After my 8 year old Desoto Black Pearl T1 sleeveless wetsuit ripped beyond repair in June, I was forced to search for a new one. I ended up purchasing a Roka Maverick Elite full suit, mainly for these reasons:
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I like to help out small companies with brands that are new and not-yet well known.
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The guys at FLO Wheels recommended Roka and I really like my new FLO wheels.
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Their sales pitch is that these suits make good swimmers faster, as opposed to most suits, which are designed to make slow swimmers faster.
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The pictures on their website are really cool.
Purchase Experience
They have a 10% slowtwitch discount, which makes their $450 suit closer to $400. This was a pleasant surprise. I ordered an extra small by mistake, but emailed them and it was corrected within minutes. I would give them a thumbs up for customer service.
Fit
I did one open water training swim before my first half iron triathlon last weekend. When I got out of the water, I felt excessive pressure on my shoulders. The suit seemed to have “moved down” while I was swimming, or I hadn’t pulled it up far enough to begin with.
At last weekend’s triathlon, I had my wife help me pull the wetsuit up “all the way”, around the legs, arms, shoulders, etc. This did the trick. I felt absolutely no pressure on my shoulders or anywhere else. And the suit felt great. Very tight all over, yet surprisingly flexible.
The first thing I noticed when I got into the water was the complete lack of water leakage into the suit. With my two-piece (sleeveless) T1, lots of water had always entered through the various crevices. This was the only wetsuit I had ever used, so I thought it was normal.
Results
I swam the 1.2 miles in 31 minutes, which was a PR by about 2 minutes. The suit felt great the whole time, and I don’t know how else to describe it except to say it made me “feel” faster. And it seems obvious to me the Roka suit did actually make me faster. The suit came off in transition very easily, and I was on my way in no time.
So suit quality, customer service, and race results all positive. I would recommend this suit if you’re an above average swimmer already and looking to upgrade.
Note: I am a long-time ST member, with no financial interest in, or association with Roka Sports or its owners.