14 best adult swimming goggles for pools, open water sessions and triathlons
The benefits of swimming are plentiful, but to get the most enjoyment of it you’ll need the best swimming goggles. Poor-fitting goggles can turn recreational swimming into a chore, so upgrading to the right pair for you is the simplest way to elevate your next session.
Swimming 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.
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
