Looking for a new pair of goggles before IMAZ. The best pair I’ve had in the past were a pair of HEAD, but I ended up scratching one of the lenses. They still work but the scratch is very distracting, so that sucks. I have a pair of Speedos and a pair of Aqua Sphere(?) which are decent, but if I don’t get them just right, I’ll fight with small leaks. Of course, I’ve tried a half dozen other no name brand goggles with mixed results. I’m looking for something reasonably priced. Don’t need something with internet connection, GPS tracking, lane assist mumbo jumbo. Just a solid pair of goggles that fit well and don’t fog up in the first 100 meters.
I love my Arena Cobra Swype goggles. I am wearing some that are over a year old and they still never fog. They come with a handful of nose pieces and fit my face pretty well. I think they’re worth a try.
Roka R1’s have been my go-to for a while now, but they are getting harder to find, as well as the X1’s which I really liked. Tried the magic5, thought they were garbage.
I am going to try the top end Arena/TYR/Speedo to see how they’ve come along
I mostly use Roka R1, they fit well and if I need a last minute replacement before an Ironman race I can always grab a pair at the race expo. I’ve had mixed experiences with Magic5 goggles; they fit great but I’ve had a pair just randomly snap in two at the bridge in the middle of a swim, so I mostly just use them for pool training where the stakes are lower if they break again.
Tyr Special Ops 2.0 have been my go to the last few years out of all the goggles I’ve tried. I tried the special ops 3.0 and they miss the mark, but luckily they still make the 2.0s.
I have some Speedo Biofuse 2.0s and have tried a few Aquaspheres. Goggles like these are typically comfortable for me but I often get leaks, usually on the outside of my eye. The bigger gaskets don’t always seal well for me. Roka R1s are a little smaller and have a smaller gasket than those. I haven’t had them long but so far they don’t leak and are comfortable.
I also have Arena Cobra Cores. These are competition goggles. They’re smaller and sit inside your eye socket vs on top of your cheek bones. I find goggles like this typically don’t leak for me but can be uncomfortable and sometimes painful. I’ve only swam with the Arenas once and they got pretty uncomfortable but I think I had the strap a little tight and I may need to change the nose piece so I’m undecided on these.
I’d recommend trying the Roka R1. If those leak, you might want to try competition goggles like Arena Cobras. Speedo Vanquishers are also very popular.
The goggles I’ve swam in the most over the years are Blue Seventy Elements. They’re cheap and never leak on me. I find them a little uncomfortable though so I often find myself searching for something else and then returning to the elements because I can count on them not leaking on race day.
I’m in this same conundrum myself. I’ve got the speedo vanquishers, but they still seem to fog up even when I brought a brand new pair for an IM 70.3. Maybe I just still need to hone in my fit, not sure if I need to fit them even tighter or what. I was thinking of trying the Roka R1’s next.
I use Vanquisher because of the good seal and not a lot of pressure on my face/skin as I swim around 7-10 hrs per week and have permanent goggle eyes.
I have found the Vanquishers ALWAY fog up within 500m as my body heats up. There seems to be no way around it. In the pool, I don’t really care, but I have gotten to the point that I don’t care in tris either. I can see enough of where people are going, and I care more about a good seal. The other similar one is the Finis Form which does not fog up as easily and has the rubber seal. The Finis lightening I found to be the best for not fogging and often I use that as my tri race goggle, but the seal on those gets bad after “not too long”
At the end of the day paying $20-$30 for the Finis Lightening and getting no fogging and good fit (not as good as Vanquisher or Finis Form FOR ME) and tossing the “racing goggle” after each season is inexpensive relative to what I spend money on
Historically they had some shonky batches (I went through 3 pairs in as many weeks, snapping the nose bridge, one before even getting them wet. All sorted under warranty). But im using 2 pairs that have been going 3-4 years now and a couple more fresh in a box in the garage from a good batch.
Since no one else has, I’ll put in my obligatory plug for Swedes. Cheap, don’t fog, seal great, and comfortable. Oh, and available in nearly every colour under the sun for different lighting conditions (or to match the rest of your kit, which is the most important thing)
I went ahead and bought the Arenas. Report so far is a pretty good fit, although I did a training swim on Sunday and started to notice a little discomfort after about 45 minutes. Since I have IMAZ in just under four weeks, these are what I’m going with. I’ll just have to tolerate a little discomfort. It’s only going to be for about 90 minutes. I can put up with that.
The other thing, I like them but they really should come with some kind of case. With the hard plastic sides, they don’t fit in any conventional case. Other than that, not a bad deal.
Speedo Vanquish. I know that’s not a sexy answer. But they work so very well. I’ve never had a problem with them and there’s a huge variety of colors and shades to choose from.
