Swimming is a great sport for fun and keeping fit. Whether you prefer swimming in pools or out in the open waters, you need a good pair of swimming goggles to fully enjoy this sport.
However, there are different shapes and types of swimming goggles, and all these are meant for swimming in different conditions. It can actually be a little difficult to choose proper goggles, and you might end up with a pair that makes it uncomfortable to swim.
To help you select a good pair, this article looks at 10 of the best swimming goggles that you can buy for this sport.
In this post:
- 10 Best Swimming Goggles – Review
- 1. Aegend Swimming Goggles – Best Overall Swimming Goggles
- 2. Zerhunt ZH-SWIM-G1 – Best Budget Swimming Goggles
- 3. Speedo 7500638 – Best Recreational Swimming Goggles
- 4. Swim Elite Swimming Goggles – Most Comfortable Swimming Goggles
- 5. Speedo 7750128 – Best Swimming Goggles for Training
- 6. TYR Sport LGSPL – Best Customizable Swimming Goggles
- 7. Speedo 7500653 – Best Swimming Goggles for Competition
- 8. Speedo 7500602 – Best Swimming Goggles for Kids
- 9. Aquazone Swimming Goggles – Best Large Swimming Goggles
- 10. Aqua Sphere EP122128 – Swimming Goggles with 100% UV Protection
- How to Buy the Best Swimming Goggles
- Conclusion
10 Best Swimming Goggles – Review
IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Aegend Swimming Goggles (Best Overall) |
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 | 2. Zerhunt ZH-SWIM-G1 (Best Budget) |
| |
 | 3. Speedo 7500638 (Best Recreational) |
| |
 | 4. Swim Elite Swimming Goggles (Most Comfortable) |
| |
 | 5. Speedo 7750128 (Best for Training) |
| |
 | 6. TYR Sport LGSPL (Best Customizable) |
| |
 | 7. Speedo 7500653 (Best for Competition) |
| |
 | 8. Speedo 7500602 (Best for Kids) |
| |
 | 9. Aquazone Swimming Goggles (Best Large) |
| |
 | 10. Aqua Sphere EP122128 (100% UV Protection) |
|
PRODUCT |
|---|
1. Aegend Swimming Goggles (Best Overall)
|
2. Zerhunt ZH-SWIM-G1 (Best Budget)
|
3. Speedo 7500638 (Best Recreational)
|
4. Swim Elite Swimming Goggles (Most Comfortable)
|
5. Speedo 7750128 (Best for Training)
|
6. TYR Sport LGSPL (Best Customizable)
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7. Speedo 7500653 (Best for Competition)
|
8. Speedo 7500602 (Best for Kids)
|
9. Aquazone Swimming Goggles (Best Large)
10. Aqua Sphere EP122128 (100% UV Protection)
|
1. Aegend Swimming Goggles – Best Overall Swimming Goggles
Photo: Aegend
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Lens material: Polycarbonate
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Tinted
Aegend’s pair is the top-rated swimming goggles in this review and this is because they combine an impressive list of features that make them ideal for recreational, training and even competitive swimming.
For starters, the pair features shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses with inner anti-fog coatings for mist free vision and UV coatings on the outer side, which protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays from the sun by reflecting them away.
Construction wise, the goggles have a 3D ergonomic design, which means that they wrap around the eye sockets to create a perfect fit. This is enhanced by a double-deck silicone seal around the eye sockets, which creates a watertight seal that keeps your eyes dry and comfortable inside.
For additional comfort, the pair of lenses is connected together using an improved nosepiece that does not hurt the nose because it is larger, giving more allowance for the nose to fit in.
In terms of color, the lenses feature a shiny, tinted outer surface, which helps in reflecting most of the sunlight, making them darker. Although this means that they are not ideal for use in indoor pools, for the outdoors and open waters, these goggles are a perfect choice.
