The Best Swimming Goggles of 2024

The goggles have a more rectangular lens shape than Speedos and aren’t designed for serious racers but work well for casual swimming. Our biggest beef with them? Looking through them above the water, vision is crisp and clear. But when we tested them (and handed them off to other swimmers to try) in the pool, the view underwater got slightly distorted. Even the line on the bottom of the pool looked wavy.

The head strap is as wide as a finger. Unlike most goggles that you just pull over your head, these have a large plastic bracket that snaps together in the back. That can help you avoid yanking your hair, which makes them good for children. On the downside, it’s one more plastic part that can potentially break. (Don’t force the clasp.)

Unlike many other goggles, the nose piece on the Aegend goggles can’t be swapped out for a different size, so you’re out of luck if they don’t fit your face. They also feel somewhat large and heavy compared to other higher-end goggles.

We noticed that the mirrored coating on the surface of the lenses scratches easily. After just one use, our pair looked like a housecat had clawed it. We recommend keeping them in the plastic case they come in, so they don’t get banged around in your gear bag.

The Aegend Swim Goggles are affordable and work best for non-competitive swimmers with wide-set eyes.

The feeling is a little like wearing Buddy Holly’s thick plastic-frame glasses when you’re used to lighter John Lennon-style wire rims. Still, we love the comfort aspect of these goggles so much that we recommend them for anyone out to log super long swims.

The mirrored version is especially good in open water, where they block out harsh glare, and the slightly larger profile shape allows good peripheral vision for spotting.

The smooth-edged, curved design of the nosepiece doesn’t cut into the nose, but because the entire piece swivels, it sometimes gets inadvertently rotated, causing the head strap to get twisted. (It’s easily fixable.) The goggles come with three interchangeable nose pieces, for perfect sizing. The head straps have a “fishtail” rolling buckle that you can pull back to tighten or pull forward to loosen without removing them from your head.

Like many goggles, the anti-fog wears off with multiple uses. The goggles come with a small bottle with a sponge applicator tip and instructions on making your own anti-fog coating using a couple of drops of baby shampoo and water.

If you’re an open-water swimmer with plans to log long distances, try the Snake & Pig Basilisk.

The curved lenses offer good visibility and stay in place better than most goggles, even while diving off the blocks. That’s because of an unusual “rigid temple” design — the headband starts farther back from the eyecups, and the stretchy part of the double headband is shorter than most other goggles. They also come with five nose bridges, so you can snap in the one that fits your face. The rubbery gaskets around the eye cups are comfortable.

That hydrodynamic design, though, has one downside. The eye cups are so shallow that they might not work well for swimmers with deep-set eyes. If that’s you, they could brush against your eyelashes.

The goggles are available in mirrored or non-mirrored lenses and more than a dozen color combinations. The Arena Cobra Ultra Swipe Mirror Goggle is best for competitive swimmers looking for a sleek, low-profile goggle with an anti-fog coating that lasts longer.

As the manufacturer says, “One size shall fit only one.” To order the goggles, you must first download a special app that can be used to scan your face. It took us three tries to get the scan to work. But, when the goggles arrived about two weeks later, they fit perfectly. That’s because the company uses the scans to shape the goggles to match the exact curvature of your eye socket.

With such an exact fit, you don’t have to crank down the head straps as tightly as you might other goggles. They sort of settle into place like a puzzle piece. And if you have leakage or fit issues, the company promises to refund your money.

Each lens of the Magic5 goggles has four relatively flat planes, which makes them look like a cubist artist designed them. (That gives them the futuristic look our teammates noticed.) The Black Magic version we tested has the darkest lenses, best for outdoor swimming under sunny skies.

But here’s the rub. They’re not cheap. Also, the hard plastic tabs that hold the interchangeable nose pieces in place are hard and a bit sharp. So, if the goggles aren’t seated right, it can be bothersome. The goggles have an unusually large case to protect them when you’re not using them. We had to search to find the four interchangeable nose pieces, which arrived tucked into notches on the backside of the foam liner of that case.

The Magic5 Custom Goggle is best for serious adult swimmers who have trouble finding a good fit and are willing to spend a little more on gear. 

First, the basics. The goggles look normal, except for the wine-cork-sized module at one temple. That’s the brains of the thing, and it includes an on-off button. They fit well and didn’t leak for most who tried them.

A heart-rate sensor is located at one temple and must make contact with your head to work. If you wear a swim cap, put it over the goggles.

You’ll also want to download the accompanying phone app. Once you’ve set this up, the goggles sync data automatically. You can check graphs, numbers and efficiency ratings to your heart’s content.

If you want added features — like in-goggle coaching, a compass feature for open water, and more than 1,500 workouts — you’ll need a subscription that costs $8.25 a month (the first 2 months are free).

We brought a pair of these cyborg-esque goggles to swim practice and let our teammates try them. They track laps, speed, and splits as you go, but one teammate handed them back immediately, saying, “It’s like trying to watch a movie and drive a car at the same time.” Others said they’d like them for a solo swim session when there’s no coach on deck

After testing the goggles in a pool, we headed to a nearby lake and switched to open-water mode. First, we had to calibrate the goggles by tipping our heads forward and to both sides and turning in a circle. Then, we started swimming.

The SwimStraight compass feature is designed to help you swim in a straight line, but when we used it, the compass points seemed to waver slightly, and we veered off course. We did, however, love knowing how far and how fast we were moving.

The goggles come with a charging cable (a charge lasts about 14 hours) and a two-year warranty. (Do goggles ever last that long?).

