The goggles do nothing!

October 6, 2007 3:12 PM

How do I fasten swimming goggles properly so water stops seeping in?
posted by Mach3avelli to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

I found that it has much to do with the shape of the eye cup. If you can press them to your face and they will stay, then they are the right shape. You can't really rely on the tension of the strap to do it for you. You need to try a model that will create a natural suction against your face. Trial and error my friend, trial and error.
posted by qwip at 3:28 PM on October 6, 2007

It's most critical that the end of the little plastic strip that crosses your nose be trimmed as short as possible on the inside/face-side of the goggles. If the ends are left long, they will press against your nose and lift the inside corners of the eye-cups off your face, breaking the seal. This problem manifests as goggles that don't leak when you put them on, but leak as soon as you open your mouth to take a breath.

You also have to make sure the length of that strip is right - too short and the eye-cups won't seat in your eye sockets because of your nose, too long and you will get leaks around your cheeks.

The best way I found to find the right distance is to take the nose-strap right off the goggles, loosen the head-strap, moisten the eye cups and stick them to your eye-sockets using only their own suction. Measure how far apart the eye cups are and install the nose strap to keep them that far apart, then trim as mentioned above

My final tip is to make sure the strap goes around your head over your ears, and on a fairly high arc. If the strap slips lower, it will twist the goggles and you'll get leaks at the top or bottom.
posted by Crosius at 3:37 PM on October 6, 2007

Squish them into your eye sockets to create the suction. Things inhibiting the suction may include (but are not limited to):

1) stray hair
2) eyebrows
3) bad match on the shape
4) looseness in the bridge area of the goggles
5) a weird foamy goggle-cup. Opt for rubberized plastic.

Try also the super-cheap Swedish eye-cup goggles that're basically give-aways at some meets. They're not ultra-comfy but they work like ten dickens.
posted by mr. remy at 3:38 PM on October 6, 2007

Previously
posted by grouse at 4:03 PM on October 6, 2007

Wet your eye sockets and the goggles before swimming. Cheap goggles definitely fog more than quality ones (and fit worse). I'm pretty partial to speedo's 'vanquisher' series.

Depending on the size of your eyes women's goggles may fit better, but trial and error is your best bet.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 4:16 PM on October 6, 2007

First, you definitely have to buy some quality goggles.

Also, the only thing I have found that works is tightening them so it's a bit uncomfortable. However if you ignore it for a minute or two I've found that I won't notice it at all for the rest of the session.

A final note. The only goggles I've ever found to really keep water out are these speedos ( I think these are the ones I have - I can't be sure) with the independent double straps. I think the tightening action from two directions really helps (keeping one strap high up on my head and one lower down tightened in an upwardly direction).

But as always YMMV.
posted by jourman2 at 5:14 PM on October 6, 2007

Keep trying different pairs till you find one that suits your face. The eye test described above is key. Then buy like ten pair. The most popular models on my team are those linked by jourman2, these, these, and swedes.

I hate the swedes because they hurt my face. Others wear nothing else. When they fog, lick the inside.
posted by dame at 6:52 PM on October 6, 2007

You'll either love swedes and never go back or hate them. I love them.
I haven't been able to find a pair of Hind compies around here, but that's what the internet's for.
Swedes and compies are crazy cheap, incidentally.
Speedo goggles suck, imho. Maybe it's just my eye sockets, but Speedos always leak for me. Plus, they're way more expensive than swedes or compies. You could buy a pair of swedes and a pair of compies to test drive for way less than a single pair of sub-par Speedos.
To take a completely different tack, if you want to drop crazy money and spend a lot of time maintaining them, Barracudas are really comfortable, and all the cool swimmers will compliment you on them.
posted by willpie at 7:28 PM on October 6, 2007

This is a tip from scuba diving, maybe it would help for swim goggles too. Even with a great-fitting mask I find it difficult to maintain a good seal when my skin is too dry - just wetting my skin and/or the mask before wearing didn't last. Using a silicone-based mask sealant around the edges totally did the trick. Mine came in a little pot which I cannot find it to link, but here is a similar product in a tube. I've also used lip balm in a pinch.
posted by FuzzyVerde at 9:12 PM on October 6, 2007

I have found that price doesn't matter but how the goggles interact with your face. Never buy a pair you can't take out of the package and try on first. Take the eye cup and squeeze it over the eye. It should stay there for a short time when you take your hand away. The best goggles for me are the cheapest competition goggles Speedo makes for kids. Swedes make me feel like I'm prying my eye out with a spoon. You will never know until you try them on your own face.
posted by Foam Pants at 12:23 AM on October 7, 2007

I agree with Crosius, that having the strap high on your head is key. This stopped the majority of my leaks.
posted by anaelith at 5:58 AM on October 7, 2007

For me, the kind where the eyecups and connector are all in one piece, no straps in between, works best, but I suspect that will vary with the space between your eyes. I'd check it out, though.
posted by judybxxx at 7:04 AM on October 7, 2007