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.
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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.
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!
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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.
Have a question I was going to submit for the podcast but might just hold off for tomorrow… Question is regarding power meter calibration/offset;
Do I need to do this on both my head unit and watch? If so, how often? Also, is it recommended to complete both the calibration and or just the offset?
Also, just bought a Kickr and completed the spindown via the Wahoo app; do I also need to go through the calibration protocol on my watch/head unit?
Thanks in advance! Looking forward to tomorrow.
Do you mean if you have multiple head units (watch, Edge, Bolt, etc) connected to a single power meter where do you do the calibration?
(I believe all head units just do zero offset even if they call it calibrate on the device) Which would mean, is the calibration state saved on the device (so the device once calibrated will output the correct value) or on the head unit (so the head unit transforms the data to the correct value)
E3 Harelbeke is expected to finish that time.
Ray, FYI this post is not showing up on your main page, and it shows with no photo preview on your Blog page.
should be fixed now
Questions I need to know for figuring out if I should buy the HRM-Tri Performance Bundle or a different HRM separately (like the Polar H10):
1) Does it support Polar H10 or other BLE HRM’s that can store data while swimming and then syncing after swim like HRM-Tri since it supports BLE HRM’s? Or does the H10’s storage functionality only work with Polar Flow?
2) If it only works with Polar Flow, how bad is it to export it and merge it into the pool/openwater swim files for Garmin Connect using say, this: link to swimmingwatchtools.com or this: link to fitfiletools.com ?
3) Would the H10 support simultaneously broadcasting to treadmills over 5khz and to F5 over BLE so I can get treadmills’ heart rate cruise control and activity recording at the same time out of the same strap?
If yes to 1 or 2 (or maaaybe 3), I would lean towards getting the H10 and F5 separately rather than the HRM-Tri Performance Bundle, because then I can have one HRM strap that can do it all (swimming, treadmill HR controlled running, and everything else). Also then the transmitter could be buttoned into a different strap or one of those shirts with the sensors sewn in if I find them more comfortable, unlike the HRM-tri. I don’t remember if the H10 has running dynamics like the HRM-tri, but I’d probably want to get footpods for treadmill distance anyways, which I presume the HRM-tri can’t really help with.
Questions I’m just curious about:
4) Can the F5 rebroadcast the optical HR over bluetooth to say, my PC or certain phone apps? I’d like to overlay my heart rate while streaming games on twitch, and it’d be nice if I didn’t have to wear anything extra. Otherwise I think I can use an ANT+ dongle but that limits my overlay options slightly.
5) To anybody who got any Sapphire Edition: what is the color of the extra bands of the Sapphire Editions? Seems hard to find out what extra band you get, everywhere just says there’s an extra band in the box but not the color of the extra band. A Clever Training rep said the extra band was always black. Is that true? Because I was planning on getting Sapphire Black w/ black bands…
Thanks to anybody who can help with any of those questions, and especially to Ray for all this!
Concerning 5: isn’t it answered in Ray’s hands-on? link to dcrainmaker.com
Fenix 5S – $599: White bezel with white silicone band (band officially called ‘Carrara’)
Fenix 5S – $599: Silver bezel with turquoise silicone band
Fenix 5S – $599: Silver bezel with black silicone band
Fenix 5S Sapphire – $699: Black bezel with black band (+ includes a yellow silicone band)
Fenix 5S Sapphire – $699: ‘Champagne’ bezel with gray suede band (+ includes a white silicone band)
Fenix 5S Sapphire – $849: ‘Champagne’ bezel with golden color metal band (+ includes a black silicone band)
Fenix 5 – $599: Slate gray bezel with black silicone band
Fenix 5 – $599: Slate gray bezel with yellow silicone band
Fenix 5 – $599: Silver gray bezel with granite blue silicone band
Fenix 5 Sapphire – $699: Black bezel with black silicone band (+ includes a yellow silicone band)
Fenix 5 Sapphire – $849: Slate gray bezel with metal band (+ includes a black silicone band)
Fenix 5X Sapphire – $699: Slate gray bezel with black band
Fenix 5X Sapphire – $849: Slate gray bezel with metal band (+ includes a black silicone band)
Oh wow, I have read that article like 5 times, and somehow still missed paying attention to the extra band. I feel like an idiot now.
