Looking to get some info on the new designs…hype, or real help? Sounds like a good idea, but is it really a better design?
Thanks in advance for any opinions.
I can only share my experience. I’ve used a (v 1.0) Roka Pro for past few years, and love it. (Im about an hour IM swimmer, 30 min HIM, so OK but not great swimmer)
I decided to try the new Maverick X Gen 2 wetsuit (on sale). I ordered the same size as the Pro. I’ve raced in it twice since then, and swam/practiced a few more times.
The Gen 2 seems a bit stretchier (different neoprene?). It bunches more in the armpits, but that’s not noticeable once in the water. It seems a bit bigger in the chest and neck (i.e., get a little leakage that I did not notice in the Gen 1). Its more flexible in the shoulders and neck.
For me the Pro is such a good suit, and I’ve had such a good experience with the Pro, its hard to say the Gen2 is massively better, but wetsuits are such a personal thing…
Haven’t seen the new designs, however…
DeSoto has had this in their wetsuits for years, and my DeSoto definitely has no restriction at all with arms forward or extended.
If Roka has done something similar, I would definitely consider one of these when my T2 needs replacing.
My Roka Maverick X feels like no restriction in the water. The arms up design works.
as has been noted, it’s not new for roka, and it’s not even close to new for tri wetsuits. de soto started it.
if what you want is absolutely, positively, the easiest wetsuit to get on and off, to swim in, it’s the de soto. but the de soto is 2 pieces and some people can’t wrap their brains around that. which i understand.
roka is a great wetsuit. de soto is the most forgiving wetsuit. do you need forgiveness, gary? the older you get, the more forgiveness you need.
a friend and I “designed” a wetsuit where, when laid flat, the arms would point up, not down. Wetsuit designers add flexibility in the shoulders with differen materials but why? Just change the design. There is also some research that shows where propulsion comes form the swim stroke and thus this design makes a lot more sense. Of course ideas are a dime a dozen soooo…
But my question: Is this what is meant by arms up design?
But my question: Is this what is meant by arms up design?
yes.
My Roka Maverick X feels like no restriction in the water. The arms up design works.
Thanks. I like my current suit, but always looking for better performance. Plus, mine is getting a bit worn…
as has been noted, it’s not new for roka, and it’s not even close to new for tri wetsuits. de soto started it.
if what you want is absolutely, positively, the easiest wetsuit to get on and off, to swim in, it’s the de soto. but the de soto is 2 pieces and some people can’t wrap their brains around that. which i understand.
roka is a great wetsuit. de soto is the most forgiving wetsuit. do you need forgiveness, gary? the older you get, the more forgiveness you need.
Dan, I’m so old I can’t remember what I need forgiveness for! 
From the ROKA site:
“The revolutionary Arms-Up construction liberated athletes to swim without restriction in a way no other triathlon wetsuit on the planet could.
Never satisfied, we diffused the technologies of the Maverick X to the rest of our patented Maverick Wetsuit collection. The new Maverick Pro II and Maverick Elite II now feature the Arms Up construction originally designed for the Maverick X.”
I’m currently in an Aquaman Cell Gold and love it, but this seems interesting. In forgiveness, do you mean shoulder flexibility? It’s very hard to imagine a suit more flexible than the cell gold.
as has been noted, it’s not new for roka, and it’s not even close to new for tri wetsuits. de soto started it.
if what you want is absolutely, positively, the easiest wetsuit to get on and off, to swim in, it’s the de soto. but the de soto is 2 pieces and some people can’t wrap their brains around that. which i understand.
roka is a great wetsuit. de soto is the most forgiving wetsuit. do you need forgiveness, gary? the older you get, the more forgiveness you need.
Dan, I’m so old I can’t remember what I need forgiveness for!
From the ROKA site:
“The revolutionary Arms-Up construction liberated athletes to swim without restriction in a way no other triathlon wetsuit on the planet could.
