Why I prefer goggles with clear lenses in low light

There has never been more choice for ocean swimmers when it comes to swimming goggles.

You can have your goggles big or small, narrow or wide, inset or mask, soft or hard…

Your choice of lenses is just as great; you can have them tinted, mirrored, smoked, polarised, silver, rainbow, clear…

As a lifelong swimmer and ambassador for Vorgee, I’ve worn them all while pool and ocean swimming.

I’ve always got a range in my gear bag, and I’d go through about 10 pairs a season.

However, lately, I’ve found myself opting for the goggles with clear lenses.

The reason I’m preferring the clear lenses is purely so I can achieve 100% unimpeded vision in low light conditions.

I find in low light, especially at dusk and dawn at the beach when I tend to swim the most, or on overcast days, even the slightest tint reduces my visibility.

Add in a little bit of fog, a few water drops and a scratch or two here and there, and goggles with too much of a tint will quickly start to reduce your vision when the light is already poor.

When you’re ocean swimming it’s extremely important to be able to see everything that’s going on around you, and you always need to remain one step ahead of the ocean. A slight delay because you didn’t quite see a wave coming could mean you mistime your dive, missing a course buoy on every other sight could mean swimming off-course and not being able to see the bumps and movements of the ocean will reduce your ability to work them effectively.

On those bright sunny summer days, my fallback is the Vortech Polarised. This lens is superior in every way for enhancing visual clarity in the water and combating glare. It has what I’d describe as a low-level of tint because the polarisation does the work that other tinted goggles need darker tints to achieve.

My advice for ocean swimmers is to keep the level of tint to a minimum and always have a pair of goggles with clear lenses in your gear bag.

When you can see everything going on around you, you’ll feel more in control and you’ll swim more efficiently as a result.

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