FIT, FEEL & FAST: THE ROKA MAVERICK PRO

On August 16th I completed a 27kms (16.77 miles for you Yankees), 8 hour 41 minute, open water swim in the Lac du Bonnet area of Manitoba.  

One of the many supporters that made the swim possible was swimming company Roka, which provided me with a super-sweet Maverick Pro Fullsuit for the journey.  It helped make the swim bearable enough that my fellow swimmer, Patrick Peacock, and I were able to stomach a cool Budweiser at the finish.

After putting in more than 100kms of open water training in the Maverick Pro I can give an informed, and super-intelligent review of all my likes (lots) and dislikes (few) about the suit.

FIT

I am 155-160lbs (depending on how many bathroom trips I've taken throughout the day) and 5'8" tall (unfortunately I never get any taller), with thick legs and a stocky build.  The boys at Roka sized me up for a medium full suit which fit bang on

The suit didn't take on any water, none, zippo, zero, zilch! It has very tight fitting cuffs, which most suits don't have, that keep the suit from taking on water in the arms.  It also has a slightly beefy but not intrusive (at least it felt substantial to me) collar which kept water from getting into the body.

Quite noticeably the suit seems to have longer legs than my previous suits, or maybe that's just a function of me being built like a Russian gymnast. But it seems to also give the suit extra buoyancy in the legs for us leg-dinky swimmers.

Bottom line: a properly fitted Maverick Pro will fit snuggly all-around, with a slight bit of extra snugness around areas that water than seep in.

FEEL

This is where I'm so thankful I had the Roka boys on my team for the long swim.  This suit is a dream to train in!  If there's any test of the comfort of a wetsuit, it's how your shoulders feel after 4, 5, 9 hour long open water swims.  So you're hearing from an expert folks!

The thin shoulder panels kept my arms and shoulders fresh during every single distance I swam in the suit.  From day one the suit was flexible and took ZERO adjusting to as far as the flexibility was concerned.

The buoyancy of the suit was also a help as I've got a weak kick and sink legs from not being a super-swimmer as a kid.  My legs stayed up in the water and it took no effort to keep my chest down.

The one thing I would note is that body glide was a must with this suit around the back of the neck.  The substantial collar rubbed enough that my first swim out gave me a really good-looking neck hickey that my wife seemed to appreciate.

Bottom line on the feel: this suit is an amazingly flexible suit that also provides stability where stability is needed.  It's a great balance of structure to maintain a good body position, and supple to keep the suit from being a struggle to swim in.

FAST

This section will be quick (the paragraph on "Fast" will be "quick", get it? HAHAHAHA!).

There's nothing quick about a 27kms distance swim, nothing at all.  AT times we were going 1500m per hour, which a reported printed as being "Painfully Slow". Thanks for the vote of confidence there buddy…

However, I'm not just a pretty face and a slow open water swimmer.  No sir! I've also done two sprint distance triathlons to put this baby through some speed.  A sprint-distance triathlon swim can be described as a 750 meter all-out, max effort, time trial, while simultaneously engaging in a game of real life Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.

Bottom line on the speed of this suit: it's bloody fast yo! Granted, my swimming has improved a lot since putting in 300,000 meters of training over the year, but my triathlon swim times went from 13:30 with my former unnamed suit, to 11:30 with the Roka Maverick Pro.  I went from the front of the second pack of swimmer, comprised of decent age group swimmers, to being able to hang on to the front of the lead pack of former elite speed swimmers.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

Likes: this suit! Long short short, it's awesome, go buy one now!

Dislikes: I've only have one serious dislike about this suit, which may not even be the wetsuits fault "It's not you wetsuit, it's me."  After putting in over 100kms of training in the wetsuit the armpits developed wear-holes from my arm turning over and rubbing in the armpit.  I had to patch up about four holes prior to the 27km swim, and I'll have to patch up another four now that the swim is done.  This is probably a function of wetsuits not being built to sustain 9 straight hours of swimming, combined with my stroke having a slight armpit rub, combined with the neoprene around the armpits/shoulders being slightly more delicate to promote arm turnover.

Here's the scoop on the Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit.  If you want a top of the line wetsuit, don't even think about any of the other $800 suits, get this one or you're just being silly!  There's a reason all the top pros are moving over to Roka, it's because the suit rocks!

SWEET GEORGIA BROWN, I can go outside!!!

After the worst winter in the history of the Canadian Prairies, it's finally warm enough to get away from the black line and begin swimming in the open water.

That said, now that I've actually done more than sit in front of the TV wearing the wetsuit I can give a review of the Roka Maverick Pro Fullsuit. But wait there's more, being trapped indoors over the winter allowed me to get very comfortable with the Roka Sim Shorts. Two reviews for the price of one, hot damn!

ROKA SIM SHORTS
These babies are to my buns as a tuxedo is to James Bond; never have I looked more dashing than I do strutting around the pool deck with my bottom half squeezed into this magical swim aid. Simply put, these shorts are a must have for any recreational swimmer looking for a little warmth on cold days, or a little lift on tired days.

During a freestyle stroke the shorts provide just enough added lift to help with body position, but not so much lift that my position became awkward. Compared to a pull buoy these shorts are light years better, your kick is not impinged at all and the lift isn't nearly as severe. They simply a nice addition to a swim on lazy days where you otherwise might not get into the pool.

Fit wise, I was in between the 30 and the 32 size with quite thick, sinky legs.  I purchased a pair of each size and decided tht the 30 was ideal, so my advice is to size down on these models.

I have only two qualms I have with the shorts. The first is to be expected given the purpose of the shorts: my legs get lifted too far out of the water during breaststroke. The second issue I have is with the drawstring, it's quite substantial and can rub a sore spot into my tummy after a long swim. Not big issues, and certainly nothing that would stop me from recommending these shorts.

ROKA MAVERICK PRO FULLSUIT

Up in the Great White North the glaciers finally came off the lake about a month ago, so I've only been able to get in three open water swims averaging 6kms each, and I've done one sprint triathlon in the suit.

So far so good! I'm 5'8", 158 pounds, and have stubby legs with a 30" inseam. The medium is a grat fit for me, it fits snugly so there's very little extra water in the suit for me to lug around. After the first swim I learned where the chaffing spots were, and with some body glide on the back of the neck and backs of my arm pits I don't have any hot-spots (I did have a badass looking hicky on the back of my neck after the first sans-body glide swim however).

The open water swims were quite comfortable, but the rubber met the road with the first gruelling test of the suit: the 750m balls out sprint distance swim in the first race of the year. I lined up at the start line, well outclassed, next to a friend who had tried to race pro 70.3 races, and four or five guys on the Canadian Age Group Triathlon Team. I knew it was going to be a blistering pace if I wanted to do well. After a punch or two in the face at the start of the race I was on the heels of the super swimmers, and settled into a pace that was just one step shy of coughing up a lung in the water. I exited the swim 7 seconds in behind a guy who has been dominating local races for 20 years, and only 20 seconds in behind a local super-swimmer know for decimating the fields in the water. My swim time ended up dropping more than a minute from my previous fastest 750m race time. I was more than happy!

Bottom line, the Roka Maverick Pro Fullsuit is a comfortable, fast suit that I would recommend to anyone looking to step up to the more advanced suits in the $700-800 price category. What's more. The Roka guys are super knowledgeable and easy to access with questions, great customer service.

GO ROKA!