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 2024 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: Suunto
Suunto Race S In-Depth Review: Smaller, cheaper, yet better?
Suunto has just announced the Suunto Race S, a smaller and lighter version of the Suunto Race they announced last fall. Except, it’s got more features, better accuracy, and is substantially cheaper. Unlike some of their competitors, it appears … Read More Here
Suunto Opens Platform to Xiaomi Watches, More Apps, Also Partners with UTMB
Each week over the past three weeks, Suunto has dropped a nugget or two of new information. Each by themselves probably would have made sense in the ‘Week in Review’ posts – had there actually been those posts each week. … Read More Here
Suunto Race In-Depth Review: The Best Suunto Yet?
Look, I’ll spoil it upfront (headline included): The Suunto Race is easily the best watch Suunto has ever made. It’s not even close. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. For those details, you’ve got nearly 10,000 more words … Read More Here
Suunto Race Hands-on: Everything You Need to Know!
Update – Nov 13th, 2023 – My full Suunto Race in-depth review after 30 days has been posted here, where you can dive into accuracy, long-term usage, and plenty more. Suunto has just announced their newest watch, the Suunto Race. … Read More Here
Suunto Releases 14 New SuuntoPlus Watch Apps
September is a busy month for many watchmakers, and that includes Suunto. Over the past few days, the company has released some 14 new SuuntoPlus apps. SuuntoPlus apps are essentially really advanced data pages to add to your sport profile … Read More Here
Suunto Vertical: The Complete User Guide
Just a quick heads up for those that aren’t subscribed on YouTube, that I’ve just hit publish on my detailed 45-minute-long user guide for the new Suunto Vertical watch. In this guide I dive into virtually every feature and how … Read More Here
Suunto Vertical GPS Watch In-Depth Review: Solar, Mapping, WiFi, and More!
<span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> Suunto has finally delivered. With the new Suunto Vertical, the company appears to be heading down the right track towards having a more competitive hardware offering. The new Suunto … Read More Here
Suunto Expands Coaching & Training Analytics With New Update
Suunto is joining the fray of companies releasing major software updates over the last two weeks, with a suite of updates on their smartphone app that are available for all Suunto App-capable watches. The first part of this update changes … Read More Here
Suunto 9 Peak Pro First Look: A Turning Point?
Suunto has announced their new Suunto 9 Peak Pro multisport watch, which takes the existing Suunto 9 Peak, and makes it a bit more ‘Pro’ through a variety of hardware and software updates. One could argue it’s actually the biggest … Read More Here
Hammerhead and Suunto Partner: Heatmaps on Hammerhead, Workout Sync to Suunto
Hammerhead and Suunto have just announced what they describe as potentially the first step towards a deeper partnership and collaboration. This first step puts heatmaps onto the Hammerhead Karoo series, while concurrently sending completed Karoo rides to Suunto’s platform (as … Read More Here
Suunto Rolls Out TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Integration: How-To Guide
Finally, it’s here: The ability to sync a structured workout from TrainingPeaks to Suunto watches, specifically, the Suunto 5 series and Suunto 9 series watches. This is accomplished using the new SuuntoPlus Guides functionality (more on that here), which … Read More Here
Suunto 5 Peak In-Depth Review
Suunto’s just revamped their existing Suunto 5 multisport GPS watch with the new slimmer and more stylish Suunto 5 Peak. This follows in the footsteps of the Suunto 9 Peak last summer, in terms of cleaning up the external design … Read More Here
Suunto Sold To New Owners (Again)
Suunto announced yesterday that they’ve been sold away from the Amer Sports group, to Liesheng, a Chinese tech-focused brand that also owns/makes the Haylou brand (audio devices). However, I say ‘again’, because Suunto has long been part of the Amer … Read More Here
Suunto’s Movesense Sensor Division Spun Off As New Company
It’s been almost 5 years since Suunto first announced their ‘Movesense’ developer program. The idea behind that was to enable 3rd party companies to leverage Suunto’s small sensor pod for various applications. It could be used as a heart rate … Read More Here
Suunto 9 Peak: Everything you ever wanted to know
Update: My Full Suunto 9 Peak In-Depth Review is now available, swing over to that page to check it out! In many ways, the Suunto 9 Peak is unlike anything Suunto has ever introduced before. Yet in other ways, it’s … Read More Here
Suunto Expands App with TrainingPeaks Powered Training Load and Recovery Metrics
Today Suunto has started rolling out a pretty expansive upgrade to their smartphone app, which adds in a slate of training load related metrics, all driven by TrainingPeaks terminology. We’ll get into all the details here, but what’s notable is … Read More Here
Suunto 7 Update Adds Body Resources, Advanced Sleep Tracking, Komoot Routes: Hands-on
Suunto has started a phased roll-out today of a new firmware update for their WearOS based Suunto 7, which adds in a smattering of new features – both for sports and non-sport aspects. Here’s the consolidated list of what’s in … Read More Here
Suunto adds Komoot Routes Turn by Turn Integration in Latest Update
Despite coming up on its third birthday here in about two months, the Suunto 9 received a modest firmware update yesterday (as did the Suunto 5). But more importantly, all Suunto Spartan, Suunto 5/7/9 watches get the new below-outlined Komoot route … Read More Here
Suunto Movescount Begins Final Shutdown on Tuesday
There are few sports tech stories that have longer plot lines than a Netflix series – but the turndown of Suunto’s once flagship online platform is giving Game of Thrones a run for its money. But, to quote arguably factually … Read More Here
Suunto Announces Final Steps for Movescount Transition, Not All Bad News
In many ways, the Suunto Movescount closure saga is kinda like of those class action lawsuits you signed up for hoping for a big payout, but that goes on for so long and through so many courts that by the … Read More Here
Suunto 7 and New Routes Features: Hands-on Details & Explainer
Over the coming days Suunto will roll-out a new update for the Suunto 7 which adds the ability to follow a course/route on the Suunto 7 app. Of course, with the watch being Wear OS based, there were other apps … Read More Here
Suunto Rolls Out Pile of New SuuntoPlus Widgets to Suunto 3/5/9 Watches
Good things come in threes, and today is the second in a line of updates Suunto is making. You’ll remember back last month they started with the app side of the house, adding in a bunch of popularity routing type … Read More Here
Suunto Rolls Out New Popular Routes & Starting Points App Features
Suunto has begun a Summer update release cycle, starting this week Suunto App updates – rolling out to iOS and Android smartphones near you. While today’s updates might seem like merely a minor app update, I’d argue Suunto has really … Read More Here
Sports Tech Tidbits: Fitbit Charge 4, Strava adds Weather, Zwift Clubs, Suunto’s TrainingPeaks Metrics, COROS New Features and more!
Fear not, no April Fools joke posts from me. I’ve had a specific idea for one for a few years now, but frankly it’s not really an April Fools joke if I can pull it off (and build it). Funny … Read More Here
Suunto 7 Wear OS GPS Watch In-Depth Review
Here’s your most detailed in-depth review of the Suunto 7 watch, from a heavily sports and fitness standpoint. Can it compete with the others in the market? Read More Here