FORM swim goggles

Some info from DC Rainmaker (if you haven't already seen it): www.dcrainmaker.com/.../hands-on-form-swim-goggles-with-smart-display.html

Coincidentally, I got the USA Swimming Official's Newsletter email on Friday and they reminded everyone that the Form Goggles and the new ones being developed by VUZIX are illegal for competition under Rule 102.8.1E. Still it's pretty clever technology, at least for training purposes.

Coincidentally, I got the USA Swimming Official's Newsletter email on Friday and they reminded everyone that the Form Goggles and the new ones being developed by VUZIX are illegal for competition under Rule 102.8.1E. Still it's pretty clever technology, at least for training purposes. I have used these twice now in training sessions and I love them! I train mainly on my own in my local Y pool and using the pace clocks on the wall is not always easy - one at each end, but rarely synchronised, people stand in front of them and when my regular goggles fog not easy to see. These FORM goggles have a read out that is easy for me to see, even though my usual goggles are prescription ones, and does not interfere with my vision of the pool - you have to focus on the read out to see it. The stop watch starts from zero at the start of each swim and displays 25 yard splits as you go (you can also set it to a 25m pool), the number of lengths swum is displayed below the timer - a great help to me as I regularly lose count. Showing the splits is really helpful for me to learn to pace better. The goggles did not fog at all during my swims nor did they leak, so I am hoping that continues. The only con I can come up with is that the water seems to be more cloudy than if I wear my regular goggles - possibly because they are not prescription??? My phone downloaded the work out fine, though it did seem to have a little difficulty differentiating between fly and *** but as I know what I swam I don't see that as a problem. The download has all sorts of different stats which will make interesting reading. All in all, I am glad I treated myself to a pair of these.

Interesting. I will have to look into these as the one clock is frequently blocked by "stand around" parents who know nothing about why the clock is used by their own swim kids in the pool.

Can anyone say how they measure distance? I'm wondering if they can be used in open water...i.e. use GPS. Dan

And when they start to leak, you only have to pay another 200 bucks for a new pair! :banana:

Can anyone say how they measure distance? I'm wondering if they can be used in open water...i.e. use GPS. Dan They don't measure distance, they sense when you turn or stop. You have to input the pool distance, and they can't be used for OW (from what I understand).

I got a pair as an early birthday present. They are pretty impressive tech and the software is done well. They are far better than watches for getting distances and splits correct. You can play around with the settings to minimize the distraction (eg adjust brightness, select what information is displayed). Swimming with these is somewhat like getting a cyclocomputer with cycling. You get real-time feedback about your pace and splits (if you want it) and you get all your repeat times after it syncs with your phone. If you are obsessed with documenting your training, this is a game changer. Based on about a week of swimming with it, I'd say the splits are about 0.5-1 sec slow compared to what I get off a pace clock. After some experimenting, I think I figured out the reason: the stopwatch resets/starts pretty much immediately when you submerge, which is a beat before I push off the wall. I am used to timing my push-offs to coincide with the start of the interval, and the "pace clock" in the goggles were always about a second ahead of the pace clock on the wall. The difference is not a big deal for longer swims, but it is huge for 25s and off-putting for 50s. It is also something that I would think could be addressed by software or firmware update (and maybe even user-settable?) On the other hand... While I am NOT obsessed with documenting my training, I am very obsessed with getting my times on repeats. When I swam in college, for example, I was adept at getting my splits during longer swims by taking a very quick look at the clock (analog!) with a breath into or out of the wall. I don't do that any more, but I do get my time on everything. Even so, the input from the goggles was just too much. I don't need to see my every 25 split in real time and I found myself honestly not enjoying the training as much. When masters swimming at my home pool started back up in the fall (so I no longer had to swim on my own) I stopped wearing the FORM swim goggles. I can see very much appreciating them in the following situations: - if I swim in a place where there is no pace clock, or the pace clock is not visible from one end of the pool. This does happen to me; in particular, in the summer we spend many weekends in a place where I have pool access but no pace clock. I had purchased a PacePal for this purpose, but I can't read it from the other end. The goggles are better and actually cheaper. - if I want to do long distance work where exact pacing is important. I can also see these devices being very useful for people who want to do the USRPT sets to, for example, get exactly 20 sec rest between intervals. You can set them up so that after you finish a repeat, it will display your time from that repeat and start timing the rest duration. You can mentally adjust for the added time (if you also find that the goggles do this for you) to define the times you have to beat for your particular set. Anyway, that's my experience. YMMV.

I bought these and as a distance swimmer, I love them. There are three pool settings, 25m, 25y, 50m. As other's have mentioned you can set a variety of different metrics, but I basically have 100 pace and distance displayed on mine. What I use it for: * usually when I'm doing longer stuff. I like to be able to see my pace per 100 when swimming above a 200 free. I feel being able to see my splits and pace actually push me to go faster. * when I want it to just record how long the practice is without having to add up the distance in my head. This is usually master's practices with one team where the coach only shows one set at a time. I find it hard to add everything up at the end or keep track, so I wear the goggles there so I know how much yardage there was. What I don't use them for: * Usually stroke or IM work. While I found that it has done a good job identifying strokes for me, I just don't find the splits and feedback as beneficial. This may just be me though. * Very tight interval sets. It needs about 4-5 seconds to judge that you are at rest instead of a turn. If you are doing a tight set (like 10x100 on SI) it'll treat it as one giant swim. Nice tool that I use often, just not every time I swim.

Even so, the input from the goggles was just too much. I don't need to see my every 25 split in real time and I found myself honestly not enjoying the training as much. Today I swam on my own and used the goggles again. I have found a setting that I like so that these things don't overwhelm: - after every turn in an interval swim, it will flash the cumulative split for the swim and how far you have gone. I'd say it lasts 2-3 seconds, just about perfect for me; they are just regular goggles between the walls. - after you finish an interval, it will show your time for the most recent swim as well as a running clock. This behavior is pretty much exactly what I want from the device. I don't want it pestering me all the time but I do like information. I had a wall clock today but didn't really need it. Also, I feel like the timing accuracy was better today; it was quite good, actually. I downloaded a software update and maybe they tweaked the settings. I continue to be amazed at the accuracy with which the device captures distances and times. It even accurately identified and timed (fairly accurately) 25s underwater dolphin kick on my back. No wrist-borne device I've ever used has been able to do anything like that. After the goggles synced with my phone, I looked at the workout and I could actually recognize my workout and get real information out of it. But every once in a while, it misidentifies my butterfly as breaststroke. Wow, that really hurts...though I can sort of understand, maybe your head motion probably isn't all that much different in the two strokes.... There should be a a setting where I can check a box that says "never does breaststroke." :-) * Very tight interval sets. It needs about 4-5 seconds to judge that you are at rest instead of a turn. If you are doing a tight set (like 10x100 on SI) it'll treat it as one giant swim. Yes, I noticed that too. Also, shaking the goggles (eg to clear fog) confuses the device. I came in on a repeat and upon finishing immediately shook my head to clear the goggles, and it added 5 seconds to my time.