i was hoping we'd get another wetsuit brand. we just don't have enough of them.

Maybe STConcierge will chime in. She's the queen of neoprene.

Ding ding... chiming in here.
It looks like a well-thought out and nicely crafted suit with premium materials throughout. If it's 94% limestone, no doubt it's Yamamoto.
I'm in favor of supporting pros, but this seems over the top. If I wanted to drop 1500 bones (US), not on a bike, I'd buy a $425-500 suit and spend the rest entering a really cool non-branded race and traveling there w friends/family. PM if you'd like to know which races and which suit(s.)

Does this look like competition that will drive down other companies prices?

While its good to see more players in the market for sure, it doesn't seem like this is going to be a brand that appeals to the normal consumer. Frodo is flashy and lives a life of luxury (at least on social media). For sure people will be buying these because of him but lets be real; those are absurdly priced. I'm sure they'll release lower priced but models in the future though.

Does anyone know anything about Deboer wetsuits?

They've got Frodo selling their wares, so they must be reasonable. And if competition makes Roka wetsuits a little cheaper...

Decent pro lineup with Jan, Ben Kanute, and Matt Russell. The price point is absurd though, $1500 for a wetsuit is insane. Unless the wetsuit is actually swimming for me, I'm not dropping that kind of coin.......

Can you point to any testing that has been done to compare Jan, Ben, and other's performance with other wetsuits on the market?[/quote


Did Ben do Oceanside 2018 ? To compare vs 2019.

And agree with you the price is perfectly reasonable. Hilarious to me that people shout about a "insanely priced" wetsuit when a having strong swim is such a critical part to having a strong race (easy way to improve your bike dramatically especially in pro ranks is if you can get out of water with that front pack) and yet people don't think twice about putting a 7-800$ oversized pulley wheel that saves maybe 1W on the bike.

true but my main point is that the swim is really just as important in triathlon as other two disciplines and yet it seems to me on the swim front people tend to be much more hesitant to invest money in the pursuit of performance as they are on bike/run.

Can you point to any testing that has been done to compare Jan, Ben, and other's performance with other wetsuits on the market?

Ben did Galveston instead of Oceanside in 2018. Also, Oceanside changed the swim course from 2018 to 2019.

I can chime in on behalf of deboer wetsuits. I work for deboer as the athlete manager and handle social media responsibilities. I'll give a little background first, then I can get to the athletes and the price.

deboer wetsuits is a new premium wetsuit brand. One of the co-founders, Alex de Boer, has been involved in the industry since 1995. He started by distributing Ironman wetsuits, and of late he has run Dare2Tri (which he continues to operate as a separate business).

deboer has introduced two wetsuits, the Fjord 1.0 and the Floh 1.0. The most striking feature of both wetsuits is the ribbed material you can see through the front of the body and legs. We call this material WhaleSkin, it's a Limestone neoprene, and the ribbed material helps increase buoyancy while decreasing drag. The Fjord 1.0 uses a material called DuraFlex in the arms, which is only 0.3mm thick and provides incredible flexibility, and is almost impossible to rip with your nails. The Floh 1.0 uses UltraFlex in the arms, which is a 1.5mm material, and is still extremely flexible, while providing additional warmth.

We have currently announced Jan Frodeno, Ben Kanute, Matt Russell, Celine Schaerer, Brooke Brown, and Marcos Knight on the team. It was a big deal for us when Jan chose to swim in a deboer wetsuit. Ben Kanute wore a Fjord 1.0 wetsuit when he won Oceanside earlier this month, we're looking forward to Matt racing in Texas this weekend, and we're very excited about all the athletes we have on the team.

Finally, the price. I've been on Slowtwitch long enough to know this would be a sticking point for many. Both the Fjord 1.0 and the Floh 1.0 are $1499. This is currently the most expensive wetsuit on the market, and it wont be for everyone. With that said, this is a no-compromise product. We didn't cut any corners and considered no detail too small in the development and manufacturing of this wetsuit. Athletes who purchase a deboer wetsuit will see the attention and care that has gone into the wetsuits. Additionally, at this point we have no intentions to release another wetsuit at a lower price.

If anyone has any questions about deboer feel free to send questions my way. If you want to email me my email is daniel.clarke(at)deboerwetsuits.com. We are going to have a couple of demo wetsuits in the Woodlands this week, and Playtri Dallas is hosting an event at their store with some demo suits tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

The short answer is no, we don't currently have any publicly available data that would be almost the equivalent of a bike companies white paper. I know the anecdotal feedback we get from athletes doesn't satisfy the Slowtwitch community, but as an example Ben swam his fastest 100y in the Fjord 1.0 since his high school swim team days.

