With the holiday season upon us, Jennifer and I thought it would be appropriate to compile a list of our top 11 (because we just couldn't whittle our list down to 10) favorite triathlon-friendly gifts. These are all great products and, truthfully, a list of items we would love to have ourselves. So, if you're in the giving mood, we will GLADLY accept any of the items below... ;)
1. NormaTec MVP Pro
1. NormaTec MVP Pro
These dynamic compression boots are a great recovery tool for serious endurance athletes. The boots provide pulsating dynamic compressions to legs or arms to reduce swelling, muscle fatigue and stiffness, which allows for a more rapid recovery. The crew at Tribomb have a great in-depth review up. Check it out
Price: $5,200
2. Garmin 910 XT
An upgrade to the Forerunner 310XT and offers numerous enhancements. The GPS-enabled 910XT provides detailed swim metrics (heck yes) and tracks distance, pace, elevation (via barometric altimeter) and heart rate for running and cycling. Designed for open water and pool swimming, it records distance, efficiency, stroke type, stroke count and pool lengths. The 910XT is water resistant to 50 meters and has up to 20 hours of battery life, making it ideal for multisport athletes, distance runners and water sport enthusiasts.
Once the workout is done, data is sent wirelessly to the user’s computer for detailed analysis, mapping and data sharing at Garmin Connect.
Price: $449 with the premium HR strap and $399 without
3. Garmin Vector Pedals
Another pre-order item for Christmas, the new meter will be compatible with Garmin’s Edge 500 and Edge 800 GPS computers. Availability is set for March 2012 and price will be $1,500, placing it squarely in the middle of power meters currently available.
The Vector will be easily swappable between bikes, as quickly as swapping any other pedal. A four-sided array of strain gauges sits inside each pedal spindle, with data sent via the ANT+ protocol from the external transmitter to a head unit on the handlebars. The external transmitter is clamped in place by the pedal itself, in between the axle and the crank arm. The pedal itself is a Look KéO-compatible platform built by Exustar for Garmin.The transmitter sits perpendicular to the crank arm, meaning that during a pedal strike or crash it is protected by the shoe, pedal body, and crank arm itself.
By reading power out of each pedal, left and right side power output can be analyzed independently, in addition to viewing total power output.
4. PB Gu
Enough said.
Price: $1.30 per packet
5. TYR Hurricane Freak of Nature Wetsuit
Yes, the $1200 wetsuit....Worth the money? Who knows. A wetsuit is the biggest time-saving piece of equipment in triathlon and based on TYR’s reputation in the swim game, it's got to be ridiculously fast. At least that’s what this guy probably thought…
Price: $1,200
6. Endurance Sports Travel
Jennifer and I traveled to Ironman Cozumel with Ken’s (Ironman Legend Ken Glah) company and couldn’t have been more impressed with the service, knowledge and overall quality of our trip. When you travel with EST you not only get to experience the culture of the area you are visiting but also get to interact with EST clients from all over the world.
Price: Variable depending on location of Ironman or 70.3 race
Price: Variable depending on location of Ironman or 70.3 race
7. The Sufferfest Training Videos
Want to give it to yourself so hard you fall off your bike while the rest of the world is still in bed cuddling up to their blanket? I thought so. If you haven’t had a chance to try any of the Sufferfest videos I highly recommend you do. If you’ve only got about an hour to get an effective workout in, these videos are hard to beat. And if you really want to suffer, do a couple back to back. My go-to video is Fight Club. Try it! The training videos are all available online at http://www.thesufferfest.com/ At roughly $10 per video, they're worth every penny!
Price: $10 per video
Price: $10 per video
8. ZIpp 303 Carbon Clincher Firecrest Wheels
The ultimate training wheel. At 45mm deep (perfect for all conditions IMO) 28.5 mm wide the new FCCC wheel are said to be 8% faster than their predecessor and with the convenience of being a clincher, they’re hard to beat. At $2699 you better be ready to ride the hell out of them!
Price: $2,699
9. K-Swiss Kwicky Blade-Light
A great race only/speed work performance stability shoe with a very comfy upper, the KBL looks great and performs well in sprint to iron distance. New colors for 2012, too!
Price: $129
Price: $129
10. Trigger Point Grid 2.0
You're probably familiar with the TP Grid. But they’ve made it even better by making it longer. The Grid 2.0 is 26" long and 5" in diameter. Take traditional foam rolling to the next level. If you’re still using foam, prepare to have your mind blown.
Price: $65
Price: $65
11. Woodway Desmo H Treadmill
WIth their world HQ located in my hometown, Woodway is the gold standard when it comes to treadmills/treaddys. For all your indoor runs and speed work, the Desmo H fits the bill perfectly.
Price: $9,845
So there you have it. Now get shopping and make a tri-geek's Christmas one to remember!
Would love pretty much everything on this list... minus the PB Gu!! Uuuuugh.
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