Swim Goggles

Swim goggles make opening your eyes underwater much more comfortable, and thanks to them you can actually see where you are going in the pool.

Swim goggles come in sizes for children or adults, designed specifically for oval or round eyes. Goggles can also be custom-tinted, prescription, anti-fog or hypoallergenic.

The biggest complaints about swim goggles are the fogging and leakage. There's nothing worse in the middle of a swim competition if your goggles fog up or fill up with water. To help fogging and leakage, rinse your goggles out and line the foam with a little saliva just before you put them back on. Otherwise, for a little extra cash you can purchase goggles with anti-fog coating or use anti-fog drops before you swim.

Another effective way to lessen leaking is to thoroughly test your swim goggles before you buy them by performing this simple test:

• Press the goggle eye cups onto your eyes without fixing the strap behind your head.
• Let go!
• The goggles should cup your eye sockets for a good 25 seconds without falling off.
• If they don't, they're likely a bad fit for the shape and size of your eye sockets. Remember that goggle eye cups come in oval and circular shapes.

Additional swim goggle tests should include:

Comfort Adjust the strap and place the goggles over your nose. If they're too tight or cut into the bridge of your nose or ears try a bigger size.

Quality No parts of foam should be falling off. Stretch the strap to test for durability.

Color Buy a pair of goggles that match your bathing suit and so you won't lose them.

Custom Features Get a tint to suit your swimming conditions. For example, dark colored goggles provide better in bright areas; whereas light colored goggles are better for dim or dark pools.

Safety Features Goggles used outdoors should have UV protectant coating; prescription eye goggles should be shatter-resistant.