How does the wetsuit fit over a kiwami tri suit? I am 6'0 & 190#'s, sizing chart says Large but curious if I will have issues fitting it over my tri suit. Thank you

I'm 6'2, 185ish pounds and I have a an XL Kiwami Spider LD Aero suit. My Roka Maverick X is MT.

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Yes they are and here is why I think so

1. Warranty
2. Customer service
3. Performance
4. Durability
5. Fit


I have raced/trained in the Pro, Maverick X and they are amazing. Personally I have never had any rips, tears or any other warranty issues but we have had a few clients that have. Prior to Roka our team was with TYR then Blue 70. Yes they make very nice suits but we would always have warranty issues and being the point person for 200 plus athletes this was a nightmare. We have had very few quality issues and if we do the team over at Roka is right on it. The range of suits with Roka is also great. Not all athletes NEED the X or the Pro and the Elite, Comp are very very nice suits. Wetsuits arent cheap so I would encourage everyone to try a few brands on but I am confident you will end up with a Roka one of these days.

Great, Thank you

What is the difference between comp vs elite? It looks like the same suit. Does it provide the same buoyancy?

To be honest I haven't looked at those seams lately... off to the garage to check and see.

6'2" 192# Large suit, wore for the first time over a de soto sleeved suit last weekend. I could tell there was something there and it wasn't as flexible as I think it should be, or without the trisuit, but I'd need to try a couple more times to see if I could adjust anything. Didn't really affect my swim as it was about same as it always was

Yeah they are pretty popular in ITU, they seem pretty popular in Australia in general too, probably far more than ROKA.

I've been so pleased with their wetsuits that I'm looking at their swimskin. Any feedback from the ST crew?

Compared to my Orca Sonar (4 yrs old) the pro is way more flexible in the shoulders and faster as others also stated which leads to less fatigue over the same distance.
Actually I was stunned when I unpacked the roka, how heavy the legs are compared to the upper body.
This meant better buoyancy for the legs (I drag them terrible) and full freedom above, but this also means NO dry hanging cause of the weight which would just stress the shoulder part.
not seen any wear near the seams, but only use it for races and few trainings.

I wouldn't give away mine, that's for sure.

---

-shoki

Thanks for the feedback. I ordered my roka comp wetsuit which will arrive tomorrow. I will give both a shot in the pool on Saturday.

I have a Maverick Elite - 1st season using it. I previously had a Helix, which felt it was a bit too much suit for me as an adult onset swimmer. In terms of race times, the Maverick isn't any quicker than the Helix, and I actually think the Helix had a little more flexibility in the shoulders. I also have an issue with water coming in the suit from the back of the neck. No matter how tight or loose (I've messed with it quite a bit) I make it, there always is a fairly large amount of water that enters the suit. Sometimes the water works its way into the arms, making them feel heavy.

Following this thread, I just looked, and the 'welds' on the inside of the armpit area are coming apart, and I'd be willing to bet I'll have those cracks at the seams soon. This definitely seems defective for a suit that is less than a year old. I wonder if the seam issue has been resolved on newer suits.

---

Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

It sounds like the suit just doesn't fit you very well. That might be resolved by a different size, or it might be that Rokas just don't fit your body shape well. Your fit experience is unusual, as best I can tell. When you initially realized the suit didn't really seem to fit, did you contact Roka to discuss it with them?

By welds inside the armpit, do you mean the little glued on circles where seams meet? Those have a habit of coming off, they just can't sustain the kind of movement that necessarily occurs in the armpits. Roka will send you glue or reglue them for you if you want to return the suit to them. I don't think this is related to the armpit cracks some are reporting.

I just ordered my Maverick Elite, I got 25% off in their Labor Day sale. Jump on quick and have a look!

I've hung my Roka via 2 hangers. I use triangular hangers and feed the suit through the middle, from feet up. The 1st hanger stops about mid thigh and the second under the arm pits, and hang it up so it's like the suit is lying down inside the hangers, if that makes any sense. Just to dry it; I store it gently folded.

While I manage placing ~50th %ile in my race swim these days (an improvement from bottom 75th %) ST'ers will surely still consider me BOP. So if any BOP'ers need an opinion, I'll say the Roka simply fits me very well. Had a low end exterra back when I was rather new to swimming longer distances in OWS so can't rank it very well. I lost weight which made the fit terrible. Bought an Aquaman from there, probably also low end. The forearms are quite wide - a bit gap-y when I swim which has to be aweful for hydrodynamics. Love the reverse zipper though. This suit's been in use over 4 years, has ripping under the arms which I've globbered up with plenty of wetsuit glue. This is now my training suit. Bought the middle Roka during the giant sale, could't be happier. The fit to my body is the best, managing to hug my narrowish waist despite my bigger hips and butt. The wrists are exactly as small as my wrists, so much so that I'm afraid to wear a watch for worry of stretching or ripping the fabric. I put it on using gardening gloves, which offer great grip and also protection from my nails. It takes a long time to put on, very tight fit. Worn over my sleeved tri suit, I can feel the fabric sliding over my shoulders when I swim. Maybe I'll luck out and end up with less wear here b/c of that.

Wish I could say that suit cut x time off my y distance swim, but I (mostly) only wear it in races and so far the swims have been unique and not readily compaired to one's done in the Aquaman. I will say, what a nice feeling to now swim in the Roka w/o constantly pulling at my suit b/c it fits like a foreign object (entry level Aquaman and Xterra). And I do feel much more stable as I swim, vs the other two which leave me bobbing and flopping along w/ less control and noted over rotation when I breathe.

So if you'r BOP or MOP, please buy something else - I don't want to end up a 75th %ile swimmer again!

---

To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.