Prescription Swim Goggles

dnesom

Hey Folks, I've been using some cheap corrective swim goggles for quite a while and they do well enough to let me sight on my OW swims. I was in a local oly this weekend though, and the buoys were, smallish,  far apart, and against a background (boats, houses, landscape features, etc...) that gave me a lot of trouble seeing them at a quick glance and I had to stop and tread water to sight a few times (unless I wanted to put my trust in my neighboring swimmers.) Looking back at the GPS track, I could have taken 200 meters off my swim if I could fix the sighting problem. Also, the treading water bit didn't help my time. Also, the cheapo goggles I have are pretty uncomfortable beyond 30 minutes.

Any other prescription wearers have a recommendation for a particular type of goggle that is both comfortable and offers a large (relatively speaking) field of vision that I could either order with my prescription or get at various magnifications. On the inexpensive side would be a great bonus and I can save money for laser surgery I'm sure I could just google this but hoping the wisdom of the experienced will save me some from having to test multiple options.

Thanks in Advance...

ezellrh

@Dave - totally not answering your question, but as a guy who cannot see his hands without corrective lenses, are you able to use contacts? If those are an option, I would think it would be much easier to deal with and then you could buy whatever goggles you wanted. Sorry if there is an obvious reason that I'm not aware of and move on, nothing to see here, if there is.

dnesom

Thanks Roy, it's a great suggestion. But, I had to stop wearing contacts some years back because they caused me so many issues due to chronic dry eyes.

rlh2000

I'm very blind due to retinal detachments, and can't get full correction unless I want to give tons of money and not sure they could even do it then. I've been wearing the Speedo Vanquisher Optical Goggles for less than $20. They only go as strong as -8.0, and I'm a solid -14.0 but I find that they still let me see buoys and major landmarks.

Paul Hough

I wear contacts with regular swim goggles for races only. For training, I buy my corrective lens from Aquagoggles - a Canadian firm. You can select the diopters +/- for each lens which will correct most everything except for astigmatism. They are a great deal and I've been using them for many years. http://www.aquagoggles.com/

rlh2000

Awesome Paul- those go to -10 which is a bit closer to what I need! Ugh, being blind sucks. I was just literally laughed at by Rudy Project customer service a couple weeks ago trying to order glasses. They told me they could make anything. I exceeded the realm of what they thought existed...

jaleslie

I race in contacts.  I had problems with chronic dry eyes back in the day of "semi-rigid" (which is a totally ridiculous official name for HARD contacts) lenses, but with the newer ones I do fine for a day or two with disposables (which I use over and over because I don't wear them except partial days on weekends and for races).  

I wear glasses to work and 95% of the time, including when I go to swim after work.  I got some $20 prescription goggles a few months ago online (don't recall from whom) and figured they would suck but it was only $20 so worth a shot.  I love them and it is the best $20 I've spent on tri crap.  I'm a -3.0 and -3.5 and I just ordered -3.0 and they're fine for the pool.  I could probably race in them, but haven't tried it.  

As I finish typing this, I now realize it is totally not helpful and does not answer your question!  Sorry!  Best I can do tonight....

dnesom

Thanks all, sounds like there are some inexpensive options available (rare in triathlon). Think I'll try Paul's suggestion first since I'm way more blind in my right eye than my left it'll be better to get each eye with its own diopter power. I'm assuming since everybody mentioned they've been using theirs for a while that comfort is no issue as well...

Thanks team!

Paul Hough

@ Dave - aqua goggles are absolutely comfortable. They have a silicon edge to them and seal great. If I wasn't worried about finding a glasses table on the beach, I would just race with these and use my prescription sunglasses for the bike and run.

[Deleted User]

Dave, I always race in my prescription goggles and need to keep them on until I get to T1! They are Leader brand and I get them at cost from my good friend (who is an optomotrist:-)). Be careful though! I just got a new pair last week to have for IMCHOO, and I used them at the pool for 4000 yards without rinsing them first. I now am recovering from a chemical burn to the corneas from the anti-fog stuff on the inside of the goggles!!! Better now than race day, but still....