Swim goggles for adults

In our first round of testing, we found that the Aqua Sphere Kaiman goggles pressed slightly harder against our eye sockets than the other models we tested. The lenses were more curved than those on our top pick, too; the distortion those curves caused was apparent only in our peripheral vision. For swimmers who spend particularly long stretches in the pool, curved lenses can cause an eventually unacceptable level of eye fatigue.

We previously tested the Aqua Sphere Seal and the Aqua Sphere Vista, as well. Aqua Sphere originally conceived the Seal in 1998 to give triathletes a wider field of vision and to prevent eye injury from fellow flailing swimmers. The Vista, meanwhile, has a notably wide, face-fitting gasket, and it was one of the most comfortable goggles in all of our tests. One caveat: Our Vista pair lost a lens while one tester was swimming in the Dominican Republic. Aqua Sphere replaced it without issue, but that minor problem knocked it off our list of picks.

The Arena Tracks goggles have interchangeable nose pieces and straps that hold tight in place, but one tester reported that these goggles created “almost a blurry vignette around the edges” of their eyes when they were swimming underwater.

We read several online reviews about TheMagic5’s swim goggles and were curious about their customized, face-scanned design. After you download TheMagic5’s app, it takes two scans. In the first scan, you insert your face in a circle on your phone’s camera and move it around until the circle is filled with dots. Then, you’re instructed to hold a credit card flat against your forehead to take another scan. The process takes about three minutes, and the goggles are shipped quickly. During our tests, they offered good peripheral vision and didn’t fog much in the water, but a few of our testers experienced more water leakage with these goggles than with other pairs. TheMagic5’s goggles come with adjustable nose pieces, but testers found them more difficult to insert in comparison with other goggles offering a similar feature. “I felt like I was going to break it by trying to change it out, so I gave up,” one tester reported. These goggles cost more than double what any of our picks cost.

The Malmsten Original Swedish Goggles are highly recommended among elite competitive swimmers, and we wanted to see how they would fare among recreational swimmers. Some testers liked that they could put the goggles together (the straps, nose pieces, and eyepieces are shipped unconstructed), while others didn’t like the extra step. One tester had particular difficulty tying together the nose piece. Many of our testers experienced slippage and leakage with the fully constructed goggles due to a loose fit around the eyes. “They had a nice wide field of vision, which would have been nice if my eyeballs weren’t blinded from the chlorine water,” one tester said. In the end, these goggles don’t seem to occupy the right lane for non-competitive swimmers. As another tester summed it up: “Definitely for a serious swimmer who wants to tailor their goggle fit to exact specs.”

We previously recommended the Speedo Vanquisher 2.0, but we prefer the better-fitting nose pieces on the updated Vanquisher 3.0 model. The 2.0 set proved adept at preventing leaks and was more comfortable than most of the competitive-racing-style goggles our testers had previously tried. The straps snap in and out of a back buckle for easy adjustments, and most of our testers reported a good amount of eye suction or pressure around the eyelids. But these goggles lack the peripheral vision of our top pick.

The TYR Socket Rockets Goggles had one of the sturdiest-feeling straps we encountered in our tests, as well as an adjustable nose bridge. But a few testers reported regular leaking, and after they tried to adjust the goggles for a tighter fit, the goggles caused facial pain. Other testers said that the field of vision was more narrow with this pair, which could be a dealbreaker for some swimmers. However, the lack of a solid fit around the eyes was the one drawback that we couldn’t overlook. One tester said the goggles needed “more flesh around the eyes to work.”

We liked the wider-fitting lenses on the Xterra Velocity Smoke Swim Goggles, which are designed in a style not unlike that of our top pick, but some testers noticed more redness on their noses after using this pair, as well as more leaking after prolonged use. Like our top pick, this Xterra model also comes with a carrying case and is pretty good at preventing fogging, but one tester pointed out a concerning flaw in that this pair blurred their vision (our tester said that they have 20/20 vision and do not wear glasses). “The lane and wall markings on the pool were fuzzy, and the goggles created a slight double vision of details at the bottom of the pool. Additionally, I could not see the clock at the other end of the lane to read the time without taking them off.”

Several goggles, from Aegend, Aquazone, Cooloo, GDealer, iFlying, iSpeed, Rosa Schleife, and Zoma, showed promise when we unboxed them and strapped them on, but when submerged, every single pair of these goggles produced ripples in our field of vision. Most were blurry when we looked close-up at features such as hands or underwater objects—including the vital standard black-tile cross marker that indicates when a lap swimmer needs to turn. In some cases, the blurriness was bad enough that it induced mild disorientation, which would have likely degenerated into a headache if our testers had kept them on a while longer.

Swim goggles for kids

Our kid testers and their parents had trouble using the interchangeable nose pieces on the Arena Tracks Jr., noting that the goggles didn’t come with instructions. Several testers reported more water intake than usual inside these goggles even though they felt tighter around the eyes than other models. Some testers liked the thin strap, which allowed for quick removal and donning of the goggles.

When it came to novel goggle technology, we couldn’t ignore the Frogglez goggles, which have a neoprene strap. The force-dispersing soft yoke stays put and goes on and off as easily as a trucker’s cap. The strap is well made and can be quite useful for both recreational and competitive swimmers—putting the Frogglez set on and taking it off is a cinch—but our young testers found that the goggles themselves fogged too easily. The company also sells the neoprene strap alone ($18), which you can pair with almost any child-size goggles that allow for strap replacement. (Or you can buy a neoprene strap cover for placement over any goggle strap, such as this $9 cover from Cressi.)

Another pair of kids goggles with an adjustable nose piece, the Speedo Jr. Vanquisher 2.0 Goggle fared well in having minimal fogging and water in the lenses, but this set was not as comfortable as our picks. Even after customizing the nose piece, a few testers reported pinching on their nose. And the slimmer eyepieces created more tightness around the eyes on some testers, in contrast to the wider eye surface of our top pick.

We tested the highly reviewed Speedo Kids Skoogles Goggle. In our tests, kids didn’t find them quite as comfortable or easy to adjust as our top pick.

The Speedo Sunny Goggle is a top-rated choice for toddlers and kids up to around age 8 for whom standard goggle straps are bothersome. The bungee strap is exceptionally easy to adjust and tugs less on hair than most, but in our tests the peripheral visibility was severely limited in comparison with that of our picks for kids. Like all bungee-cord goggle straps, these are more prone to slipping on the head, aquatic-programming director Caitlin Boker told us.

The Splash Place Swim Goggles come with an extra-thick band, which is supposed to prevent hair tangling. Although these goggles proved to be easy to put on, some of our testers had trouble finding a secure fit. “We tightened them several times during the lesson, but water kept seeping in, and my son finally gave up wearing them,” one tester said.

In a previous round of testing, we did try some mask-style goggles. Our young testers were drawn in particular to Cressi’s Baloo kids swim mask. This mask, with its UV protection, excellent anti-fog characteristics, tough crystal-clear lens, soft gasket material, and simple ratchet strap, was a favorite. Our only complaint about the Baloo swim mask is that it isn’t available with a tinted lens. If that’s an important feature for you, try the Aqua Sphere Seal Kid 2, which fits a wide variety of kids’ faces. We also tested the Babiators Submariners, a mask for little kids. Although these mask-style goggles were neat in concept, featuring wraparound visibility and a wide, comfortable strap, they simply fogged too much.

This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.