Never satisfied, we diffused the technologies of the Maverick X to the rest of our patented Maverick Wetsuit collection. The new Maverick Pro II and Maverick Elite II now feature the Arms Up construction originally designed for the Maverick X.”
I’m currently in an Aquaman Cell Gold and love it, but this seems interesting. In forgiveness, do you mean shoulder flexibility? It’s very hard to imagine a suit more flexible than the cell gold.
what i mean by forgiving is:
- very easy to get it to fit, still pretty easy to get it to fit if your body changes
- very easy to get on and off
- very easy to swim in
this has always been my view of 2 piece. if you just consider who ought to be in a product (just based on best match) probably a third of the triathlon population ought to be in 2 piece.
I’m a FOP swimer and I have a maverick x.
I have owned two other mfg wetsuits. Roka was the first wetsuit where I felt my shoulders weren’t being restrictive. I would normally get shoulder fatigue within the first 300-400 yards of a race with other wetsuits.
Wetsuit fit is king though. It has to fit you properly for you to benefit. With Roka’s 30 day no question asks return policy, you can put one through the ringer and really see if you like it.
as has been noted, it’s not new for roka, and it’s not even close to new for tri wetsuits. de soto started it.
if what you want is absolutely, positively, the easiest wetsuit to get on and off, to swim in, it’s the de soto. but the de soto is 2 pieces and some people can’t wrap their brains around that. which i understand.
roka is a great wetsuit. de soto is the most forgiving wetsuit. do you need forgiveness, gary? the older you get, the more forgiveness you need.
Dan, I’m so old I can’t remember what I need forgiveness for!
From the ROKA site:
“The revolutionary Arms-Up construction liberated athletes to swim without restriction in a way no other triathlon wetsuit on the planet could.
Never satisfied, we diffused the technologies of the Maverick X to the rest of our patented Maverick Wetsuit collection. The new Maverick Pro II and Maverick Elite II now feature the Arms Up construction originally designed for the Maverick X.”
I’m currently in an Aquaman Cell Gold and love it, but this seems interesting. In forgiveness, do you mean shoulder flexibility? It’s very hard to imagine a suit more flexible than the cell gold.
what i mean by forgiving is:
- very easy to get it to fit, still pretty easy to get it to fit if your body changes
- very easy to get on and off
- very easy to swim in
this has always been my view of 2 piece. if you just consider who ought to be in a product (just based on best match) probably a third of the triathlon population ought to be in 2 piece.
Ok, thanks. Fortunately my body has changed little over the years, thanks to the sport! In the past, the varying manufacturers fit differently, so purchase was often based on that. That’s why I always ended up in the Aquaman line, as it fit me very well. With the lack of brick and mortar stores carrying full lines anymore, it’s very difficult to try them on, and even so, dry in a store is different than in the water. I have never tried Desoto, even though I always stopped by to see Emilio when in the area in past years.
As my suit is getting a bit more torn and patched, and always looking for a little more speed (or less decline!), and the fact that my team has a promotion with Roka, I was simply looking at them and wondering if that feeling actually works well. I have to say that my current suit, with the internal liner, is exceptionally comfortable and easy to get off now that I trimmed the legs a bit (Thanks STConcierge!). Maybe I’m talking myself into something I don’t really need…
So I do not know about other wetsuit makers doing it first or not but I can say that the Maverick X has NO shoulder restriction and it is the first wetsuit I can say that about. I have previously raced in BlueSeventy (which I also really liked) and Orca. In the past I’ve always had to pay a lot of attention to really getting the shoulders on just right to make the restriction low, but with the Roka, it just works easily.
Full disclosure: my team is sponsored by Roka.
So I do not know about other wetsuit makers doing it first or not but I can say that the Maverick X has NO shoulder restriction and it is the first wetsuit I can say that about. I have previously raced in BlueSeventy (which I also really liked) and Orca. In the past I’ve always had to pay a lot of attention to really getting the shoulders on just right to make the restriction low, but with the Roka, it just works easily.
