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.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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 2024 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.
Garmin Reviews
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music GPS Watch In-Depth Review
When Garmin first introduced the Vivoactive 3 almost two years ago, I wondered how exactly they’d create a successor to the Forerunner 235. Sure, the FR235 had more buttons than the Vivoactive 3, but ultimately the Vivoactive 3 was a … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 45/45S GPS Watch In-Depth Review
On one hand, the Forerunner 45 represents Garmin’s most capable running watch they’ve ever made below $200. On the other hand, it tries to counter the wave of Apple and Samsung products at or flirting with $199 price points as … Read More Here
Garmin Speed & Cadence Sensors V2 with ANT+/Bluetooth Smart: In-Depth Review
In the highly unlikely event that you didn’t get enough Garmin news today with the announcement of two brand new head units (the Edge 530 and Edge 830, see reviews at those links), you’ve also got yourself some new sensors … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 530 Cycling GPS In-Depth Review
Today Garmin announced three new products, the Edge 530 (this review), the Edge 830 (that review), and new dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart Speed and Cadence sensors (that review coming up momentarily). These products effectively complete Garmin’s x30 lineup of higher-end cycling … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 830 Cycling GPS In-Depth Review
If you’re looking for new Garmin cycling products – there’s no bigger day than today. The company has just dropped three new products: The Edge 830 (this review), the less expensive Edge 530 (review here), and a set of new … Read More Here
Garmin MARQ Series Hands-On: Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Garmin raised the stakes and announced their most expensive watch to date – the Garmin MARQ, at upwards of $2,500. Actually, it’s five watches. Five different units that mirror Garmin’s existing product lines across all of the company’s divisions. … Read More Here
Garmin HRM-DUAL Heart Rate Strap In-Depth Review
Today Garmin announced their second dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart transmitting sensor, the HRM-DUAL heart rate strap. Wait, what’s the first you ask? Actually it was the Garmin Vector 3, about 18 months ago. This new HRM-DUAL is about as simple as … Read More Here
First Look: Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Cellular/LTE (for Verizon)
Today Garmin begins their journey with cellular enabled wearables, announcing the first such device, the Vivoactive 3 Music Cellular/LTE. Actually, technically it’s called the Garmin Vivoactive 3 connected by Verizon, leaving zero doubts about who exactly it’s available for. And … Read More Here
Garmin Instinct GPS Watch In-Depth Review
When it comes to looks, you’re either going to love or hate the new Garmin Instinct watch. There’s not likely to be much middle ground. If you like the looks of Casio watches, you’ll probably be pretty excited about this … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin Vivosmart 4, now with Pulse Ox and Body Battery
As is customary for this time of year, it’s all about the wearables – and the last two weeks haven’t disappointed in that realm. Today we add to the pile with the new Garmin Vivosmart 4, which is, as the … Read More Here
The Bontrager Edge 1030: A Swanky Black Edge 1030 with Deeper Integration (Hands-on)
**Update: Garmin has since announced the 1030 Plus, check out the most recent information here for the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus In-Depth Review** Today Bontrager announced the Edge 1030. Wait, Bontrager? Don’t you mean Garmin? Nope, I mean that company … Read More Here
Garmin’s New $249 Edge Explore Full Mapping & Navigation Bike GPS: Everything you ever wanted to know
In the lead-up to Eurobike, today Garmin announced the new Edge Explore. Now, you’ve probably heard the Edge Explore or ‘Touring’ names battered around for half a decade or so. Usually along with a numerical identifier like ‘Edge Explore 1000’, … Read More Here
Garmin Fenix 5/5S/5X Plus In-Depth Review (with Maps, Music, Payments)
Today Garmin announced the new Fenix 5 Plus series, which takes the existing Fenix 5/5S/5X and injects full onboard color mapping, onboard music, and contactless payments. Additionally there’s new Galileo GPS support for higher accuracy, new smart notification privacy features, … Read More Here
Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music: Everything you ever wanted to know
*** Heads up: The Garmin Vivoactive 4 In-Depth Review is up, check that out for the latest on the Vivoactive line up!**** Today Garmin announced the Vivoactive 3 Music, which makes it the second Garmin wearable they’ve added music playback … Read More Here
Garmin inReach Mini Satellite Communicator In-Depth Review
For those that have been around the DCR block long enough, you’ll know that I’m always looking for tracking solutions for my worldly activities. Especially ones that don’t depend on having a mobile phone nearby, and even more so for … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 130 In-Depth Review
Update – July 2020! Heads up that there’s now a newer Edge 130 Plus out. Check out that full in-depth review for all the details! As a techie-geek I suppose there’s some expectation that I’ll be most impressed with the … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin Edge 520 Plus with Mapping
Today’s multi-pronged release of cycling gear by Garmin is probably the company’s most decisive yet at fending off competitors to its lucrative head unit business. And in some ways, they’re probably even undercutting their own high-end head units to stave … Read More Here
