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!