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!
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.
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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.
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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.
Running in the low teens during the polar vortex in DC with winds pretty strong and blowing trash cans across the road. Actually didn’t feel anywhere near as cold as the bike ride I did in the upper 20s
Hmm, my coldest run was at 9 degrees Celsius, i know thats not too big of a deal to some of you out there! But where I live in warm temperatures almost all year round. Anyway it started at 5:47 a.m and I just started doing some easy laps around the park, hands, feet, nose, cheeks and throat started to get a little bit numb, but it was a new feeling for me and i love it, so i started running around the city, and when i got tired of it, i hit some hilly trails a little muddy, by the way! Which I’m not really used to, when i reached the top i was so happy about myself, that i just wanted to stay in the moment, so i did for a few minutes, then i turned and head back home, city was filled with cars, sus was up, temperature rised and when i got home and cooled down I started chilling myself, so made myself the most delicious and proud warm-bath that i ever had, enjoying what i just did in a totally new experience!
Another California runner . . . New Years Day trail run: 30 degrees at the start of the run, ~65 at the end.
Casual ride on Jan 1st. 12 degrees out. Cold for us here in the Philippines. Cheers
-28C cx ski here in Ottawa and a -30C hike & camp in Adirondack Park… At times, you jogged to warm up!
It was in the 20s. This Polar Vortex was interesting once but needs to stop visiting the Northeast! The coldest Winter I have ever experienced.
I’ll do one better for you Ray. Yesterday was the warmest commute I’ve had to work on my bike in two months. It was 39F! That’s a warm snap for us in South Jersey this winter. Thank god for my cross bike and snow tires. We’ve once again had more snow and cold than the winter Olympic venue. Another storm coming out way tomorrow. Woo hoo! NJ is the snow capital of the world!!!
Kaiser half marathon today in SF. Raining and a bit windy. Maybe next time I’ll stick to the treadmill ;)
Ran in below zero temps…just for fun.
I have to be honest, I’m taking a break from running and biking this winter, and have been boxing and yoga-ing instead. I hope that doesn’t disqualify me! In that sense, my coldest run was rushing to the gym in polar vortex NY weather — below freezing, nose numbing, fingers freezing in their gloves. Unfortunately I am a big wuss when it comes to the cold!
A run that kicked off at 6:00a with a temp of 22. Enjoyed running on 3-day old snow on the Raleigh greenways – a rare occurrence in the South. Snow helped the roots stand out in the pre-dawn gloom with no headlamp.
Winter was several months ago in Buenos Aires, and my coldest run was a 20 miler with 7C and rain…
Coldest run has been low 50’s here in South Florida.. But to us that’s pretty cold ;)
Love the site, great stuff!
13 degrees for a couple miles earlier in the winter. It convinced me the treadmill wasn’t all that bad after all.
6 miler in 5 degrees F. Minus 11 F with wind chill.
My coldest run this year was a 3 miler @ -15 C. When the temperature dips past -10 C, I usually run close to home, so that I’m not stranded too far away. Your Seahawks Won…, yeah? I’m a Packers Fan.
Ran on the ice and ended up breaking my YakTrax!
Halfmarathon last sunday, -8°C. Pretty hard since there was nothing as cold as this, this winter, in Vienna.
El tour De Tucson. First rain in 31 years and freezing cold. I didn’t know what cranoed quads and game could feel like.
Not that cold a 35 degree Celsius run in Mali’s winter
Coldest ride I’ve had was in the basement… which is a balmy 60ish degrees.
Coldest swim? Desert Triathlon 65 degrees.
Coldest bike? 41 degrees, thought I was going to die.
Coldest run? 60 degrees, I live in Southern California and hate the cold.
8F last Sunday @ Manhattan Half Marathon
My coldest run was 21F on W&OD trail. Lots of ice and snow.
Ran 15k in a snow storm. Ended up with icicles in my beard and eye brows. Loved every minute of it.
According to my garmin, my coldest outdoor run was last week at about 50F, though I swear it felt more like 30F to me. When it’s only that cold a few times a year, it’s hard to want to spend money on proper winter clothes. I’m a cold weather wimp.
I ran on NYE with 39F! Brrrrrrrrrrr
Hills of New Jersey – 6 mile run – 10 degrees.
Hit -40 degrees Celsius on a run this winter
Went hill running against wind in 35 degree weather.
A Tuesday five miler where the “feels like” temp was 3. I wore my face mask that makes me look like Hannibal lechter.
Had a nice 2 hour ride here in DC with temps below freezing and of course, plenty of wind! Hands and feet were frozen and it turns out my water was just as cold because it froze. 2 hrs in the freezing cold with no water… Miserable!
Live in Minnesota. So many cold runs! Christmas morning 5k was 1 F, today was 11F for about 3.5 miles. Coldest so far was a 5 miler at about 6 below 0 F.
A New Years Day polar bear swim in the Aquatic Park in San Francisco.
Today actually! It was around 8 C here in San Francisco this morning and spattering with rain. Did 8 miles with the gf around Golden Gate Park!
I have been suffering from ITBS injury this winter and have not been able to run much. The coldest weather I have run this winter was more than a month ago, it was around 40 F during a half marathon I ran.
Weird day really cold day at 0 Celsius at the Ávila mountain in Venezuela, night trail run at top of the mountain with friends at January 10th, just the clear night sky our head lamps, suunto ambit 2 just in case… Just perfection
Competed in the Banff, AB Olympic Triathlon. It was September and 6*C with torrential downpour rain in 30km/hr wind. On the plus side the lake had never been warmer at 11*C! It was a fun time considering it was my first time ever in a wetsuit along with booties, mittens, hat and swimcap.
I’m not proud of that, but no workouts outside on this winter :(
Woo, made it back to Seattle from DC just in time to enter (I think!).
My coldest run this winter would have to have been the Hellgate 100k in December. Although it wasn’t nearly as cold temperature wise as a lot of other runners posting here, it was the duration that made it bad. Almost 18 hours of 20-30 degrees with snow for about 14 hours. Will be doing it again this December!
Christmas eve bike ride trying to earn some extra calories for the holidays… 35 miles at 25 degrees Fahrenheit. I had to stop when every point of contact with my bike lost feeling!
My coldest run waa on January 22. I was on a business trip to a city called Sarpsborg. It was snowing and pretty windy. Hit the road 6 in the morning. It was snowing and pretty windy. Temperature was minus 7 degrees Celsius. According to my Garmin the felt temperature was -13 degrees Celsius. I had forgot to pack my gloves and my cap so I started the run with running with my hands down in my running pants. People driving by must have thought I’m crazy:-). For the next days run a colleague of mine borrowed me a hat and something to wear on my head:-)
Biked in below freezing temps the other week in Seattle. Hot packets weren’t enough to keep warm!
Coldest has been a quick 3 mile run in single digit temps. I couldn’t decide whether I should run faster to get done sooner or run slower to cut down on the wind chill.
I went to see my mother in sunny Napa, California and assumed that i would not need my overshoes because sunny means warm. During a two hour ride in 38*f I almost called my wife to pick me up since my toes were so cold but an hour in and they felt ok… Turns out they were completely numb. I couldn’t tell i was walking when i got back.