polarized.

unfortunately, polarized are also more expensive, so I just use mirrored or a dark tint for the rare occasions that I get to swim outside. If i was training outdoors regularly, I'd be using polarized for sure.

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I miss the days before autocorrect. But mirrored giggles, always.

Mirrored giggles for sure. Not a fan of polarized period.

I also like giggles on cloudy days or when I feel down.

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I have used mirrored goggles for lots of sunny race swims, they really help especially in early mornings when the sun is low in the sky (and in your eyes).

Have not used polarized goggles, so others can chime in about that. That said, be aware that polarized lenses must maintain a certain orientation relative to the reflected light on the water to work optimally. Given that in open water your head is constantly changing orientation when breathing and sighting and the lenses will nearly never be in the proper angle relative to the reflected light, I am thinking that polarized might be overkill ...

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Lol

i should add, the polarized goggles I've used are also mirrored.

No experience with either mirrored or polarized giggles, however.

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Polarization is an excellent technology and from my experience, works better than a mirrored lens at cutting down the brightness of the sun.

Mirrored lenses are great too though. It does depend on the quality of the lens and the coating on it to make sure that it is providing the best benefit.

My personal choice is Polarized for open water. The polarized Aqua Sphere Kayenne has a brown lens that makes it easy to start swimming very early in the AM in almost dark conditions. The goggle then performs very well when the sun starts to come up and is shining on the water at a very low and direct angle. Mirrored lenses are darker which make it harder to start with them in the early AM.

For the pool, I use mirrored lenses. My experience here is swimming at lunch time when the sun is highest in the sky and is as crazy bright as it can be (Socal). The mirrored lenses help to relieve the strain on my eyes by reducing the brightness as well. In most indoor and outdoor pool environments, I think that you can get by with a mirrored lens any time of the day or night (depending on the lighting at the pool).

One lens will work for both in the pool and in open water. Polarization is a coating on a lens that helps to filter the light that is reflected off the water that can be ultra bright. This is beneficial especially for swimmers.

I don't think there is a bad answer here, but circumstances can definitely play a part. For early morning triathlon starts, I would recommend a Polarized lens. In the afternoon, I think you could go either way.


jake

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Get outside!

These are the exact googles I'm looking at. I wouldn't be using these to train in, just for racing

As Jakers has mentioned, I too vote for polarized as well for early morning (before the sun rises) swims. I have used TYR Spec Op polarized for all my previous OWS without much problems. I am now switching over to the Aquasphere Kayenne's (polarized).

My vote would be for polarized. It's a more versatile lens.

Jake

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Get outside!

Polarized goggles are probably overkill for swimming, since they will only cut out glare from sunlight that has reflected off the water surface. Since your goggles will be underwater about half the time and within centimetres of the surface the rest of the time, you're not going to be exposed to a lot of polarized light, so polarized lens won't help much.

So if there's a significant difference in cost, I'd suggest sticking with tinted.

Some basic physics: direct sunlight is not polarized, but when it reflects off a surface like water or pavement, it becomes polarized in a plane parallel to the reflecting surface. Polarized sunglasses block light that is horizontally polarized, which is why it reduces glare off the road or water.

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Polarized. Better for glare.

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