If you're at an event where we're doing demos try it for yourself. We're going to be at VillaSport in the Woodlands on Thursday on the off chance you're in the area. We've rented a few lanes at their pool from 11am - 3pm and it's going to be free to any athlete to swim. We will have a few demo wetsuits there that you can try on, or if you just want to get in a pre-race swim without demo-ing a wetsuit you can do that too.

i might be able to find this info else where but is the wetsuit targeted good swimmers/all swimmers or something else? from what i read the diff. between the two suit is warmth.
But as know from other brands their very top line suit has less bouyancy as it is for the elite with good form. Is this the same case or?

Hi Daniel,

Anecdotal feedback from paid representatives is nice and many of the athletes in your roster are very selective with their equipment.

But I am confused when products are marketed on the back of extensive claims about objective "finely tuned and extensively tested" technology that increases the efficiency of each stroke and kick and "aiding in forward propulsion." Personally, I feel if your marketing platform is willing to make these kinds of claims, it is incumbent upon a brand to back that up with data. If not, I think it is just as plausible to go with the other half of your marketing strategy which seems to be "cool people think we are cool, and you will be a little bit cooler too if you buy this wetsuit."

In addition, I was happy to see the diversity in your models.

And finally, I'm not sure I'd highlight the connection to Dare2Tri wetsuits. Friends use them and universally complain about how quickly they fail after a few uses. I know it's an entirely different price point, but not a ringing endorsement in my eyes.

From the deboer website:
AquaGrip™
The perfectly measured, positioned, finely tuned and extensively tested grooves reduce turbulence and increase the surface area in contact with the water, increasing the efficiency of each stroke and kick and aiding in forward propulsion.

Did Ben do Oceanside 2018 ? To compare vs 2019.

Ding ding... chiming in here.
It looks like a well-thought out and nicely crafted suit with premium materials throughout. If it's 94% limestone, it's Yamamoto.
I'm in favor of supporting pros, but this seems over the top. If I wanted to drop 1500 bones (US), not on a bike, I'd buy a $425-500 suit and spend the rest entering a really cool non-branded race and traveling there w friends/family. PM if you'd like to know which races and which suit(s.)

They've also got Daniela Ryf signed up - just posted on her Instagram.

How long until we have to check-out our wetsuits from transition along with our bikes? At $1500, I'd be worried about somebody stealing it. Is there a microchipping option? Joking. Sort of.

Does anyone know anything about Deboer wetsuits?

They've got Frodo selling their wares, so they must be reasonable. And if competition makes Roka wetsuits a little cheaper...

a number of years ago Desert Dude aka Brian Stover, as well as Jordan Rapp did some pool testing of various wetsuit brands.

G'day Monty,

I was just wondering if you've had a swim in the deboer wetty yet, and if you'll be doing a review for the site.

Thanks very much for your time mate. //

I have had a chat with the company, a suit is supposed to be coming my way to test. Will let you all know once it is done..

G'day Monty,

I was just wondering if you've had a swim in the deboer wetty yet, and if you'll be doing a review for the site.

Thanks very much for your time mate. //

I have had a chat with the company, a suit is supposed to be coming my way to test. Will let you all know once it is done..

getting people to act on advice on how just to exit the water faster, well, that's another thing.

Am I the only one who thinks it looks incredibly boring as well? At least with the TYR Freak of Nature you get abs with your purchase.

How much money do they have? They're tossing a whole lot around.

I understand a lot of the negativity to be honest. From the outside perspective (not in the wetsuit industry, not an entrepreneur), it looks like some company came in with a lot of seed money and paid a few of the worlds best athletes a lot of money, knowing that if they would sell enough potentially (definitely in my opinion) overpriced wetsuits to suckers or people with way too much money. I have no doubt their wetsuits are great. I'm sure I would love swimming in one. But how could it possibly be worth twice what the next most expensive wetsuit goes for? I'm also not questioning the effectiveness of their business strategy, though I do think it feels a little bit slimy to me.

I think I should be clear that I come into this sport never having had any real money, I bought the wetsuit I swim in used and it has probably two dozen dime-quarter sized tears in it. I've always looked for the cheapest way into each discipline and the only truly high end piece of gear I ever bought new was my Dash saddle, which I was able to test first and still got at a slight discount through my fitter. Do I have a slight amount of bitterness that I can't afford this wetsuit? Honestly I don't think so, if I had the money for it I think I would buy a top of the line Roka and upgrade to oversized pulley wheels or something with the extra money.

LOL, sure. Triathletes will buy anything. The sad thing is all the poor suckers who really can't afford something this expensive but will buy it anyway. 99% of us would benefit way more from better training than from expensive wetsuits. Dropping $1,500 on a wetsuit is so completely unnecessary. I think if someone showed up at an AG start line wearing one of those he/she might as well be wearing a sign on their forehead that said "TOOL". Surest thing to have people laugh at you, even if it makes you one minute faster (hilarious...).

