Swim goggles for beach / leisure - Recommendations

Swim goggles for beach / leisure - Recommendations

A pair of good swim goggles is a staple on a holiday or a trip to the beach, but it also demands something from them. Since they’re not going to be used for competitive or regular swim-practice, it’s more important that they provide comfort, and doesn’t cause tenderness after prolonged use. Apart from this, the colour of the lens is also important, depending on the surroundings they are going to be worn in.

If you wear competition swim goggles for a while, you will notice that they cause tenderness and red markings around the eyes. This occurs because they are made to provide as little resistance as possible, and thusly, comfort must take a step back.

Since swim goggles for the casual swim, or splashing around in the pool on holidays are often worn for extended periods, it’s more important that the fit is comfortable, and doesn’t cause irritation after prolonged use.

Since the holiday or the beach trip often involves sun and nice weather, the colour of the lenses are of the utmost importance. It’s not pleasant to swim or dive, if you constantly have to squint, due to sunlight or reflections from the surface of the water.

That’s why it’s an advantage to know which effect the different lenses have - and you can (simplified) say that:

• Clear lenses are best for indoor and outdoor use on cloudy days, since it doesn’t protect against bright light and glare. They do, however, provide the best and most natural vision.
• Mirror lenses can be used both outdoors and indoors, since it reflects a lot of light away from the eyes. It does however mean that they give a weaker vision, which isn’t suitable for darker conditions.
• Coloured/blue lenses can be used both indoors and outdoors, and protects the eyes from glare from the water surface, and flashes of light. It is not as effective as mirror lenses, however, and they colour your vision in the colour they have.

• Smoke lenses has the same effect as a pair of sunglasses, and are therefore suitable for the same conditions in which you would wear sunglasses. They shield from bright light, and provides an overall good protection of your eyes, but are not suitable for dark conditions.

Eventually it’s worth considering - if the swim goggles are for kids - that they need to have a user-friendly system to adjust the straps, so the kid can adjust them and put them on themselves. This makes it a bit easier to be a parent on holiday.