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.
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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!
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.
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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 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.
These look great, but I’ve become addicted to Garmin Connect, so if it can’t produce a TCX type file then I’ll not be that bothered. I’m big on compliance with standards.
(Loving the Queue BTW, nice to get more out).
What about this review Ray? Apparently it never came out…
Hi Andrew Kerr,
Your interests are centric around serious biking, thus your view regarding Garmin’s .tcx format is relevant to you and most readers here. Compliance doesn’t mean .tcx, as it is a Garmin created file, whilst .gpx is THE standard that everyone else uses. The capabilities of .tcx is good but doesn’t stop the HR and Cadence being acquired through the TwoNav or other brands. If we are to talk about compliance it wouldn’t be Garmin’s .tcx.
As for the TwoNav Ultra (made by CompeGPS), it is something unique that not even Garmin have created. It is an innovative product but is not for dedicated die-hard road warriors like yourself. It is a mixed bag of tricks for riders, hikers, mariners and even hang-glider pilots. Thus, it is designed for many purposes rather than a dedicated device like the expensive high end bike GPS products.
It does connect with the Heart Rate, Cadence and bike speed ANT+ products and does provide a good range of features and data to suit most semi-serious and recreational activities.
One great feature is the ability to swap between a wrist band and a bike mount and is able to handle both raster and vector maps and can auto-route via street map.
Importantly, it does have a transflective screen, which means, unlike iPhone and other smartphones it is totally viewable in direct sunlight, which then brings to mind the senseless development of iPhone and Samsung APPS for outdoor activities.
TwoNav Ultra has Over 80 types of data that are user-configurable, so you can view exactly the fields you want. ‘Virtual Coach’ & ‘TrackAttack’ modes can be used to improve your competition performance. You can also customise alerts, to advise you when moving off-course for example.
File types directly supported include: *.WPT, *.BWPT, *.LOC, *.GPX, *.KML, *.KMZ, *.TRK, *.IGC, *.PLT, *ECW, *.IMP, *.MAP, *.CDEM thus is the most map type flexible recreational device on the market.
There are 4 configurable buttons on the sides for setting up the device for quick operation of your preferred feature or function. Each button has a two press option, quick or long press to effectively provide 8 configurable settings. With the touch screen and buttons, the interface is designed to be fast and easy to use.
I have been selling Garmin and Magellan for 19 years and can say they have produced some great products but none have surpassed themselves in creating a multi-purpose device like CompeGPS have. And yes I sell TwoNav products as well.
Starting price is 329,75 €
Skip forward a few years…and the OS in the UK has just launched a series of what appear to be re-branded CompGPS/TwoNav GPS including a cycling oriented one “OS Velo GPS”. Because of the mapping they provide, they may prove popular.
Any chance you will be reviewing any of the two nav devices? They seem to be able to kind of do it all, and I am very curious to know what your take on these devices is, especially compared to the current garmin 530/830 line and, well, we all know Garmin and the software issues they have..
link to twonav.com
link to twonav.com