As opposed to all the people with $4k wheel sets or $12k bikes?

My $.02...

I tested the Fjord 1.0 in Lake Placid this past weekend. Twice. Then, after some serious internal debate, bought one and raced in it (one of their demo suits) on Sunday.

By way of background, I am a 3x ironman finisher with swim times of 1:30 at IMLP 2018, 1:45 at IMNZ 2019 and 1:26 at IMLP 2019. Roughly 18 months ago I couldn't swim 25yards without gasping for breath. One of my major swim issues is panic/anxiety. I had a habit of going out to hard, getting my HR elevated, hyperventilating and then having to stop and calm myself down, costing a few minutes. I would also get shoulder fatigue quickly, and then my mind would flash to how much further I had to go, and I would start thinking wasn't going to make it, and end up having to stop and calm myself down.

The deboer wetsuit was a pretty big game changer for me. I own a Roka Maverick Pro II Sleeveless and a Desoto T1, each of which I like for various reasons. (I can't say enough good things about DeSoto as a company, and the T1 as a suit, but the db is really a different beast.)

The Fjord really doesn't feel like I'm wearing a wetsuit. The suit was tight, tight enough that when I zipped it I expected to feel significantly constricted when I was "sealed up," but that never happened. Once I was zipped up the whole suit short of shifted into place seemed to disappear. The neckline is low and never made me feel constricted. The chest seemed to stretch in such a way that I could almost forget I was wrapped in all sorts of neoprene. The sleeves are almost imperceptible in the water and there was no difference in shoulder fatigue from the my sleeveless suit. I also never felt like I was overheating (a T1 concern... that thing gets pretty hot). In the water I think it's as buoyant as I need it to be. The T1 feels a bit more buoyant (could be my imagination), but I would almost trust that suit as a lifesaving device. The deboer is very flexible and comfortable overall.

I can't tell you if the suit was faster or not, but I can tell you that my IMLP 2019 swim was an underwater boxing match. WAY MORE THAN MY LAST TWO. I was punched multiple times, goggles knocked off my head twice, was forced underwater a few times and generally had to compete for every stroke (seriously, I couldn't find much water out there without getting trampled). In those circumstances, I would have expected a good amount of anxiety and potential panic.

I have to give the credit to the suit. I think it really kept my head in the game. Who would I pay $1500 for a just a wetsuit? No. Would I pay $1500 for peace of mind? I just did.

You'd have to experience it to believe it. Claustrophobia coupled with a general lack of swim confidence can be a killer. Literally.

That said, some of my fast friends have tried it out and are were impressed by it as well.

Triathletes are suckers for luxury goods, regardless of what they mean to actual performance. Which is the reason those 300 Breitling Ironman watches are probably already sold out. It’s a free country though. Everyone is entitled to be stupid with their money if they want to.

at the same time as being more comforable/confident, also a small improvement in time under what sound like pretty difficult and "peace of mind" destroying circumstances so thats not a bad return on $1500 compared to what it might get you on a bike

the demo program will be important though. you were able to try the suit and realise that for you at least it is worth the cost. for me, i doubt i'll ever be able to pre-purchase swim in any wetsuit here, let alone something as exclusive as a deboer. am i going to pay that much of a premium buying through the website? no.

whereas bikes are reasonably well defined and you can check your fit based on a geometry chart and buy online, wetsuits are so individual fit specific that i see it being a struggle for deboer to break into the market properly. maybe they have enough profit per suit they don't need to hit a wide market

Thank you for the detailed reply

Maybe if I was able to test the Deboer I would buy one.

I too have the DeSoto T1 as well as the same ROKA wetsuit

Both of them feel as you describe the Deboer. so my reason for buying would only be to go faster

If Deboer has a trial policy as other companies do I would order right away

Perhaps they will one day change their policy.

I work for deboer. If you happen to be at Ironman Mont Tremblant this year I will have our demo set of wetsuits, and I'd be happy to arrange a demo - we already have a couple tri clubs lined up. Also, on the off chance you are in Southern Ontario (I live in Toronto) I am arranging demos for some local clubs over the next couple weeks and would be happy to have you join. At $1500 I understand your desire to test the wetsuit, we are working at expanding the reach of our demo events.

Right now Monty has one of our wetsuits to test, and I've also been in touch with Herbert and a wetsuit have been sent to a wetsuit tester he uses. 220 Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine also have wetsuits they're testing. and Triathlon World both tested our wetsuit when we did a demo event in Roth this year. If you speak French, TriMax had a short write-up in their last issue and we expect a more complete write-up soon. From our demo events we have got a lot of feedback from people that they get all the benefits from the buoyancy of a wetsuit, but feel like they aren't wearing anything.

