1 Piece trisuit- Roka, Kiwami, De Soto or?

Triathlon Forum
1

Most of my races are sprint distance so I would like to switch from my 2 piece outfits to a 1 piece…thinking their might be slightly less drag in a good 1 piece.

I’ve heard good things about Kiwami and De Soto products so they would be in the mix. I have some Roka gear and have been pleased with everything I’ve gotten from them. On Roka’s website they say their trisuit is optimized to use with a swimskin or wetsuit. My races will most likely be non-wetsuit so what’s everyone’s take on how fast these suits are in the water by themselves? Are all of these brands relatively close as to performance and comfort? I’m open to other alternatives as well.

2

I’d throw into that mix Zoot and Pactimo
.

3

Check out Fusion.

4

Zoot was my first pair of tri shorts…I like them and I still use them although the lettering came off a long time ago.

5

I tested my 2017 Roka sleeved suit under a skinsuit in the pool. Results were Roka sleeved suit = slower than speedo. Controls are difficult but I tried to swim 500m LCM easy. The suit has 5 races in it and the sleeves felt like they were catching water.

Sleeved trisuit under sleeveless skinsuit - 9:10
Sleeveless Skinsuit with trisuit rolled down - 8:52
Speedo - 9:12

6

Biased and do work with them on occasion, but Kiwami eliminates your need for a swimskin. Will not absorb water and weigh you down, compression is far superior to other suits I’ve worn, and wears like iron. Have used the other mentioned products, but they’re not in the same league.

7

Interesting. I had pretty much decided on a sleeveless 1 piece…mostly for the reason you specified (sleeves loosening and catching water after a number of uses).

8

Having worked with several brands of 1 piece suits, it depends upon the material as to how or if it will sag.
Not all 1 piece suits are created =

9

30 years ago there was only one one piece suit… The speedo… Best worn with only sock racers and factory pilots…

10

I tested my 2017 Roka sleeved suit under a skinsuit in the pool. Results were Roka sleeved suit = slower than speedo. Controls are difficult but I tried to swim 500m LCM easy. The suit has 5 races in it and the sleeves felt like they were catching water.

Sleeved trisuit under sleeveless skinsuit - 9:10
Sleeveless Skinsuit with trisuit rolled down - 8:52
Speedo - 9:12

I’m going to do a similar test, jammers vs core pants vs swimskin vs sleeveless wetsuit vs sleeved wetsuit

I’m thinking either 50m or 100m, perhaps 500m fatigue might play a part? And I think you would need to be doing the test flat out?

11

I’d throw into that mix Zoot and Pactimo

I hadn’t seen the Pactimo, but I really like the look of their sleeved kit. Does anyone have any experience with it who could offer feedback? I mostly do short course racing, but normally wetsuit legal.
Also, how do they fit for tall/thin(ish) people (I’m 6’2" 175)? I took a close look at DeSoto but they apparently assume all tall people are also fairly heavy; I’m a size XL for height, but medium for every other metric in their system.

12

Throw Zoot in the mix. Also consider Wattie. They are a bit spendg, but very nice.

Of the ones you listed, I’d go Kiwami.

13

The Zoot looks pretty good. I’m leaning toward the Kiwami though. Thanks.

14

I tested my 2017 Roka sleeved suit under a skinsuit in the pool. Results were Roka sleeved suit = slower than speedo. Controls are difficult but I tried to swim 500m LCM easy. The suit has 5 races in it and the sleeves felt like they were catching water.

Sleeved trisuit under sleeveless skinsuit - 9:10
Sleeveless Skinsuit with trisuit rolled down - 8:52
Speedo - 9:12

I’m going to do a similar test, jammers vs core pants vs swimskin vs sleeveless wetsuit vs sleeved wetsuit

I’m thinking either 50m or 100m, perhaps 500m fatigue might play a part? And I think you would need to be doing the test flat out?

I went with the longer interval to try to minimize error introduced by watch start/stop, bad flip turn, etc. Kept it easy so fatigue wouldn’t be a factor. My first time doing it so not sure what type of protocol is best.

15

I was Roka last year… but gonna try my Endura this year.

16

Replying to thread in general …

Has anyone used the castelli sleeved suit? I’ve used the T1 for a couple of season in long course, and just skipped it for short course (sleeveless kiwami suit). But our club kit is now castelli so thought of getting the sleeved suit for short course. The T1 tested very fast on me - is the sleeved suit constructed similarly?

17

Kiwami is great and they do really nice customization.

Desoto is also great and made in America.

Edited for a correction.

18

Worn a lot of uniforms… Kiwami is my favorite. Their more expensive stuff is worth it but I’ve also worn their less expensive kits and they’re still comfortable and do well in the water. Have a Kiwami Spider WS1 I’ll be wearing for the majority of my races this year… my current favorite kit.

The Kiwami upper level stuff (Spider, Amphibian, Rio) is very swim skin like, tight fit, comfortable, water beads and runs off it type of thing. If you’re tight on $$ I’d jump all over the Spider WS1 for $189.

19

Am I the only one that found the Kiwami (spider) neck line opened up like a big scoop when on the bike?
I posted about that a couple years ago, I think some folks replied saying it would have no negative effect, but not sure how having a big scoop open at the neck would have no effect…
Aside from that, I agree, that the quality of the kiwami is really nice.

20

I’ve raced in Zoot, DeSoto, LG, own way and Castelli. By far I like the Castelli suit the best. Very light weight, very comfortable, no wrinkes, easy to get top on after the swim. Looks good. I’m a fan!