Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $699, 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!
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.
Don’t get flowers they are dead already
Make watts! Not War!
Happy Valentines to you two!! Enjoy the day!
Just keep doing what you are doing Ray, it seems to be working ;-)
Ray should show he loves The Girl so much he’d be willing to go untracked/device free for the entire day. Hopefully distraction free ha can plan an awesome valentines. You are of course welcome (encouraged) to document the related trauma for all of us readers.
would be sweet!
Valentines idea….after he makes dinner have a nice evening without talk of gps watches, trainers, action cameras, drones or heart rate monitors! Cheers!
Here’s to the Maker Household — years of solid tech information and wisdom which still continues unchecked, and increasingly in recent years more light on the family and human side, not to mention the Canadian connection, to give us, really, a package we all can love, an appropriate sentiment for Valentine’s Day!
Thanks for the reminder about this Thursday!
Surprise her early with a cute stuffed animal and chocolates. Then on Valentine’s Day, stay in and cook an amazing meal.
thanks for doing the giveaway!
Find her love language and show her how much you care
I signed myself up for a half marathon, and my husband for a 100 mile ride on our wedding anniversary a few years ago. That’s romance, right?
Get your Valentine a wine soaked weekend touring wineries in Stellenbosch!
All three of you Rainmaker’s just savior the day.
Hopefully at least dinner and wine for Valentine’s Day :)
Dinner and a movie!
I’m getting a color printer for VD. I hope you get something just as nice. :D
I love the newsletter and look forward to it arriving in my in box each week. I hope Ray treats you like a Queen on Valentine’s Day!!
Hi Ray. That “girl” of yours is pretty special. You know, just sayin’……
Thanks for this! :)
Hand crafted cards are always better than anything store bought
I’m pretty sure my significant other won’t consider me buying a new bike toy on valentines day a good gift for her … But I’m willing to try it anyway.
Love the newsletter! More often than not, I am more interested in what ‘the girl’ has to say, and then adventures abroad. Love hearing that everyone struggles with the work-family-couples-kids balance.
Sounds like you and Ray just had a wonderful V Day escape a week early.
Take the Girl out to dinner Ray!
hi!
One of these days I’ll win a DC giveaway!
Breakfast in bed!
Ray, I bet she’d LOVE a pizza oven. ;-)
Hold out for the pizza oven!
Hi! Maybe trying to draw an heart with Strava or any tracking app for running ? :P
The list of possibilities is endless, but Valentine’s Day has to start with him serving you breakfast-in-bed! Thanks and have a happy day!
Hope your Valentine’s day is filled with some delicious eats ;)
The two of you always have such amazing experiences together. We often see the activities related to travels or products. Perhaps a simple and elegant candle lit dinner, away from the buzz of normal life. Target conversation, talk about the day you met and the immediate weeks post that. Happy valentines.
Thanks for the newsletters!
I think chocolates and a kids-free hour to go for a run would make The Girl happy!
Hello hello! Is the open to Canadians?
Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
Romantic weekend at the ice hotel in Iceland
Seriously dude, do something nice for the woman who makes your life wonderful!
Valentines in wine country. Stellenbosch (sic).
Go for a nice dinner!
I think Ray should give you everything on “the” list. Mo pizza, mo love!!!
Ray should definitely provide you with breakfast in bed!
Hey Ray-a great gift for Bobby would be for you to take the Peanuts for a while. (Which he actually seems pretty good about anyway)
As the proud father of two young Acorns I know that the most romantic Valentines present I could provide would be an extra long sleep in for my partner.
Do not serve SPAM. Do not serve SPAM!
Ray, knock out what remains on your honey do list or surprise her by doing something you know she wants done but hasn’t told you yet. May be hard considering you are away from home…..
And of course flowers/chocolates etc!
Cooking a nice dinner always seems like a good thing for Valentine’s
Always enjoyed reading the newsletter especially the thoughts from the Girl! Enjoy your times in Capetown!
