Garmin’s UI and i’ve found out i’m allergic to some of the bands for their watches) – but found a 44mm series 6 apple watch in RED for about 360EUR (which is basically a steal here in Denmark. We are the second most expensive country in europe for apple products. Only overtaken by Sweden).
Also Scosche Rhythm 2.0 and 24h at about 62-69 EUR at scosche.eu (with a 15eur fee for sending in europe)
Elite Direto XR-T 555.55€ at Rabe Bike
Thanks
thanks for all the effort you must have made to put this list together…much appreciated
Are there any good deals in Europe for Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire Titanium with orange silicone band?
Best one what I found was 599€ with shipping within Europe. There were some better deals but no shipping within Europe.
Seems like the Garmin Edge 530 deal on Amazon has ended – such a shame! However, the Edge 130 plus is still on offer at £99 for us UK folk, have bought one just now!!
I still see the 159EUR deal for the Edge 530 as live this second (and people are still picking it up). Are you looking at Amazon Germany?
For me it shows as back in stock in December 11 but I can order it for the same price.
Oh sorry I was looking at Amazon UK where it had sold out – I was unaware you could buy from abroad. Would this have any limitations when it came to statutory rights/ returns?
Not meaningfully in this case. The EU is 2 years for warranty, and a mandated 14 days for returns of any reason (same as UK).
Amazon.de has a 30-day return policy for just about everything (except things like downloads and such, obviously).
Tbh, not very happy with the “4iiii Viiiiva Heart Rate Strap” – the “bridging” function does not work properly for the Tacx Neo’s power reporting – reporting total bogus power numbers over the Viiiiva. And since that was the only reason I got the strap (as I already have a perfectly fine working “basic” HR strap with the H10 from Polar), the Viiiiva is useless to me. Not sure how they can be selling this stuff for years, when it does not work properly..
Hmm, that’s odd. I haven’t heard anyone else report that.
Out of curiosity though, what scenario would you use the Viiiiva to relay the Tacx NEO over BT? Since the Tacx NEO supports BT by itself (as well as cadence and control), even in an Apple TV scenario, that’s only one channel for all that, and one channel for HR (so you’re good, unless you’re using steering).
I wanted to have both power from Tacx Neo and HR sent to both, my PC (and the BKool training app running on it), as well as my Garmin Fenix 5 – because BKool does not save the session intermittently, and thus if the app hangs/crashes mid-session, I’ve lost my training recording – and in such a case I would at least have the recording from my Garmin Fenix 5.
It sort-of works, usually, even as is, but the Polar H10 does not officially support talking to 2 concurrent ANT+ devices, and thus, occasionally, I got some dropouts, either in BKool, or in the Fenix 5 recording – and I thought I could solve that, to get 100% reliability, with the Viiiiva bridge function.
Thanks.
Yeah, in the case of ANT+ transmission and reception, it’s always unlimited to unlimited. Meaning, there are no limits there. So assuming your PC is connecting on ANT+ to the NEO, that doesn’t take up any channels. But even if it’s connected via BLE, that also only takes up the BLE side, whereas your Fenix 5 can connect on the ANT+ side.
For example, when I Zwift/TrainerRoad/etc… I’m almost always taking up the Bluetooth Channel. But the ANT+ channel is what I connect to my watch to record the session (just like you, except for other purposes).
Same goes for the Polar H10, it supports unlimited ANT+ connections, but only two BLE connections.
So in theory, I don’t think the Viiiiva adds anything here (unless I’m missing a key part of the scenario). Now, if you’re seeing drop-outs, that could actually be the double-hoping happening here. Or, it just could be something in the air near your setup. :-/
OK, thanks for the clarification Ray.
I guess I have a Viiiiva to give away then, and some troubleshooting with my current setup to be done.
FYI the insta360 one x2 is on sale at adorama and b&h link to adorama.com
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Amazon Germany deal seems to be sold out. There is still 6S & 6X (same watch in different size) available, but cost €437.99 & €488.99 respectively.
Amazon has several Garmins on their “Cyber Monday” deals. Some Prices slightly lower than last week (e.g. vivoactive 4s). link to amazon.com The 935 is at a very nice price… but I want maps.
KOM Trainer Desk sale looks like it has ended.
Ray –
Any chance you can make the login sessions last longer? Checking your site between my phone, iPad, and computer, it seems like I’m always re-logging in with one of them. Not a huge deal but yours is one of the few sites that I have to do this for.
Thanks for all the hard work tracking the deals!
Bruce
Hi Bruce-
Huh, that’s odd. I’ll definitely check. It should be quite a long time (I think at least a month+).
Thanks for being a DCR supporter!
Cheers!
-Ray
I find the same thing – I get logged out on my phone perhaps once a week (just a gut feel, haven’t tracked it exactly but it feels much more often than monthly).
Ray, Have you done a review of the Withings Sleep Tracking Pad? I can’t find it on the site if you have.
I have their older sleep one, which is the same pad, but just attached to a clock thingy – for many years (the Withings Aura). I keep meaning to buy one of these and do a full review of it.
Hi Ray. Having just picked up a Fenix 6 Pro in the sales, I’m considering using it as my main bike computer with the QuickFit Bike Mount and getting rid of my Edge 130 Plus. Apart from screen size are there any other downsides or features I’d be losing – comparing the features on your Comparison Page it looks like I should be getting upgrades most places? I know I’d need to wear my heart rate chest strap as I’d lose heart rate from my Fenix. Thanks
About to order a Fenix 6 Pro Solar for $550 (still!) from Backcountry. Also going to return my Oura Ring 2 for a refund and decline their offer of a Gen3 replacement. Oura has lost my business for good due to absolutely awful customer service with endless conflicting information and no solutions about exchanging my Gen2 for Gen3, even though there’s no point because all of the new Gen3 features are locked. Garmin just makes things easy.
Just got a Garmin HRM Dual from here:
link to heartratemonitorsusa.com
One of the few places I’ve seen where I could get the sensor only, since my strap is in pretty good shape. With shipping it was less than $45.
Fenix 6 Pro $399 on amazon rn ($250 off)
link to amazon.com
Great site
right now lotsa garmin deals on amazon NL
link to amazon.nl
e.g. fr45 €109
I’m seeing the Garmin Fenix 6 (non-Pro) on Sale for $299 now. Is it still a good choice vs the Fenix 6 Pro/ 945 and 2022 releases for trail running?
Saris H3 brand new “scratch and dent” is $699 US direct from Saris. This is a “fully functioning, brand new, never-before-ridden, H3” which may have “minor cosmetic blemishes”. See
link to saris.com
Also factory refurbished H3 units available for $650. See
link to saris.com
Hey Ray, have you looked at the Insta 360 One X2 for review yet?