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…
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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!
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!
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.
My coldest run was on the Island of Svalbard. Funny thing is that Polarbears made it necessary for my mate to run with a rifle!
My coldest run so far was in Brussels, Belgium, 2°C, about 15k, ended with a sprained ankle… nothing to do with the weather though…
Last Weekend, -10 C. Just 4k, first run after injury. To short to feel to much of the cold, but great to run again.
Rides in Austin start in the 30’s and end in the 70’s. #layeringisanart
It’s summer here, so I think the coldest temperature I’ve been out in recently is about 15C. But it has been wet!
80 km / 1500D+ / -2°Celsius. 3h of biking in a white and snowy land is wonderful !! I love the french Alps mountains !
This winter is boring until now… There was just one day with something which might be regarded as snow.
It’s only colder than 0 C at night… So until now the CX bike didn’t see any snow this year. What a pity! :(
Stratford-upon-Avon. Warwickshire. England. As I ran up and back down the Avon I felt like a modern day Shakespeare, reciting what little verse I could recall from memory. The bracing winter wind galvanising my imagination in a way that the Bard would have been proud of I think. ‘Oh for A Muse of Fire’ I wished!
Coldest cycling in Hong Kong was the date with mild rain at Christmas Eve here. People kept shopping at the last minute while I went on cycling on a rainy day. Double coldness!
Toronto, Toronto, Toronto……
Last Wednesday I started running after some injuries again. It was about 0°C. As the feet didn’t feel well it was rather short.
Coldest run this decemebr was about 1°C with light wind at 5:30AM
8 along the water in Baltimore so the wind made it extra special.
This winter till now is fortunately not that cold in Germany….
-2°C run (10k) yesterday…
Jan 24 in New Jersey, USA … 45 min recovery run in 12 °F weather (wind chill -5 °F). Two things I remember most from this unseasonably cold run … (1) when I would blink, my eyelids would snap open because my eyelashes froze together, and (2) there was so much salt on the road that I could taste it in the air when vehicles would pass by and dust it up!
20 minute recovery run in Uccle, very windy and cold. Couldn’t feel my toes..!
-25 Celcius! Up north with the family for 10 days and after day 6 enough was enough… too cold for the kids to go outside but I wasn’t willing to spend any more time with them…. I mean, I had to run… dressed up, ran a quick 6km along the cottage highways enjoying the amazement of the drivers (mixed with looks of disgust)… came back frozen as a rock – great pic (if I win happy to send)… so enjoyable that I didn’t the next day. Only odd thing is (maybe because of where we were) Garmin didn’t pick up a reading for the temp so there isn’t proof, except of course for the pic!
I’ve been inside for months and months on the trainer and treadmill. However I was in Ottawa on business a few weeks ago and swam in the hotel pool while it was -18F outside!
1 hour run and it was minus 7 degrees..
freezing 2k swim in pool
Running in Switzerland in -10*C. Huge experience!
My coldest run this winter has been from my car to the gym (some days as low as -35F with the windchill). Treadmills can be useful this time of year. I draw the line at 10F.
I went on a 10 mile run when it was 5 below. It was a sunny day. When I finished my run, I looked down and it was like I was wearing sequins. My wicking clothes had wicked the sweat away and frozen instantly when it hit the air. I was able to brush it off and go inside dry.
As an Australian living in Canada, I have gone from runs in c. 40 – 45 degrees celsius (Sydney in summer) to about minus 20-25 in lovely Toronto. I have had to invest in new skins, new long sleeved shirt, new jacket, new gloves and new beanie. To make it worse, I have grown a beard at the moment and I get ice in the beard when I go running!
Special mention also to my run yesterday in Douglas, Isle of Man. Temp wasnt too bad (c. 5 degrees) but the 60 – 60 km/h winds were a little trying!
Yesterday did 32 miles on the bike when the temp was 46 degrees. It felt strange biking when the ground was covered in snow!
Christmas time in Finland, Helsinki – not quite as cold as your run around but it did get down to -5°C. No frozen sea either :(
Michigan winter along Lake Huron has been exceptionally cold this year (as I’m sure it has been everywhere else). I’ve attempted to run only once outside this year and that was the PoHo Hot Cocoa 8k in January. Quite a treat (puns intended) with the weather and the finish. Chocolate and hot cocoa waited for runners at the finish line, but the run itself was a winter obstacle course substitute snow on the ground, light rain, ice, black ice, and sub-freezing weather for your traditional obstacles. I laughed and loved it the whole way through like a jolly fat man in December. I think my hips suffered the most trying to keep my legs pressed together as one or both feet would land on a patch of icy here or there. I can’t say how well I ran it for time, but I finished with a smile, or maybe that was just how my face froze in it position. Can’t wait until next year!
Half marathon race in 32 degF weather (windchill in the 20’s). And since it was a race, I ran in shorts which resulted in a lovely lobster-red color for my legs!