Long time follower and fan of your product reviews! Long time runner, newbie cyclist, and a novice tech at best. Nothing gets bought or considered without a read on your page. Very much enjoy The Girl as well. Look forward to the newsletter and all things in the Maker household. :) Thanks!
Hey Ray, be nice to The Girl!
Love your newsletter. Get your lovely wife a racing tandem for valentines day
I really enjoy reading your newsletter. Sure, I like Ray’s gadgets but at the end of the day I also appreciate the point of view of someone more like me, who struggles to fit exercise into a full life. Sorry I don’t have any romantical ideas for you!
I can think of nothing more romantic than sharing watches.
I can use the code to gift to myself? Jajajaja
Sincerely Rita February, somewhere nice and warm preferably to a city you haven’t been before!
I just read the pizza oven idea I think that I can vouch for that for him… Err for you LOL
Looking forward to winning
Hi! Maybe for Valentine’s, Ray should get his sweetie a new bike? What doesn’t say “Love” like a new bike? :-)
Mainly to let you know I love reading your newsletter, especially the personal stuff.
A family trip to the tonys chocoloney tasting shop would be a fun valentines adventure. Kiddos will probably enjoy it the most though!
I will used for give a super special gift to my boyfriend and support him with his training :)
Hi! Loved your ‘race’ report :-) Glad I’m not the only one who turns up to just do an ‘easy run’ but can’t help racing when the gun goes off!
Love the newsletter. Keep it flowing.
Wishing you and all a very Happy Valentines Day!…..Ray- skip the chocolates this year and prepare a romantic meal with your own talents.
I would rather have a cupcake, but will settle for the Clever Training credit…
South African dudes, come forth and offer peer-pressure ideas. ;)
Love the newsletter. Do you ever think about going back and revisiting something after you have already tried it?
The Girl deserves flowers, wine, and day at the spa without the Peanuts!
Happy Valentine’s Day
hi! DCR
Arts and crafts make for the best Valentine’s Day!
Hi! Just posting a comment….. :)
Hello, enjoy the warm weather
do nothing related to sports on V day :)
Happy Valentines Day!
I have been reading your blog for 6-7 years and enjoy your exploits. Although, I do get lost in some of the gear talk sometimes, I have gotten valuable info. Seeing as Bobbie was a college soccer player, I am sure she would appreciate tickets to some of the Women’s World Cup Soccer games this summer in France. Perhaps Canada/Netherlands in Riems. I am sure she would appreciate some other games too.
I see a pizza oven in Rays future for Valentines Day!!
Hi Ray,
As you are in South Africa, juts get a good bottle of wine in a meaty place looking towards the amazing sunset.
Romantic?? Imagine the number of gadgets that could be tested on a bicycle built for two.
Happy Valentine’s day!
Tickets to this summer’s women’s World Cup in France! See you there.
Ray should run / ride a route that in the shape of: B+R4Eva (or TG+DCR4Eva or some other variant of your names/terms of endearment :) )
Happy Valentines in SA.
I wonder what Ray has in store for Bobbie.
Poor Lucy BTW
Get the girl a pizza (in a pizza oven) ;)
Ray should buy the Girl some chocolate espresso gu’s and a nice real cappuccino for Valentine’s day.
I heard long walks on the beach are nice :)
Gday
Cook a romantic dinner
Good luck with Valentine’s Day!
A nice dinner prepared by someone else is always nice.
I love DCRainmaker and his budding bromance with GP Lama, share some of that love with the girl, Ray!
Hope he takes you on a canal tour where he can not test any electronic gadget and focus on the newsletters author.
Nice to hear in this week’s newsletter that South Africa knows what a Flat White is! This Aussie expat is still waiting for small-town Florida to work it out (no, Starbucks doesn’t count)
Picnic, a classic and especially good if you go with a selection of fine cheeses.
I thought he was building you a pizza oven?
Pick me
Tip #1 do not give any electronic sporting equipment as a gift
Tip #2 no helpful practical gifts, insert stroller coffee cup, roomba, etc
Tip #3 do consider a spa treatment getaway
trying for the gift card
Hi, I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s day. Love the newsletter.