Pros:
- Shatter resistant polycarbonate lenses
- Anti-fog and UV coatings for enhancing the swimming experience
- Ergonomic 3D design for perfect fitting
- Double deck silicone seal
- Larger nosepiece for comfort
Cons:
- Not ideal for swimming indoors
2. Zerhunt ZH-SWIM-G1 – Best Budget Swimming Goggles
Photo: Zerhunt
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Mirrored
Zerhunt’s swimming goggles are the most affordable pair in this review, but this does not mean that they are substandard. In fact, they offer exceptional vision because they have 10% wider lenses, which increases the field of vision to some extent.
These lenses are mirrored and are equipped with anti-fog and 100% UV protection, making them maintain clear and mist free vision while being very safe to use when swimming, surfing, jet skiing or sailing outdoors.
Structurally, the goggles’ frame is made using silicone, and has a 3D ergonomic design that makes it fit snugly over the eyeball sockets to prevent any leaks. This design is enhanced by a double-deck seal design, which creates a watertight seal to keep your eyes completely dry.
This frame is held in place by an easily adjustable head strap, which is in turn tied together using a quick release buckle for easy wearing and removal.
In terms of accessories, this pair of goggles comes with ear plugs and a nose clip to give you a better swimming experience, while a protective casing makes it easier to store them after use.
Pros:
- Affordable
- 10% wider lenses
- Anti-fog and 100% UV protection lenses
- 3D ergonomic silicon design
- Comes with a nose clip, ear plugs, and a protective casing
Cons:
- Not ideal for indoor use due to the mirrored finish
3. Speedo 7500638 – Best Recreational Swimming Goggles
Photo: Speedo
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Lens material: Lexan
- Frame material: PVC
- Color: Clear
Speedo’s Hydrospex is also a highly rated product and is the brand’s best-selling recreational swimming goggles because it is comfortable to wear. It features a soft, one-piece frame that is designed for comfort and protection.
The protection is made possible by the pair’s outer eye fit design, which ensures that they fit snugly around the eye sockets, while a split silicone strap holds them firmly in position so that no water leaks in, leaving your eyes dry and comfortable inside.
Further protection is provided by the 95% UV protection lenses, which keep the sun’s harmful UV rays from reaching your eyes. These lenses also have an anti-fog coating, which helps prevent condensation of water on the inner layer for mist free vision.
Structurally, the goggles’ frame is made out of PVC, which is made to be hypoallergenic so that it does not cause any allergic reactions to your skin, while the lenses are made of Lexan material, which is shatterproof and thus, very durable.
These lenses are clear, making them safe to use indoors (low light) and outdoors, although swimming when facing the sun might be challenging due to the glare.
On the downside, this pair of goggles comes without earplugs, a nose cover, protection case or any other accessory.
Pros:
- Soft and comfortable one-piece frame
- Outer eye fit design and split silicone strap for keeping the eye enclosure watertight
- UV and anti-fog protected lenses
- Hypoallergenic PVC frame construction
- Shatterproof Lexan lenses.
Cons:
- Might cause glares when swimming outdoors
4. Swim Elite Swimming Goggles – Most Comfortable Swimming Goggles
Photo: Swim Elite
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Lens material: Polycarbonate
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Mirrored
Swim Elite’s goggles are a very comfortable pair because they feature silicone cushions around the eye socket enclosures, making them rest softly on your skin. This also makes them leakproof and thus, your eyes remain dry on the inside.
On top of this, the set comes with 3 interchangeable nosepieces, which enable you to switch to the appropriate fitting size for a more comfortable swimming experience. This also makes it wearable by adults, youth, and kids, who have different nose sizes.
For safety, the lens used offers 100% UVA and UVB protection, making the pair ideal to use outdoors. This is further enhanced by its mirrored finish, which helps to reflect as much light as possible for comfortable swimming even when facing the direction of the sun.
Apart from this, the lenses also have an anti-fog coating that prevents water from condensing on the inner layer and this ensures that you get mist free and excellent vision throughout.
