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
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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.
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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 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: ANT+
Quick How-To: Garmin Wearable Heart Rate Broadcasting to Apps
If you’re spending a bunch more time lately indoors using fitness apps to maintain your sanity you might not realize that you can broadcast your heart rate right from your Garmin watch straight to your favorite app – thus skipping … Read More Here
Polar OH1 Plus Optical HR Sensor In-Depth Review
And just like that, Polar now makes ANT+ devices. The Polar OH1 is one of two devices today that Polar has announced that are getting ANT+ compatibility. The other being the H10. But I cover that (and thoughts around possible … Read More Here
My 2017 ANT+ Symposium Keynote Video
Each of the last 7 years I’ve gone to the ANT+ Symposium held in the mountains outside of Calgary. As always, this annual event caps off the busy sports tech conference season (following Interbike & Eurobike). But unlike those two … Read More Here
My 2016 ANT+ Symposium Keynote and Session Videos
For the last 6 years I’ve gone to the ANT+ Symposium held in the mountains outside of Calgary. This annual event caps off the busy sports tech conference season (following Interbike & Eurobike). Unlike those other two events though, this … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 2: 4iiii’s updates, ANT+ updates, the Huawei TalkBand Activity Tracker, LG Lifeband, and the SanDisk ring camera
Here’s the second in my series of posts from Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week, covering the fitness and sport segment. I’ve been breaking them into about 3-5 company highlights each, with a few more posts to come still. To … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 1: Fitbit Force tidbits, Sony Core activity tracker and new Sony waterproof ANT+ phones, update on Mio Link
While last night’s big news was Samsung’s introduction of multiple smart watches, a new activity tracker, and their flagship S5 mobile phone – there are 8+ massive halls full of other companies exhibiting at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain … Read More Here
Hands on with Samsung’s new waterproof S5, activity tracker and Gear watches–with built-in heart rate sensors
Tonight in Barcelona, Samsung announced their latest flagship phone – the Samsung S5, as well as three additional devices. Ahead of the event, Samsung touted that fitness would be one of the core pillars of the event, and it didn’t … Read More Here
CES Roundup Part 2: Garmin, ANT+, 4iiii, BKOOL, Withings, O-Synce, Outside Interactive, LG, Pebble, Casio, Opryx, Glucovation
We left off yesterday with Part 1 of my CES Roundup, which covered new products and notables from the following companies: Sony, Geonaute, Contour, VOXX, Jaybird, Kreyos, Aftershokz, Reebok, Magellan, and Moxy. Today, we dive into the second half of … Read More Here
Samsung to add ANT+ to full range of mobile devices, plus a look at the S Health app
ANT+ being added to all recent and new Samsung mobile devices: Probably the single biggest bit of news that came out of the ANT+ Symposium last week was Samsung’s announcement that they’ll be releasing ANT+ to all S4 devices in … Read More Here
Curiosity/Survey: Do you use a different device for running than cycling?
Over the past few weeks as I’ve been talking to folks in the industry a point that keeps coming up is whether or not folks care that Bluetooth Sensors (i.e. HR straps, cycling Speed/Cadence sensors, etc…) can’t be concurrently paired … Read More Here
First Look: Wahoo Fitness RFLKT+ with ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart Bridge, Barometric Altimeter
Last night Wahoo Fitness unveiled the next edition of their bike computer – the RFLKT+ (pronounced Reflect Plus). The RFLKT+ builds upon the previous RFLKT unit that was announced about a year ago by adding in native ANT+ bridging functionality … Read More Here
2012 ANT+ Symposium Technology Roundup
You saw my presentation to the ANT+ Symposium yesterday, highlighting my keynote session that I gave last week. However, I wanted to loop back and highlight some of the things that were delivered to me, rather than me delivering to … Read More Here
My 2012 ANT+ Symposium Presentation
For the third straight year in a row, I’ve presented a keynote session yesterday at the ANT+ Symposium. In presenting here I’m able to address the vast majority of the sports technology industry, from the big player names you hear … Read More Here
4iiii’s debuts Viiiiva Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ Consolidator Heart Rate Strap
Today at Interbike, 4iiii’s quietly showed off a new heart rate strap that contains both a ANT+ chip and a Bluetooth Low Energy chip within it (Bluetooth Smart). At first glance, you may wonder why this is important – but … Read More Here
Coolness: Me and Simon Whitfield presenting at ANT+ Symposium
Well, not together at the same time. Because that’d be awkward – mainly for me. And probably a little for him. He would talk about Olympic Gold and Silver medals and Olympic opening ceremonies…and I would talk about plastic trophies … Read More Here
Eurobike Sports Technology Things That Didn’t Fit: Part I
There’s a gazillion things to see at Eurobike, and many of them simply don’t make the cut for a bigger full-sized post. Sometimes it’s because they are too early in the development cycle and lack full details, sometimes because I … Read More Here
A&D Medical Lifesource UC-324 ANT+ enabled Weight Scale Review
I’ve reviewed a number of scales in the past, but only two of those are still used within the household on a daily basis. I say two, simply because one is in one bathroom, and the other in the other … Read More Here
Bontrager ANT+ Bike Speed/Cadence Sensor that requires no zipties or tools!
(Update/Note: If you’re looking at this unit, it’s marketed under both Bontrager and Motorola brands. Same identical unit, just different shell.) It’s funny when you think about it, as much innovation that goes on in cycling computers – there’s been … Read More Here
A much better USB ANT+ stick for your Garmin Forerunner…by Suunto
If you’re like me and are constantly on a laptop – there are really two minor issues that I have with the Garmin USB stick that I use to download workouts from my Forerunner to my computer. First up is … Read More Here
CES 2012 Health and Fitness Gadget Roundup: Part II
We left off last week checking out a slew of cool things, so if you missed that pile of gadget awesomeness – definitely swing back and check it out. Without further ado – let’s get into it! First up is … Read More Here
Tip of the day: How not to lose your ANT+ stick
It used to be that I’d always be searching for that darn ANT+ stick to download workouts from my Garmin Forerunner. If I used a desktop computer, it would probably live a peaceful monogamous relationship with my desktop, un-phased by … Read More Here
Garmin iPhone ANT+ Adapter and Garmin Fit app Review
(Update – July 2013: I’ve taken the rather unusual step of actually prefacing the review with some really clear guidance: Don’t buy this. In short: It ONLY works with the Garmin Fit app, which won’t upload/download from your existing Garmin … Read More Here
A DC weekend of Cyclocross and assorted new products
We’re going to start with Cyclocross, merely because that’s the most recent thing on my mind. This morning I went up to DCCX – which is the DC Cyclocross event held within the district at the Armed Forces Retirement Home. … Read More Here
Motorola MOTOACTV: Thoughts and analysis
Last week I got a bit of a sneak peak at the new Motorola MOTOACTV sports/fitness watch/MP3 player that was just announced today. It’s a pretty interesting device that actually seems to bridge across a number of different areas in … Read More Here
A look at Simon Fraser University’s Running Speed/Pace Control System
Two weeks ago while I was up at the ANT+ Symposium outside of Calgary I had a chance to spend some time running around in circles with two guys (Dr. Max Donelan and Mark Snaterse) from Simon Fraser University who … Read More Here