Buyer’s Guide: Prescription Swimming Goggles

If you're an aspiring swimmer or a swimmer who's had a nasty swimming experience, then this may be the best article for you. Remember the last experience you had in the pool? How was it? Perhaps you were fumbling for your glasses as soon as you got out of the pool but couldn’t find them?  Or your goggles filled with water the moment you hopped inside for a swim; or perhaps they didn’t provide you with the vision correction required?

Well you’re in the right place, this article will provide you with insight on picking the right goggles that'll help your next swimming experience feel better than ever before.

Various Types of Goggles Available

First things first, you need to think about the type of swimming you'll be doing before beginning your quest for for goggles. Will you be in a swimming competition? Will you be swimming for longer durations? Or perhaps you're a casual swimmer?

Competition goggles are low-profile and meant for swimming competitions. They fit close to the eye socket reducing drag. If used every day, they can be very uncomfortable.  Further, competition goggles are not made to accommodate prescription lenses as reduced surface areas make them too small for this task.

Prescription practice swim goggles can be your choice for daily use. These goggles are larger and have more gasket silicone making them more comfortable.  They also allow the fitment of made-to-order prescription lenses.

You could opt for the recreational goggles if you were swimming for shorter durations.  These tend to be even more affordable with fixed power prescription lenses.  The downside is, they usually only cater for simple, single vision correction in fixed steps so will most likely not match your required correction exactly.  As a result, this may lead to eyestrain and headaches with frequent and/or prolong use.  If you normally require astigmatism correction above +/-1.0, then you should consider made-to-prescription swim goggles to avoid discomfort.

Where Will You Swim?

Will you swim mostly in the open water, indoor or outdoor pool? If you are frequently on the ocean or open water, consider goggles with darker color tinted lenses, mirror coated lenses or photochromic would work best to reduce glare.

Alternatively, if you'll frequently be in the pool then either clear lenses or light color lens tinting such as yellow/amber would help deliver a sharper focus against pool lights by filtering out some of the blue light they give off. They are the best goggles to wear while swimming indoors.  

However, if you spend time swimming both outdoor and in, consider photochromic/Transitions lenses, which change lens tint level/darkness depending on the intensity of sunlight falling on the lenses.

Light Colored Lenses Or Dark Colored Lenses?

If you'll be indoors, then clear or light colored lenses will work best; they allow you to see more. Yellow-colored lenses would work very well to enhance your visibility in the water.

Contrastingly, darker colored lenses will do just fine for casual swims, cloudy days or outdoor conditions.

Choosing the Right Sized Goggles

Look for the recommended age group shown against the goggles in our store.  If you provide us with the end-user’s PD (Pupillary Distance) before or during your purchase our Opticians will check to see if the goggles are the right fit for you and will provide you with solutions if they are not.  

Find the Right Pair

You have the right knowledge about picking goggles, right? It's time to find a pair that suits your specific needs to help make your swimming experience even more fun.  If you need assistance with choosing your goggles or your prescription lenses and/or options, our Opticians can help you out; simply contact us either at optometrist@gogglesnmore.com or call us.