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…
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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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!
3
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.
4
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!
5
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.
Post the Swimsense and 910xt review. Have a 310xt and swimsense and want to know if I should get excited about the 910xt or just save my money and stick with what I have.
Please
Wow – when did this blog turn into Garmin PR site?
I’m not surprised. I can’t remember Garmin ever even remotely meeting a deadline. Hopefully they’ve gotten better with more recent products, but when I was really paying attention, it was pathetic.
Arg, there goes my plans! Was hoping to get the 910xt to replace my busted Polar, but I guess now I’ll have to cancel my order and get the latter repaired :(
Ditto kxux & Ken. I’m chomping at the bit for a 910XT, but my experience has saved me from being completely over-obsessive about it like I was waiting for the 305. I put my expectations on Feb arrival back in Nov.
Also, I do hope you get a piece of Garmin PR pie money. You do an excellent job for them.
Hi Ray,
I enjoy the blog. This is a little unrelated but, any word on an equipment tracking feature being added to Garmin connect? It used to be listed as coming soon, but the latest update removed the coming soon tag and didn’t add the feature. I emailed Garmin as well, but I haven’t received a response from them.
Thanks.
the company i ordered from let me know last month that it wouldn’t be available til feb.. i thought this was old news because my retailer sure knew about it!
I also vote for you to post the Swimsense vs. 910xt review. I currently only have a Forerunner 305, but I want to do a bit more swimming starting this winter for cross-training. Eventually, I will also be in the market for a replacement for my 305… so my question will certainly be whether to get the Swimsense now (or soon), and just replace my 305 with the 610 (I pretty much only run)… or wait and just get the 910XT whenever I upgrade.
Flooding in Thailand disrupt their supply chain (like it did with PC Hard Drive availability)…?
Kind of a bummer it has to be such chaos (both with such an announcement and order fulfillment).
Garmin connect stopped showing avg HRs on activities on the summary panel when they stuck in the stuff for the 910 8(
Also, elevation changes don’t show up in the splits report now.
Don’t they test things before releasing?
Please post the comparison nonetheless!
The delay was officially confirmed by Garmin Germany on November 28th 2011 on Facebook already.
Droffen
I’m okay with a delay on the 910xt (I ordered on Oct 5th from Garmin directly), but I hope the Vector comes out on time and is available right away or, alternatively, Garmin lets people know far enough ahead of time if there is going to be a delay.
So my current plan is to use my SwimSense in the pool and my Garmin 310XT under my cap open water. I suppose I could switch to a 910XT in the pool and open water, but would expect the open water data to be flaky as it doesn’t track well on the wrist. If I put the 910XT under my cap, I wouldn’t get the open water stroke rate data, but that’s on minimal value compared to accurate time & distance. So until my 310XT or SwimSense breaks out-of-warranty, I can’t see a good reason to switch to a 910XT. I might add I use TSS/xPower calculations in TrainingPeaks and RaceDay to track swimming as part of triathlon training, so have that bias.
Thanks for the update Ray, it can’t be helped and I’ll just have to wait a little longer :)
Thank you for the update Ray, there have been a ton of posts on every forum out there, thanks for clearing up the ‘issue’ for those of us who are anxiously waiting.
Thanks for the info, and your always helpful and positive posts, Ray. I’ve been anxiously checking the Garmin blog and site daily; wish they would post about this.
Would love to see the swimsense vs. 910 review, please.
Ray, Thank you very much for sharing what you know for those of us who have the 910 on order. I realized that you are only the messenger! Thanks for all you do.
Mine’s on backorder and I’m running device-free for the first time in a long while thanks to issues with my last GPS watch. Initially, freeing but now not so much. *sigh*
Grrr – I have to run device free as well since the battery in my Forerunner 405 is dead and Garmin Australia want $200 to change it!
I just hope the battery in the 910XT lasts longer than the 2 1/2 years the 405 battery lasted….
please post the swimsense vs. 910xt review asap.
This is what is lost on me: Why does Garmin announce this stuff up to a year in advance and then find out there are production delays?
