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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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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.
A request for something to cover in the review, how well it handles walking pace in map view. As a wrist mounted GPS with a claimed long battery life it would seem to be a great watch to use for hiking so you can easily follow trails without a larger hiking style GPS
Too funny, I just posted a comment on the Viiva post because i saw the Leikr photo in that post and then clicked the queue section link and there it was! Any word on when they anticipate releasing this one stateside? I really like the TomTom Runner but the Leikr looks amazing and may be worth waiting for.
Can I have the leikr with TomTom GPS predictability and speed, but also with heart rate sensors built into the back of the watch! All the best in one! Am I greedy?
Oh, and cheap $$
I asked the developpment team and they confirmed it will not have FM radio, MP3 or voiced coach/data capability. For this, the MotoACTV is unrivalled yet !
I completely agree with Jean-Charles. The Motoactv has many more features and other than battery life: I am struggling to find a good rationale to purchase this over the Motoactv (which has the benefits of the mp3 player with BT connectivity).
It looks like you can order the Leikr in the US now from their home page. Can we expect a full review soon?
I hope not, the software isn’t really done
Yeah, I’m a bit torn on this one. In theory, according to Leikr the device is now shipping and thus meets the typical bar I have for whether I review a device.
The challenge I have is that I just lack any desire to as it stands today. Mostly because I know how the story will end. I’d put a lot of time and effort into the review, but ultimately it’s going to tell me what I already know: The device simply doesn’t have the features to make it competitive – even in the sub-$99 category.
If I were to add it into the product comparison tables (which, I might do, just for fun), you’d find virtually every feature the answer is ‘No’, or incomplete.
It’s tough, and one of the challenges I have in balancing what product reviews to write. Ultimately I enjoy writing about things that are fun to use, but don’t typically enjoy spending time and energy writing about things that aren’t so great, when I could instead be taking a different item from the massive queue of products to write about.
Just my thoughts for now…
Yes its shipping but software development is still going on at the same speed it was going before release so there is a chance when they finish it will be good. At present with what it can do now it sucks.
I would argue that speed is glacier slow compared to what I see from everyone else in the industry.
I found this on my facebook feed: link to about.mapmyfitness.com
I use mapmyrun’s app on my gs3 phone when I run. True its not as capable as many of the watches that you review but I slip it into my camelbak and off I go. It serves many purposes, as I bring my phone along with me on runs, I sometimes listen to music on it, and it tracks my path. I already pay for the phone and data so its just another perk for having it.
So my question is, would this leikr watch with the mapmyfitness api built in bring it up to the next level? BTW, I’m very seriously considering a Garmin Forefunner 310XT or a Fenix2 (way pricier). I’m working off a limited budget so for now the gs3 works. Thoughts?
Unfortunately not. Don’t get me wrong, they are doing cool stuff – but right now the gaps in functionality are so vast even between the FR310XT and the Leikr. I’d really go with the FR310XT.