Go for a picnic via a bicycle built for 2!
Hi Ray. I love your reviews. You really can’t go wrong with flowers. I like potted plants because they last so long
Come on Ray – spoil your girl!
Ray couldn’t be any more romantic than to knock out a few items on his pizza oven “to do list.”
My husband never surprises me at valentine‘s day. But I think your wife would be happy to have an evening with you alone. So organise a baby sitter and take here out for a romantic dinner.
Open a good bottle of red wine. Gather the family and celebrate their beauty. Too often the singular focus of work mutes how wonderful the family is.
Two words: Pan Dora
Thank you for your great work! HappyValentine!
Perhaps for the ultimate Rainmaker Valentine’s Day, Ray could whisk The Girl away on a romantic tandem bike ride on a bicycle trainer built for two! Or flowers and chocolates. Yeah maybe flowers and chocolates.
Ray, May I suggest a romantic sunset hot-air balloon ride with the ‘girl’ as a Valentine treat experience?
Roses are red violets are blue, etc etc
Ray, how about a spa day for the girl
Hello Ray,
The way to the heart of a woman in the great Dutch region must include stroopwafel’s! If you can find a bunch of flowers that have not yet bloomed, they can also double as edible blooms! Your welcome!! Success with your Valentine Gift search!
Happy V-Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope I win so my wife will get a gift on the same level that Mrs. Rainmaker is sure to get.
hello
Happy Valentines!
Ray – nothing beats a massage as a gift. Though be careful, very careful. My wife has now taken up with last Valentines masseuse
Keep on being an awesome couple and living a dream and sharing some goodness with the rest of us fellow human beings, I love Rays candid reviews and can only imagine how conversations must go at the Maker house and I love your guys humor, keep it up! Thanks Again!
Finish up your list so you can get that pizza oven.
Take her on a mtb ride with a picnic backpack to a damn area :-)
Keep it simple
I hope you both have a brilliant valentine’s Day
Ooooohhhh, secret style, I like it! Ray you could plan a little spa day at the Babylonstoren farm. It’s an amazing, edible garden farm, wine tasting, spa, two restaurants and beautiful accommodation. Out towards Stellenbosch, tours of the garden are free and very informative.
Hi, we do normally celebrate March 8th, not February 14th. But why not to be romantic one extra day?
Love your newsletter and sense of humor! Go Girl!
Wish you and Ray a nice Valentins day!
Is a Pizza Oven romantic?
I’m not an expert on romance… Maybe a relaxing Valentine’s 10K?
No valentines tips sorry, tapering for a 30km run this weekend.
What a great idea! Would love to win tot finally buy a tri-watch.
Ooh yes please
I think Ray should take you out for Dinner and more Wine drinking
You can try and go to a comedy show, if those haven’t been booked yet. Open mics around the city? Concert from a band you used to listen to as a teen? Get kaiseki for dinner (but those might also be booked already)? Go chocolate tasting? Rent a moto and go to the backcountry?
Idk just thoughts from a guy who’s single. Have fun!
Valentine’s day is a commercial construct that should not be stimulated ;-)
Sorry, no expert about romance here. But I would like to try my luck with the giveaway. Thanks!
Do an ocean-side (or at least hill-side ocean-viewing) dinner at sunset! Bonus points if Ray cooks it, and sets it up in a quiet location (bringing a table+chairs Diner en Blanc-style).
a valentine poem instead of suggestions as I haven’t got my wife anything either (I have taken her skiing though)
Roses are red
violets are blue
some poems rhyme
but this one doesn’t
For you I wish that Ray arange a trip to Sharks board outside Durban(something like umchlanga rocks) and having a nice trip and learn something new about sharks.
//Paul
Seeing as you are in Cape Town, there’s lots to do for Valentine’s day! One of my favourites is going to have lunch under the Camphor trees at the Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West. There are also kiddies picnic baskets for the peanuts :).
Amazing grounds for you to explore and the peanuts to run around.
