UKC

I've been getting into swimming a bit mote recently, fun with my young son and enjoying putting a wee bit of effort into my swimming, trying to improve my stroke a bit. I'm thinking goggles might help, but the 20 year old pair I have let in water. I'm hoping modern goggles are better. Are there some swimmers out there with recommendations?

In reply to aln:
No recommendations, but I've a much newer pair than yours kicking about somewhere that I never wear. If you'd like to give them a try email me your address and I'll stick them in the post. Maybe drop a quid in an MRT collecting tin if you like them.

Edit to add: Hm. Assuming I do eventually find them...

In reply to deepsoup:

That's a generous offer but I'll wait and see if I get recommendations. I usually stick a few quid in any MRT tin I pass so consider that part done!

In reply to deepsoup:


Are they on your head?

In reply to aln:

Hang on a sec...

No. Worth checking though.

In reply to aln:
I've just bought some speedo biofuse and they seem comfortable and work well

In reply to aln:

I bought a pair from Decathlon - not sure exactly which model but I think I paid around £10 and they have worked great for me.
I'm no serious swimmer though, just an enthusiastic amateur.

In reply to deepsoup:

Have a like

In reply to aln:

What you will find is that you will go about 7 pairs of recommended goggles before to find a pair that works for you... Is very personal.

My favourites are

Aquasphere Kayenne
Aquasphere Kalmar
Zoggs predator flex

Never got on with speedo that well.

My wife likes her Speedo and can't get in with any of the ones I like

In reply to aln:

goggles can be a bit trial and error as different brands suit different face shapes. I like Speedo and they do styles that are fairly cheap as well as some much more expensive ones for competitive swimmers. Aquasphere also seem popular amongst swimmers that I know and are reasonable on price.

The goggles I have at the moment are from Lomo (an online wetsuit company) that cost £11 and are brilliant. Tinted lens for outdoor swimming and super comfy and leak free. I chucked them in on a whim when I was buying some dry bags from the website and I'm really impressed with them.

In reply to aln:

Thanks for the replies so far.

In reply to aln:

The big decathlon stores have three or four different sample ones hanging up and you can try them on for fit. Dunno if you can request a bucket of water for testing!
Whereas the little shops at my local pools only sell them in sealed boxes, at extortionate prices.

In reply to Gone:

You could always take your own bucket, they're bound to have water you can borrow.

In reply to aln:

Zoggs work for me.

Like climbing shoes, it depends what fits you best

In reply to aln:

I wear glasses and when I got into swimming got a prescription pair - it was a revelation! Suddenly what had been world of blurry pink blobs was pulled into focus and I could actually see more than a foot in front of my face. Thought it worth mentioning and the prescription ones are c £20 I think. My big problem is how to stop them fogging - they are fine for a coupe of months and then start fogging which is a pain.

In reply to Dave B:



My first pair of Kayenne were pretty good - eventually died when the seal around the lens perished and they started leaking. The last pair I bought had terrible problems with fogging and I returned them as faulty - might just have been unlucky with that pair. Pretty good for peripheral vision. The Kaiman were a pretty weird fit.

Had a pair of Speedo Aquapulse which were good to start with but the lens scratched really easily and also went from being clear to a slightly yellowy colour. Also a bit of a tendency to fog.

I'll also recommend the Zoggs Predator Flex as my preferred goggles - I've got these pairs, depending on if I'm swimming inside or outside:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/zoggs-predator-flex-clear-lens-goggles/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/zoggs-predator-flex-polarized-goggles-exclusive-2/

In reply to aln:

I've just bought a pair of Nabaiji Spirit goggles from Decathlon. £10, fit well, good field of vision.....happy swimmer.

You just have to go to a shop to try some on to be honest, fit is everything. If they stick to your face without the strap, then they'll be grand.

In reply to Bobling:


Wow, a revelation indeed, I didn't know such a thing existed, I'll look into that.

In reply to craig1983:


Without the strap? That's something I hadn't heard of, thanks for the tip. You're not the 1st person to mention Decathlon stores, I haven't heard of them, don't know if we have them in Scotland.

In reply to aln:

Zoggs predator flex, from the number of people I have seen wearing them they fit a broad range of faces, love at first use for me, great for open water and the pool and I have had 4 pairs in the last 5 years (I always keep 2 pairs)

In reply to aln:

>>a revelation indeed

As is the sheer amount of ... stuff ... you can see in the pool once you've got them. On the plus side, I can now identify the end of the pool in time to avoid crashing into it. On the minus side, there's odd stains on the bottom, hair bobbles, plasters, clumps of hair, unidentified floating objects and on one memorable occasion a small cloud of sick*. I think I'd rather have remained in blissful, myopic ignorance.


