I don’t but .....the newer versions will be better but still, investing in a fairly expensive product that apparently makes you slower seems like an odd way to spend money, no?? If using to train, then can’t teally go wrong with either and they are both on sale right now.

Right, except in certain races there's no getting around wearing a wetsuit -- I've regularly raced in <16C water, and I'm not doing that without a suit. ;)

Right, but you already own 2 suits that make you slower and keep you warm already. Why buy a third?

Hoping that a different model in a larger size will help.

You noted yourself that a better fit would probably be a major contributing factor to improvement. Whatever you settle on, I would suggest holding off on a wetsuit purchase until you know you can actually test it out and return for a different size within the allowable window to do so. More expensive wetsuits have rubber that may allow for better flexibility and additional buoyancy, but if it's a question of value, the Elite will provide more bang for your buck.

I have an X and it is simply awesome. When I see the price differences it's crazy not to buy the X. It's the best suit I've ever swam in and you have I think 30 days to try out. No brainer for me.....

I am a MOP swimmer who tested the Elite versus the Pro (generation 1) in multiple open water swims, and recently received a second-generation (arms up) Elite.

For me, the rather marginal flexibility improvement of the Pro didn't justify the extra cost or, more importantly for me, the "features" I didn't like (forearm panel adds a failure point and reduces insulation in a high blood flow area, leg strips increase water incursion and reduce insulation slightly). So in the same size, I'm skeptical upgrading to a Pro or even an X would make a big difference, though it would make a very marginal one.

If your current suit is too snug, I suspect upgrading to a bigger suit would help with your feeling of being stifled by the suit. But keep in mind that for speed purposes, Roka recommends as snug a suit as you can handle, the reduced compression and greater drag of a bigger suit is likely to make you marginally slower rather than faster.

The good news is, Roka has an ironclad exchange and return policy. I'm fairly certain that still applies to sale items (you might want to confirm that, though).

You should not be racing slower with a wetsuit unless you are overheating badly. Sizing can important, as can be getting comfortable with it. Have you ever tried a sleeveless before?

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Definitely not overheating (well, maybe once or twice, but not on a regular basis). The only thing I can identify is a feeling of spiking my heart rate and not being able to catch my breath. And then I feel like the faster I try to swim, the slower I go. This only happens at racing effort... I can swim in my current suits just fine for ages in open water, as long as I'm at easy/moderate effort. I'm sure some of that is swimming fitness, but that doesn't explain the fact that my PBs at every distance are in non-wetsuit swims. I've never tried a sleeveless suit, I guess because I'd always heard they were slower -- and also because I sometimes race in really cold water.

I'm thinking more room in the neck/chest to breathe would be good (bigger size), but if I'll be pretty bummed if I buy yet another suit and continue to have the same problems.

One other thing that might be impacting fit, is I'm quite long-waisted for my height. So even when I get the suit pulled right up, maybe it's pulling down on my shoulders more than it should.

Spiking HR and feeling like you can't breathe sounds like the classic cold water wetsuit panic attack that affects tons of people (and many eventually get over).

The fact that you're fine at moderate effort and it only happens during hard efforts is odd, though.

Yeah, it really doesn't bother me to wear a wetsuit, or swim in open water... I live on the river so I'm used to both. It even doesn't bother me to get swum into, knocked in the face, etc. The trouble catching my breath stuff happens sometimes even in a pool at max effort, it just seems the suit makes it happen more quickly/often.

I am the opposite myself but I can say sleeveless is very forgiving. If you are interested in a new full wetsuit, seriously consider the BlueSeventy Helix. Maybe a different company will fit differently and thus may be better, but the real thing about the BS Helix is the shoulders and arms. They are really really thin. That obviously could affect durability down the line but we have discussed this before on here with Roka or general wetsuit threads - the suit is the most forgiving full-sleeve suit that is made. They did something really special with this suit and it is worth a shot if you are having issues. They have a similar return policy as Roka and yes you can always save 25% too. This page should be up all year and has the discount which is known to change midyear but I update it.

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Thanks for the info, Thomas - I'll go check that out.

I'm sure the Blueseventy Helix is a solid wetsuit. I'm sure it genuinely works really well for Thomas, in addition to his working hard to represent his sponsor. Based on the discussion above, I'm skeptical any wetsuit--a Blueseventy, or a higher-end Roka, or anything else--is just going to fix this, though. If a wetsuit change does help, I think it's more likely to involve going sleeveless or maybe going up a size if the current suit is severely constraining. I think it's much more likely to be a case of adjusting expectations about what swimming in a wetsuit feels like, though. My two cents, anyway.

I have a Maverick X. I have a Pro. (The new version.)
Both are incredibly awesome. I swim 52minutes in either suit.

The X has the tape (which quickly fell apart without making any noticeable difference to the suit.) It also has a slightly more stretchy line in the armpit.

I would not be able to tell the difference in comfort or performance wearing either suit. Love them.

Thanks, Darren! Interesting about your experience with the tape on the X. It looks like they're clearing some stuff out to make way for new 2018 gear... wonder if they've got some tweaks up their sleeve this year for their wetsuit line.