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Spring 2021 Triathlete Buyer’s Guide: Goggles

We take a look at some of the best goggles for pool and open-water swimming.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.

Black Magic5 goggles

Magic5 | $65

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Basics

Using the Magic5 smartphone app, scan your face from all angles and get custom-built goggles in the mail designed specifically to fit you.

Pros

  • Unique fit ensures extreme comfort with less pressure
  • Very sleek and low-profile in the water
  • Lightweight and easy to wear, while also staying in place

Cons

  • Price—these goggles do not come cheap
  • Smaller field of vision than other goggles on test
Tyr Edge X goggles with yellow-blue lenses

Tyr Edge-X | $25

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Basics

Simple, yet sleek, low-profile racing goggles. Competitively priced, well-designed, and perfect for pool swimming. Five different-sized nose bridge options are included.

Pros

  • Great for those not wanting to break the bank on a pair of goggles
  • Intelligently designed and well made
  • Very comfortable with a watertight seal—no leaks or fogging during our testing

Cons

  • Decent field of vision, but some might prefer wider for open-water swimming
Pink-tinted Roka R1 goggles

Roka R1 | $38

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Basics

Roka’s open-water goggles have their patented Rapid Sight technology for a wider field of vision and a lens designed to work in all open-water conditions. A robust and durable pair of goggles that offer good visibility and don’t fog or leak.

Pros

  • Great field of vision
  • Good for use in pool or open water
  • Performance-oriented feel

Cons

  • No noticeable differences or benefits over the Tyr Edge-X or Speedo Vanquisher, but more expensive
  • Not the most comfortable fit
  • Post-swim suction marks
Blue-green Speedo vanquisher goggles

Speedo Vanquisher | $20

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Basics

Super simple but highly functional goggles, with a sleek, low profile, snug eye socket fit, and anti-fog lenses.

Pros

  • No-frills pair of goggles that checks all the boxes for comfort, reliability, fit, and performance
  • Best value for the price tag
  • Can work well for beginners through to elites

Cons

  • Good field of vision, but not as wide as others on test

Read the extended review

Black Form Smart swim goggles

FORM Smart Swim | $200

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Basics

FORM’s smart goggles are the first goggles to show real-time data, like pace, distance, and stroke rate, on a see-through display inside the lens as you swim. For open water, they can be paired with a compatible smartwatch to give pace and distance analytics.

Pros

  • New and impressive level of innovation that could fundamentally change swim training
  • Data display easy to adjust and alter in the lens
  • Use the FORM app after your swim to analyze every split, distance per stroke, SWOLF, stroke count, and pace

Cons

  • Real-time data in the lens might not be for everyone
  • Metrics aside, our testers struggled to get a good eye socket fit
  • High price tag
  • Open-water functions not compatible with many watches yet
White and iridescent Zone3 goggles

Zone3 Volare Streamline | $45

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Basics

A sturdy, well-made pair of goggles that offer a wide field of vision, plus anti-fog, polarized lenses. Comes with three different nose bridges.

Pros

  • Good for use in the pool or open water
  • Low profile, hydrodynamic fit, while still boasting clear forward and peripheral vision

Cons

  • Not the most comfortable fit around the eye socket
  • Similar to the Roka R1 goggles, it’s tough to truly see what extras you get for your money

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