Garmin Varia RTL510 Radar/Cycling Light In-Depth Review
[FYI May 2020: A newer version of this product has been released – the RTL515 – you can find that in-depth review here.] Yes, it’s a bike radar. But no, it’s not the first bike radar Garmin has made. And … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 645 Music GPS Running Watch In-Depth Review
It’s been almost two months since Garmin announced the FR645 and FR645 Music (aka FR645M), its first wearable with music onboard. Past Garmin watches could control music on your phone, but none could have music loaded on it and play … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music GPS Watch
(Update – March 5th, 2018 – My Full FR645 Music In-Depth Review is now available, head over to the link to check it all out!) Finally, Garmin now makes a wearable that plays music. In some ways, that’s sorta all … Read More Here
Garmin Vector 3 Power Meter In-Depth Review
It’s been exactly three months (plus a day) since Garmin announced their latest power meter, Vector 3. With that unit they introduced a slew of both technology features and non-technology new aspects. From a physical standpoint they got rid of the … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin’s New Descent MK1 Diving Watch
Sometimes, I do sports that are actually not swim-bike-run. Be it skiing, or…ok, I guess that’s it. Actually, I scuba dive, which I suppose is still technically swimming. Or swimming done rather poorly. So poorly that you’re never-endingly sinking to … Read More Here
Garmin Vivoactive 3 In-Depth Review
It’s been about 6 weeks since Garmin first announced the new Vivoactive 3 GPS watch. This watch builds upon the Vivoactive HR by adding in more features including things like contactless payments with Garmin Pay, as well as structured workouts. … Read More Here
Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2: Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Garmin announced the Vivofit Jr. 2, which takes their surprisingly successful Vivofit Jr. kids-focused product line and adds in a few features. But most importantly it cements a Disney partnership for branded variants of the activity trackers covering Star … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin’s New Forerunner 30 Running GPS Watch
Hold on, I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t the Forerunner 30 come out last year? Nope, that was the Forerunner 35. At which point you’re wondering how we’re going back in numbers – but that’s just how the cards fell … Read More Here
Garmin Vivosport In-Depth Review
A few weeks ago as part of Garmin’s trifecta announcement of new Vivo-labeled products, they announced the Vivosport (along with the Vivomove HR and Vivoactive 3). In many ways the Vivosport got overlooked as it lacked the fashionista flashiness of … Read More Here
Power Meter Pedal Shootout: Vector 3 vs PowerTap P1 vs Assioma
Update 2022: There’s an updated version of this post including Garmin Rally, Favero Assioma, Wahoo POWRLINK, and SRM X-Power available here! Over the course of the summer we’ve seen both Garmin and Favero roll out new pedal power meters. In … Read More Here
Garmin’s Vivomove HR: Everything you need to know
Sometimes, beauty is only skin deep. And unfortunately in the case of the Vivomove HR – that’s never been more true. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The Vivomove HR is the second iteration of Garmin’s dabble … Read More Here
Hands-on: Garmin Vector 3 Power Meter
b December 2017 – Heads up – you can now find my full in-depth review of Garmin Vector 3 here! Today Garmin announced their third generation of power meters, Vector 3. This new unit brings sweeping changes both easily seen … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 1030 In-Depth Review
** Update: The Edge 1030 has been superseded by the Edge 1030 Plus. Check out the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus In-Depth Review here for the latest info** After over three years, Garmin has updated its flagship GPS navigation computer with … Read More Here
Best Bike Computer 2017: Garmin Edge 520 vs Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT
There are two questions which reign supreme around these parts: Which watch to get, and which bike computer to get. No other topic or subject area gets anywhere near as much debate or concentration as these two areas. This post … Read More Here
Garmin VIRB 360 5.7K Action Cam In-Depth Review
Today Garmin jumped into the 360° fray by introducing their own 360° action camera – the VIRB 360. This camera one-ups everyone in the specs department by mic-dropping 5.7K resolution alongside being completely waterproofed with GPS built-in. Not to mention … Read More Here
Garmin Varia UT800 Smart Bike Light In-Depth Review
Today, Garmin introduced their latest generation front bike light – the UT800. This light builds upon the connected concepts from their first generation lights, such as integration with their head units. With the UT800 though, the company has shifted the … Read More Here
Garmin Vivosmart 3 Activity Tracker In-Depth Review
Today Garmin introduced an updated version of its Vivosmart lineup, the Vivosmart 3. This essentially takes the Vivosmart HR that we saw last year (aka Vivosmart Gen2) and shrinks it down. Then they layered in a bunch of new heart … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 935 In-Depth Review
*** Update: The next generation Forerunner 945 has since been released. For the latest information on this watch series click the link for the Forerunner 945 In-Depth Review*** Today Garmin announced their latest triathlon/multisport…and running-specific focused watch, the Forerunner 935. … Read More Here
