Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple AirTag 4-Pack for just $69, 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!
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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
1
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.
2
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.
Related in a tenuous sort of way are you doing a review of the ‘new’ Garmin Connect interface? It appears some people have already got it (the other side of the pond?) but not here in Blighty. Is Garmin waiting till VivoFit is available before releasing it here?
It’s something I’ll talk about later this week. For the moment, be happy you don’t yet have it.
DOH, I’m not feeling lucky. I imagine they will clean the new site up soon, I hope.
I’m really hoping the merge the traditional training and tracking features of the old Connect with the new version. It’s missing some key items like calendar, training plans, workouts, etc
Ever since Garmin released the Android Garmin Connect App life has been sweet…. my activities (FR620 & Edge810) just auto-upload direct from my Galaxy S4. I only use my desktop 27″ iMac to view the activities and for the odd Garmin Swim upload (got any “go swim” motivation?). Fenix spends most of its life in a draw too big too bulky too ‘unfinished’ (in my view).
I moved from Garmin Ant agent to Garmin Express, and took a long search to find my FIT files being hidden somewhere completely different then expected. Did anyone else tried the Express software.
I miss the counter of garmin connect, but I think it was ‘just’ a Counter not an ‘actual’ counter.
Hi Remco, same thing here for Garmin Express. Fortunately there’s a link to the file locations on last week’s “week in review”.
And I’ve also had mixed results with Express… one day it kept telling me “it seems no ANT stick is connected”, so i restarted ANT Agent, and it downloaded all the data without any problem. I actually have a pretty funny screenshot with Garmin Express in the background saying there’s no stick and ANT Agent in the foreground downloading the data…
Today however Garmin Express worked flawlessly… but I still don’t understand why they had to change the downloaded FIT file location.
Garmin asks to use the Ant+ Agent again at the moment. Express is really worst…. lots of postings concering this topic on the Garmin Connect fb page.
Did anyone else notice that Garmin removed the Backup option out of Garmin Express?
Garmin Express appears to be completely borked. I just uninstalled it for the second time, and will continue to use the Ant+ agent until they disable it. When Garmin software can’t pull my race file off my Garmin watch, They lose all credibility with me.
I like the idea behind the FlyFit working on all activities, to INCLUDE cycling…
That makes it a more useful device.
It raises two questions:-
How accurate will it be…
Anyone tried attaching a Vivofit to their ankle and gone cycling..??
I think FlyFit will probably make it accurate for cycling.
As for Vivofit, it wouldn’t be, simply because it doesn’t understand it. It’ll obviously show some sort of step-count, but nothing useful for either step distance nor calories.
I’ve been using a FlyFit since late last year. The biggest issue with it has been the development of the associated application, which has no syncing with anything else, and no way to manually export data. The software has improved dramatically since the first version. This afternoon, I will attempt to use it in combination with Wahoo’s iOS app to try to get Tabata running sprint interval metrics.
Any updates on the Garmin Connect third party API fiasco? Nobody but tapiirik seems to be able to upload still, and it sounds like his works because he figured out the new login API himself?
No, it’s still mostly a fiasco.
In short, the deal is that 3rd parties either have to hack a workaround (some have done), or have to apply to the developer program (some have done). If they apply to the developer program to get access to the updated API and get approved, it’s a $5,000 fee. So that’s fine for the big companies of the world, but less awesome for the smaller devs. I’ve argued a tiered pricing structure (with perhaps a free tier) would make sense. Garmin disagrees.
Do you think Polar will take advantage of Garmin’s new restrictions on 3rd parties, so that they could do exactly the opposite, thus be much more competitive on that front?
Frankly, this new Garmin “restrictive” attitude makes me rethink as to whether I should be buying a V800, instead.
It’s hard to say. I reached out to Polar for comment/update on their API plans.
I’d say it’s not quite as black and white though as it might appear. For example, Garmin makes the .FIT file easily accessible on all devices, directly from a computer. Whereas Polar/Suunto don’t make the file locally available (has to go to website).
On the flip side, Garmin is choosing to make the API side of their site more locked-in. From the developers I’ve talked to, none have been denied on the application front (that’s good), it’s just that none of the smaller ones want to pay $5K (which, I agree with).
I’m looking at two ways I’ll probably cover it. One is a bit of an Annual Open Data Report Card that I’ve been poking away at, covering a lot of different companies (Device + Device Company Platforms + 3rd Party Analysis/Log Platforms). It’s just a lot of tedious working ensuring it’s all correct.
The second is a piece covering the Garmin changes. There’s some stuff coming down the pipe a bit that presents a slightly more holistic picture there. Right now, it’s all very transitory. Thus it sucks today for the 3rd party developers (and thus, consumers). But, if we fast forward say 2-6 weeks, it’ll be a completely different story. It’ll still stuck for smaller 3rd party companies, but, on the consumer front I think that the vast majority of consumers will be happy with the changes/partnerships planned. I’d like to show both sides of that coin.
I’m pretty bummed that my “Weight Logger” app stopped being able to upload my daily body fat%, vixceral fat, bone mass, etc into GC.
Copymysports is no longer simultaneously uploading to Strava and Runkeeper.
I don’t see how companies cannot seem to comprehend that these additional functions ADD to the user experience and makes you enjoy their product more, not less!
The more they take away from the added enjoyment is what makes us want to look at other competing products, like I’m now beginning to think of the V800, which was not a consideration beforehand, until my “added enjoyment” was suddenly yanked off. Is this so hard to grasp?
Ray, I really admire your objectivity on all this. I like your strategy on your “Annual Open Data Report Card” and looking forward to your piece on covering Garmin changes, as it i’ll help me decide whether to stick with Garmin or switch over to Polar.
BTW, you’ve slowly turned me from a weekly reader to a daily reader. There’s nothing like it in the Internet, not even close. Keep up the great job, and many thks!