Other features include a reversible swimming cap, protective case, silicone strap that is easily adjustable, a one-click lock system and impact resistant polycarbonate lenses with 180° vision. However, its mirrored finish is not ideal for indoor use.
Pros:
- Silicon cushions for comfort and preventing leaks
- Comes with 3 interchangeable nosepieces
- 100% UVA and UVB protection lenses
- Anti-fog coating for mist free vision
- Impact resistant lenses with 180° vision
Cons:
- Not ideal for indoor use
5. Speedo 7750128 – Best Swimming Goggles for Training
Photo: Speedo
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Smoke
Speedo’s Vanquisher 2.0 is particularly designed for training and racing purposes because it has a sleek, snug and low profile design with an inner eye fit. This means you get less drag because of the reduced surface area and a more streamlined shape.
For comfort, this pair comes with 4 interchangeable nosepieces, which are meant to help you get the perfect fit, while soft silicone eye seals provide a comfortable yet leakproof contact with the skin around the eyeball socket.
Construction wise, these goggles feature wide, panoramic lenses that offer up to 25% more peripheral vision, while their smoke color reduces the overall brightness penetrating through, making them ideal for outdoor use.
These lenses are designed to block harmful UVA and UVB rays from the sun and also have an anti-fog treatment that prevents the formation of mist on the inside, which would otherwise give you blurry vision.
Apart from the smoke color, the pair is available in blue and clear lenses, with the clear ones being particularly good for indoor swimming because they allow as much light as possible to penetrate through for better vision.
Pros:
- Sleek, snug, low profile design for training and racing
- Comes with 4 interchangeable nosepieces
- Soft silicone eye seals for comfort
- Wide, panoramic lenses provide up to 25% more peripheral vision
- UV and anti-fog protection lenses
Cons:
- No 180° vision
6. TYR Sport LGSPL – Best Customizable Swimming Goggles
Photo: TYR
- Fits for: Adults
- Lens material: Polycarbonate
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Mirrored
With TYR’s Special Ops 2.0, you get the option of fully customizing your pair to your preference. To be specific, you choose your color (gold, fluorescent green, silver, etc.), gasket, lenses, and other properties, then you get fully customized goggles.
Other than that, the goggles feature polarized lenses, which provide clarity, optical precision and comfort by filtering out up to 99.9% of the surface glare. This reduces eye fatigue, especially as you swim outdoors.
In addition to this, the same lenses have an anti-fog inner coating that prevents water from condensing on the surface, forming a mist that blocks your vision, while a full UVA/UVB protection layer protects your eyes from the harmful rays of the sun.
For comfort, this product features hypoallergenic durafit silicone gaskets, which provide a soft touch to the skin without causing any allergic reaction, but still maintain a watertight seal to keep your eyes dry and undisturbed on the inside.
On the downside, these goggles are quite expensive and no accessories are included.
Pros:
- Customization option enables you to get a fully personalized pair
- Polarized lenses filter up to 99.9% of the surface glare
- Anti-fog coating for mist free vision
- Full UV protection
- Hypoallergenic silicone gaskets
Cons:
- Relatively expensive
7. Speedo 7500653 – Best Swimming Goggles for Competition
Photo: Speedo
- Fits for: Adults, Youth
- Lens material: Polycarbonate
- Frame material: Plastic
- Color: Mirrored
Speedo’s Speed Socket pair of swimming goggles is also highly rated product because it has a sleek, low profile, inner eye fit design, which makes it reduce drag and thus, very good for racing or competitive swimming.
High performance should always be accompanied by comfort and in this case, the goggles have hypoallergenic comfort fit seals that are soft to the skin, do not cause any allergic reaction and do a very good job at keeping water from reaching the eyes.
In addition to this, the product comes with 3 nosepieces that are ideal for customizing the fitting around the nose depending on the nose size for better comfort.
