Choosing the Best Swim Goggles for Competitive Training
Feb 11th 2025
Swimming necessitates eye protection. This is universally true, but it becomes an absolute in competitive swimming. When looking for swimming equipment, finding the proper goggles is paramount. What are the best goggles for competitive swimming?
What to Look for in Swim Goggles
Swimming is fun and healthy, but it can also harm your eyes. Dangers lurk in pools, oceans, and other bodies of water. Chlorinated pool water can cause an irritating condition called "swimmer's eye." Ocean water stings when it enters your eyes. Lakes or rivers may be contaminated with hazardous pollutants or microorganisms. The best swim goggles protect against all these threats.
Types of Swim Goggles
While goggles are straightforward to use, the market offers a wide variety. You should understand an item's purpose before buying and using it.
Recreational Goggles
These aren't the best swim goggles for serious training; they are mainly for leisure. They cost the least of all types and offer only essential protection. If you're a competitive swimmer, you should avoid these and look for better ones.
Practice Goggles
Practice goggles are more durable and usually fit better than recreational goggles. They’re acceptable for everyday use and training. For competition, though, you’ll want something higher-end.
Competition Goggles
Every detail matters in competitive swimming. For example, goggles that fit snugly and are closer to your eyes provide maximum protection, allowing you to focus entirely on your technique. One notable difference in how competitive goggles are designed is that they fit more snugly when you’re serious about giving your best effort.
The Best Swim Goggles: Factors to Consider
There are several areas to make comparisons while choosing competitive swimming goggles.
Prevent the Entry of Water
Swim goggles are designed to prevent water from bothering your eyes. Even a single drop of water can become an irritating distraction during intense moments. Proper fitting is essential for this job. They can fit snugly or be carved out for your face so no droplets enter.
Comfort
Putting a contraption around your face isn’t the most natural act. Most people dislike the feeling of goggles when they first try them. That said, you do get used to it. You want goggles that cause a minimum of discomfort. Ideally, they should feel like nothing is there, or at least as close to this. With even the best swim goggles, there is an initial adjustment. This should not be like anything rubbed on your eyes or forehead; that makes a difference in goggles for competitive swimming because a distraction will slow you down.
Clear Vision
If the goggles fit perfectly, you should have an excellent view under and above the water. One way goggles can impair your vision is if they fog up easily. The last thing you want is to see the world limited by sunlight or bright lights. The best swim goggles have built-in UV protection and an anti-fog coating. These are some reasons they are not cheap, even for practice.
Lens Color and Quality
Choosing goggles is like selecting a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses. Different lenses will affect vision according to individual preference. One must also consider the environmental conditions of swimming. There are many types of lenses. The following are some common choices.
- Clear. Clear lenses are suitable for indoor swimming when the lighting is dim. It would also be good outdoors when the skies are cloudy.
- Mirrored –Mainly used outdoors to control brightness.
- Blue – A blue lens protects your eyes from glare while allowing sufficient light for visibility.
- Smoke – Good for bright conditions outdoors, as a smoke-colored lens will reduce brightness.
- Lilac – Creates contrast against blue or green backgrounds. It is often used when swimming indoors.
- Amber – Gives you better vision in low-light environments.
You’ll probably see other colors as you shop for the best swim goggles. There is no one best color for lenses; it’s all a matter of what you like and your surroundings.
Style and Aesthetics
When buying goggles for competitive swimming, performance is your first consideration. However, as long as you’re wearing goggles, you may as well choose ones with a look you like. The appearance will differ depending on the style and lens color. All other factors being equal, you might as well choose a color that complements your swimwear.
Cost
With every sport comes some gear and accessories. Swimming is mostly you and the water, thus less demanding than most sports, but you still need to set aside a budget for items like goggles. The cost can be anywhere from a few dollars to around $30.
When to Change Swim Competition Goggles
Swimmers spend a lot of time in the water, so the straps and other parts wear out from overuse. Even the best swim goggles deteriorate after heavy use. Therefore, they must be inspected before use to ensure they're in good condition. You don't want a breakage under the water or even in a competition.
Every swimmer should always have at least an extra pair of swim goggles for competition in case the first one gets broken. It is time to start using your other pair when you notice something is wrong with them like the strap getting frayed. Usually, you would want to replace your goggles in about six months.
What are the Best Goggles for Competitive Swimming?
There are so many factors to consider when shopping for the best swim goggles, and you may try many. You may want to own several varieties, such as competition, practice, or fun. As a serious swimmer, your eye health needs to be a priority. So, don't forget your goggles, even if you're just playing in the water on a day off. While many companies make competition swim goggles, a couple of quality brands to note are Speedo and TYR. When you get familiar with how different models feel and perform, you’ll no doubt develop your preferences.
Competition Swim Goggles Support Your Efforts
Like all your other gear, the best swim goggles help you do your best in the water. You can focus on your technique with minimal obstruction by safeguarding your eyes. Once you’re accustomed to quality goggles, you should barely be aware of them when swimming. If you feel any discomfort, that’s a sign you should find a more suitable pair. Let your swim goggles be part of the quality gear that helps you improve steadily.
S&R Sport has all your swimming gear and accessories, including the best swim goggles. Contact us to learn more.