Went for a run this winter when it was around -15° wind chill. I wanted to test out some new gloves and a hat I got. Couldn’t find my balaclava, so I just tied a bandana around my face. When I got to the turn around, I pulled the bandana down to get some clean breaths (since the bandana was pretty damp at this point). I only had it off my face for a fee seconds, but when I tried to pull it back up it had frozen completely. So I finished the run with a very thick ice necklace.
Two weeks ago, three of my teammates and I set out for a training ride to the apple orchards in Rockland County, NY. At the beginning of the ride, the clouds rolled in and it began to drizzle. The precipitation quickly escalated, turning into sleet, and at one point, we turned a corner, and found ourselves riding through rivers of snow on the road. We decided that it was time to ride over to the closest coffee shop to warm up and wait for the weather to clear up. As we sat inside with our hot chocolate, the snowflakes just got larger and larger, so we decided to ride home as quickly as possible.
Refreshing 21 km in the snowy forest today in the morning.
Sunny weather and -15C (feels like -23C).
Kiev is really pleasant now :)
My coldest run was today, 5km and it was -7C, but strong wind made real feel be -29C!!!!
link to fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net
I went to the local lake here to do a workout, thought that the wetsuit would save me even though the water was only 52 degrees. It was kind of like having a brain freeze, all the time, without a hope of it ever getting warmer!
Coldest this year for me in Taiwan was 10°C (and today was a balmy 28°C), a far cry from the day I went skiing when the temperature was -57°C…
0F with a wind chill. Not much fun.
16km run at -22C
Béring from Montreal, QC suburb I went for a 45 min run at lunch time two weeks ago, it was -35C (-31F). Coworker taught I was crazy but we’ll dress it wasn’t that bad. And felt very proud when done.
Well hope a XC ski won’t exclude me, but -5 deg F was my lowest aerobic workout temp.
Snow running in 10 degree weather
December 14 in Toronto…windchill was -23 C, blizzard conditions. I went on a 12k group run. It wasn’t actually that cold while we were moving, but the blowing snow kept freezing onto my eyelashes and forming a nice lattice in front of my vision, and standing around waiting for public transit afterwards was terrible!
Run with 30 degree in here; quite a big difference! :)
with my husband running at collserola in Barcelona, spain
with my wife running at collserola in Barcelona, spain
trail running in the mountain, but here the coldest is 5º celsius
Was walking/running through some snow last Sunday, -7 ºC, with two kids in the stroller, but it was sunny. So far only few days of really winter weather in the heart od Europe.
the worst and coldest here is february- march
Here in Toronto – ride out to Burlington and back. -23c plus a windchill that reduced it further to about -35c – that was a nice brisk wake-up on a Sunday morning and made me feel ALIVE!! plus reminded me I had to buy some new warmer clothes!!!!
Jan 5, 2014 -33C Rawson Lake, Kananaskis, AB Snowshoe
A run in 5 degrees, nice and smooth run.
It wa 27 degrees. Brrr!
I went for a 5k run in Hernando, MS in 25F temps. That’s cold for the South!
I ran once when it was -15deg Fahrenheit. I had no skin showing. One of those runs youbwill never forget.
150k bike ride at threshold at -2 degrees under pouring rain, had to get to hospital as i couldnt feel my feet AT ALL for the next 4 hours, good fun and defenately worth a 400$ voucher if you know what im saying ;)
I LOVE YOU DCRAINMAKER thankyou for being my main source of distracation when i should be doing my homework :)
I do my best to avoid cold weather. Trainer and Treadmills!
10 degrees F for a 30 mile bike and -5 F for a XC ski — a lot of snow and cold in Michigan.
Ran on Jan 7th during the height of the polar vortex. Air temp was about 7 F in DC, but the wind chill made it feel below zero. Surprisingly, the run wasn’t that bad…I think we had all layered up enough to actually be dressed appropriately.
A 5 mile run hill workout in a blizzard. Not easy to turn quickly to head back up the hill. Fell more than once but managed to finish without injury
-5 F 12 mile nordic ski in Sturgeon Bay, WI. I’d use that dough to get a garmin as my phone freezes in about 15 min at that temp. Yeeaa!
Cross country skiing on a MN lake with 0 degree windchill
I love to run on cold. So beautiful landscapes. The coldest run was probably on Milan, Italy, -5*C
-19C cross-country skiing.
My chilliest swim this year was 5oc water in beautiful Loch Lomond in Scotland
My coldest ride was my first ride this year, it was about 0 degrees C but felt about -10 with with wind chill. It was after a week of heavy rain and cycling through axle deep water. It took about 8 hours with my feet on a hot water bottle to get the feeling back in them!
I’ve been training mostly indoors this winter on the treadmill. I would guess that the coldest outdoor run I’ve had this winter to date has been low 30s Fahrenheit.
A recent run – There are no cold workouts, only poor equipment. Should have been dressed better.
It was a sunday before sunrise running at -1C (30.2F) with real feel about -5C (23F)
Newish to running and new to winter running – so all my runs seem to be breaking their own coldest run record. Canadian winters. Yay.
10K run in january last year… early in the morning… temperature around -10°C… during the run not that cold of a feeling… but afterwards in the shower… I noticed my frozen but…
Coldest run was last week, temperatures in the low 20s with a single digit wind chill. Cold by Texas standards.
