The curse of goggles and starts...

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:29:06 GMT

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:34:31 GMT

I had a strap that I knew I really liked that wasn't attached to any goggles so I just went with it. I will try the Vaseline and cap over the strap tips, though! I think I do everything else already. I just have a really hard to fit face, I think, and they stopped making my old favorite goggles several years ago.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Elaine Krugman — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 03:43:24 GMT

So I finally got some of those T-72 Petites. They are great! I didn't even try with the strap they came with (it looked super short) and just put my own strap on. I haven't tried any starts with them but I have a meet on Sunday (I know, no new goggles for meets but my old ones are leaking too badly) so we'll see how they do then! Glad you like them! Are you sure the strap is too short? You will want to wear them tighter for races. And, if you do the following, you shouldn't have any problem on the start: 1. Put Vaseline around your eye sockets for better goggle suction/ fit. 2. Put the strap around the crown of your head. 3. Make sure you get good suction when you put them on. 4. Wear your cap over your goggle strap or double cap, with the goggles in between the two layers of caps. 5. Pull the front of the cap over the top edge of your goggles. 6. On the start, tuck your chin, get into a tight streamline with your arms pushing against your ears, and look back at your feet before you hit the water. I have never had goggles leak or fall off, when I did all of the above. Good luck! :cheerleader:

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:42:35 GMT

All these people recommending specific goggles perplexes me. Everyone's faces are shaped differently. It stands to reason that goggles with different contours will fit differently. My recommendation is that you go into a shop with a fairly wide selection (I happen to live near a Kiefer store) and see what fits. If they fit you well, I think they should pretty much "stick" with just light external pressure - no straps. Of course, they won't stay on your face long without the straps, but if you can't get a decent seal in the store without a strap, I'd move onto another style. Once you find something that fits at that level, then sure, all the other tricks come into play. I agree with this. I found that the speedo speed sockets fit my face perfectly and even with the straps as loose as possible they have never leaked or come off from a dive. My race pair are a bit tighter but they fit me very well.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:03:11 GMT

Elaine, I also have a narrow face. Maybe I will try the Tyr Womens' T-72 that you mentioned.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

smontanaro — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:03:09 GMT

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Debugger — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:24:12 GMT

I had the same problem, I used to hide the strap under the cap, I put my cap that it overlaps top edge of my goggles - that helped they stopped to fall off but still from time to time they leaked. That happened until I bought Arena Tracks Mirror - after that my goggles have never ever fell off or leaked, so I use them them on every meet. I still hide the strap under the cap - that's a habbit but no cap overlapping over goggles since that time - they stick to my face as if I've used superglue. :banana:

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Elaine Krugman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:08:02 GMT

Elaine, I also have a narrow face. Maybe I will try the Tyr Womens' T-72 that you mentioned. Swim Outlet has them for $9.95: www.swimoutlet.com/ProductDetails.asp

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:05:41 GMT

All these people recommending specific goggles perplexes me. Everyone's faces are shaped differently. It stands to reason that goggles with different contours will fit differently. My recommendation is that you go into a shop with a fairly wide selection (I happen to live near a Kiefer store) and see what fits. If they fit you well, I think they should pretty much "stick" with just light external pressure - no straps. Of course, they won't stay on your face long without the straps, but if you can't get a decent seal in the store without a strap, I'd move onto another style. Once you find something that fits at that level, then sure, all the other tricks come into play. I used to have a favorite style of goggle (they were Speedos, the style name has long been forgotten and no amount of Googling has helped me) and they are no longer made. I, unfortunately, do not live near a real swim shop, so I don't have the option to go into the store and try on every pair. I really, really wish I could, but I have to base my choices off of online reviews and trial and error. It's been quite an expensive several years and I still haven't found a pair that I like yet.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Elaine Krugman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 04:30:51 GMT

