My xterra vortex has bit the dust after 3 years and now in the market.
Can’t really afford the high end suit but looking at the maverick comp
Any thoughts?
Bought a Maverick Comp and used it a ton this year. Absolutely love it. It’s holding up much better. Than my previous one(Orca) and those of my buddies as well.
You would be insanely foolish to get any other wetsuit than ROKA. The things it does to your body position are absolutely incredible. Buy it, and don’t think twice, money well spent.
For me personally, Roka suits are the best swimming suits I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot of different suits. I ended up in a Maverick Elite, for me the differences with the Pro were marginal. I haven’t tried the Comp, or the new X. I did a 4+ mile open water swim two days ago, my longest yet, and was extremely happy with my suit. It’s got one little spot where the shape of the seams chafes next to my armpit on both sides, I need to get some glue-on tape to cover that up, but other than that the performance has been impeccable.
They do have significant sales a few times a year, unless you’re in a rush, why not wait for one of those?
Usually if you’re in a tri club, or know someone in a tri club they have discount codes for 35% off. Sometimes more.
Usually if you’re in a tri club, or know someone in a tri club they have discount codes for 35% off. Sometimes more.
Starting to sound like Xterra’s business model of list prices few actually pay.
Usually if you’re in a tri club, or know someone in a tri club they have discount codes for 35% off. Sometimes more.
Starting to sound like Xterra’s business model of list prices few actually pay.
Or Rudy’s, I’d love to find the poor sucker who actually paid $400 for one of their helmets only to find out there was a code out there to save $300.
For me personally, Roka suits are the best swimming suits I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot of different suits. I ended up in a Maverick Elite, for me the differences with the Pro were marginal. I haven’t tried the Comp, or the new X. I did a 4+ mile open water swim two days ago, my longest yet, and was extremely happy with my suit. It’s got one little spot where the shape of the seams chafes next to my armpit on both sides, I need to get some glue-on tape to cover that up, but other than that the performance has been impeccable.
They do have significant sales a few times a year, unless you’re in a rush, why not wait for one of those?
I’m 100% in this camp. I’ve got an old BlueSeventy Axis wetsuit that has a few small fingernail holes in it. I’m sold on the Maverick Elite, I’m just waiting for it to go on sale. I have a race that I’d love it for in early November, I think I’ll be pushing now to get one in Australia at a discounted price prior the then. Now tossing up whether I just go again with the BlueSeventy and wait or just bite the bullet and pay full price.
To be fair, I take Xterra’s model to be:
- if you’re in a rush or price insensitive, you pay an inflated list price
- if you’re patient, you wait for a modest sale during the season or a big one at the end
- if you’re in a tri club, you’re probably more price sensitive but you get a discount
And it all averages out to some reasonable profit.
Price discrimination (which I don’t mean in a judgmental way, just as a technical term) is an art form, and it’s both hard to do effectively and hard to do effectively without pissing off your customers. But when companies can pull it off, it shouldn’t be surprising that they do it, and you could think of it as the less price sensitive subsidizing the more price sensitive consumers, yielding some acceptable average profit for the company.
My Maverick X wetsuit was a HUGE leap forward compared to my Xterra Vortex 2 wetsuit. It really felt like I had no restriction in the arms. Try them out and if you don’t like it, send it back.
Anyone have thoughts or experience with Huub vs Roka??
Aquaman…the best.
Overall my Roka Pro has been great - just don’t expect it to last longer than 2 seasons (2IMs plus a handful of halves for me). The “front pit” area cracks after every swim now and I have to patch it after most every swim.
I talked with folks on my team and everyone is having the same issue.
For me personally, Roka suits are the best swimming suits I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot of different suits. I ended up in a Maverick Elite, for me the differences with the Pro were marginal. I haven’t tried the Comp, or the new X. I did a 4+ mile open water swim two days ago, my longest yet, and was extremely happy with my suit. It’s got one little spot where the shape of the seams chafes next to my armpit on both sides, I need to get some glue-on tape to cover that up, but other than that the performance has been impeccable.
They do have significant sales a few times a year, unless you’re in a rush, why not wait for one of those?
I’m 100% in this camp. I’ve got an old BlueSeventy Axis wetsuit that has a few small fingernail holes in it. I’m sold on the Maverick Elite, I’m just waiting for it to go on sale. I have a race that I’d love it for in early November, I think I’ll be pushing now to get one in Australia at a discounted price prior the then. Now tossing up whether I just go again with the BlueSeventy and wait or just bite the bullet and pay full price.
