ROKA R1 SWIM GOGGLE
Every now and again a new sport line comes along that so beautifully fuses design with functionality, you lust for a piece of gear or item of clothing even if you’re not a participant in that sport. ROKA, a triathlon focused performance brand that launched in 2013 with a revolutionary wetsuit, the Maverick Pro, is one of those lines.
ROKA was founded by two former All-American Stanford swimmers, who after competing in their first Half Ironman triathlon, set out to build a better wetsuit — a faster wetsuit — one that actually enhanced the body mechanics they’d spent years in the pool training to perfect. The wetsuit gained instant recognition among the top triathletes and world champions for record swim times. Later this month a new state of the art wetsuit, the Maverick X, will debut. Available on pre-order, it has triathletes buzzing and lined up to get into one, regardless of the $900 price tag.
MAVERICK X WETSUIT
For a much less expensive, but equally sleek piece of gear from ROKA, the new R1 Goggle ($35) is also now available on pre-order. Rethinking the goggle specifically for open water swimming, ROKA has developed RAPIDSIGHT technology that radically opens the forward viewing plane in the head-down swim position. The architecture along the top frame of the goggle has been minimized and a tilted lens design opens the field of view in the forward movement plane. This design offers a distinct competitive advantage for open water swimmers by allowing for better target spotting of things like buoys and other swimmers, with less disruption to form and mechanics. The R1 is ROKA’s fourth goggle frame to feature SPCTRM, a lens collection that offers the optimal tint for every condition: predawn darkness, fog, haze, transition light, glare, and bright sun in natural and urban environments.
In addition to the flagship wetsuit and goggle, later this summer ROKA will be introducing a new swim print collection, cycling apparel styles, as well as their first ever run apparel collection, yoga collection, and performance eyewear collection. These new collections are equally sleek and chic, seamlessly fusing style with performance for an end result that will have both elite and recreational athletes coveting it all.