Still most people end up with some specific model they had good experience with so I don't understand why shouldn't I announce the model? I guess I should have been more specific when I said that I agreed 100%. I agreed 100% with everything after the first sentence! ;) Seriously, I mean that, too, because I started with the models I had read about on the forums. And, that is why I reached for the Tyr Petite's when I finally saw them at the last store I tried. I believe it was Bobinator who recommended them. If it wasn't her, it was somebody else who mentioned they were good for narrow faces. So, yes, by all means, mention the model, good or bad! This will at least give goggle hunters a starting point for their search. :applaud:

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Debugger — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 04:13:22 GMT

Agree 100%! :agree: I have a very narrow face and had to try on literally dozens of pairs of goggles at a few different stores before I finally found one to fit: Tyr Women's T-72 Petite. I was so happy to find one that finally worked that I ended up buying up a few extra pairs. I keep one just for meets (adjusted tighter) and keep the others in their packages until I completely wear out a pair. Good luck with your hunt, SuperChloe; been there, done that! Still most people end up with some specific model they had good experience with so I don't understand why shouldn't I announce the model? Just imagine that you don't know which model to try and folks just give some general ideas on selecting the right one. How much time you need spend to find the model which will fit? From another hand when you have a list of specific models people had good experience with you start from them and I'm pretty sure it will take less time to find the right model. It's quite obvious that the topic starter has to go to the shop and has to try the models we write about if they suite him. Btw, I gave once my goggles to one girl from my team during a meet who used to have same problem with goggles falling off. Though we have absolutely different types of faces she had same great experience I did so I have another reason to recommend it.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Elaine Krugman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:38:43 GMT

All these people recommending specific goggles perplexes me. Everyone's faces are shaped differently. It stands to reason that goggles with different contours will fit differently. My recommendation is that you go into a shop with a fairly wide selection (I happen to live near a Kiefer store) and see what fits. If they fit you well, I think they should pretty much "stick" with just light external pressure - no straps. Of course, they won't stay on your face long without the straps, but if you can't get a decent seal in the store without a strap, I'd move onto another style. Once you find something that fits at that level, then sure, all the other tricks come into play. Agree 100%! :agree: I have a very narrow face and had to try on literally dozens of pairs of goggles at a few different stores before I finally found one to fit: Tyr Women's T-72 Petite. I was so happy to find one that finally worked that I ended up buying up a few extra pairs. I keep one just for meets (adjusted tighter) and keep the others in their packages until I completely wear out a pair. Good luck with your hunt, SuperChloe; been there, done that!

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:00:46 GMT

I have tried the Swedish goggles and I found them to be very painful. Maybe I should give them a try again, though. I just couldn't stand the way they felt and became preoccupied with it. Depends what you found painful about them. If you took them out of the bag, tied them all together and put em on, I can see how that would be painful. A pair of sweeds is like a pair of shoes. You gotta work em in, get out a file and take off all the harsh edges and get them to fit your eye socket better. Also as was said the immovable string nosepiece isn't for everyone. Many people like a stretchable nosepiece. I could never get into that with a high bridge, so i stick with the string nosepiece. FTR I am talking about the monterbara ones, not the other brands.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:57:39 GMT

Does anyone have any experience with those bungee-type straps? I find that the straps on goggles have changed a lot in the 15 years I'd been away from the sport and they are quite hard to adjust. (And where do kids write their names on their goggles these days?) Three years later I finally discarded my first bungee strap. Never been happier so I bought a bungee strap for each pair of goggles i have. They also don't flip/slide down towards my ears on starts like the flat rubber straps sometimes did.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

