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.
Huge congratulations to you and The Girl!
Woah… Congrats!!
Congrats
Simple advice if you think you are already busy. Keep a diary of what you do every evening for next few months. Then at the end of August look back at it and see how much free time you really had.
Mine daughter is now 17 months old and the jetlag is just about wearing off, but wouldn’t do a thing differently.
Huge congrats Ray!
I am too small person not to mention now that I have overseen this with a comment under Your ‘goodbye Microsoft’ post :-P
and Stuart is 100% correct! It’s actually funny how You realize back how much time We waste on just doing nothing before babies come.
and one last, multiply all this by 5 with a second baby :-P And what Stuart says, becomes real again: how much free time You had with just one baby hehehe
I wonder how 5 Random Things I Did This Weekend will look at the end of August ;-)
More to the point, is anyone going to check back over Ray’s “5 Random Things I Did This Weekend” posts for last November?
Congratulations!
Great news. At least you are well accustomed to lack of sleep!
I expect full power meter testing by the little one. Also…you should use the baby’s wrist for comparison purposes!
And now you can review baby bike trailers!
Félicitation a vous
Congrats to you both!
You and The Girl are very fortunate Ray. Wish you all the best. And your little one is going to be a beast of an athlete one day, with great genes and all the latest tech. :)
Bravo to the girl. She does the hardest job
Congrats Ray! Your sleep trackers will be working overtime, but it’s worth it.
Massive congratulations!
Congrats all 3 of you; and I guess you’ll be posting on “Sleep”-accuracy of different activity trackers by end of August … :-)
Congrats! You are in for one heck of a lifestyle change but with amazing rewards! Won’t be that long until you are “running” 1km “turkey trot” races proudly holding your little ones’ hand. Just don’t use your sport watch as it really messes up your VO2Max calculations.
Congrats to the whole family, life will never be the same after July :-) In a good way I mean.
I kinda figured from the opening picture. Congratulations!
Congratulations! Enjoy every moment.
Or feel free to not enjoy every moment. Lots of moments with little kids are right up there in the “can’t wait until I get the grandparent amnesia and forget how awful little kids are.” Congratulations and have fun!
Congrats to both of you
Congrats! Ensure the pint-sized product reviews are playtime. I do not know for sure but I presume France has child labor laws:-)
Congrats!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to you both.
Congrats!
Who would be better fit to test this Smartbe Intelligent Stroller? :-)
link to indiegogo.com
Congratulations to you both. I hope Lucy will not be too jealous!
Congratulations!! All the best!!
Congrats to you both! You are going to love the jogging stroller as a resistance trainer. Do all your long runs during nap time with the stroller and you won’t believe how light and fast you feel on race day. It’s probably the best piece of training equipment I own, and the best part is that it automatically increases resistance over time.
Congrats Again!
Wait – huh? Oh, I get it! Was half way through the comments before it clicked…
Congratulations!
Congrats to you and The Girl, Ray!!!
Now you’ll know what it is like to not having time for reviews… :-)
But it will be great for you!
Congrats!!!
Big congrats to you and the Girl! Interesting times ahead! :-)
/Henrik
Awesome congrats to you both :)
Congratulations! And I think you can forget about testing anything that involves sleeping for the next few years..
Congrats guys! Fantastic news!!
Congratulations. This is great news. This will be the best adventure of your lives.
Congrats!
Hi just popping on to recommend that you get link to amazon.co.uk its the only pregnancy / parent book thatI found that was any good.
Good luck
Congratulations to you both. Ray, in July remember what I realized 14 years ago. One of you should always be well rested, and only one of you is properly equipped to do those middle of the night feedings. Try not to let her wake you up.
Congratulations……It’ll bring you both nothing but joy. It’s the best thing that will ever happen to you. Make sure to spoil the girl snd take lots of photos of the ever changing belly as it flies in.
Congrats Ray!
Congrats!!
Congratulations! And great way to let us know. All the best to you, the Girl and your new family!
congrats and good luck !!!!!
enjoy. kids grow up very fast . . .
Congratulations to you both! So very happy for ya’ll.
Mazel, baby.
Sincere congratulations to your and Mrs. DCRainmaker! Looking forward to seeing the site evolve with the addition of this droplet!
First, congrats!
Second, there’s an error in your post. You’re not bringing on a new tester, you’re bringing on a new BOSS!
Scott nailed the name; if she’s still That Girl, then Droplet works well.
congratulations
Congrats Ray and Bobbie! So, what’s the next step on the cupcakery? Did you already do a post on this?
Best wishes to the DCR family!
Major congratulations to you and The Girl, Ray!
Congratulations to you both! A good time to have stepped back from all that flying you were doing with Microsoft.
Congratulations! There’s no end of baby tech these days…
Congrats!
As my people say: Mazel Tov!
(FWIW, based on 15 years of owning Bostons and almost 13 of having kids, Lucy may not know what’s coming, but she’s going to looooooooooooove it. You are about to become her third favorite person.)
Massive congrats, best wishes to you both, but more to “the girl” as she’ll be doing the heavy lifting for the short term!
