Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $449, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
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.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
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.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
-
5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
If I get this job in Australia, I’m kind of petrified that I am going to get eaten by a shark while training. Granted there are a billion other things that could kill me in Australia, but I fixate on the sharks as a particularly bad way to go…
Ray, I totally recommend Galapagos. I have been there in 2008 I guess it was. And the diving there is just amazing, we have seen everything except for the whales that are there in different season. We were there in February and the whales are there in “summer” months eg June-August (I am not sure about exact months). I hope to put together some photos sometimes :) The number of hammerhead sharks there was amazing – I have to say, I have never used my oxygen that fast as for the first dive with the sharks … then I got kind of used to it :)
Ray, as a shark enthusiast myself (I volunteer at a large aquarium and dive with many sharks including great hammerheads and tigers), prepare to be disappointed with Shark Week.
Once again, Discovery has let us down, last nights line up was an episode with the Dual Survival hosts, and another show that had nothing to do with sharks.
Lucky for me I get Nat. Geo. Wild, and they have been running better shows all week.
I didn’t know you were into sharks, that is pretty cool. If I didn’t struggle with math I would have been a marine biologist personally…
Always get a little extra spring in my step during Shark Week – AND, more importantly, hours of shark to to watch while on the trainer!
Ray,
This is why I think Garmin should add a depth sensor to a watch like the FR610, make it 200M waterproof, and add the no-decompression tables to the software.
The ultimate uber-sports watch!
Hey, Ray. Believe it or not, some of the most amazing shark diving you’ll do it right down around Wilmington, NC. My friends and I went down last year and again this Labor Day weekend. Tons of huge Sand Tiger sharks around wrecks, up to about 9′. They’re big and nasty-looking, but don’t bother you at all. They’ll sometimes get real close to you, too, but just to check you out. It’s amazing.
Interesting, I had heard that from someone else as well at one point. There’s also some six-gill dive spots just a few miles from my hometown near Seattle, though the exact dive spot is a heavily guarded secret amongst the dive operations that do ‘tours’ there. Never gone unfortunately.
I am a shark junkie too. I actually got a very large tattoo on my back of myself and my 3 daughters as sharks. When you wrote about the bull sharks in the Potomac, I was about to do Nation’s and I was hoping to see one. No luck.
Enjoy shark week.