Week in Review – January 26th, 2025

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/X and BlueSky, 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!

DCR Posts In The Past Week:

Here’s all the latest posts on the site:

Sunday: Week in Review – January 19th, 2025
Wednesday: Ironman Sells FulGaz to Rouvy, and Plenty More

Instinct 3 review coming up this week (for real this time), I’ve been spending all the time testing out some new updates that fix a slate of Instinct 3 Solar-specific issues (though, I’ll certainly be calling them out in my review, given the fact that it shipped like this weeks ago). As usual, I prefer to wait a few days to validate important fixes rather than have my reviews (especially YouTube ones) be outdated 48 hours later, especially when I’m calling out a company.

Sports Tech Deals:

Some new ones have popped up this past two weeks. I think the Fenix 7 at $429 is probably the most interesting for people eyeing that new Instinct 3, since this is basically cheaper while having more features. Likewise the Epix back in the $429-$439 range. I’ll continue sweeping and adding in a few more of these later tonight, so keep checking back.

	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

Note that all of the above are Amazon affiliate links, which do help support the site. I appreciate it!

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) I’m going on a gravel trip to Morocco! I’m testing out a new partnership company, mixing my love of travel and cycling (and testing devices on stupid-fun adventures). I’ll be doing a gravel trip to Morocco in March, if you want to join! Here’s a quick little teaser I did on Instagram, though, I made a widescreen one here. Oh, and if you join me on that trip, I’ll have some little goodie bags of DCR stuff for ya.

2) UCI Approval of Nix Biosensors: Maybe this will get me off my butt to finish the review I’ve started twice now. TDLR: After craptons of data gathering (nearly 30 sessions) on three different people, including all the fun naked pre/post-weigh-ins and more, the sensor simply isn’t reliable. Or at least, isn’t for my sample size of three very different body weight individuals (male and female, from vastly different genetic backgrounds). Supposedly, all three of us are off-the-charts super sweaters. Nix looked at all my raw data for errors in my testing, and found none. Nix often misestimated sweat loss upwards of 67oz/~2L worth

3) Apple Watch alert saves skier after falling 1,000 feet near Stevens Pass: Given I grew up skiing quite a bit of Stevens Pass, though, in putting the GPS coordinates in (from the helicopter footage there), this is actually not at the main ski area, but well across the street into what I presume is the Nordic side somewhere, over the next mountain.

4) Samsung Adds Kids Smartwatch Mode to Watch 7: I’ll have to give this a whirl, just for funsies. The concept essentially is a first-stab at what Google, Apple, Garmin, and others have done, in making watches viable for kids (and their parents).

5) Remember the Fitbit Ionic Burn Fiasco? Well, a settlement has now been reached. Money is changing hands.

6) How a race director moving towns, moved an Ironman: I always enjoy behind-the-scenes race director type articles, and this is one of them.

7) Reasonably solid Hammerhead Karoo 2/3 Firmware Update: This one seems to have a bit more than the average bear does in it, including connection to Intervals.icu, the ability to switch between apps mid-ride,  and for Karoo 3, the ability to utilize your phone connection to build routes dynamically on unit. Plus a bunch of other things.

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With that – thanks for reading!