17 December 2024
So it’s the end of the year, and I had semi-promised last year to actually update this list at least once a year. Thus, I’m checking that box.
As I always note though, I’m not a person of change. At least when it comes to most of my gear. For example, my running gloves are still from the Philly marathon expo some like 15 years ago, and my swimsuit is whatever I found in my dresser that doesn’t appear to be fully see-through.
Of course, the tech does change. Not necessarily because it needs to change, but largely because it’s what I do as my job. And once you upgrade to test something, it’s really hard to downgrade back to an ‘older’ product in most cases. At least for watches and bike computers; for trainers and power meters, it’s less of an issue.
Nonetheless, I know plenty of you want to know what gear I use. Thus, I present you with a boatload of links. And while there’s a lot of gear here (because I’m covering three sports via triathlon), I think you’ll find I’m actually pretty simple when it comes to most of my gear (tech goodies aside). And this gear is built up over more than 15 years.
I’ve divided it up into the three main sports (swim/bike/run), plus a random section at the end. I’m typically not one to buy the most expensive piece of fashionable stuff. I just buy what works for me.
As is tradition, The Girl’s 2023 ‘Gear I use’ Guide (my wife) is there from last year (for those looking for a more women-oriented view of a similar set of training gear – and undoubtedly, a more fashionable view than mine), and she just told me she’s actually updating that list now. So look out for a new women’s gear guide in the next day or two.
Also note: Please don’t take any of these as formal ‘gadget recommendations’, these are just the products that work for me. Finally, unless noted otherwise, all of these are items I bought myself. As has been the case for the past few years, Precision Fuel & Hydration is a sponsor on the site/podcast/YouTube, and of course, Ciovita makes the DC Rainmaker Kit. Canyon is a new partner this fall, where they are starting to provide loaner bikes so I have enough of the varied/different bikes/components to test devices on. To be clear: I’ve never reviewed bikes, and have zero desire to (though, I do want to get round to reviewing the Urban Arrow I bought). Note I’ve also purchased a bunch of Canyon bikes over the last near-decade, which you’ll see below noted accordingly. Got all that? Good!
Swimming (Pool/Openwater):
I appreciate that swimming is the easiest and shortest category here. Swimsuit, goggles, and if openwater swimming – a swim buoy. Oh, and a watch. Maybe three watches. But on the whole, everything basically fits in an old crumpled-up swim cap from a past race. In my case, I tend to do more openwater swimming than pool swimming. Especially after the move to Mallorca, where beautiful openwater swim bays are a 2-minute pedal away.
(Also, I took the above photo with the other/older pair of goggles, but I liked it better…thus, I’m keeping it.)
| Product | Amazon | Other | Note | |
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Decathlon Boxer Swim Short | Decathlon | You know why this is my swim suit? Because I always forget mine on trips, and this can be found for $5-$10, and works perfectly fine. | |
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Openwater Swim Buoy | Amazon | Always openwater swim with a swim buoy. Always. First, it makes it so boats see me. Second, it provides a place to stash my phone/keys/clothes and even sandles. No, you don’t feel it behind you. Works great! | |
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Orca S6 Full Sleeve Wetsuit | Amazon | This was more a purchase of necessity than anything else. My previous 2XU wetsuit finally died after an apparent shark attack (judging by the holes), and while down in Cape Town five years ago I needed something. There was an Orca store near the waterfront, so…problem solved. I’m not thrilled with it though, given it ripped along a seam line on my third wearing. Five winters later the small rip is slightly bigger now (thankfully I avoid wetsuit swims pretty well, else it’d be worse). | |
| Some Random Finis Swim Goggle | Look, there’s no markings on this. And I lost my previous ones I liked. And, I don’t remember where/when I bought these – likely last second out of a vending machine. I lose swim goggles like laundry machines do socks. I don’t know where they all go. |
Some will ask why not the FORM Swim goggles? Simply put – while I think the tech side of the unit is superb, and super-well executed (especially the new coaching modes), I just can’t get past the limited side peripheral vision visibility of the goggles. In openwater swims, seeing what’s out and about keeps me just as entertained as it does watching the denizens of the pool go past.
Cycling:
This category is kinda messy. Mainly because I’m near-constantly testing new trainers, indoor bikes, etc… (especially as those release cycles have slowly transitioned from being fall-centric to being “anytime”). So it’s actually relatively rare that I stop and don’t have something to test. That said, there are a few things that are my go-to units, listed below.