We are currently running a contest on Instagram to give away a Fjord 1.0 wetsuit, so if you enter that's another way you can get you hands on one to try it for yourself!

Have you tried the Orca Alpha? I don't know why people don't rave about that suit up and down, it has the most flexible shoulders of any suit I've worn by a mile. I'm surprised Roka and Blue Seventy haven't emulated whatever material Orca uses on the Alpha.

In the GTN video the way Frazier shows the sleeves they look to be a very similar material to the Orca Alpha. I haven't used the predator, but if it's got the same arms it should be a huge hit. Not sure how Deboer is doing since I haven't raced since Texas this year, but if I see a few at the start line I'll know they're doing well (The margin on those suits has to be incredible). I'm still in awe of Roka and how quickly they blew up. Go to any race and you'll see Roka's scattered around as though it was the only choice available.

Does anyone know anything about Deboer wetsuits?

They've got Frodo selling their wares, so they must be reasonable. And if competition makes Roka wetsuits a little cheaper...

For a two-piece, I find the De Soto top surprisingly inflexible. I have bad shoulders so this matters to me. I find Roka the most flexible I have tried. I’d be open to trying something else, but I’m certainly not paying $900, let alone $1500, for a wetsuit.

I work for deboer. If you happen to be at Ironman Mont Tremblant this year I will have our demo set of wetsuits, and I'd be happy to arrange a demo - we already have a couple tri clubs lined up. Also, on the off chance you are in Southern Ontario (I live in Toronto) I am arranging demos for some local clubs over the next couple weeks and would be happy to have you join. At $1500 I understand your desire to test the wetsuit, we are working at expanding the reach of our demo events.

Right now Monty has one of our wetsuits to test, and I've also been in touch with Herbert and a wetsuit have been sent to a wetsuit tester he uses. 220 Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine also have wetsuits they're testing. and Triathlon World both tested our wetsuit when we did a demo event in Roth this year. If you speak French, TriMax had a short write-up in their last issue and we expect a more complete write-up soon. From our demo events we have got a lot of feedback from people that they get all the benefits from the buoyancy of a wetsuit, but feel like they aren't wearing anything.

We are currently running a contest on Instagram to give away a Fjord 1.0 wetsuit, so if you enter that's another way you can get you hands on one to try it for yourself!

Should be coming up this week guys....

Just wanted to say thanks to the Deboer rep Daniel who took time to let me try one of the suits today at IMMT.

I don't know if its the perfect suit for me or not, but I gotta say, it was damn impressive. Way more shoulder flex than not only other one piece suits I've tried (roka maverick, b70 helix, huub arch), but more than my Desoto as well.

After trying did you buy one?

No. Wouldn't rule it out 100%, but it is pretty damn expensive...

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

Does this look like competition that will drive down other companies prices?

While its good to see more players in the market for sure, it doesn't seem like this is going to be a brand that appeals to the normal consumer. Frodo is flashy and lives a life of luxury (at least on social media). For sure people will be buying these because of him but lets be real; those are absurdly priced. I'm sure they'll release lower priced but models in the future though.

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

Both the Fjord and the Floh are targeted towards all swimmers. With the materials we developed we did not have to sacrifice buoyancy for flexibility. You're right, it really is warmth between the two suits. The Fjord's arms are only 0.3mm thick, so they don't provide a lot of warmth, but they do offer incredible shoulder mobility.

Like anything else, you fix it, leave it that way, or replace it.

For those who are worried and actually thinking about buying it, might want to consider asking Deboer. They might have a "contact us" link on their website.

My review is in the can, should be out soon..

Any chance anyone has posted a review?

They have the 3.0 out now

Used by the Norwegians

I REALLY wish they had a buy and try policy

I have spent more on wetsuits than I have my bike

So I am willing to spend the money for an improved suit

But I just can’t get to $1500 hoping it will be faster when ROKA and a few other companies encourage you to buy and try and will accept returns if necessary

The short answer is no, we don't currently have any publicly available data that would be almost the equivalent of a bike companies white paper. I know the anecdotal feedback we get from athletes doesn't satisfy the Slowtwitch community, but as an example Ben swam his fastest 100y in the Fjord 1.0 since his high school swim team days.

If you're at an event where we're doing demos try it for yourself. We're going to be at VillaSport in the Woodlands on Thursday on the off chance you're in the area. We've rented a few lanes at their pool from 11am - 3pm and it's going to be free to any athlete to swim. We will have a few demo wetsuits there that you can try on, or if you just want to get in a pre-race swim without demo-ing a wetsuit you can do that too.

I have hear you will have suits to try at Daytona next month

Will you be there?