Structurally, the unit’s lenses are made of shatter-resistant polycarbonate material, which makes them very durable, while the frame is made out of hard plastic but with the soft eye seals described above.
To keep it in place, a silicone double-length head strap is included, which is easy to adjust to fit snugly around the head.
Pros:
- Sleek, low profile, inner eye fit design for racing purposes
- Hypoallergenic comfort seals
- Comes with 3 nosepieces for customizing the fitting around the nose
- Shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses
- Easy to adjust double length head strap
Cons:
- No improved 180° vision
8. Speedo 7500602 – Best Swimming Goggles for Kids
Photo: Speedo
- Fits for: Kids
- Frame material: Plastic
- Color: Clear
As the name suggests, Speedo’s Junior Vanquisher swimming goggles are specifically designed for use by kids because they have a small size, with small lenses and shorter straps for fitting around the smaller heads of 6-14 year old swimmers.
However, despite being made for small kids, the Junior Vanquisher is designed for competitive racing, featuring a low profile, inner eye fit design that reduces drag for faster movement underwater.
For better performance, the unit’s lenses have an anti-fog coating that ensures no mist condenses on the surface so that the kids can see where they are going. A UV protection layer is also included for protecting the wearer’s eyes from the sun’s harmful rays.
To cater for a growing child’s facial features, these goggles come with 4 interchangeable nosepieces. This means that the pair can remain comfortable and usable for a long time. However, you don’t get 180° vision.
Pros:
- Low profile, inner eye fit design for fast movement
- Anti-fog coating for mist free vision
- UV protection lenses
- Comes with 4 interchangeable nosepieces
Cons:
- No 180° vision
9. Aquazone Swimming Goggles – Best Large Swimming Goggles
Photo: Aquazone
- Fits for: Adults, Youth, Kids
- Frame material: Plastic
- Color: Mirrored
Aquazone’s swimming goggles are quite unique because they have a large, continuous silicone seal that is 5-1/4 inches wide, 2 inches tall and 1-3/4 inches deep on the outer edges.
This also means that you get a large plastic one-piece frame, which gives you a fixed nosepiece that is not adjustable but covers the whole eye and nose area to keep the large seal intact and keep you completely dry over a larger area.
For safety, the goggles feature a UV400 protection layer, which keeps the sun’s harmful rays from reaching your eyes, and this is enhanced by a mirrored finish, which reflects back a lot of light for easy use outdoors.
In terms of accessories, this unit comes with its protective carrying case and earplugs for improving your swimming experience.
On the downside, the goggles do not have an anti-fog coating and therefore, you will have to wipe the interior mist layer every once in a while, to maintain clear vision.
Pros:
- Wide frame with a large continuous seal that keeps the whole eye and nose area dry
- UV400 protection coating
- A mirrored finish makes them ideal for outdoor use
- Comes with a carrying case and earplugs
Cons:
- No anti-fog coating
- Nosepiece is not interchangeable (one-piece frame).
10. Aqua Sphere EP122128 – Swimming Goggles with 100% UV Protection
Photo: Aqua Sphere
- Fits for: Adults
- Lens material: Plexisol
- Frame material: Silicone
- Color: Clear
With its lenses offering 100% UVA and UVB protection, Aqua Sphere’s Kayenne offers the best protection to the eyes and this feature makes them suitable to use in most outdoor conditions.
The goggles are safe to use indoors because they come with clear glass lenses, which enables them to transmit as much light as possible in the low light conditions. However, the product is also available with polarized, smoke and mirrored lenses for ideal outdoor use.
Construction-wise, the pair features a medium eye fit design, providing a leak-free and comfortable fit around the middle orbital of the eye socket.
For the lens, they are oversized and are designed using a patented curved technology, which gives a 180° field of view for better visibility and hydrodynamics when swimming.
Other features include a quick fit buckle system that is easy to use when tightening or loosening for a good fit and a stabilizing nose bridge for comfort. The only problem is that the pair is very expensive.