As noted above, on the bikes itself, I own/bought the Urban Arrow cargo bike, as well as my Canyon mountain bike. I also own an older Grail (double-handlebar one), as well as an older Canyon road bike that I’ve mostly parted out. The road/gravel/commuter bikes listed below are on loan from Canyon (and, I love them).
| Product | Amazon | Other | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Canyon Endurace CFR Di2 | Canyon | It might surprise some of you that I’d go with a Shimano-equipped groupset (and power meter) on this bike, but ultimately part of my job is validating both major groupset players work across various devices, especially as bike GPS companies expand features in those realms (like the bike bell). In the case of this bike though, been extremely happy with it, and again, I’m a sucker for internal spare tube/tools/CO2 (cause I’m horrible at remembering to put saddle bags on). | |
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Canyon Exceed CF SL 5.0 (Mountain Bike) | Canyon | When I bought this bike years ago, I kept all the components mostly as-is. However, I did make a fun power meter project for it. It’s actually a SRAM/Quarq XX1 spider/crankset, with then a 4iiii dual-sided Precision power meter built atop it. Let’s me test other pedal based power meters with it and have multiple references. | |
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Canyon Grail CFR XPLR | Canyon | I was riding a different SRAM RED XPLR test bike much of the summer, and then swapped into this Canyon one to test back in late summer. Love it, especially since I’ve been riding gravel terrain here in Mallorca that’s a bit more spicy than most gravel. More than anything though, I just like backup internal storage for tools, spares, etc… (plus my added bags for storing other goodies). | |
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Canyon Precede:On Comfort 7 (Commuter e-Bike) | Canyon | I’ve gone from one extreme to another: The pancake flats of Amsterdam, to a 17% incline to get home each day. On a road/gravel bike, that’s “fun”, but when you’re just trying to go to the grocery store, it kinda sucks. We have one car, so we’re trying out these Canyon as a car replacement solution – and so far, it’s working pretty well. Even took it on a 35KM shopping mall trip a few days ago. Have them kitted out with two pannier bags each. Further, they serve as perfect ‘guest bikes’ for visitors to the house (notably our older parents). | |
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DC Rainmaker Cargo Bib Shorts | Ciovita | Certainly, the DCR bibs are awesome, but more critically, the cargo bib version is more awesome, because I can carry 1-2 drones in it, and/or 2-4 action cameras. Plus nutrition. Even 1/3rd a baguette. | |
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DC Rainmaker Race Fit Jersey | Ciovita | Obviously, this is awesome. Wouldn’t have it any other way! You too can join Team Awesome (riding or running, sorry, no swimsuit yet) via the link at left. | |
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EVOC Bike Travel Bag Pro | Amazon | I picked this up about a year ago, and it’s gotten way more use than I expected this year. I’ve taken road bikes, tri bikes, gravel bikes…you name it. My previous bike case finally died after more than 12-13 years of travel. Overall I love the EVOC case, however, the only downside is that it doesn’t fit across the backseat of most European cars, meaning you need to plan a bit more ahead for which exact rental car you’ll get (or Uber/Taxi). | |
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Favero Assioma Power Meter Pedals (Dual) | Amazon | I use all three of these power meters pretty much equally on different bikes at different times. I have no meaningful preference between the Favero Assioma Duo, Wahoo PWRLINK Zero, or Garmin Rally pedals. For the most part you’ll find the Rally XC’s on my gravel or mountain bikes, and then usually the Wahoo & Favero road-focused pedals on the road bikes. But again, I just use what’s free at the moment in terms of not tied up testing on some other bike/etc… | |
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Favero Assioma Pro MX Pedals (Dual) | Amazon | These have mostly become my defacto gravel pedals, and also get used on a lot of other comparison testing. | |
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Fizik Tempo Overcurve R4 Road Cycling Shoe | Amazon | I started with the Fizik line a number of years ago for a MTB shoe, and then eventually outfitted my full fleet of cycling shoes with them. Also, I buy different colored ones for different cleat types, so I can keep track of which shoes I grab (since I have at least one pair of shoes for each cleat type for different pedal systems I test with). | |
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Fizik X5 Terra (MTB/Gravel Cycling Shoe) | Amazon | I started my Fizik collection here with these MTB ones for MTB/Gravel usage, before expanding to the road side. They work well for me and are usually reasonably priced. | |
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Garmin Edge 840 | Amazon | More than likely, I’ll grab the Edge 840 Solar out of the bucket. Sometimes the Edge 1050 or the Hammerhead Karoo 3. But usually the mid-sized 840. It just does everything I need with a touchscreen that works well. | |
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Garmin Rally Series | Amazon | I use all three of these power meters pretty much equally on different bikes at different times. I have no meaningful preference between the Favero Assioma Duo, Wahoo PWRLINK Zero, or Garmin Rally pedals. For the most part you’ll find the Rally XC’s on my gravel or mountain bikes, and then usually the Wahoo & Favero road-focused pedals on the road bikes. But again, I just use what’s free at the moment in terms of not tied up testing on some other bike/etc… | |
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Peloton Bike+ | Amazon | I use both the Peloton Bike & Bike+, albeit primarily more in the winter than summer, and prefer the Bike+ more. And generally tend to do power zone workouts on it, with instructors like Matt Wilpers. | |
