The Best Swimrun Goggles: Colting Open Water Goggles (OW) Under Test
Swedish brand Colting Wetsuits is a specialist swimrun gear producer borne out of founder Jonas Colting’s frustration with the lack of swimrun availability in the early days of the sport. Our tester, Alex Sheen put Colting’s Open Water goggles through their paces in training and at swimrun races (inland and sea). Ultimately, their utility as a swimrun specific goggle was the key question he wanted to answer.
It’s worth noting up front that goggles are highly personal, even more so than shoes in terms of face shapes, and likes/dislikes. With the wide variety of eye socket and nose bridges across individuals, it’s hard to make a goggle that works for everyone.
Goggles Open Water (OW) – Colting Wetsuits Review
The first impression of the goggles was very positive. The blue mirrored finish of the goggles and the slight shimmer to the strap material gives the OWs a luxurious look and feel. They are the most high-end goggles Alex had used in his swimming career.
What are the best features?
They were immediately comfortable although they sat very deep on our tester’s eye sockets, though because of his face shape, this gave them a fantastic seal. The fit feels loose, in the sense that they don’t need to be clamped to your face, and even when they felt like they were loose, they didn’t leak at all. You very quickly forgot that you are wearing them at all!
Another plus was they didn’t leave rings on the tester’s face after training, a particular bonus given the frequency with which he found himself meeting clients not long after a pool session.
Visibility was good in the pool, and the tester appreciated the tinted lens in the open water, especially through the summer. Despite the blue mirroring on the outside, colours appear slightly yellow through the goggles, although this is only noticeable alongside a clear lens.
The buckle either side of the eye piece is a novel design, and without bulk, but holds straps securely through multiple transitions. In open water mass start event they remained in place through the melee without Alex thinking about them at all, and in subsequent swimrun events, only one wet eye perhaps once in 25+ swim legs.
What could be improved?
Diving. The tester was all for these goggles becoming his “go to” until he tried diving in them! While they provide an excellent and comfortable fit for swimming, any significant lateral force dislodges them, not an issue for swimrun, but it has stopped him using them for pool training in an enduring fashion.
The largest gripe is mostly around the packaging. With a pair of high-end goggles like these, the inclusion of a goggles case would have been welcome to keep them in pristine condition among all the other wet and detritus covered kit that gets thrown in a race bag.
The verdict
These goggles have firmly cemented themselves as Alex’s go to open water and swimrun goggles. In four swimrun races, a swim mass start and multiple training sessions they’ve more than proven their worth, so much so they were his goggle of choice for all long distance swimming.
Highly recommended for both their good looks and swimrun performance. For more information, visit Colting Wetsuits website.