Pros:
- 100% UVA and UVB protection lenses
- Available in clear, polarized, smoke and mirrored lenses
- Leak free and comfortable medium eye fit design
- Oversized lenses having a patented curved design for a 180° field of view
- Quick fit buckle system
Cons:
- Expensive
How to Buy the Best Swimming Goggles
1. Types of Goggles
Swimming goggles are usually classified according to their use. These include:
Competition
Competition or racing goggles have a low profile, inner eye fit design that leads to reduced drag and thus, faster movement in the water.
Practice
Practice or training goggles are more like competition ones because they are also meant to reduce drag as you try to beat your own or other set record times.
Recreational
Recreational swimming goggles are characterized by a larger and mostly one-piece frame, which is more comfortable, but can increase drag, making such not suitable for fast movement.
Swim mask
Swimming masks are more like scuba diving masks, meaning that they are very large and provide better insulation for minimal leaking, even in rough waters.
Buying Guide: The names of these classifications should guide you themselves. If you intend to compete in a swimming race or practice for an upcoming race, then you need Speedo’s 7500653.
On the other hand, the larger recreational and swimming masks are ideal for outdoor swimming because they are very good at keeping the water out. In this case, the large Aquazone Swimming Goggles will do.
2. Type of Lens
Goggle lenses are also classified according to their colors, and these are:
Metallic
Metallic or silver/mirrored lenses are good at reflecting light in sunny, outdoor conditions to reduce the glare. However, this type is usually considered due to its stylish finish, which looks very cool. A good example is Swim Elite’s Swimming Goggles.
Clear/ Light
Goggles with this type of lenses such as Speedo’s 7500638 are good for both indoor and outdoor use. Because it lets all the light in, such lenses might blind your eyes due to glares, especially if you use them outdoors when it is sunny.
Dark Color
Dark colored lenses, such as the tinted ones in Aegend’s Swimming Goggles, are ideal for use outdoors in sunny conditions because they reduce the overall brightness that reaches your eyes.
Prescription
Prescription lenses are mostly for people who wear glasses and are customized to fit into their eye conditions. In most cases, these are usually polarized, then lets you personalize the other characteristics that you want.
3. Gasket
This is the part the goes around the eye socket and keeps water from leaking to the eye. In considering a gasket, the main things to look at are its comfort and sealing capabilities.
The most commonly used material to make gaskets is silicone because it is soft and has rubber-like properties for creating a tight seal.
Basically, whatever material that the gasket is made out of, ensure that it meets these two criteria, with Swim Elite’s Swimming Goggles being the ideal example. Also, ensure it does not irritate or cause allergic reactions to the skin.
4. Comfort
When considering comfort, you should look at the softness and size of the gasket as well as the availability of interchangeable nosepieces for perfect fitting.
Basically, the larger the gasket size, the more comfortable the goggles are because they will rest on a much larger area.
For instance, with Aquazone’s Swimming Goggles, the pressure is distributed over a larger area around the eyes. However, this might cause more drag in the water.
For the nosepieces, a variety of them such as those in Speedo’s 7750128 enable you to change to the one that fits you best.
5. Anti-Fog
Having an anti-fog coating is absolutely essential because it prevents water from condensing on the inner lens surface. This eliminates the occurrence of mist, which would otherwise blur your vision.
6. UV Protection
This protection is necessary for outdoor swimming goggles. Since you may find yourself swimming in the direction of the sun, this will keep the sun’s harmful rays from damaging your eyes.
100% UV protection is the best option, and you should check out Aqua Sphere’s EP122128 .
Conclusion
Swimming goggles are very essential swimming gear but as you can see above, these products have a lot of defining features that differentiate them.
This makes selection a bit difficult, but we recommend Aegend’s Swimming Goggles as the best swimming goggles that you should consider buying.
Sources
- Choosing Swimming Goggles – SwimOutlet.com