If any of the questions below apply to you, check out our recommendations…
We teach swimming every day and help a lot of people to choose the right pair of goggles. We have yet to find a pair of goggles that fits everyone or a face that fits any goggle, but if any of the questions below apply to you, check out our recommendations.
Do your goggles leave ugly marks around your eyes? Try going for something with a larger frame, at least then any marks will not be on your delicate eye skin: Aqua Sphere Vista Goggles
Do your goggles let in water? Bushy eyebrows, face cream and cringing are some of the things we’ve found to interfere with the seal. You should be able to tell whether the seal is good without getting into the water – the whole seal should sit snugly against your skin without needing uncomfortable suction. If it’s your bushy eyebrows, choose a larger shape – the seal of the Aqua Sphere Seal Mask 2.0 sits across the middle of your forehead and has a textured surface to help the seal stay in place.
Do your goggles fog up? There’s not much you can do about temperatures (head, air, water) but in time, when your goggles’ anti-fog coating starts to wear off, you can freshen them up with some Anti-Fog Solution. In the meantime, avoid touching and wiping the lenses (unless you’re wearing View Swipe goggles which can be de-fogged with a gentle wipe with your finger).
Does the strap of your goggles slip down your neck and need to be re-tightened? Choose goggles with a broad, split silicone strap and wear the strap high on the back of your head, in a horizontal line with the lenses. The strap of the Aqua Sphere Kaiman or Kaiman Exo fits the bill and is really easy to adjust.
Do you wear glasses? The comfortable Aqua Sphere Eagle takes prescription lenses from -1.5 to -6 diopter and the high quality View Swipe Presription goggles have a larger range including plus diopters for correcting long-sightedness.
Do you need goggles for open water swimming? To reduce glare at the surface, go for a tinted, mirrored or polarized lens and, perhaps, a larger frame for more panoramic vision: Vista Pro with mirrored lenses. For all conditions, a favourite of Ian’s, and great value, try the View Pirana Mirrored goggles.
Do you struggle to see to the bottom of the pool? The copper lenses in the Zoggs Predator Flex Polarized Ultra goggles cut the glare but also amplify the light in dark or overcast conditions to crisp up your view. Note, they also come in a ‘Ladies’ version with a smaller frame. If you don’t want a polarized lens, the lenses in the View Selene are of exceptional quality.
Do you feel like a square in your goggles? Some goggles definitely have more of a cool factor. For men, look at the Aqua Sphere Kayenne Mirror Lens , for ladies, the Aqua Sphere Kayenne Polarized Compact Fit or the Vista with a nice raspberry strap.