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Urban Arrow Family Performance (Cargo Bike) | Urbanarrow | There’s almost nothing more important to our family than this cargo bike. Literally, living in Amsterdam, it makes our world go ’round. I bought this one in Dec 2020, though we also have a second one from a few years prior. We love both, and they act as complete car replacements for us. | |
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Wahoo KICKR V6/2022 (Current Version) | REI | If I’m not testing some specific trainer/bike, or doing a workout on an actual bike (versus an indoor bike), it’s likely I’ve pulled out the KICKR V6. I don’t really have a big preference between the Tacx NEO 2T and the KICKR V6, but the multi-Bluetooth channel aspect of the KICKR makes it easier for me to test other watches that don’t support ANT+. | |
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Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO (Dual-sided) | REI | I use all three of these power meters pretty much equally on different bikes at different times. I have no meaningful preference between the Favero Assioma Duo, Wahoo PWRLINK Zero, or Garmin Rally pedals. For the most part you’ll find the Rally XC’s on my gravel or mountain bikes, and then usually the Wahoo & Favero road-focused pedals on the road bikes. But again, I just use what’s free at the moment in terms of not tied up testing on some other bike/etc… |
In terms of other odds and ends:
Speed/Cadence sensors: I don’t use these anymore, as virtually all power meters do cadence now built-in, and from a speed sensor standpoint, GPS accuracy is simply good enough that it’s just not required in any scenario I typically ride.
Trainer Apps: Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Peloton: I pay for subscriptions to all of these (and a number of other platforms for testing), but these three are what I primarily use. In general, I’ll use all three of those each week, mixing it up.
Training Logs: Strava and TrainingPeaks: I use Strava as my ‘public’ activity feed (when I remember to toggle it from private to public), and I use TrainingPeaks as my private training log.
Running:
At least running doesn’t involve new bikes or trainers. Not much has changed here this year, after switching to Hoka’s last year. As always, I know nothing about shoes. I let smart shoe people tell me what to do. In the case of the Hoka’s, I tested a boatload of shoes one-morning last winter at our local running shoe shop using a fancy force-plate system, and these two Hoka’s had the best numbers combined with the best feel. Love them. Equally, on the trail running side, my goal is to find trail running shoes that don’t blister on stupid-long 50-100KM last-minute adventures. These have managed to do exactly that, thus, they stay. Others I’ve tried that may be better shoes, have made blisters. They get related to the ‘photo background props’ pile.
| Product | Amazon | Other | Note | |
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ASICS Men’s Thermopolis Winter Running Tights | Amazon | Look, like most of my clothing choices, it’s often just what I happen to find available at a running shop. That was the case here. My previous Sugoi ones were getting a bit tattered, but I was headed on a trip to the Arctic Circle that year, so I desperately needed new running tights, and this was what my local running shop had that I tried on and liked. I do very much like them, but my research is hardly extensive here. Also, I can’t figure out the exact model that it is. It just says H1 on it, but nothing else. | |
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Balega Comfort socks | Amazon | I’ve used these socks for at least 10-12 years now. I mean, not the same pair, but new pairs. Love them, won’t change ever. Probably. | |
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CamelBak Marathoner | Amazon | I’ve used this for a decade as well (seems to be the general theme here). Albeit, I did have to buy some random Decathlon one recently for a trip when I forgot this one. Either way, they no longer make the Marathoner, but the linked one is near identical. | |
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DC Rainmaker Running T-Shirt | Ciovita | I’m super happy with this design, and it seems a boatload of you are as well. And from a fabric standpoint, this is a very lightweight fabric that dries really quickly out in the sun after a sweaty run. | |
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Hoka Mach 6 | Amazon | This is the latest Hoka variant I swithced to from the X3 I had previously. Works for me, may or may not work for you. | |
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Peloton Tread | Amazon | Onepeloton | This got moved from the DCR Cave (office) to the shed (home) last winter, when the weather got properly miserable, and it’s a great option for late weeknight running workouts when it’s dark/rainy/windy/cold (in other words, every day in the Netherlands). As a rule, I avoid treadmill workouts unless absolutely necessary. And when doing them, I tend to do a mix of either Zwift or Peloton structured workouts. Going forward in Spain, this will realistically only get occasional usage for cases where I might be home with the kids solo. |
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Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 | Amazon | I was using the Saucony Switchback 2’s previously, but then sadly those were discontinued, so this was the next best thing. Been perfect for all my trail adventures the past few months. | |
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Yaktrax Run Traction Cleats for Running on Snow and Ice | Amazon | There’s no better way to run on compact snow and ice, albeit not much of that in Amsterdam most of the time – maybe a tiny bit in Mallorca now in January in the mountains. Note that for deeper snow though, they aren’t as useful/necessary. |
And then, a few other things that aren’t brand/model specific:
Running Shorts: This is a pretty random assortment of running shorts, some Nike, some Decathlon, some still in the laundry machine. I’m not particular, but I do prefer a pocket or two to stash things.