If you want to save 25% on BlueSeventy here is a code for Blueseventy.com: TGb702016
As for suits, I think Roka has done a phenomenal thing in their branding/marketing - it could easily be a case study in business schools. They pretty much came out of nowhere, and I am not sure what the market share is but it has to be high. With that being said, BlueSeventy makes a phenomenal wetsuit. One of my first suits ever was the original the Helix and then I was in various 2XU suits & TYR suits. The current Helix is amazing. BlueSeventy has been refining their suits for a long time and you definitely can’t go wrong with a Helix. Never swam in anything but a Helix so I can’t comment on the lower tier suits.
My xterra vortex has bit the dust after 3 years and now in the market.
Can’t really afford the high end suit but looking at the maverick comp
Any thoughts?
I have used all sorts of suits in my days but mainly 2XU, TYR, and BlueSeventy. I am not a fan of any suit with Yamamoto 38 rubber which is Maverick Comp in places. I do like the high-end suits as they tend to be less restrictive due to many things including thinner patches, but with that being said, the most important thing in a suit is it fits.
Fwiw, I have been a huge BlueSeventy Helix fan from the beginning, and the reverse zipper is comforting knowing that someone isn’t going to accidentally pull down your zipper in the swim. I know the Reaction does use #39 Yamamoto throughout the suit but I have never used one. Regardless you can save 25% by using the following code at BS:** TGb702016**
I also really liked my 2XU Project X:3. It was a great suit. With all this being said, you can often score huge discount on buying wetsuits second hand on places like eBay. I am surprised how many times you can scoop up a $800 suit for less than $200.
Anyone have thoughts or experience with Huub vs Roka??
I had the ArchII before the Roka X. IMO there was no compassion. X all day long. Best suit I have ever swam in.
I have a vortex 2 (full). I bought a sleeveless roka (the pro, I think). I have PR’d every swim since using it - including shaving 3 mins of my 70.3 swim pr. I’m going to buy a Roka full suit next season. Considering full suits are supposed to be faster than sleeveless, I have no doubt Roka is faster/worth the price differential.
Yes, two thumbs up for Roka. Like others mentioned, find a discount code or wait for it to go on sale!
Overall my Roka Pro has been great - just don’t expect it to last longer than 2 seasons (2IMs plus a handful of halves for me). The “front pit” area cracks after every swim now and I have to patch it after most every swim.
I talked with folks on my team and everyone is having the same issue.
How much swim time did it take for this issue to develop?
Roka is using the same high-quality Yamamoto neoprenes with the same SCS coatings as most other high-end wetsuit manufacturers, so if this were somehow unique to Roka, that would imply that their design was prematurely fatiguing the neoprene. Seems odd, no?
For me personally, Roka suits are the best swimming suits I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot of different suits. I ended up in a Maverick Elite, for me the differences with the Pro were marginal. I haven’t tried the Comp, or the new X. I did a 4+ mile open water swim two days ago, my longest yet, and was extremely happy with my suit. It’s got one little spot where the shape of the seams chafes next to my armpit on both sides, I need to get some glue-on tape to cover that up, but other than that the performance has been impeccable.
They do have significant sales a few times a year, unless you’re in a rush, why not wait for one of those?
I’m 100% in this camp. I’ve got an old BlueSeventy Axis wetsuit that has a few small fingernail holes in it. I’m sold on the Maverick Elite, I’m just waiting for it to go on sale. I have a race that I’d love it for in early November, I think I’ll be pushing now to get one in Australia at a discounted price prior the then. Now tossing up whether I just go again with the BlueSeventy and wait or just bite the bullet and pay full price.
spewing roka Australia folded up and roka went global through the US. Our dollar sucks and shipping hurts. I remember when the roka wetsuits were the same price as US, but had an AU in front of it. Instead of US500 for a mav elite, it would be AU500. Plus they had the same specials too. I was lucky to pick up a very lightly used elite for $200 aus recently. Compared to my Zone3 Aspire, the legs are super thicker and this thing is tight as anything. Takes a while to put on, more than the Aspire. Arms feel more free. Waiting for the sharks to piss off before I try it in the drink haha