Ran a 10k in Louisville, KY two weeks ago, wind chill -7 degrees F. About 3 miles in I realized my beard was frozen.
My coldest bike ride was last year when was out there -21°C.
Last Sunday: MTB race – 2×44 km – -6C/windchill = -15!
We had 2 rounds for the day, first round to get the feelings back in your fingers so that gear shift actually happened when your brains ordered it. Second round was just to keep the hordes from getting up from behind. Also: drink at home because all liquids were frozen after 20 min.
All in all a nice race :-)
link to connect.garmin.com
/Lars, Denmark
A pretty mild 4 mile run in 30F weather.
Slip slidding around the Dublin Mountains in early January it was about 0C, with snow, black icey paths on railway sleeper trails and a biting wind. But it still amazing – such a spectacular way to see the city and the countryside. Every time I go up there it looks and feels different – makes me go back every week.
I ran at 5am last Saturday in 20C/68F to avoid the summer heat. Does this count? :)
Going on a swim with my son at great wolf lodge!
F^3 Lake Half Marathon in Chicago last weekend, -6º windchill!!
35 degrees and snowy, slushy roads gets it done here in Maine today. Great run!
My coldest run was 10k last week in a -7 C but nice sunny day here in Slovakia.
connect.garmin.com/activity/435798872
This morning. Ran 6 miles through the rain nonstop.
It was raining and I got sobbing wet and it was really cold and I ran 6 miles
About 2 weeks ago, as an employee of the US Government, I decided to take advantage of our “slush” day off (you know, the TV news predicts snow so we all get scared and stay home even though nothing happens). Funny thing…while I was out there riding, it actually did start to snow. We had almost an inch by the time I (carefully) returned home. How cold was it? Well, it took a bit to peel my fingers off the bike despite my winter biking gloves. It was a great ride. And, now I can add “I went biking in the snow” to my repertoire of bragging banter…it ranks right next to “I went skiing in Colorado in July”.
My third marathon in -3°C a month ago. 4h 06min. 10min short from my Pb! :)
I live in the Boston area – and it’s been cold. Most Saturday mornings I do my version of a “brick” and ride from Lexington to Woburn for an 8 AM Step Class. Yesterday wasn’t too bad, about 25 degrees F when I started (6:30 am). But on December 28th the temp was supposed to be in the 20s, but when I started out the temp was 15 degrees F and after I was into the ride, I realized that the wind was 10-15 knots with gusts of 20 so the wind chill was under 0 F. The next Saturday the raw temp was under 0, I drove my car ;>)
It was only a 5k, but I did a tempo run before work last Friday in Dallas. A recent software update on my new Garmin Forerunner 220 (thanks, CleverTraining.com) delayed satellite acquisition for a few LONG minutes. Standing in the middle of my street staring up at the sky in the dark at 19F was a rough way to start the morning!
Cross country skiing in the woods. Only -1 C and 7 km, but it was my first sport alike activity since more than 3 months due to some major illness. Mission accomplished!
Unfortunately, due to injury I have done almost no swimming, biking, or running.
No glorious cold story this winter since it has not been too bad so far but i did have a memorable bike ride when i arrived to work with a face full of frozen snot… which i noticed only 10 minutes into my day when i started feeling my face again.
Running in Anchorage completely unprepared for the cold. I think I wore everything I had. There was still people out wearing shorts though because it was still mild out for the locals.
Approx. -10 C, MTB. Not the pleasant ride but it was worth it.
Just finished 9 solid day of riding in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Okay, it was the Tour of Sufferlandria and I was on a trainer but my basement is really cold!!!
Did about 4.5 miles a week or so ago. I believe it was around 5 out with a -7 wind chill. Started strong but ended up dragging along. I thought I was being a sissy. Turns out I was getting sick. Haven’t run since :(
(but will be changing that this week!)
Best run was in Andorra, running on top of the snow after climbing a nice mountain.
I went for a 17 mile run in 15 degrees in Raleigh, NC for a long run Saturday. For the first time, this San Diego native had to wear 3 layers on top, 2 pairs of pants, 2 gloves and 2 beanies to get the long training run for the Boston Marathon in.
Coldest run this year was one of the -30c days we’ve been having. Bundled up like some kind of ninja, I was out for just over 3 hours, and it was tricky to consume gels and cookies. Had to sneak them under my balaclava quickly and then pull it back down before my face froze.
By the end of the run I had a pretty good icicle beard going. Ther may have been colder runs, but the length of time made it a little risky frostbite-wise.
Still, I live to tell the tale, so a good time was had.
Hey Ray! Go Hawks!!!
First fatbike race at Silver Lake, WI. Air temp was 12F, I think the windchill dropped it to zeroish.
Zero degree night time runs on vacation in Vermont when the windchill wasn’t as bad.
A 20 degree run on a frozen Mountour trail- treacherous.
33 degrees at the outdoor pool!! Lucky to live in Southern Arizona… except for the fact that all of the good pools are outside and we get some chilly mornings!