Congrats to you and the Girl. Best post ever… by far!
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Congrats to you and The Girl and Lucy!!!
Wow, congrats to you both! You are lucky to have 1. The Girl, 2. the best time management possible! :-) Waiting for reviews of baby strollers, extended studies of sleep trackers and guides how to get more hours in a day.
Whoop, Whoop!
Awesome
Congrats – maybe you can use it as an opportunity to measure sleep deprivation :)
Congrats!
Congrats to you both! Hope everything comes out great!
Congratulations! I look forward to lots or reviews on baby monitors, bottle warmers, jogging strollers (Bob Ironman).
If you thought sports equipment blogging was time consuming, just wait! Also you have no idea how opinionated parents are. Welcome to a whole new ball game.
Congrats to you both! Can’t wait to see him/her review tricycle power meters!
Congratulations! May there be many cupcakes and much joy in your future!
Congrats!
wow, big news! congrats!!
congratulations!
Congratulations!! I hope good health is in order for mom and baby!
Congratulations! Great news!
Congrats Ray and Girl. I may only assume the sleep tracking parts is to see if they correctly identify 0 hours of continuous sleep for a long while, though…
Congratulations!!!
BIG Congrats!!
Fantastic news! Congrats to you both.
Congratulations!
Congrats !! Having a few children myself the best advice I can give is that this will be the most awesome experience for ya’ll and at the exact same time it will be a very challenging experience. Enjoy it all because it will be a blink of an eye and he/she will be all grown up.
Great news! Congrats to you both! And as often said in the comment fields, your life will never be the same again after July. After a few years you slightly have again more time to get some training in, and oh yeah, be prepared to gain some weight Ray, it seems to happen to all of us – dads! Getting it off afterwards is far more difficult then ever before.
Do not get me wrong, but I think best post ever ;-) And the kids scale, priceless!
Congrats!! !! !!
congrats!
Congratulations to both of you! Awesome news Ray!
Mazel tov!
Congrats to all!
Congrats!!!
Congratulations Ray! Best wishes for you and your wife and upcoming family member / employee :-)
Congratulations!
Great news!
Baby wearables are the next big thing:
link to sproutling.com
Mattel acquires baby health wearable maker Sproutling
link to mobihealthnews.com
Congratulations.
Your lives are in for a remarkable transformation!
Congrats!
Many congratulations! It’s always nice to get a glimpse of your life beyond sports tech, and I’m sure this little one will be quite an adventure!
Massive Congratulations Ray!!
My wife and I have our own “new employee” on the way in June, so I will keep an eye out for “training with the wee one” articles here :)
WOOT! That’s awesome news! Congrats!
Should we expect reviews of various running strollers?
Ray
Congratulations! 16, 17 weeks?
pure awesomeness!
Amazing! Congratulations for both!
Congratulations to you both with this fantastic news – and delighted to managed to go skiing before the fun begins.
As a fairly new dad, I can’t overstate the awesomeness of running with a baby stroller (in my case a Bob Ironman). Going to be great to hear your take on juggling parenthood with fitness in the months to come.
Congrats!
Congrats!
Congrats. Things will be even more exciting from July.
Congrats… and well crafted announcement!
Congratulations! Time to invest in a Chariot or some similar baby trailer.
congrats mate.. we are also in june…. the gadget budget has increased!!
So happy for you both.
Parenting is the most important job in the world!
ST
CONGRATS! I had to read between the lines at least three times just to make sure this was for real! DEFINITELY interested to see how you manage the blog, training, newborn responsibilities, etc.
Ow great many congrats! Being dad of a beautiful son of 5 months old, I’m really looking forward into your lifehacking tips how to combine triathlon with being dad and having a fulltime job :)
Hi Ray and The Girl, congratulations! what a great news…..
Mazel Tov!!
Congrats! We’re a few months ahead of you, expecting a girl in April!
Best news ever. Congrats, so excited for your family!
Congrats you two! That is very exciting!
So, I guess we will some jogging stroller reviews at some point then as well? :)
Congratulations!!
Lots of sleep tracking…! Hah, tracking lots of interrupted sleep you mean. :-)
Congratulations, all the best!
Congratulations to you both!!
All the best!
Congrats on the baby! From a father of 4, you’re in for a fun ride.
Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hope nothing but the best for you and the gril
Very happy for both of you and your puppy! I recommend a Bob stroller! I have over 3500mi on two of them. Have fun!
Congratulations Ray, to the Girl and to you!!!!!!!!
Congrats. Best thing I heard is – the days are long but the years are short.
Any chance you stick an activity tracker from birth? :p
super great news! congrats to both of you
Congratulations! :)
Mazal Tov. Looking forward to reviews about kids technology.
I see what you did there.
Congrats to you both!
Haha, congratulations to both.
(I hope you won’t be referring to it as “the Child”…)
Congratulations to both of you! and start going to bed at 7 P.M., you won’t be able to do that in the next few years, BUT you will love it!! Wlcome to the club
Woot! congratulations to The Girl and yourself Ray :D
So much fun and frustration in one small parcel, it’s a real paradox
Really looking forward to the updates but as a dad I will also understand if you drop off the radar altogether :)
Congratulations and best wishes, with much hope that fatherhood brings you lots of joy and love.
