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.
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!
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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.
“Yes…I know, higher elbow, hands cupped a bit more, etc…”
Swimming is such an easy and difficult thing at the same time… have you read Total immersion ? and FASTER: Demystifying the Science of Triathlon Speed from Jim Gourley. It’s worth it.
Thanks again for your great blog :)
Yeah, I’ve read a bit. The thing that’s tough is that living in the states it was easy to have a lane to yourself (or even just half a lane) to slow down and focus on form. Within the regular pools, you’re spending most of the time either trying not to runover someone, or get runover. :-/
Bike Rental Guy: Ok Mr. Maker, do you have any specific wishes in the bike you rent?
Ray: A lot of space on the handlebars.
The VIRB footage shows the value in a more expensive, well designed, camera. everything I’ve used so far suffers badly from vertical rippling of the image when off road. Looks like I’m going to have to bite the bullet and invest in something like this.
Isn’t the Garmin Virb Elite soon getting an successor? Mabye its the Gopros frequency of new cameras that makes me wonder. Heard something about some new Garmin cameras?
GoPro’s I’d expect to see get refreshed per their usual fall timelines.
I don’t think we’ll see Garmin quite yet get refreshed. I’d expect it’d make sense for them to see what GoPro does first, and then re-act accordingly.
Which sensors do you usually apply on a rented bike?
Do you suggest something easily to carry around and to move from a bike to another?
I am interested in basic sensors like speed and cadence.
Thanks!
In this case I used the new Garmin magnetless ones for both speed and cadence: link to dcrainmaker.com
Hey Ray,
you took the picture with the Garmin, Shimano or the Gopro?
regards,
Tom
The underwater one? GoPro for those.
For the sunset fence photo, that was with a Canon 7D DSLR.
Thx Ray,
just wondering which cam to buy..as I want to use him as well for some holiday-pictures.
regards,
Tom
I can totally relate to getting cameras to function reliablely. I deal with all the little things with camera operations in extreme/unusual environments on a semi-regular basis shooting video for formation skydiving. (for fun) and although my current primary video camera is an old sony CX100 I’m liking where the action cameras are going (specifically the VIRB and Sony AS100 series cameras) for remote operation and control.
These types of locals would certainly make working out much more enjoyable.
Very cool footage btw.
Thanks for sharing!
Good to see you in my neck of the woods, keep up the great photos and reports! Looks like you were here during the Tour of Utah.
“Once again, purely to serve as a reminder that not all my athletic activities are in beautiful locales – here’s the route (seen above) of my 5K run that I did. ”
Haha, I appreciated that!
Ray on MTB, now i’ve seen it all xD
Thx for sharing.
Ah, running in SLC – I remember it well, I used to do a loop round downtown and Temple square when i travelled there. Definitely flat, but i never recalled the altitude affecting me much.
Looks like you were down at the Maverik Center….and is that an “Extended Stay America” you stayed at!?!
Yup, indeed the Extended Stay America. Even over a month ago, there was virtually no options for hotels for that week. Outdoor Retailer is the biggest convention of the year in SLC, and thus I had better luck finding hotels during the Olympics than this week.
I generally prefer smaller hotels like the Courtyard/Hilton Garden Inn/etc, and things like that since I don’t have to deal with complex parking and can just quickly walk out the door and be on my way. Also, usually cheap food options are nearby. I found this particular hotel to be a bit unclean and also a bit wonky in a few other ways…thus, I’d probably avoid this specific one in the future.
In retrospect, next year I’ll just stay out in Park City. It’s a super-easy drive, major highways and all – plus way more options for cool stuff post-event. Further, since OR isn’t quite as hectic as CES/Interbike/Eurobike, I don’t mind losing the 1hr of commute time (whereas at the other events every minute counts).
Hi Ray.
What mount are you using for the Hero3? Looks very minimal, I like it very much.
Thank you,
Mike
I’m using the K-Edge mounts. In general it’s my go-to mount for just about everything action-cam related. Just so much more sturdy*. At least, when I remember to take them off my desk at home prior to going on a trip…(sigh, forgot them for the the other two cameras).
*I generally don’t subscribe to the theory of needing a super-expensive K-Edge mount for holding one’s Garmin unit (that series of theirs), but for action cam mounts, having stability is key.
Thanks Ray for your reply. Was not aware that the K-Edge does the GoPro as well. Will definitely get one.
Lets hope one day you’ll share with us a photo of your accessories bag you take on your trips. I am sure there is one pick & go emergency bag to go with all the cables. The amount of watches and meters you carry in certain time for testing probably forces you to be ready any time – not to mention device’s own charging and syncing cradles for each of them.
Greetings from Prague.
Mike
Actually, it’s just giant bins of unsorted stuff. It’s kinda a mess. Sometimes it’s sorted, but then it slowly merges together when I can’t find something.
Getting more bins and a better system is something on the docket for this weekend. Part of the problem is lack of space in our small apartment, so it’s not super easy to find things because it has to be condensed down to fit in a minimal stack.
Thankfully at least on action cameras they all use either micro-USB or mini-USB. Whereas watches are all over the place charger-wise.