I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Tag Archives: CES2015
A Sneak Peek at the Cycliq Fly12 Front Mounted Bike Camera Light
Update: My full in-depth review of the Fly12 is now posted! Swing over and check it out here. Some of you might remember last year my post on the Fly6 rear-facing bike camera and light. This unit was a combination … Read More Here
A look at Sony’s new 4K action cam, crazy concurrent multi-cam support
Last week at CES Sony announced their latest action cam, the Sony FDR-X1000V, which is capable of shooting 4K video. They also updated their HDR-AS camera line with a new 200V version (HDR-AS200V). These came as a surprise to approximately … Read More Here
A brief look at the Mio Alpha2 optical heart rate watch
Mio was on-hand at CES showing off both their recently announced devices from this past fall (Mio Fuse and Mio Velo), as well as demoing their just announced device: The Mio Alpha2. The Mio Alpha2 builds upon the features found … Read More Here
Polar announces M400 footpod support, also smartphone notifications for V800/M400/A300
Today at CES Polar has made two fairly solid and notable announcements. Both of these updates continue to increase the competitiveness of the products included, but especially the M400 – which was already my top pick for a sub-$300 running … Read More Here
A sneak peek at two new PowerTap products
Like almost every other company in the sports technology world, everyone is here at CES. And that’s true even when you don’t actually have a booth, such as the case with CycleOps/PowerTap. Despite the lack of floor space I had … Read More Here
The Guess ‘How Many Steps I Walked at CES 2015’ Giveaway!
When it comes to walking, I have no week at any point during the year where I tally up a greater number of steps than that of CES. And this year was definitely no different. It’s been a crazy packed week (with … Read More Here
A fitting Misfit update
While standing around chatting when we briefly crossed paths on the running leg of the first ever Las Vegas 140.6 yesterday, Ray and I noticed the Misfit booth conveniently situated adjacent to the Polar booth. We flipped a virtual coin, … Read More Here
An update on the Dash, the wireless heart-rate monitoring music headphones
Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated products out there is The Dash, by Bragi. This tiny little set of pods sits in your ear and measures a cornucopia of athletic metrics from pace and distance, to heart rate and … Read More Here
A Very Strange CES Vegas 140.6
This year, as a promotion for their V800 multisport watch, Polar announced a rather unique twist on the iron-distance race format. Pro triathlete Tim Don stepped up to give the Las Vegas strip a glimpse of what a 140.6 triathlon … Read More Here
An update on the 4iiii Precision Power Meter
Quick update/note – July 27th, 2015: Many of you have asked when my review of the 4iiii Precision Power Meter will be released. While I received a number of test units back this spring, I’ve run into a bug/issue that … Read More Here
Seeing a crowd-funded project grow up: Sensoria
Amongst the multitude of vendor booths displaying at CES 2015, I noticed a rather large booth – mainly because they seemed to be swamped by crowds every time I wandered by. Dipping in for a closer look what really caught … Read More Here
First look at SmartMat, the connected yoga mat
The big catchphrase at CES this year is Internet of Things, and we’re now seeing that marketing prophecy manifest itself in all manner of wearable and non-wearable items. One in particular that caught my eye was this sensor-laden interactive yoga … Read More Here
A look at AmpStrip–the really cool heart rate sticker & activity tracker
Yesterday I got the chance to catch-up with FitLinxx, which is making the AmpStrip sticker that does 24×7 heart rate monitoring, step tracking, sleep tracking and even body temperature. But wait, I realize you’re probably still back on the ‘sticker’ … Read More Here
Hands-on with Garmin’s new Fenix3 multisport GPS watch with color screen
(Note: My Fenix3 In-Depth Review is now published and available here, go forth and enjoy all the details there instead!) Today, Garmin announced the latest iteration of their Fenix lineup with the Fenix3 multisport GPS watch. Described at its simplest … Read More Here
Hands-on with the Garmin Epix GPS mapping & multisport watch
Today Garmin introduced a full color mapping GPS wrist watch that doubles as a multisport watch – making for the first time they’ve merged the multisport world with their historically separate handheld mapping units. This new unit – the Garmin … Read More Here
Hands-on with the new Garmin Vivoactive GPS smartwatch, and the Garmin Vivofit2
Garmin has announced a metric crapton of products today, but it’s the Vivoactive that I’m probably most excited about. Or, at least, it’s the device I feel has the most potential and the widest possible appeal. But, perhaps I’m getting … Read More Here
Withings shows off new lower priced Withings Activité Pop
Overview: Here at CES Withings showed off their latest activity tracker, the Activité Pop. The Pop is a daily activity and sleep tracker but in a non-obvious form factor. It’s designed to look like a regular watch, but with the … Read More Here
Polar Announces A300 Activity Tracker Watch, also MyFitnessPal automatic sync support
The A300 Overview: This weekend ahead of CES here in Las Vegas, Polar has announced their latest activity tracking watch, the A300. This watch aims to take the M400 GPS watch, remove the GPS part, and then call it the … Read More Here
Welcome to CES 2015!
Yup, today kicks off another year at the biggest and most important gadget show on earth – the Consumer Electronics Show – aka CES. Held in Las Vegas each year the first full week of January, this event has long … Read More Here