Week in Review–April 10th, 2022

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:

We’ve got a handful of new deals this week, a pile from Garmin in the cycling realm, and then a pile from DJI in the everything realm. Garmin does often put cycling gear on sale this time of year, albeit it’s far more rare for DJI to do the same this time of year.

	Product	Sale Price	Amazon	Other site	Sale Notes
	Garmin Bounce LTE Kids Tracker - $30 off	$119	Amazon		This is the activity tracker that both of our oldest daughters have used for years (age 8 & 9), as well as most of their friends now. They/we all like it. Check out my full in-depth review for all my thoughts. That said, the new Bounce 2 came out two months ago, and while my review isn't out yet, it's a far better product. But, quite a bit more too. The TLDR on that review will be that it's the best kids smartwatch/tracker to date (for both parents and kids), but obviously will cost you $100 more.
	Garmin Edge 540 - $100 off	$249	Amazon	REI	⚡At $249, 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 Edge 840 - $100 off	$349	Amazon	REI	This is Garmin's main mid-range cycling GPS, it's what my wife uses and she's perfectly happy with it.
	Garmin Edge 840 Solar - $150 off	$399	Amazon	REI	⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on the Edge 840.
	Garmin Enduro 3: $100 off $899	$749	Amazon	REI	This is the lowest price we've seen on this to date. The Enduro 3 is simply the Fenix 8 with a MIP/Solar display (but without the scuba or voice calling features). It gets all the Fenix 8 features and updates otherwise.
	Garmin Epix Pro - $589 (~$300 off!) $899/$999	$589	N/A	REI	⚡This is a pretty solid deal, especially if you wanted the flashlight and ECG not found on the Epix Gen 2 (which came before the Epix Pro), but don't quite want to spend on the Fenix 8 AMOLED (Epix got renamed to Fenix 8 AMOLED)
	Garmin Fenix 8 Series - $250 Off! $999-$1,199	$849	Amazon	REI	⚡ The Fenix 8 keeps getting all the new software features of the Fenix 8 Pro that was launched two months ago. Setting aside that Fenix 8 Pro which gained LTE & Satellite Messaging, this is otherwise the most capable sports watch on the market. Note that the Fenix 8 officially got a price hike to $1,099 in the last month or so, thus the $849 price instead of $749 price.
	Garmin Fenix E - $250 off!	$499	Amazon		As a general rule, the Fenix E is the watch that literally nobody is buying, and makes no sense at higher prices. The hardware is simply the Epix Gen 2 with Fenix stamped on it. That watch is going for $400, though I expect we'll see it down to $300 over Black Friday. However, one *KEY* difference with the Fenix E, is that it includes all of the software features of the newer Fenix 8, whereas the Epix Gen 2 doesn't get all the new software features. Otherwise, save your $200.
	Garmin Forerunner 165 (Base) - $50 off $249/$299	$199	Amazon	REI
	Garmin Forerunner 165 Music - $50 off!	$249	Amazon	REI
	Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $150 off! $349/$399	$249	Amazon
	Garmin Forerunner 265 Series - $150 off! $449	$299	Amazon		⚡ This is (by far) the lowest price on the Forerunner 265, which was recently replaced by the Forerunner 570 (but at nearly twice this price). What's fascinating about this sale price, is it's well beyond the usual sale prices for Garmin for this product. This pricing is 100% an Kansas-themed 'Hello!' to COROS and their just released COROS Pace 4 at $249.
	Garmin Forerunner 55 - $50 off $199	$149	Amazon
	Garmin Forerunner 965 - $150 off $599	$449	Amazon		This is the lowest price to date on the Forerunner 965, which is logical given the Forerunner 970 came out this past spring (which essentialy adds a flashlight and some other running metrics/features).
	Garmin Instinct 3 AMOLED - $100 off! $399/$449/$499	$399	Amazon	REI
	Garmin Lily 2 - 20% off $249	$199	Amazon		The leather version is also on sale as well.
	Garmin Varia RCT715 Camera Radar - $50 off	$349	Amazon	REI
	Garmin Varia RVR315 Radar - $50 off	$99	Amazon	REI	This is Garmin's radar without the light, so it's a bit smaller as a result. Same radar tech though, and compatible with Garmin/COROS/Hammerhead/Wahoo bike computers.
	Garmin Varia Radar (RTL515) - $50 off	$149	Amazon	REI	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...maybe next year?
	Garmin Varia Vue Front Light/Camera - $50	$499	Amazon	REI	This is the first time this product has been on sale, since launching last spring. I'd argue it could have used a $100 off sale...but hey...they don't consult me.
	Garmin Venu 3 - $100 off! $449	$349	Amazon		The Venu 4 came out in September, though with a massive price jump.
	Garmin Venu X1 - $200 off!	$599	Amazon	REI	⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on the newest product in the entire Garmin Holiday 2025 sale lineup. This is basically a blend of a Forerunner 970, Venu 4, and Fenix 8...but super thin. It's argueably one of the best deals here at $599, though, Garmin is still clearly trying to figure out the right pricing to drive purchases.
	Garmin Vivoactive 5 - $100 off! $299	$199	Amazon
	Garmin Vivoactive 6 - $50 off! $299	$249	Amazon		⚡ This is the first time we've seen the Vivoactive 6 on sale, which is essentially a Venu 4, but without the voice/calling/ECG features (and a few other tidbits). It's probably one of the best deals in Garmin's lineup (sale or otherwise).
	Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $150 off	$249	Amazon	REI	⚡ This is the lowest price we've ever seen for this. 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!	$349	Amazon	REI	This came out last fall, and is the second time this has been discounted, but now to the lowest price to date. 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.
	Tacx NEO 3M - 25% off! $1,999	$1,499	Amazon		⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen to date on the Tacx NEO 3M, and finally takes it down to a semi-logical price (compared to it's competitors). This is a good buy, and obviously, given it's only a year old, I definitely don't expectany sort of new version of this anytime soon (the last NEO series unit was about 5 years between versions).