The general consensus that the FORM Smart Swim 2s work best during solo workouts or in open water. If you’re into feedback and want to analyze the details of your swim, these may be the goggles for you. Just pack a fat wallet.

During our test, the goggles stayed securely in place during warmup and steady-paced main sets at a typical U.S. Masters Swimming practice but slipped out of place a few times during speed work. More than once, the force of hitting the water during a racing dive knocked them completely off kilter.

The goggles seem to comfortably fit a wide array of face shapes, even though their unibody construction means you can’t swap out nose pieces. The eyecups, surrounded by flexible eye gaskets, really do prevent leaking for most users — at least at slower speeds. The edges of the gaskets curl up slightly (like the edge of a stingray in motion, if you need a visual), which might contribute to their tendency to lift up during sprints and dives.

They’ve got a larger profile than the competition goggles we tested, but they’re not as bulky as more mask-like options like the Aquasphere Kayenne goggles.

We tested the clear version of the Hydrospex and used them for dawn workouts in an outdoor pool. If you’re planning to swim indoors, stick with the clear. But if you need something for open-water swimming or plan to swim when it’s bright and sunny, opt for the smoke, teal, or blue-tinted lenses.

The Speedo Hydrospex Classic goggles are a solid and affordable choice for lap swimmers who aren’t focused on sprinting.

Instead of interchangeable nose bridge pieces, the goggles feature a unibody construction. Still, with big, soft gaskets around the eyecups, they’re flexible enough to fit a variety of facial structures. They’re comfortable and easy to adjust. They mold comfortably to the face but they may feel oversized if you’re used to a true racing goggle.

The TYR Nest Pro Goggles come with embedded anti-fog treatment. But, like most goggles we’ve used over the years, it becomes less effective with multiple uses. The head straps are cylindrical on the sides, like strands of spaghetti, but flatten out in the back, which helps keep them secure and in position on your head.

These goggles are available with clear, smoke, or blue-tinted lenses. We tested the light blue lenses, which work well for swimming outdoors at early morning practice. The lenses curve slightly, with a slight wrap-around effect. You can keep tabs on swimmers the next lane over — or stay aware of support kayakers when you’re swimming in open water.

The TYR Nest Pro Goggles are a good option at a reasonable price point for daily pool workouts and open-water swimming.

We tested the clear lenses, which work fine indoors and out of bright, direct sunlight. They get high points for comfort thanks to the extra soft gaskets around the eye sockets.

One downside? The nose piece is fixed in place. That means it doesn’t move around much when you’re swimming, but it also seems to work better on athletes who have wider set eyes and not so well on folks with narrower faces. Also, one of our teammates wears these and always apologizes for their bug-eyed, “nerdy” look, although we think she’s being a tad overly sensitive.

The head strap is as wide as a pinky finger and splits in the back to accommodate a ponytail or bun. You can adjust the tightness by squeezing a tab on the buckle on the sides of the eye cups and pulling the strap, all while they’re still on your head. (That tab can get a little stubborn, too.) But don’t try a race dive wearing these — we hopped into the deep end of the training pool, and the force of impact pushed them up above our eyes.  

The Aquasphere Kayenne Swim Goggles are a good choice for recreational swimmers who want a larger, almost mask-like pair of goggles and don’t plan to use them for competition.

The gaskets around the eyes are soft and flexible, but the eyepieces are big, making them better for open-water swimming than competitive sprinting.

To adjust them, press the small tab on the outside of the eye cup and tug on the strap. You might have to do this more than once — the plastic fixture designed to lock down your adjustment tended to slip during testing.

They must also be seated on your face just right to avoid leaking.

We passed them around the swim lane during practice one morning, and while they leaked for one swimmer, another loved them — but noted that he had to tighten down the straps to ensure a good fit. That can feel uncomfortable.

The Special Ops 3.0 comes in a regular or women’s fit, which has slightly smaller dimensions for swimmers with smaller faces. We tested the smoke-colored lenses, which work best on bright days but are also available in a light blue or amber tint.

These are beefier goggles, but they provide great peripheral vision. This makes them a good choice for triathletes or others who spend much time swimming in rivers and lakes. The tinted lenses are great when popping your head out of the water to spot your location or find your support kayaker.

The TYR Special Ops 3.0 Goggles are best for open-water swimmers who need to stay aware of their surroundings. They provide good protection from glare.

But many swimmers who grew up wearing them won’t wear anything else. One member of our swim team wears his proudly because they’re inexpensive and long-lasting. He claims he’s worn the exact same pair for more than 10 years, although he has replaced the headstrap. He also says they fog up. Still, he loves them and refuses to give them up.

They’re simple and low profile and require some assembly when you get them. The straps aren’t adjustable; you tie them off to fit your head size. Same for the nose bridge — essentially a silicone tube that you slide over a length of white string. Just tie them off to whatever size fits your face. Give yourself time to adjust to the way they feel to determine if they work for you. Swimmers seem to either love them or hate them.

One benefit of Socket Rockets is the wide peripheral view they offer. It’s like looking through a bubble. There’s no rubber gasket to block the vision. Another plus? Sometimes the rubber gaskets on goggles stiffen as they get older (just like humans!). As they age, they don’t conform to the face as well and may start to leak. That can’t happen with Socket Rockets, since they have no gaskets, but the string on the nose bridge can weaken with exposure to pool chemicals.

But the main problem with Socket Rockets is just getting used to the way they feel. If you’re used to goggles with flexible gaskets around the eye sockets, you might never get used to these. TYR’s Socket Rockets are for old schoolers who grew up using them and still want a low-profile goggle when they go fast.