The 2026 Freya isn't just a new women's dry suit. It's the result of an industry-first commitment to truly understand and serve female paddlers. For years, paddlesports gear for women was an afterthought, often relying on the outdated "shrink it and pink it" approach. Taking men's designs, changing the colour, and shrinking them. At Level Six, we had to face a hard truth: we didn't have the data to get women's fit right, and without it, we couldn't deliver the performance, comfort, or confidence female paddlers deserve.

So, we set out to change that. Led by our employees, our owner, and driven by candid conversations with paddlers across the community, we launched the Freya Fit Survey, the first of its kind in our industry. Hundreds of women from around the world shared their measurements, experiences, and frustrations. Many of the responses we received were deeply personal and passionate, with women opening up about how drysuit fit had affected their mental health, body image, and even their paddling skills and abilities. For our staff, reading these responses was humbling. It reinforced just how important this work was and deepened our responsibility to get it right.

We bell-curved the data, examined every pain point, and started from scratch. The result is a women's fit built from the ground up, not borrowed from a men's pattern. Our female and paddler-led design team brought an insider's understanding of the problem, both as professionals and as people who live in this gear. That insight was invaluable in turning raw data into patterns that actually work in the real world.

This wasn't just a design exercise. It was an emotional journey for our team. It meant acknowledging the systematic gaps in women's fit, listening more than we spoke, and obsessing over the details that would make a real difference. It meant testing, refining, and holding ourselves to a higher standard, knowing there is no "perfect" in women's fit, but believing deeply in the pursuit of it.

This pursuit has reshaped not just the Freya, but every new women's product we make. If you've ever struggled to find a drysuit that actually fits, that moves with your body and doesn't compromise your comfort or confidence on the water, this is what we built it for. Women's paddlesports gear should never be an afterthought. With the Freya, it's the benchmark.