Swimming goggles should sit pretty close to the top of any triathlete’s essential kit list. Without them it’s uncomfortable to train in a chlorinated pool and difficult to see where you’re going in open water. But how do you decide which goggles to buy? And how much difference can there be between various makes?

Quite a lot, surprisingly. Factors include size, shape, colour and fitting mechanism.

We trialled a pair of Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles, which have been designed specifically with open water swimmers in mind.

Aqua Sphere Kayenne Goggles (image: Jonny Gawler)

While we were not brave enough to take these goggles into open water in February, we tried them in indoor and (heated) outdoor pools. The manufacturer’s claim that  the goggles’ curved lens provides excellent visibility in all directions stands up to scrutiny. Vision both under and above the water is excellent. Additionally, the buckle fitting system allows the goggles to be tightened while wearing them, a huge advance on more traditional systems that must be adjusted before pulling the goggles over your head. The goggles didn’t leak and we are reasonably confident they would stay in place during the chaos of an open water swim start.

The only downside we could see is that, if you swim with swimmers (rather than triathletes) you should steel yourself for some mockery because of the goggles’ futuristic styling: “do those come with windscreen wipers?”, “Hey, it’s Ali G, indapool” and “Spiderman, spiderman…” were three for starters.

At £17.99, these are not the cheapest goggles on the market, but because of the visibility and fitting, in our view they are worth the expense. Aqua Sphere also produce the Kaiman goggles, which has similar features, and a women’s specific version of the Kayenne.

For more details see: www.aquasphereswim.co.uk

Richard Allen using Aqua Sphere Kaiman goggles

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