I’ve just bought a new wetsuit (wore out my Roka so bought an Orca). Disappointingly, I find I am consistently 10 secs/100m slower in my new suit.
On paper, the two suits are very similar. Same quality of neoprene and similar thicknesses in the same places. But the Roka just seems more “slippery” through the water.
Is there anything I can do about this?
A friend said he’s heard of silicon sprays you can treat your suit with to make it faster…but this may be an urban myth.
Thanks.
10 secs seems an awful lot different.
That’s what I lose from wetsuit (Orca or Huub) to non-wetsuit.
I’d be getting myself a Roka if I believed it would take 6 mins off my IM swim time (but I won’t because I doubt it would).
Is the new one a significantly different cut ? Does it lift your legs less ? Or is it just more restrictive ?
Are you comparing ows pace to pool?
The suit is already silicone coated (SCS), as are almost all tri wetsuits.
10sec/100m is huge (as mentioned, that’s typically the diff between a wetsuit and swimming in a speedo). Something is fundamentally off if the delta is really that big. Most reasonable tri wetsuits might vary by1-3sec* based on your fit to the suit and swim style.
*3sec/100m is still 45sec in an oly…which is why folks don’t just by $200 intro level suits.
I’ve just bought a new wetsuit (wore out my Roka so bought an Orca). Disappointingly, I find I am consistently 10 secs/100m slower in my new suit.
On paper, the two suits are very similar. Same quality of neoprene and similar thicknesses in the same places. But the Roka just seems more “slippery” through the water.
Is there anything I can do about this?
A friend said he’s heard of silicon sprays you can treat your suit with to make it faster…but this may be an urban myth.
Thanks.
I wonder if the neoprene across upper and lower back on one of them is narrower and restricting you from getting into a proper body roll and shoulder extension on streamline.
Can you put them one to of each other and report back on exact dimensions?
Have you tried lowering the seat? I hear that makes you faster…
Seriously though - I would not mess with sprays on a wetsuit. You’ll just damage it.
I’ve just bought a new wetsuit (wore out my Roka so bought an Orca). Disappointingly, I find I am consistently 10 secs/100m slower in my new suit.
On paper, the two suits are very similar. Same quality of neoprene and similar thicknesses in the same places. But the Roka just seems more “slippery” through the water.
Is there anything I can do about this?
A friend said he’s heard of silicon sprays you can treat your suit with to make it faster…but this may be an urban myth.
Thanks.
https://www.divein.com/diving/underwater-scooter/
I’m a bit curious of where to store it…
Is there a chance that you are comparing pace per 100 meter on one to pace per 100 yard on the other?
Ten seconds is a lot but yards to meters could contribute to 7-8 of them.
I’ve just bought a new wetsuit (wore out my Roka so bought an Orca). Disappointingly, I find I am consistently 10 secs/100m slower in my new suit.
On paper, the two suits are very similar. Same quality of neoprene and similar thicknesses in the same places. But the Roka just seems more “slippery” through the water.
Is there anything I can do about this?
A friend said he’s heard of silicon sprays you can treat your suit with to make it faster…but this may be an urban myth.
Thanks.
Funny, I went the other way and I think I was faster in my Orca, or my swimming just got shitter more likely 😂
In all seriousness tho, my Orca and Roka fit quite differently, I think the Roka has more room in the shoulder region.
OP here…thanks for all the comments. Firstly, yes - I am comparing apples to apples. Same 1500m lake swim, same conditions, Roka consistently 10s/100m faster. I should point out though that I am not a great swimmer…we’re talking 2:10 vs 2:20 - but still a big difference. So yes…I’m talking about 2 min 30 difference over an olympic swim…which is massive.
The fit of both suits is similar - I don’t (for example) feel that I have more shoulder freedom in the Roka than the Orca. Both have similar thicknesses of neoprene on the legs (which is a big deal for me…sinking legs). Both are the same Yamamoto neoprene, both SCS coated.
So I’m not sure what the difference is. Every wetsuit manufacturer will claim they have the fastest suit. But with Roka, maybe it’s true?
when you say you wore it out, does that mean you trashed it?
If you still have it, swim with it and compare it again with the new one. If it is still faster, send the new one back. I wouldn’t pay for something that makes me slower, especially when its hundreds of dollars.
I would do the testing in the pool because it’s a much more controllable environment. Do 3x300 with each wetsuit, and without, at the same RPE. Then see what you get. If this is correct your Roka isn’t a good suit for you unfortunately.