I swim OW and race(tri’s) in Swedish goggles. When i tell some people this they look at me like im retarded. Why do i need some crazy looking goggles to have good vision? the swedes are clear and i have great vision in the water and can see all around. Just wanted some of your thoughts and what the ST community races in.
If they work for you then who cares. I’ve been using Swedish goggles in the pool forever. I have since switched to padded ones but I still keep them in my “just in case I end up at the beach” bag in the car and have been using them for OWS for years.
I raced for many years with the Swed’s, they worked good for me and are hella cheap 
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I swim OW and race(tri’s) in Swedish goggles. When i tell some people this they look at me like im retarded. Why do i need some crazy looking goggles to have good vision? the swedes are clear and i have great vision in the water and can see all around. Just wanted some of your thoughts and what the ST community races in.I absolutely love Swedes, but after getting elbowed in the face at a race last year (the eye socket more specifically), I will never wear them in a race again.
only googles I wear and own!
I’ve been racing with them since 2007
jaretj
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I race in Tyr Socket Rockets. The exact same thing as swedes with a thin layer of rubber around the sockets. After switching to these goggles I can’t use anything else now. If you like them… use them.
I swim OW and race(tri’s) in Swedish goggles. When i tell some people this they look at me like im retarded. Why do i need some crazy looking goggles to have good vision? the swedes are clear and i have great vision in the water and can see all around. Just wanted some of your thoughts and what the ST community races in.I absolutely love Swedes, but after getting elbowed in the face at a race last year (the eye socket more specifically), I will never wear them in a race again.
I took a heel straight to the eye socket at miami 70.3, still won’t stop me from wearing them. Can’t beat the price and highly customizable
Thanks for all the responses.
I showed up for one of those open water swim/run events the San Diego Tri Club hosts and Emilio De Soto was there. We were chatting before the event and I asked him why he didn’t wear goggles at all for an open water swim. He told me, “You don’t need them.”
I thought about this. Emilio is a true waterman, at home in the ocean. It was a great idea. I did the event with no goggles. He’s right. I didn’t really need them at all. in many cases goggles are more problems than they’re worth.
I do all my ow training without goggles.
I showed up for one of those open water swim/run events the San Diego Tri Club hosts and Emilio De Soto was there. We were chatting before the event and I asked him why he didn’t wear goggles at all for an open water swim. He told me, “You don’t need them.”
I thought about this. Emilio is a true waterman, at home in the ocean. It was a great idea. I did the event with no goggles. He’s right. I didn’t really need them at all. in many cases goggles are more problems than they’re worth.
I started in the wave after the pros at Encinitas last year. Macca was in front of us and he was wearing a wetsuit cap and no goggles. I was convinced he forgot them but later found out he often does not wear goggles. Pretty cool.
I wear the swedes for all my tris.
They are really popular amongst former competitive swimmers. Use this to your advantage! When you are on the start line, look for who’s wearing swedish goggles and plan on targeting their feet. Chances are high they will be swimming fast.
I am also a former competitive swimmer who would wear nothing but sweeds! I have a great picture of me leaving the water at Eagleman with blood streaming down my face after getting nailed with a heel. I still train mostly with sweeds, but I will wear a competitive goggle with minimal padding in races now. I do always eye swimmers wearing sweeds and try to start out close to them.
I can’t wear swedes because the edges dig into my eyesocket (radially, not in the direction most people have most problem with swedes). I wear socket rockets because they cover up that sharp plastic bit that digs in, and they’re great. The price is definitely a plus. Do your own thing. You can usually tell how well someone can swim by what goggles they wear at a race. Show up in swedes, let everyone know you mean business. Show up in a scuba mask, everyone will know you learned to swim from TI or even worse, a fellow triathlete. That’s how it is.
They were my bread & butter as a competitive swimmer, but part of the calculus there is they were 100% dependable on a dive start off the blocks.
For OW, especially in a race w/ potentially 3000 of my closest friends, I go for something with a bigger wiewfield and a soft gasket in case (when) I get whacked in the face.
I train and race in Kaimans (never could get swedes to fit). IMO if you can use them in a pool then OW should be no problem. Most leaks occur during entry and turns; OW has neither.
Show up in swedes, let everyone know you mean business. Show up in a scuba mask, everyone will know you learned to swim from TI or even worse, a fellow triathlete. That’s how it is.
This is right on the money. I always judge people on their goggles; that’s not even meant to be sarcastic. Betting on a race between between guy in small, low profile goggles like swedes, and a guy in huge Aqua Sphere scuba mask I’ll take the swedes guy every time.
No need to have a huge face shield, you can see just as much with two little pieces of plastic. No need for an enormous gasket, they won’t leak. Small, sleek, and dependable (mine are going on 7 years old now, no problems).
whenever I see someone in swedes in a race I try to make sure I’m in a good position to swim in their draft (and usually get dropped)
I used to wear them in races but after I scratched my cornea in a swim race I use other goggles (not really picky) in races, but still train mostly in the swedes. They are cheap and my goggles always get scratched because they get thrown in my gear bag. I use the bungee cords for straps and the elastic swede straps become my race belt.
I wear tyr socket rocket 2.0, so swedish with a thin rubber layer over where it contacts the eye. I got these wanting to try out “racing” goggles. I was blown away by the dynamic fit and comfortableness. I used to wear regular speedo/tyr goggles and when I woul do long swims or races, I would spend the second half of the swim counting the seconds until I could tear them off. Exiting the water and tearing them off, I was like Tim Robbins in Shawshank after he breaks out of prison. NEVER do the race goggle do this. It’s like the difference between a racing flat and a motion control shoe…