(*To be fair, they did kick us all out of the pool when they spotted that one. Which meant we got to watch an unfortunate member of staff wading up to his neck in it with a fishing net trying to capture the, er, bits. Another one for the "jobs I'm glad I don't have" list.)

In reply to Wingnut:

I was going to post similar.

My favourite - and unlike the sick that you describe, this was a surface issue - was some pooh courtesy of a young child. Swimmers had to evacuate (no pun intended) to the side while a hapless attendant was tasked with fishing it out from the side with a little net whilst we all watched. The thing is, every time the net touched it, it broke into ever smaller bits.
It was like a real life faecal version of the classic video game "Asteroids"

In reply to aln:

To anyone experiencing problems with goggles fogging up I have discovered a surefire way of curing the problem (which I used to have myself), put a drop of baby shampoo on the inside of the lens, smear it around and rinse off. I've never had any misting problems if i do this before a swim.
Some people say doing the same with your own spit does the same job, but I don't find it works so well. You can also buy anti fogging drops, but baby shampoo is a lot cheaper. I guess ordinary shampoo or shower gel would work also, I was recommended baby shampoo to avoid any issue with it irritating your eyes if not rinsed sufficently.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I loved Asteroids.

In reply to aln:

zoggs predator flex for outdoor swimming

speedo biofuse futura for indoor swimming - larger clear lenses

....but ultimately you need to try them on to see if they fit your face shape!

In reply to aln:

There's a Decathlon at Hermiston Gait, Edinburgh.
+1 to the "see if they stick to your face without using the strap" test.
I've been through 2-3 pairs of Zoggs Predators but have now got some Speedo goggles which I think fit me better.
I do find that spitting in goggles then rinsing seems to work as an anti-fog method for me.

In reply to fimm:


Thanks but I'm not driving from here to negotiate the nightmare of the Edinburgh S bypass for swimming goggles

In reply to aln:

My wife has prescription goggles. Works for her really well.

For me, it took many pairs to find ones that fit my face properly.

Would be interested to know if anybody knows of googles that do not mist up though!

Simon...

In reply to Simon Pelly:

I use

http://www.aquasphereswim.com/uk/index.php/men/men-accessories/anti-fog-spr...

I'm not sure why its a 'men accessory'...

In reply to aln:

As others have said, you need to find a pair that suits your face. Decathlon as mentioned have loads out to try on, but if there's not one near then try and find a shop that does.
If you can't I'd just get some bog standard speedo's for £7 or so and see how you get on.

In reply to Dave B:

I find baby shampoo works just as well and costs a lot (lot) less.

In reply to aln:

As others have said, goggles are very dependent on fit.

However, my favourites are Aquasphere Vista or Aquasphere Seal. These are large goggles, similar to a mask without the nose piece. Good vision and none of that sensation where it feels like your eyes are being squeezed out of your face that you get with small goggles.

In reply to mountain.martin:

Thanks for the link and tips.

So tried the shampoo trick but using fairy liquid. Filled both lenses 1mm, let it settle, gentle rinse out.

45 mins in the water, no fog at all!!

Brilliant.....

In reply to Simon Pelly:



Brilliant as long as you do rinse thoroughly, could sting a bit otherwise. A bottle of supermarket own brand baby shampoo will cost you about £2 and last over a year even if swimming regularly. I just put the smallest drop on each lens, smear it around with my finger and rinse.

Apparently because any form of detergent destroys the surface tension the condensation on the inside lens can't form into the tiny droplets that make the lens foggy. And it seems to only need a very fine residue of detergent to work, not sure how long this fine residue will last before you need to re-coat.

I have a small hotel shampoo bottle that I have filled with baby shampoo and I keep in with my swimming kit so I apply before every swim.

In reply to mountain.martin:

I use a dab of toothpaste. This gets you into good discipline for rinsing thoroughly!

In reply to mountain.martin:

Yep. Will buy a bottle of baby shampoo. It's been a while since had that in the house.

Washing up liquid was only a quick fix for that evening.

Thanks again!

Simon...

In reply to Simon Pelly:

I wash them out with baby wipes. Works really well and lasts roughly two 1.5 hour training sessions.