Anyone own one of these yet? Whats the word so far if you do. Thanks guys
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I bought one and wore it for the first time at Wildflower. I’m a huge fan of the suit coming from a 4 year-old Blueseventy Reaction.
I do notice a big difference in shoulder flexibility and like that there is a lot of buoyancy low in the suit but very little in the arms/shoulders/chest. It puts me in a great body position. I can’t say if the little flotation ridge down the middle that is designed to help with body rotation makes a difference, but it helps the suit look great.
I also met Rob from Roka and he even snapped a picture of me and offered a zip before the race. I just like supporting an innovative new business and having access to the company.
Having never worn a high-end wetsuit of another brand, I imagine fit determines more than anything else and all things being equal, I would rather give my money to Rob and Roka than a bigger brand. The one thing that blew me away about this suit is how easy it is to remove. It’s something I have never thought too much about, but it really does come off quickly.
Here’s the picture they took of me pre-zip:
In terms of sizing, I’m 6’1" 168lbs and got the S/T. I think the M/T would have worked as well.
Thanks for the input KJM, shoulder flexability is the biggest concern for me and that is why I am leaning towards the Maverick. I also like you dig the feel of the company and how they went about designing the suit. Congrats on a great race.
Dave
Huge difference in shoulder flexibility between the Roka and my old suit. It’s hard for me to imagine a wetsuit having more mobility in the shoulder - admittedly haven’t tried other high-end suits.
Just went for my first swim in my new Maverick full. My prior suit was B70 Helix so another high end model. I will tell you, this thing is unreal. I’m an MOP swimmer and this suits will definitely help in more ways than simple buoyancy. When you start stroking, you can feel it lift your hips/legs up to the surface. It’s a tangible feeling. My B70 never felt that way.
Also, it’s super light and thin in the upper, which makes it really flexible. All the thickness is in the lower half and it really seems to work. I highly recommend dropping the $$ if you need new rubber.
One thing to note is you need to really size down. I’m 5’11", 153lbs and I went with a small and it’s the right size. Had I gone with S/T or a M, I’d be swimming in rubber (pun intended). The neck is really low and I didn’t feel constricted in any way in the small. In fact, I’ll likely cut @ 2" from the ankles and it will still be well below my calves.
ROKA, you guys have a real winner on your hands!
Thanks guys for the feedback! We spent a lot of time working on that faster body position and shoulder flexibility - so that’s great to hear that you can feel both.
GIO: re: the legs of the Maverick Pro, we purposefully made them a bit longer than most brands to eek out a little extra buoyancy, but of course no worries if you want to trim yours. The legs are seam taped for the last 5 inches, so you can cut them cleanly if you want. We’d recommend using TriSlide on your ankles whether you cut the legs or not. (Our suit is easy to get out of at speed in T1, but TriSlide always helps.)
Rob
Thanks for all the input guys, I will be pulling the trigger on one tonight. Reason #1- Just got out of the lake having gone for a swim in my brand new suit (will not mention the brand) which was the best I have ever worn and a big improvement but I still need more shoulder flex. Hope this does the trick. #2- Seeing one of the owners (Rob Canales) get on here and respond himself confirms that ROKA is the kind of company I want to support.
Hows the availability?
Go to their website, go to buy one and select a size. If they have it, it ships right away and you have it quickly. If they don’t have your size, they tell you right away.
Yep, current stock is listed at our website. We’re getting another, larger, batch of inventory in early June and will start taking backorders for those products soon.
Rob
I just pulled the trigger on a medium. For me, the decision was simple; I was debating between Roka and another brand and soliciting feedback on twitter, the Roka founder tweeted me and said to try a medium and if I didn’t like it I could return it.
Winning.
A little late to the party but I have the Maverick Pro full sleeve and love it. I’m an improving MOP swimmer and the suit has very flexible sleeves, as others have mentioned, and seemingly gets my body in a great position. I don’t know if I am faster in it (upcoming races will soon tell), but I sure FEEL faster. I liked it so much I ordered the sleeveless also.
Much to my chagrin, it looks like the S/T is out of stock. So it looks like I’ll have to suffer through my next race in my old Synergy.
Anyone compared the ROKA to a HUUB? I’m really leaning toward the ROKA, but was curious about any head to head comparisons from those that were recently in the market and may have tried both.
Thanks
Swam in my new suit for the first time this week and it is awesome, I will recommend this suit to everyone. Definitely worth the money, this is what I have been wanting out of a wetsuit.
Your review convinced my wife to pull the trigger on one and I got this from Michael at Roka after seeing the guys at Vineman last weekend. One of the little dots that protects the seams was peeling off and Rob (founder) snapped a picture of it:
Hi Kevin,
Rob sent me the pic of the reinforcing dot delaminating on the inside of your suit. We would like to go ahead and provide you a replacement suit - we’ll repair yours, share the problem with our manufacturer, and add this suit to our demo fleet. Would you like to get a Medium/Tall this time? Also, will the shipping address be the same as the one you used on previous orders?
Just curious - doesn’t impact us sending the replacement in any way - can you recall if there is anything you did with the suit that could have contributed to the damage? If so it would be helpful to know so that we can share it with our manufacturer.
Too bad he’s such a nice guy, because Michael smoked me at a local Splash and Dash and he and his brother kept me off the podium. Jerks.
On a scale of 1-10, I would put the customer service at about a 14. I have never been more pleased working with a brand.
I am super impressed with their customer service. I just used the online chat mode to contact them, and within seconds Michael responded. I asked about trying the suit for size prior to purchasing, and he was very willing and helpful. I’m very, very impressed! I can’t wait to try it!
I am super impressed with their customer service. I just used the online chat mode to contact them, and within seconds Michael responded. I asked about trying the suit for size prior to purchasing, and he was very willing and helpful. I’m very, very impressed! I can’t wait to try it!
x 2 literally just done the same - michael was great
I heard a lot of positive feedback on the Roka Maverick from the pros before and after Vineman 70.3
All of the feedback was unsolicited and not meant for any marketing… Pros genuinely like this suit. Features would seem to benefit swimmers of all levels.
Im looking forward to trying one
Thanks for the kind words. We appreciate the shout-outs.
Re: Michael (aka T-Bone), he is awesome. Here’s some quick background on him since some people probably don’t realize how much he knows about tri or swimming fast. T-Bone joined us full-time recently, but we’ve known him for almost 15 years. He swam with Kurt and me at Stanford, is an engineer by training, and also got his pro card as a triathlete last year. He helped test prototypes for us last year and was first out of the water overall and/or in his age group at many races, including IM 70.3 World Champs (30-34 AG FOTW). So he knows the sport and the product really well.
Also, T-Bone is not “just a swimmer.” He rode a 2:10 at IM 70.3 Calgary last year on an old Cervelo P1 without a powermeter or the latest tech. I believe he rode 2:07 earlier in the year on the same rig. At ROKA, he works on several parts of our business and has a flexible work schedule with reasonable hours so he can still pursue racing. As a hiring bonus we upgraded him to a Shiv Pro, so hopefully he can get that bike split down even further with the free speed. We’re stoked to have him on the team and glad you think he’s doing a good job.
We try to get better everyday and are constantly working to improve our products. To that end, any constructive feedback you’ve got would be much appreciated. Please feel free to send it to support@rokasports.com or to me directly.
Best,
Rob