swimslick — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:30:45 GMT

Depends what you found painful about them. If you took them out of the bag, tied them all together and put em on, I can see how that would be painful. A pair of sweeds is like a pair of shoes. You gotta work em in, get out a file and take off all the harsh edges and get them to fit your eye socket better. Also as was said the immovable string nosepiece isn't for everyone. Many people like a stretchable nosepiece. I could never get into that with a high bridge, so i stick with the string nosepiece. FTR I am talking about the monterbara ones, not the other brands. Swedes definitely take some getting used to. Yes, they can be painful to wear at first since your inner orbitals aren't used to feeling pressure, but give them a week or so and you may never wear any other goggle again! :) Some people like the "premium" version (a la TYR Socket Rockets) that have a light silicone coating which apparently provides some extra comfort, but when I tried those the fit felt 'off' as I suspect the extra padding adds 'm sure I could get used to it if I wanted to). But I think this version is probably a good place to start for those who want to try them out. Sporti makes both versions and they are both a whopping $3,(on swimoutlet) plus they come with both the rubber parts AND a nose string AND a bungee, so you have options. I personally go with the bungee and string as I've experienced greater longevity compared to using the rubber parts. FYI, both the Sporti version and the Malmsten/Monterbaras fit and feel the same to me.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:10:54 GMT

Every time I dive in for a race, my goggles fall off or leak. I have tried many different types of goggles. Any suggestions to alleviate this issue. I have a race in four weeks and don't want this to distract from my swim.:blah: Swedish goggles (Monterbara); tight strap; use a piece of the strap instead of a string to link the eye-pieces. And what the others said about strap high on the head and goggles first, then cap. Or cap, goggle, cap, but I never tried that.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

ande — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:47:12 GMT

Every time I dive in for a race, my goggles fall off or leak. I have tried many different types of goggles. Any suggestions to alleviate this issue. I have a race in four weeks and don't want this to distract from my swim.:blah: Tighten your goggs before you race. that should stop leaks and reduce the likelihood of them falling off when you dive in and glide on the start, Keep your head down/neutral WEAR goggles with a lip. Pull the bottom of your cap over the top lip of your goggs and they won't come off

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

mcnair — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:40:25 GMT

I'm considering just soldering mine into my eye sockets cyborg-style (assimilation is inevitable). I had problems in my freestyle events at the last meet whereas I didn't with IM or ***... I just started doing starts from the blocks, so I'm no expert, but I think the only difference was that I might have been trying to get my head up a little earlier for freestyle to go shallow and get into my stroke faster... in the other two events I was trying to maximize my glide underwater, so I'm pretty sure I kept my head tucked and that's what made the difference. I didn't do anything else differently for the four forward starts (no extra tightening, goggles always under cap, etc.)... I'm going to focus on tucking that chin for all my starts from now on.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

jaadams1 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:32:51 GMT

Does anyone have any experience with those bungee-type straps? I find that the straps on goggles have changed a lot in the 15 years I'd been away from the sport and they are quite hard to adjust. (And where do kids write their names on their goggles these days?) I've been using the bungee since about the beginning of their time in the swim world. I got a sample of them at an ASCA coaches clinic in New Orleans back in 2001, and tested it myself. Loved it and still use them now. At meet time, I just quick adjust the clip on them to be a little tighter, then loosen up again on Monday for practices.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

TomK3 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:44:32 GMT

I never had a problem in high school - we didn't use goggles! More recently, I had no problems with my cheap speedos. However my wonderful new prescription goggles came off first time I tried them in a race, and I'd tightened them, too. The under the cap suggestion sounds like a winner, thanks.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

knelson — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:12:12 GMT

In his case the single most important factor was putting it under the cap. I agree. This is key. I don't make my goggles any tighter for meets, but when I put them on under a cap never have problems with them coming off.

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

hnatkin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:15:34 GMT

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:10:05 GMT

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Former Member — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:04:15 GMT

RE: The curse of goggles and starts...

Heather Messerly — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:15:44 GMT

Had this problem back in high school (20 years ago). Solved by wearing sweeds. Haven't had them fall off on a start ever since. They cup in so far into the eye socket, my eyebrows actually stick out more than the goggles do. Try them if you haven't. They're cheap to try. I have tried the Swedish goggles and I found them to be very painful. Maybe I should give them a try again, though. I just couldn't stand the way they felt and became preoccupied with it.