Choosing a Strap for Your Swimming Goggles
Take a close look at the huge variety of goggles on the market, and you’ll soon notice that your choices include not only different types of lenses, but also many different types of goggle straps. And that may leave you with a whole new set of questions.
Which goggle strap will keep your lenses in place for the start of a race? Which goggle strap is easily adjustable? Is it better to have a single or a double strap? Whatever your questions about goggle straps, the answers are here.
Adjust on the Fly
If you’ve ever unhooked your goggle strap from that little plastic thingy to make a quick adjustment in the middle of a set……and then spent the rest of the set struggling to put your goggles back together, you understand the popularity of the “squeeze-button” straps. For ease of adjustment, nothing beats them. Of course, you’ll pay a bit more for the convenience. And you still have a few choices when it comes to strap material.
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Bettertimes Bungee Straps, the most popular of the squeeze-to-adjust straps, offer a comfortable, secure fit, and in the color of your choice! Many swimmers “upgrade” to this strap because of how well it keeps goggles in place on a dive. Bungee Straps are compatible with a wide range of goggle lenses. But they’re also among the most expensive.
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Speedo’s Universal Oggle, made of silicone, is a great way to get the ease-of-adjustment and keep your favorite pair of goggles operational. You also get the element of surprise, because while the Oggle comes in several colors, you won’t get to choose which one you get! The Oggle is designed as a replacement to go with Speedo lenses, but is actually compatible with a wide range of goggles.
Back to Basics
You may have already noticed that the vast majority of goggles on the market employ a “double” or “split” strap to help keep goggles in place on racing starts. Know this: not all split straps are made equal! Those with one large split through the middle of the strap (effectively making a double strap) stay put better than those with two holes in the strap.
That said, those with two splits effectively create a single strap across the back of your head, so they’re a bit more convenient to put on. Of course, the straps below are not quite as easy to adjust as the squeeze-button bungee-type straps above. But hey, they come with new goggles!
Speedo Vanquisher goggles come in an astonishing variety of colors, sizes, shapes, tints, and even prescriptions. It seems every version of the goggle comes with a different strap. The “original” version of the Vanquisher has a double strap made of silicone, which is not super-stretchy, but does stay put very well. The two best things about Speedo’s single-clip design are that you don’t need to thread the strap through the clip four times (as with some other brands), and you can adjust the fit of either or both lenses with a single adjustment (as opposed to having to fumble with clips on the side of each lens). But it is a little tough to adjust, until you learn to PULL on both layers of the strap at the same time - then it will slip in and out of the clip much more easily.
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The Finis Cascade Goggle is for those who like their classic, old-school gear. Made of soft & stretchy silicone, this single strap means less fussing when you go to put your goggles on, but isn’t necessarily the best for diving. If you have an old pair of cherished goggles, and the replacement straps below don’t work with your lenses, these may be the closest you’ll get to the good ol’ days.
Practically Free Replacements
If you’re just looking for an inexpensive, effective replacement strap to keep your favorite pair of lenses in operation, try one of these options. While you may not be able to make adjustments quite as quickly or easily with these, how often do you really have to adjust your goggle strap anyway? And for the cost-conscious: you’ll save a few bucks.
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Speedo’s ½ inch Split Oggle is a basic, all-purpose replacement strap. The split-strap does a great job of keeping lenses in place on a dive. Made of soft silicone, the Split Oggle is compatible with a wide array of goggle lenses. It offers a blend of performance and affordability.
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TYR’s Split Strap offers the most economical way to keep your favorite pair of goggles operational. Again, the Split Strap design affords a secure fit on the dive, without sacrificing comfort. This strap works best with TYR goggles. (Some swimmers have experienced some trouble with this strap’s compatibility with different brand goggles.)
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Swedish Goggles, perhaps the cheapest lenses on the market, come with a simple rubber strap which works best as a double-strap. You get more than just the strap here – you get a pair of classic goggles, used by beginners and Olympians alike for both training and racing! Adjusting these straps is “knot” a challenge (provided you have nimble fingers): just untie the strap, and re-tie it closer or further from the ends, depending on whether you want a looser or tighter fit.
Which goggle strap do you prefer and why?
