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14 best adult swimming goggles for pools, open water sessions and triathlons

Protect your peepers while working on your PB with these goggles

Zoe Griffin
Tuesday 06 June 2023 13:11 BST
<p>We tested each pair of swimming goggles inside by swimming lengths of our local pool </p>

We tested each pair of swimming goggles inside by swimming lengths of our local pool

Our Top Picks

The benefits of swimming are plentiful, it has been found to improve mood and energy levels and reduce anxiety. It’s one of the few workouts that uses every major muscle group including abdominals, back, forearms, shoulders and gluteals as well as hamstrings, without any kind of impact on the body. To get the most enjoyment out of it, it’s vital to have the best swimming goggles, which allow you to see far ahead without letting in water.

There’s nothing worse than having to swim with pools of water inside your goggles and ending up with stinging eyes through too much contact with chlorine or salt water. For the best fit, look closely at the nose bridge. Too tight and it will feel painful and too loose it will let in water. Some goggles come with several different nose bridge options so that you can use the one that best fits the size of your beak. An adjustable head strap is also vital; the strap should hold the goggles firmly enough in place so that they do not slip during turns, but not so tight that they cause discomfort.

If you’re planning on joining the growing numbers of people that swim in open water and outdoor pools, the best way to improve visibility is with light-changing photochromatic lenses. These react to UV rays and get darker when light is brighter outside to reduce glare. When you’re bashing out lengths of an indoor pool, they become lighter so you can see where you’re going. It’s also useful to have anti-fog protection so that you don’t have to stop to give your goggles a wipe mid-swim.

To help you navigate all the options we took a deep dive and tested the best swimming goggles from some of the top brands, hottest triathlon specialists and biggest sporting retailers in the market.

How we tested

We tested each pair of swimming goggles inside by swimming lengths of our local pool and outside by doing laps of an open-water swimming lake in order to fully assess the visibility and anti-fog features. We assessed each pair on comfort, fit, value for money and overall design (including lens size and photochromic features).

From budget goggles to keep casual swimming costs down to hi-tech goggles that can count the laps for you and suggest training tweaks to boost performance, we tested options for both leisure swimmers and those chasing a PB. Keep reading to find the best pair for you.

A selection of the best swimming goggles that we tested for this review

The best swimming goggles for 2023 are:

  • Best adult swimming goggles overall – Roka R1 goggles: £37, Roka.com
  • Best adult swimming goggles for triathletes – Zone 3 vapour polarised goggles: £35, Sigmasports.com
  • Best adult swimming goggles for the pool – Orca killa hydro goggles: £23, Sigmasports.com
  • Best adult swimming goggles for open water – Zoggs predator flex reactor goggles: £49.44, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best leak-proof adult swimming goggles – Orca killa 180 degree swimming goggles: £23.99, Orca.com

Roka R1 open water swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles Roka R1 open water swimming goggles
  • Best: Swimming goggles overall
  • Lens: Spctrm, a unique form of photochromatic lens
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One size, adjustable

These offered the best vision out of all the goggles we tested when used inside and out, allowing us to see at least 25 metres ahead. Whether we were in a busy lane and wanted clarity for overtaking or were trying to spot a buoy outside, these goggles consistently delivered. The ultra-soft gasket around the lens and the silicone head strap provided such comfort that it almost didn’t feel like we were wearing goggles. It’s almost as if our eyes were suddenly able to open underwater and see everything that was around them.

The key to the performance of these goggles is the patented rapid sight technology, with reduced architecture along the top frame of the goggle to accommodate a retroscopic lens angle. This radically opens up the forward field of view, allowing you to see more above you without having to lift your head too far out of the water. This results in a faster swim as you can concentrate on moving forwards without slowing yourself down making big efforts to make sure you’re going in a straight line.

Another key feature is spctrm optics, which makes sure that there’s an optimal tint for all conditions. From predawn darkness, fog and haze to bright sun, these goggles will adjust to protect your eyes in whatever conditions you’re swimming in. We recommend the cobalt mirror colour option for competing or the clear option for pool swims.

  1. £37 from Roka.com
Prices may vary
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HUUB aphotic swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles HUUB aphotic swim goggles
  • Best: For photochromatic lenses
  • Lens: Photochromatic
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision

Made from light density silicon and thermoplastic rubber, these are feather-light around the eyes. If you want to cut through the water for a fast, streamline swim these won’t drag you back or weigh you down in any way. They’ll also allow you to swim without fear that you’ll suddenly be blinded by sunlight thanks to world-class light-changing photochromatic lenses. A patented dye on the lenses is triggered into action by exposure to UV rays. When the UV rays get stronger or weaker, the coating darkens or lightens respectively.