A picnic in Kirstenbosch – followed by a hike (if you have brought carriers with you).
Something romantic.. long run without kids?
Did Adam and Eve ever have a date… nope, they had an apple!
(I suggest more than an apple for Valentine’s!!)
Hope you guys are enjoying sunny Cape Town!
Happy tandemtines day!!
Ray should just take som free evening to spend only with you!
Love the channel especially the not obliged to be nice attitude, it shows that you’re honest in what you say and the review is a genuine consumer point of view. Keep it up
P.S. The girl section makes for a great read too, very interesting to get an insight into the Maker household
How about a romantics dinner cruise on Amsterdams famous waterway just before sunset, Happy Valentine
love reading the blog and newsletter.
Happy Valentine’s Day guys – is Great White cage diving the right message to send on the 14 th Ray? ?
Hello, I am in.
May I suggest a moonlit ocean swim? Of course with a romantic red light in the DCR safety buoy
how about getting a babysitter and then quality time for you two?
maybe a spa visit, massage, and then romantic dinner for two?
I visited Amsterdam last February and it was great, but definitely cold. South Africa seems like a much better choice for this time of year!
Spa recovery weekend for Mrs. DCR.. No kids…
Something like a romantic 10k or sprint triathlon?
;-)
Me wanty CleverTraining voucher!
Ray, drop the girl off at an all day spa and take care of the peanuts by yourself for the day.
Just be yourself and that’s it!
Hi there, The Girl is doing an awesome job with the newsletter. I think she totally deserves some Valentine’s love.
have a nice time in South Africa!
Hello Ray and The Girl! Thanks for all the supercool reviews. You are #1 goto place for sportstech news and reviews.
No need for gifts, try breakfast in bed and a lie-in
Wouldn’t it be great if Ray baked a heart shaped pizza in his own pizza oven for valentine’s? ;)
Hot air balloon ride
Ray go for it!!
WTF, now even secret giveaways :)
So the accounting shown in the “5 random things” has paid off then?
Love the newsletter. Ray, skip the flowers and chocolates and take the kids out for an afternoon so your better half can enjoy some alone time.
Hi secret Giveaway !
Have a nice Valentine’s day !
Baguette in Jersey pocket and Champaign in the bottle holder
love this prize
Ray, I recommend the Romantik Marathon in Fuessen, Germany!
I’m short of any romantic idea; why not some kindy duo-style triathlon? Enjoy! And thanks for this sweet intention.
Tried to come up with a clever idea, but the pizza oven one on top is just impossible to beat as far as romantic gestures go…
One year I made my wife a “I love you more than my bike” card, not sure it was entirely true but she appreciated the thought :)
So do that. This year I’ve made cheese cake and fudge.
Hello, hugs ? all round.
Yup, pizza oven
When the Girl makes such a generous offer for the followers you must give her a special Valentine’s evening.
Valentine’s Day options in S-A should be easy! A sampling of some of the finest wines of South Africa and a romantic dinner on one of the estates, should do the trick!
Ggood ol’ fashion “hello”.
I like SPAM in the right moment. Perhaps a SPAM pendant for your lady, Ray?
Great newsletter!
Spoil The Girl rotten
That would be great
Love the newsletter! Home made pizza would be cool…
Dears!
For sure it must be a romantic evening, just you 2, with a bottle of rwd wine and … Fondue.
Do some sport before and enjoy the evening, so do I ;-)
Tobi
Love the inspiration over here :-)
Hi!! Have a great Valetine’s!
Awesome idea, I’m in :-)
Keep up the great reviews Ray & Mrs
Ray should turn off all gadgets and technology for the evening. No screens for you either ?
Maybe a run together?
Hello!
How about flowers?
Happy Valentine’s day!
How about a third peanut? ;)
Feliz día de San Valentín desde Madrid!
1:1 without kids would be nice
Hey Ray, take her skiing somewhere in Alps in a spa retreat! Girl you can thank me later!!!
jointed training, just you and me
hello