Posts Tagged ‘goggles’

In this video, I’ll review the Roka R1 swimming goggles.

The Roka R1 goggles are Roka’s top-of-the-range offering designed for open water swimming. As with everything Roka to, the packaging is designed with care. But what about the product itself?

My initial thoughts were that the lenses were a little small and stuck into my eye sockets too much. Equally, the strap seemed rather small and tough. Having tested it, there is no discomfort when swimming, so neither of these concerns is a problem. That said, the strap is a little fiddly to keep together.

There are no frames around the lenses. In theory, this adds extra visibility as you can see out of the top or down the bottom. This seems to add some additional field of view when I am at home, but, to be honest, I did not notice a real difference while swimming.

The goggles come with a white cloth bag which is high-quality, but I am not sure if I should be getting it wet or not. It also looks a lot like tissue and I almost blew my nose on it several times!

This pair has the mirror coating. This is a little too dark for my taste when using in the pool. However, in the lake, they are perfect when the sun is out as you can swim towards the sun without being blinded.

So far they have been for free. However, I have only done three swims with them so far, and typically the anti-fog coating wears off after half a dozen swims, so we will have to wait and see how long this remains the case.

I like these goggles. I think they will be replacing my Zoggs Predator as my go-to goggles for triathlon races when the sun is shining. However, I’ll be using different goggles in the pool or may even the lake when it is overcast.

In this video, I’ll review the Zoggs Predator Flex swimming goggles.

If you have ever done a triathlon, you will probably have seen someone wearing the Zoggs Predator Flex goggles. In fact, you may well have seen a lot of people as the goggles are ubiquitous. In some races, I am sure half the athletes were wearing them!

There is a lot to like about them. The ridges on the strap hold it in place so there is no slippage. The strap is comfortable and the seal is excellent, so no leakage, even when kicking off from the side of the pool.

The orange tint works okay in the pool. It is most at home in overcast days in the lake, and maybe a little out of its depth when the sun in shining directly down.

Unfortunately, after many uses, the anti-fog coating is long gone and they fog up a lot.

They come with a mesh case to keep them safe.

Overall, these are my go-to goggles for open water swimming. I prefer my Speedo mirror goggles in the pool, although they leak more than the Predators, so that will probably change. Their reputation as a great triathlon goggle is well deserved.