We witnessed this light-changing magic in action and were blown away by how speedily it happened. Although we started swimming on a cloudy morning, the sky cleared for bright and sunny conditions and these goggles became darker to reflect away the sun’s glare. According to HUUB, it takes only 160 seconds to go from clear to dark, which means you’ll be covered when you turn around buoys or face variable weather conditions.

  1. £37 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Zone 3 vapour polarised swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles Zone 3 vapour polarised swimming goggles
  • Best: Triathletes
  • Lens: Polarised
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One size, adjustable

These swimming goggles offer full UVA/UVB protection and an anti-fog coating, so they offer a lot of features for just £35. The polarised lenses are curved for clarity in both light and darker conditions and wide enough to offer a 180-degree view. We found that they blocked the sun’s glare brilliantly during early morning swims outside without being too dark for lengths in the pool. In fact, they worked a treat inside when the artificial pool light was bright, eliminating distractions so we could focus on our catch and overall technique. For triathletes training inside in winter and then outside come spring and summer, these are a great value year-round piece of kit.

Another positive is that the ultra-soft silicone eyepieces ensure a great fit, even without the option of re-sizing the nose piece. We never suffered any of those annoying marks you sometimes get when goggles are too tight, either.

  1. £45 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Orca killa hydro goggles

best adult swimming goggles Orca killa hydro goggles
  • Best: For pool swims
  • Lens: Mirrored
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Around 150 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: Includes three different sizes

With a sleek mirror finish on a chic black strap, we thought that these looked and felt a lot more expensive than £23. They didn’t disappoint in the water either. Thanks to a three-dimensional gasket that reduces pressure while keeping the seal tight, these are extremely comfortable when swimming. After we’d played around choosing from one of the three nose pieces, we found them to be leak-proof and fog-proof. Not once did we have to stop a swim to drain or wipe these.

The strap is lightweight, which is great when you’re pushing yourself in speed interval sessions in the pool. However, we would worry slightly about it getting knocked or even snapped in competitions, so you might want to keep these for training rather than racing.

Unfortunately, these goggles are currently out of stock and we will let you know if they become available again.

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Zoggs predator flex reactor swimming googles

best adult swimming goggles Zoggs predator flex reactor goggles
  • Best: For open water swimming
  • Lens: Photochromatic
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: 180+ degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One flexible nose bridge

Zoggs predator flex goggles were originally launched in 2010 and have been a popular choice for triathletes and open-water swimmers ever since. Given the popularity, Zoggs could have rested on their laurels but instead, the brand has adapted and reinvented the OGs over the years for better visibility inside and out.

Like other goggles that we have tested, the predator flex reactor update has light-changing photochromatic lenses so you can see clearly in all weather conditions. But there are two features that set them above the competition and justify the slightly higher-than-average price tag. First is the brand’s unique curved lens technology that offers more than 180 degrees of visibility. When swimming crawl, we were aware of what was going on in all directions which would be pretty handy on a race day to help spot another swimmer coming up and avoid being elbowed unexpectedly in the face. Secondly, they fit securely to the face so if there was to be any knock to the head these wouldn’t go anywhere; this is thanks to the 3D flexpoint technology that allows the nose bridge to flex, providing a personalised fit. The quick-adjust strap locks into place once you’ve fitted it to keep them firmly in place. A hardy, zip-up case comes with these goggles so you can look after them between swims and keep them in good condition.

  1. £49 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Form smart swim goggles

best adult swimming goggles Form smart swim goggles
  • Best: For PB
  • Lens: Photochromatic
  • UV protection : Yes
  • Anti-fog : Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: Six interchangeable options

If you want to progress in swimming, just like any other sport, you’ll need a plan of how to get better. Form offers you multiple training plans as well as technique and speed analysis both during and after every session, through a display in the lens itself and through the Form app for smartphones. You’re getting much more than just a pair of goggles when you buy into Form because you’re receiving coaching too. And not just any coaching but real-time, underwater coaching with immediate feedback. You don’t have to stop and chat with a coach on a poolside to analyse your form and make changes. Simply look down at the corner of the lens, see how fast you’re going and adjust your technique for a more efficient swim. It’s little wonder they’re the goggles of choice for serious swimmers and triathletes like multiple Ironman champion Lionel Sanders.