DCR Posts in the Past Week:

Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week:

Sunday: Week in Review–April 3rd, 2022
Monday: Oura Outlines Missing V3 Features Plan (And It’s Not Good)
Tuesday: Whoop Exporting to Apple Health: Here’s how it actually works
Wednesday: Power Meter Pedal Buyer’s Guide: Garmin Rally vs Wahoo POWRLINK vs Favero Assioma vs SRM X-Power
Thursday: The New Stages Dash M200 & L200: Hands-On Details

YouTube Video 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:

1) Peloton Expands Bike Leasing Program: Just a few weeks after they announced the program, they’re already expanding it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see companies like Wahoo, Garmin, or others follow suit here. It makes a lot of sense, especially as demand for some of these smart bikes starts to wane (for a variety of reasons).

2) Stages Does Crypto Thing: Look, I can’t even figure out what this is all about. Apparently, in addition to a new crypto coin, there’s also riding bikes on Mars. Perhaps if the weather gets bad enough later this week, I’ll try and decrypt it. Or, I might just go for a real-life ride and eat ice cream afterwards instead.

3) Here’s hoping Samsung doesn’t make their new watches any bigger: I generally agree with this piece. I think (hope?) that there’s more than enough options for larger watches out there. And it’s certainly clear from the amount of feedback that I’ve seen on the Garmin Epix that people really want a Fenix 7S sized unit there too. I’m hoping in time that’ll happen. Just a question of how much time.

4) Apple adds new structured workouts for post-pregnancy: This follows in line with other fitness companies adding workouts in that genre, which is good to see. Historically many companies have been hesitant to add workouts here, for various medical reasons/concerns. But I think most companies have found that, when done right – with a doctor’s clearance, this is good for the majority of women.

5) COROS drops price of APEX Pro from $499 to $399, states the end is near for that line: I kinda appreciate that COROS is basically being upfront in saying that later this year, the COROS APEX Pro will go away, and that till then, you can get it for $100 off. COROS has done a good job in adding countless firmware updates to the COROS APEX Pro since it launched a number of years back. But it also should be remembered that for the last year, with the Garmin FR945 basically being at $499 (real-world street pricing), it wasn’t super competitive price-wise against that. The APEX Pro’s new $399 puts it in a far more competitive spot, especially with mapping (which the less expensive FR745 lacks).

6) Apple Maps Hiking Teams: This is interesting, not so much because Apple uses people hiking around with fancy camera/GPS backpacks – but because there’s actually a second Apple page that lists not only where Apple does backpack data collection, but the exact regions that are planned for the upcoming months.

7) Why Race Fees Are Going to Increase: Here’s a good look at the specifics of exactly which components are going up in price, and why – for both small races and big ones alike.

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With that, thanks for reading!