Congrats Ray, The Girl, and Big Sister Lucy!
Congratulations all,
Great to see the DCR family growing :)
Congratulations to you and The Girl, Ray! That’s fantastic!
Ray, I would say well done, but I will leave that for the Girl to decide. Anyway congrats!
Congratulations and good luck!
Congrats!!!!
Love this announcement and the news. Congrats to you both! Excitement awaits :)
Congratulations. :) Very happy for you and The Girl.
Is this baby going to have the most data ever collected on a single human being :)?
Congrats.
Congratulations and best of luck.
Wow, BIG news!!
Lots of congrats and I wish the Girl a (relatively) smooth experience giving birth.
We do also expect a torough review of your home-made product as well ofc ;)
Congrats! Looking forward to the .fit file comparisons!
Congratulations! To you and The Girl!
One gadget for you to test out, have a look at: http://whisbear.com ;)
Brilliant news! Some children’s bike seat testing on the horizon!
Congratulations! Your lives will never be the same.
Congrats to you!
the Individual will be very welcome!
Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.
I’ve heard that Garmin will release a brand new model in July too: the Fenix 3 B (B like Baby).
This new device will include heart rate monitor, temparature sensor, real-time diapers’ content analyzer, cry decryption system (to determine whether the Fenix 3 B is crying for food, attention, sleep or diaper replacement). The Fenix 3B will be available in pink and blue and will be built with a bacteria / virus proof material. The Fenix 3B will include a fast-release mechanism in order to clip it to your pram.
Congrats! Awesome news!
Congrats Ray and “The Girl”
Excellent news! Congratulations. triathlon plus baby – just like me!
Go for some long bike rides before the arrival – and a Holiday!
Congratulations to you both! These are exciting times!
Congratulations! As a proud father of a 17 month old, I can trot out all the cliches about it being an eye-opening, life-changing, life-affirming experience. But that is all true. Enjoy every moment!
Congratulations!
What you’re saying is you have this product review in the hopper?
link to firstresponse.com
Congratulations! Just think of all the new data points you get to measure!
Wonderful news, congratulations and good luck!
Fantastic news Ray!! Congrats for you and the girl, hope to see a new range of products tested in a few months!!
Congrats Ray!
Both congratulations with this news of expectibg a junior tri-athlete ;)
Now you can test stroller buggies for running too!
Mazel tov!
Well, congratulations guys :)
Mazal tov!
Congratulations to you & The Girl!
However from what I learned from my friends in similar circumstances is that you won’t need a sleep tracker ?
All the best to you three!
Congrats! Super excited for the new contributor’s reviews as I am expecting my own his summer as well!
Congrats to you both and best wishes.
What fantastic news, Ray! Congratulations and many blessings to you and The Girl and your families.
Congratulations!
Many congratulations to you both :-)
Congratulations to both of you!
A Nice alarmclock on it’s way unfortunately it will wake you at the most crazy times ;)
Great news. Congratulations. Wishing the best for you and your families.
Congrats!
Awesome news and a huge congratulations! I wish you guys the best.
Congratulations!!
Congrats to you and TG!
Now that I’m the father of 2 I sometimes wonder.. “What exactly did I use to do with all this time before they were born?? Must have been annoying”
Congrats on the mini-rainmaker in the making!
Congrats to you both! I found that I was able to continue doing everything I did pre-baby…but just not able to devote the as much time.
Triple citizenship for the new babe?
Wow, congratulations to you both! Great news! Give up on sleep, fortunately you didn’t need too much of that ;-)
congrats ray – you may have the youngest person ever with an activity tracker
Congrats! Fantastic news!
Congratulations to you and the The Girl.
Congrats!!
Excellent news! My best wishes for you and The Girl,
Congratulations!
Enjoy it, they grow up really fast.
Congrats to you and the Girl! Enjoy the expansion with all that brings with it.
Congratulations to you both, that is fantastic news …
Congrats you 3!
Great news Ray! Best wishes for you and The Girl!
Congratulations!
Congrats! So what will be the expansions first Garmin? I assume that you need GPS tracking when they start to crawl, with an app for tracking (like roadid).
Is there a strava/training peaks set up already?
Congrats to you both on your “different tack” (pet peeve)
Congrats Ray! I’m sure the little one will have all the best chances in life!
Wonderful News! Congratulations you three!
Congrats!!!
Congrats!!
Congrats to you both! Sleep now while you can ;)
Congrats. Being a father is the best job I’ve ever had. Awesome news.
Hey, big news! Congratulations to you both!
Congratulations!!! Waiting for hands-on or “first impressions” post XD.
Congratulations the the two of you! Exciting times are ahead I’m sure.
I really like the way you announced this.
Congrats to you and the girl! All the best on the next 18-25 years of product testing ?
Congrats to y’all!
Well done! Congratulations!
Many Congrats.
Bang goes your awesome FTP though…