Slate.com article on the best swim goggles, written from an amateur perspective. Anyone care to comment? I’m in the market for something that wears comfortably over 1.5hrs and won’t leak.
Swedish Swedish Swedish…
Almost all swimmers swear by them. And swimmers spend far more time in the water than any triathlete ever will.
Cheaper, more durable, more comfortable (IMHO) than any other style. Yet still triathletes insist on trying significantly more expensive styles. My swedish last until the strap starts to rot from sitting in my locker or I lose them.
The only secret is to use a piece of strap instead of the stupid string - more comfortable, more adjustable and easy to replace. The author doesn’t sound very bright if he had to look up how to assemble them. The first time it might take you a few seconds (but really - easier and more intuitive than any bike maintenance activity).
I’ve worn Swedish for years! Tried the socket rockets but they leaked on me. You can’t beat the price on the swedish either.
It really is all about fit. The perfect goggle for you may be horribly uncomfortable for me, based on individual facial structure. All I can say specifically is that Aquasphere Kaimans work great for me. They are the most comfortable and leak-free goggles I’ve found, and I’ve tried scores of makes and models.
Agreed. I tried those Swedish goggles and hated them. Yet I know great swimmers who swear by them. You really have to try on numerous pairs for yourself, right in the store if possible.
I love my swedes. Comfortable, no raccoon eyes, and don’t cause a rash like some padded goggles do for me.
When you assemble them, there can be a bit of a seam along the eye cups and you can improve the comfort by filing the seam down until it’s flush with the rest of the eye cup.
Almost all swimmers swear by them. And swimmers spend far more time in the water than any triathlete ever will.
But they rarely ever have an event start where they are shoulder to shoulder (or closer) with several hundred (or thousand) other athletes. Swedes are great until you get hit in the face while wearing them.
Then get to the front and don’t get hit in the face 
seriously, is it ever nice to get kicked in the face? I don’t care what goggles you are wearing, it’s gonna be unpleasant. Also, you’ve obviously never done (or have chosen to forget) agegroup practices with 12-15 kids per lane, with questionable circle swimming skills, some doing fly, going on a 2.5 second off time in a 25 yard, 6 lane pool. I’ll take ANY IM mass start over some of those swims.
Another vote for Swedes. I haven’t worn anything else since high school.
At $4 a pop, you can buy them by the bunch in different colors, and always have spares handy.
Once adjusted, they can stick to your face without the strap.
I lubs me my Swedes. If you’re the sort who wants to throw $50 at a $12 solution however, try these: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Seeing_Clearly_Sable_WaterOptics_Goggles_397.html
Jordan swears by them, which (if not for the price in this case) is good enough for me.
I am an old school swimmer, I tried the sweeds because all the cool guys were wearing them, but I did not like them. I still use the same style I did in college 25 years ago “Hind Compy”. Maybe worth a $5.00 investment to try.
Swedish Swedish Swedish…
Almost all swimmers swear by them. And swimmers spend far more time in the water than any triathlete ever will.
Cheaper, more durable, more comfortable (IMHO) than any other style. Yet still triathletes insist on trying significantly more expensive styles. My swedish last until the strap starts to rot from sitting in my locker or I lose them.
The only secret is to use a piece of strap instead of the stupid string - more comfortable, more adjustable and easy to replace. The author doesn’t sound very bright if he had to look up how to assemble them. The first time it might take you a few seconds (but really - easier and more intuitive than any bike maintenance activity).
Not all swimmers swear by them. I’m a swimmer and I hate the things. They’re a pain in the butt to put together (although I never tried to use the strap instead of the string), they weren’t very comfortable, and they would occasionally come off during the dive.
Yeah they’re cheap, but you can get other cheap goggles from various manufacturers that work just as well.
Another vote for Swedes. I was skeptical at the begining but now I love them.
You can try a pair for like $2.50, If you don’t like them, then you just spent nothing.
There are several threads on this, to me, it really depends on whether your talking about pool or open water swimming. You’ll see a ton of posts praising swedes, and I tend to agree, but I don’t think I’d ever use them in an open water race.
I’ve recently switched to the Speedo Sprint. I remember when I joined swim team as a kid, we were given a pair of Sprints along with our team suit, but in order to fit it, I switched to swedes pretty soon after. I was in the swim shop a few weeks ago, planning to get another pair of TYR Socket Rockets and came across metalized Sprints, so I thought I’d pick up a pair ($12. 95 - around $7 if non-metallic). I’m in love with them. They are incredibly comfortable, and I imagine they’ll work well in open water as well. They are simple, cheap and comfortable.
Speedo Hydrospex.
There are several threads on this, to me, it really depends on whether your talking about pool or open water swimming. You’ll see a ton of posts praising swedes, and I tend to agree, but I don’t think I’d ever use them in an open water race.
Unless your concern is contact in an OW swim, I can’t imagine why it makes a difference. A lot of the local Sprint races around here have pool swims, and they’re usually a LOT rougher than any OW swim I’ve ever done. Having said that, I fail to see a disadvantage in OW vs a pool for a given goggle type. Now tint or mirrored vs clear is another story…
Contact is exactly my concern. While swedes are not uncomfortable with everyday use, they’d hurt like a bitch if you get hit during a swim.
I’ve never done a race with a pool swim, so I didn’t figure there’d be a lot of contact.
View goggles. Rare, excellent fit - all the same benefits of Swedes but they rest on your face bone and not on the soft tissue of your eye socket.