My Quest for the Perfect Goggle

     Lately, I've been on a mission to find a pair of swimming goggles that do not leave a mark under my eyes. I love what swimming does for my mind and body, but after an hour or so in the pool I'm left with less than attractive gouges under my eyes. Comments from my kids like, "Mom, you look tired," have left my usual confident self feeling anything but confident. I remember in high school it was a status symbol having goggle marks, it meant you were a member of a very elite group called the swimmers. As a forty something, the last thing I want is another mark under the eye area that could equate to bags or wrinkles. Vanity is the devil's number one sin... still.
     I've gotten some advice/comments from a few Face Book friends like, "Don't swim anymore," or, "I have the same problem. Let me know if you find any that don't leave a mark." I visited a website and found some promising info about TYR Swedish type goggles. The goggles were advertised as having a softer gasket around the eye area, and that these type fit smaller faces and don't leak. Sounded like just what I was looking for so I immediately went to Dick's Sporting Goods to purchase some. I tried them out for a few swims only to be disappointed because they left red marks that seemed worse than my original Speedo Hydrospecs, and I had problems with them fogging up and leaking. Back to the drawing board. I took them back to Dick's.
     I decided to call in the big boys and go to a specialty triathlon store in town called, Inside Out Sports. They offer one stop shopping for all of your triathlon needs. If they couldn't help me with this problem, no one could. I called before going over and explained my goggle dilemma. The salesman was very nice on the phone and said his wife has the same problem."She swims at lunch time and used to have the marks well into dinner, but has discovered a new type of goggle which they carry in their store," he explained.
     I rushed over to the store and the salesman took me to the wall of goggles. He selected a type called the Kayenne by Aqua Sphere. The goggles were a bit over sized for my taste, but promised all the things I was looking for like, anti fogging, stabilizing nose bridge, hydrodynamic microframe made of hypoallergenic Softeril. Sounded great to me. These babies should do the trick I thought to myself, and priced at $24.99 they'd better deliver. I left the store happy as a lark.
     I couldn't wait to try these new found goggles out. After teaching lessons, and then swimming my own workout I had spent several hours in the water. I also wear goggles while I am teaching swimming because I wear contact lenses. After a morning in the pool, I had huge triangular marks on my face that lasted all day. Not only were the marks deeper, but they were bigger because of the oversize shape of the goggle.
     Frustrated, I returned the Kayenne's to Inside Out Sports. They were very understanding- as long as you have a receipt. So I opted for Aqua Sphere's Kaiman's. The salesperson explained these type offer all the other features of the Kayenne, but these are more designed for women as they are smaller. Okay. These babies were gonna fix me right up! I left a happy customer once again. As I left the salesperson called behind me," You might not want to tighten them so much." Thanks for the advice, as if I hadn't heard that one before.
     Same old story. The Kaiman's left under eye marks as well. I did like these a bit more than the Kayenne's though as the marks were smaller. Those type were $18.99 so back I went to get a refund.
     Long story short I have a bag full of goggles. I went back to Dick's Sporting Goods and tried some other types of Speedo goggles as these have always been a staple in my gym bag and worked pretty well(except for the marks). The main thing I am looking for are goggles that provide a good seal, don't leak, don't fog, and don't change my peripheral vision- some of the larger, mask type goggles can alter peripheral vision, in my opinion.
     I tried Speedo GCG adult goggles and I have to admit on a scale of one to ten these were about a 7. Not bad. They provided all the things I was looking for with one exception, they left a dark red mark under my eyes that lasted a few hours after my swim, I ended up returning these
      I also tried Speedo Vanquisher for women goggles and I still have these in my bag. The Vanquisher seems to fog up on me, but the marks left are minimal and seem to go away after a few hours. I hate the fogging, but the mark thing is better with these.
     Bottom line here is that all of the goggles I have tried left some type of mark. No surprise, I guess after swimming for over thirty years I already knew that my quest for the perfect goggle was not something that was going to be a reality. Persistence is a quality that can haunt you.
     I'm back using my old tried and true. Speedo Hydrospec's Junior. They are actually for kids, but they seem to work best for me, mark and all. I have loosened the strap a bit these days and that seems to help with the gouges under my eyes.
     I decided rather than fighting the under eye marks, I would embrace them. If someone asks," Are you tired?" My response will be,"Not at all. I swam over a mile today and I feel great! The darn goggles leave an under eye mark." I figure bragging rights should be allowed after spending all that time in the pool.

Tri-On!
Kelly