Cold Weather Running Top: I don’t have a specific top I use, rather, I tend to layer bits and pieces together. Here’s an older post on all my cold-weather running thoughts.
Cold Weather Running Gloves: $1.00 race expo gloves – That’s it. It’s easy. I almost never throw them away, I feel guilty. So I use a few rotating pairs, all from expos – some even free! I’ve got a pair of no-brand mittens that I toss on if the weather is super-cold, but like running tops in cold weather, you’d be surprised what your body is fine with once it’s up to speed. All you folks in Minnesota though shouldn’t adhere to this section. Just go to the Arctic section of REI instead.
Running headphones/music: I very rarely run (or ride) with music. I suppose if I were to, at the moment it’d probably be my AirPod Pro’s, but I really only run with music if I need to test a specific music feature on a watch.
Got all that? Good, onto the ‘everything’ bucket.
The Crossover & Random Category:
I stashed the watch in this category, that way you didn’t have to see it three times above. Plus, this also includes things I use across more sports. Obviously, there’s more gear. For example, here’s my recently updated photography/camera gear post. However, here are a few other mostly-tech things that I use day-to-day. From action cameras to drones, and obviously, the pizza oven.
| Product | Amazon | Other | Note | |
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Apple Watch Ultra 2 | Amazon | I go through long periods where I’ll wear an Apple Watch Ultra 2 on one wrist, and the Garmin Epix/Fenix 8 on the other. Usually when my wrists aren’t testing other things. TI like the smart aspects of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the longer battery life compared to a regular Apple Watch. | |
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DJI Mavic 3 Pro | Amazon | While I use the DJI Mini 3/4 for action shots, I also have the Mavic 3 Pro I tend to use for shots where I want/need the zoom lens. So more for pretty vacation shots, but even just people shots from a distance. | |
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DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo with DJI RC2 | Amazon | The Mini series has been my go-to drone for years, with the DJI Mini 3 Pro the bulk of the past year, and now the Mini 4 Pro. Having the full obstacle avoidance is super helpful for all the stupid stuff I do. It’s what I tend to take for longer treks with more epic scenery views, or scenarios where I need higher speeds than the Hover X1. | |
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Garmin Fenix 8 Series | Amazon | In and of itself, I’d have been happy with my Epix Pro – which suited me just fine. However, since moving to Mallorca I actually do get good use out of the new water (dive/snorkel/freedive) features, especially as I aim to do more of all of those into the new year. Still, for most people, the previous gen Epix or Epix Pro is probably what you want. | |
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Garmin Index S2 WiFi Scale | Amazon | I simply use this for loosely tracking weight. I don’t look at the body fat stats, as like most electrical impedance scales, they aren’t super accurate. But weight is, and that’s all I (pretend) to care about. | |
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GoPro Hero 13 Black | Amazon | I’ve long used GoPro action cameras as my main go-to action cam, and the Hero 13 has taken that spot since later summer. I can depend on the quality being spot-on, and the GoPro Cloud backup for all my footage. | |
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HoverAir X1 Drone | Amazon | This has become my go-to drone for running, especially trail running, as well as slower speed cycling stuff (e.g. gravel, some MTB, etc…). I’ve crashed it at least 100 times, and it still keeps on ticking! While I’ve been testing the new Hover X1 Pro-Max and DJI NEO, which are better in some areas, they aren’t quite as good in the size category, especially for trail running. | |
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Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee and Espresso Machine | Amazon | Look, this place doesn’t run itself. Without this coffee machine, you’d be getting a fraction of the reviews posted. All nighters for big product launch weeks require careful planning, which I lack. Thus, caffeine will do instead. | |
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Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Fired Outdoor Portable Pizza Oven | Amazon | I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It’s completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that support gas didn’t make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16″ is appealing, realistically I’ve found this 12″ more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle). | |
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Optimum Nutrition: Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder | Amazon | I’ve gotten into doing recovery drinks this year, though mostly only for mid to longer (many hours) workouts. I know, I should do it for all workouts, but I usually forget. | |
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Precision Hydration Gels | Precisionhydration | I use both the 30g and 90g variants of these, but primarily prefer the 90g variants, simply so I don’t have to have as many things floating around. I shoot for 90g/hour on longer adventures. |
Note: Amazon links are part of the Amazon affiliate program, for which I may earn a commission at no cost to you – and of course, that helps support the site a bunch.
With that – thanks for reading, and again, these aren’t necessarily the best products in each category – it’s simply what I bought with either zero research, or a lot of bit of research.