I was excited to buy the 910 when they announced it – especially because I was going to buy a 310 at that point. Now I have quality concerns about the 910 with delay after delay and I can’t bring myself to buy an soon-to-be-dated 310.
Love your blog! I love it even more given you realize there’s a state called North Dakota. Most people don’t realize it exists ;)
Hey,did you really think people would say, “naw, don’t publish the comparison now.”. Information is king
Any news on when the Garmin 500 NP firmware update is coming?
please post the swimsense vs. 910xt review asap.
+1
Thanks for the update on this. It would be helpful if Garmin had official updates on this. Nothing wrong with you being the defacto source for information but you shouldn’t have to be. And unfortunately PR releases are only as accessible as Google search allows them to be.
Thomas Gerlach
Professional Triathlete
http://www.thomasgerlach.com
Save 10% at Trisports.com with Coupon Code “TGER-S”
It’s now officially “after the holidays”. Any news on availability yet?
Nothing new at this point. Accessories have shipped out however (my batch of quick release, fabric straps and what-not shipped out last week). Was just a standard Garmin.com order that I placed the day of announcement (like any other person).
Regrettably, I’m not at home – so can’t quite post pics of it. :(
Gramin Sweden told me early february….and Wiggle in Uk says that as well
Just picked up my 910xt in Melbourne, Aus. Ordered back in october and my local shop just got it in, about to go for a swim, very excited
I can advise that 2 or 3 retailers in Australia received batches this week. I know this because I am from http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au and we shipped out a bunch of units as soon as they arrived this morning. Further we have been advised that a further larger batch is arriving early next week. Staff are already wearing them and one went for a run this evening wearing the shop demo in prep for a review.
My understanding is that Australia was the first to get them in the world and stock is slowly rolling out worldwide.
Amazon tells me that they now expect mine to arrive on January 30!
Got mine today directly from Garmin. Ordered it on October 8th. Trying it out in the morning.
Yippee!!I got mine today! Now to start playing with it! Thanks Ray for the great review…I’m sure your write up will be more helpful than the manuals!
Ray,
I need your help. I have the Forerunner 910XT and the battery keep dying. It had worked fine, but then for many months it wasn’t used because I was sick and not allowed to exercise per doctor’s orders. It gets fully charged, but then dies out after 2-3 uses of about 45 minutes each (all on the treadmill) and when it gets turned off in between each use. I charge it up again, but it dies again after a similar few uses and having been turned off. I suspect a battery defect. Garmin wants to charge a fee to repair it. Any suggestions? Is there someone I can speak to at Garmin to get the fee waived if the battery is defective?
Unfortunately, there’s not too many ways around the fee to fix if it’s out of warranty. If it’s under a year from purchase, then much easier.
But the watch was used infrequently. I paid $450+ for the watch and heart rate monitor, which is more than I ever paid for a watch (your review convinced me) and to have it break to quickly, and theb to have to pay even more money to have it repaired after so little use, is galling.
Is it something I did? I’m new to this kind of battery as all my other watches had batteries that popped out. Is this typical? Is there no other way?
No, it’s not normal. In fact, I’ve yet to hear of that from anyone with the 910XT. Some older FR305’s from 7+ years ago, sure, but not he 910XT.
Unfortunately, there’s not much else to do. The battery isn’t user-serviceable. I’d try again and perhaps a different support person will help differently.
Thanks for the further response. Given the apparent rarity of this problem to your knowledge and to Garmin (per my discussion with the tech rep), it is apparently a defective battery. I’m glad to report that Garmin today agreed to replace the watch with no fee but for my cost to mail it back to them (this is fine).
The tech guessed that the problem may have been because the watch, with its lithium ion battery, hadn’t been used for months while I was sick, but wouldn’t that implicate many watches that may not get used, either prior to purchase, upon an injury or a long recovery period after a big race? This theory made no sense to me, but I’m passing it along. More importantly, I just want to make sure it wasn’t anything I did so I don’t have to go through this again.