Although they’re undoubtedly clever, no technical knowledge is required to set these up. It’s easy to get started out of the box by following step-by-step instructions on the app. The app has training plans that you can send to the goggles via Bluetooth so you can remember what to do once you’re in the water. It also walks you through how to connect to a Garmin or Apple Watch for a GPS connection and heart rate data.

We found seeing our stats in real-time on the lens to be hugely motivational, as we wanted to push harder to see the numbers go up. The goggles can display the number of lengths, strokes per minute, split times, stroke count and distance per stroke in the interface. Using the stroke rate is especially helpful in open water, where a high stroke rate is associated with better performance.

Despite one side sporting what looks like a small, rectangular box with two buttons on it, the goggles feel balanced on your face. The seals are tight - we never had any water drip in during tests - and the goggles don’t fog up.

The price of the goggles includes a year’s subscription to the form app, after which it’s £13 a month. If you’re chasing a specific swim goal, this is still a huge saving on employing a swim coach.

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Amazon Basics swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles Amazon Basics swimming goggles
  • Best: Value for money
  • Lens: Plastic
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Around 140 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: Four interchangeable options

These feel tiny on the eyes compared to the other swimming goggles we tested; the lenses are no bigger than egg boxes. However, once in the water, we were pleasantly surprised by the suction strength. Despite the low price, these are watertight and the small strap is surprisingly comfortable. We were also impressed that the goggles came with four different nose piece options. If you’ve got a particularly wide or narrow nasal bridge, you can tinker around with the different sizes until you find a secure fit.

Only a couple of details let this affordable pair down, firstly, the adjustable piece on the head strap is quite flimsy and easy to snap, so you need to be careful when you’re fitting them to your face. Also, there’s no photochromatic detail or polarisation on the lenses, so we’d suggest keeping these in your gym bag for pool swims.

  1. £9 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Speedo biofuse 2.0 swim goggles

best adult swimming goggles Speedo biofuse 2.0 swim goggles
  • Best: For everyday use
  • Lens: Polycarbonate
  • UV protection: Yes, up to UV400
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Around 150 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One bendable nose bridge

Speedo is a household name and has made swimwear for more than a hundred years. It can be hard to know where to start looking for a pair of goggles on the brand’s website because there’s such a dazzling array of choices, but if you’re looking for a comfortable fit and a pair sturdy enough to last years, then you can’t go wrong with the biofuse 2.0.

We really liked the fit of these goggles as the push button strap adjustor is easy to tweak and lock into place. The lens frame and nose strap feel flexible so you can get away with bending it so that it sits flat to the contours of your face. And if you tend to throw your goggles around when you’re carrying them to and from the pool, these feel durable and we’d guess they could take a knock without scratching or snapping. As a further bonus, these are planet-friendly, too – Speedo has used materials that reduce the impact on the environment in the design of these comfortable and affordable goggles, rather than single-use plastics or rubber.

  1. £24 from Speedo.com
Prices may vary
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HUUB manta ray photochromatic open water swim goggles

best adult swimming goggles HUUB manta ray photochromatic open water swim goggles
  • Best: For all-weather swimmers
  • Lens: Photochromatic
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One flexible nose piece

HUUB makes some seriously stylish wetsuits that are engineered for performance and these goggles are the icing on the cake for any image-conscious triathlete or open-water swimmer. With huge external soft silicone gaskets that spread out around the eyes like the wings of a manta ray, these goggles will help you start a swim with the confidence that you’re prepared for anything and that you look better than most of the competition, too.

We felt that the photochromatic lenses performed exceptionally well on sunny days during laps of the lake, adjusting to reflect when we were swimming into direct sunlight and when the light was behind us. But it was the expanse of silicone on the face that made us the happiest in the open water, confident that none of the cloudy, murky water would seep into the goggles and slow us down. The strap is also satisfyingly thick and would stay in place in a crowded competition environment

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Aquasphere defy ultra yellow mirrored lens goggles

best adult swimming goggles Aquasphere defy ultra yellow mirrored lens goggles
  • Best: For a wide field of vision
  • Lens: Mirror
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: Not specified

With their ski-mask size and bright yellow mirrored front, these goggles drew a lot of attention to us both at the pool and in the lake. No other swimmers were sporting eyewear as big or as colourful as these on our outings and, after testing them, we think these deserve to be more popular than they are.