Full disclosure: my team is sponsored by Roka.
Thanks. So, you feel the difference between the Maverick X and Pro are well worth the $200? I have a deal too, and while I don’t feel my current suit is slowing me as much as my fitness, I’m always looking for better ways.
I’ve had both arms up and non arms up, and to be honest they both felt great. I’ve never had an issue with shoulder restriction with Roka in gerneral, so all there suits are great, arms up or arms down
So I do not know about other wetsuit makers doing it first or not but I can say that the Maverick X has NO shoulder restriction and it is the first wetsuit I can say that about. I have previously raced in BlueSeventy (which I also really liked) and Orca. In the past I’ve always had to pay a lot of attention to really getting the shoulders on just right to make the restriction low, but with the Roka, it just works easily. Full disclosure: my team is sponsored by Roka.
i agree that the roka suits do very well in shoulder mobility, as do the blueseventy suits, orca and others. i’m talking really about the whole experience of the suit: putting it on, taking it off, chafing or not, adding 15lb, that’s where the de soto earns its keep. the de soto is not in my experience any faster, it’s just easier on those of us who don’t always keep our girlish figures, whose clavicle plates make it hard to put wetsuits on and so forth.
I think the shoulder mobility in the Roka X is due mostly to the cut and to a lesser extent the materials. I believe the new Pro has the same cut, so I would expect it to be very similar, but I have never swam in it.
Personally, despite the 2 piece design, I don’t find the De Soto top particularly free. I do love the speed tube bottoms though especially since they allow for the possibility of wearing them alone in a warmer–but still wetsuit legal–swim. I have bad shoulders so I’m not the best (or maybe I am the best) tester. Certainly, the De Soto is very easy to get in/out of. Just my thoughts…I’m debating the switch to Roka for the arms up design but am also skittish about dropping so much money on a product that is used so infrequently and then intentionally ripped off the body so quickly and violently that avoiding rips and tears is virtually impossible. At least with race wheels you know they should last. Wetsuits aren’t made to last
So I do not know about other wetsuit makers doing it first or not but I can say that the Maverick X has NO shoulder restriction and it is the first wetsuit I can say that about. I have previously raced in BlueSeventy (which I also really liked) and Orca. In the past I’ve always had to pay a lot of attention to really getting the shoulders on just right to make the restriction low, but with the Roka, it just works easily. Full disclosure: my team is sponsored by Roka.
i agree that the roka suits do very well in shoulder mobility, as do the blueseventy suits, orca and others. i’m talking really about the whole experience of the suit: putting it on, taking it off, chafing or not, adding 15lb, that’s where the de soto earns its keep. the de soto is not in my experience any faster, it’s just easier on those of us who don’t always keep our girlish figures, whose clavicle plates make it hard to put wetsuits on and so forth.
Fortunately my weight has fluctuated only a few pounds during the times I’d be using the suit for the last 20 some years, so that’s not an issue I’d be concerned with. My weight gain has been in the legs from cycling, or shoulders in musculature. Putting a suit on has always been tough, but I have some awesome rubber tipped gloves I picked up that make no tears, and make the job really easy. I figure if the suit goes on easy it’s not tight enough! Chafing; no, getting off often isn’t an issue with strippers at most big races. I guess I’m looking for speed in the water and how good a position it puts me in.
Former D1 swimmer at a school in Texas…
Hmm. I have tested many. MavX is the best i have tried but not perfect at least not for me likely b/c of my wide shoulders and super long arms. I always feel a bit of restriction…cant get around it. I have to hike it up way way high.
I always have felt that the sleeveless should work out best for me b/c there is zero restriction but my test workout sets put the fullsleeves as faster which is also what Potts re-iterates. So I have been rolling with that.
I wish that ROKA would put thicker foam/rubber in the chest area on the sleeveless. I think that would be helpful.
In the meantime I am using my X…but that Cat 5 TYR looks intriguing with the arm scoops…
JF