Thanks! Now to just get the H10 stuff answered assuming Ray hasn’t already answered that too.
Someone ask about the impending Garmin FR93X!
Agreed, its been leaking for ages and its even been seen in print now (Triathlete Magazine) and unintentionally in a Youtube clip from CleverTraining. The only people not talking about it seem to be Garmin and Ray.
We should all know by now that Ray has the utmost integrity around NDA’s and never comments on unreleased products – that is part of his unique value proposition.
But i’d take the lack of official info from Garmin and Ray as a good sign that the release in imminent. Fingers crossed the announcement is shortly after the in depth review for the Fenix 5…..
A very simple question – I’ll try to ask tomorrow but in case something comes up…
Will the Ant+ standard ever include a data stream to report power meter battery level? It seems quite odd that with all the power-related fields that I can choose on my Garmin or other brand head unit, I can’t see the battery level of my power meter.
Pioneer reports this, if you use its head unit. But why don’t other power meters report battery life and why don’t head units have this field available? It seems like something that would be both very useful and very easy to implement.
3am for me in Sydney. Do I stay up late or get up early??
Saturday ‘morning’? Definitely stay-up late.
Hi!
I have a question about the functioning. The question concerns Fenix3.The question concerns the search and binding to GPS satellites and Glonass.The clock does not accept satellite signals categorically if there was no device synchronization via the Garmin Express programWhat kind of a sensitive receiver? Previously, such a disgusting behavior on the FR610 was not seen.
Glonass is not used at all.
In any case, the accuracy does not increase. Despite the fact that I live in Russia and the number of Glonass satellites covering more of our GPS satellites.
Sorry for my english.
It’s Google
best regards
Sergey from Penza
Hi Ray,
Thank you very much for another amazing in depth review as always.
Having said that, there is one test I wish you could have done. That is the accuracy of its ultra trek mode.
According to Garmin, they improved the accuracy of the mode by utilizing its accelerometer. I hope it is true.
As an ultra distance runner, that feature is more relevant than ever since they changed its charging connecter design so now you can not charge while you are wearing it. Previously I just use regular tracking mode and recharge whenever I need it. Now I can’t do that with this watch (as well as 920XT for whatever the reason).
I think that is the only flaw in this otherwise incredible device.
I know it’s not easy to test more than 24 hours of one continuous workout and comparing it to the other (such as Fenix 3) but if you could test it somehow that would be amazing and that gives me a definite green light to buy this watch.
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Hi Ray. Thanks for the live stream. This is a big ask but If you don’t ask…
Is there an easy way you can link to each question? Say you talked about the Fenix 5 a number of times. I’m imagining a list of links on a page with the topic/summary of each question. I could scan that list & hop to the Q&As relating to the Fenix 5. You have 1.5hrs of sports tech goodness and if it was easy to find topics of interest that would be really handy. Just a thought.
In theory yes…but in practice no.
So Facebook actually times each question to the video. So that’s great. The problem is with 244 questions, I can’t answer them all the split second they’re answered. Thus, the timing ends becoming largely useless. :(
On the bright side for you – there were a ton of Fenix 5 related questions – so basically you can listen to the whole thing. :)
By the way, your product comparator still doesn’t highlight the Fenix 5 as one of the options when you select “Tri” under the “Product Use” drop-down menu. In fact, none of the drop-downs for that section highlight it. Given that you officially said in that Facebook live that it’s probably the best triathlon watch for now and that it seems to be pretty decent to quite good for all the categories there, I’m guessing you just hadn’t added that yet.
Thanks again for answering our questions! I look forward to the cookie – I mean… “business” post with much anticipation. I’ve been researching which cookies to buy for a long time now and just haven’t been able to find a good reviewer who really goes into detail about them all.
Grr…I always forget about those checkboxes. Literally, that’s all they are – just checkboxes on my side. Just fixed it for Fenix 5, and about 5 other products since early January.
Sorry – and thanks!
I’m a little late listening to this in the podcast version but regarding the testing of Ultra Trac battery life, would a mechanical watch winder provide enough movement to trigger the accelorometer? There are some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon,($40ish range) and the cover would probably help prevent pigeon pecking as well.