The first thing to note is that they are incredibly streamlined. Cool silicone is injected directly into the lens resulting in an ultra-light frameless construction that is hydrodynamic and built for speed. A low-profile compact skirt brings the lens closer to the eye to further increase the field of vision. The lens has duo curve technology so you can see panoramically both vertically and laterally. We never had to physically move our head to look up, down or side to side as all we needed to do was glance with our eyes and the goggles revealed all we needed to know.

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Zoggs predator titanium goggles

best adult swimming goggles Zoggs predator titanium goggles
  • Best: For bright conditions
  • Lens: Titanium
  • YV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One flexible nose bridge

If you want to protect your eyes from the sun’s glare but aren’t ready to spend the money on light-changing photochromatic technology, these are a decent middle ground for open water swimming. The reflective front of the lens can effectively reduce high levels of glare reflecting off the water so you’re never squinting or struggling to see what’s ahead. Or to the side for that matter, as they have Zoggs excellent curved lens technology so you can see all around you without straining your eyes.

These lenses are best for swimming outdoors as the titanium that’s useful for blocking the sunlight makes it too dark for swimming indoors. But for invigorating morning dips or for swimming while watching the sunset, we found them to fit securely to the face and to be reliable against leakage.

  1. £24 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Orca killa 180 degree swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles Orca killa 180 degree swimming goggles
  • Best: For a leak-proof fit
  • Lens: Blue tinted lenses
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of vision
  • Nose bridge: One flexible nose bridge

Founded by former triathlon champion Scott Unsworth in 1992, Orca’s products are designed with resilience in mind. The brand’s killa 180 goggles will power you through a swim session without letting any water into the lenses no matter what the wave conditions or wind were like. These feature big soft gaskets that fit close to the eyes and we found that these offered excellent suction and seal without compromising on comfort. Orca says these fit comfortably thanks to TPE rubber being attached to the lens and frame using the latest injection technology, and we would agree. We felt a distinct lack of pressure when wearing these goggles and this made swimming much more enjoyable. We were also impressed by the curve lens technology that offered a wide field of vision, especially given the low price point of this pair.

The design is available in five different colours, we tested the white strap and blue lens option which felt quite fun to wear given that most goggles come in black or darker shades. However, the serious design reason for the blue lenses is that they enhance warm colours in full sun while eliminating reflective glare.

  1. £23 from Orca.com
Prices may vary
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Aquasphere Phelps XCEED swimming goggles

best adult swimming goggles Aquasphere Phelps XCEED swimming goggles
  • Best: Lightweight swimming goggles
  • Lens: Polycarbonate
  • UV protection: Yes
  • Anti-fog: Yes
  • Vision: Up to 180 degrees of visio
  • Nose bridge: One adjustable nose bridge

Competitive swimmers tend to prefer smaller goggles for a more streamlined performance through the water. The XCEED goggles designed by 23-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps are certainly that, barely covering the eye socket. We have to admit this made us feel vulnerable and slightly nervous before entering the water. However, once we’d dived in and knocked out a few lengths, it was a shock to discover that the low-profile design was quite liberating. Our vision never felt compromised thanks to curved lenses for excellent visibility to the sides. We felt more spatially aware when overtaking given that these offered crystal clear peripheral vision.

These goggles may be light, but they’re also robust. The gasket seal is watertight and they have an anti-scratch coating on the lens as well as anti-fog treatment.

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Bling2O rose quartz vibrancy adult swim goggles

Blank 2048 x 1536 (93).png
  • Best: For glamour

With quartz crystals dotted around the lenses, these goggles from Bling2O cheered us up the moment we laid eyes on them. Once on, we could not stop smiling and clearly we weren’t the only ones they brouoght joy to because, on their first outing, we received not one, but two compliments within the first five minutes.

Made from soft silicone, they’re more comfortable than you might expect. The flexible silicone nose strap ensured they fitted close to the face so there wasn’t any leakage and the back clip was really easy to adjust to the size of our head. They don’t adjust to changing light conditions, so we wouldn’t recommend them for triathlons, but they’re brilliant for everyday swimming, especially if you’re there to have fun as well as get fit.

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The verdict: Adult swimming goggles

Light-changing photochromatic lenses can be expensive but Roka offers this technology in the stylish and streamline R1 goggles for the most affordable price. They’re also comfortable and deliver excellent peripheral vision. If money isn’t a concern, the Zoggs predator flex reactor goggles perform well in both open water and pool swims and fit securely to the face. For anyone needing motivation or guidance with technique, the Form smart swim goggles are well worth the investment.

If you're looking to update your pool attire, take a look at our review of the best women's active swimsuits which don't sacrifice style for support

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