Barracuda Hydrobat Anti-Fog Goggles–Final Review

It’s been almost a month since we initially reviewed the Barracuda Hydrobat goggles from Skyline Northwest.  Since then we have used the Hydrobats in the pool and in a few open water swims as we trained for a half-Ironman distance race.

Background on Barracuda:

Based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, Barracuda Sports Products and Skyline Northwest manufacture an entire line of swimming gear, including these goggles, swim caps, cases, paddles, shampoo and quite a few other items.

Barracuda goggles were created by Dr. John Runckel after he was unable to find goggles that fit well, didn’t leak, and didn’t leave red rings around his eyes.  Dr. Runckel, a dentist, used his experience taking dental impressions to develop a technique to produce goggle frames that allowed for differing bone structures.  These frames don’t use suction and pressure to seal out water, they use the ergonomic design of the goggle to prevent water intrusion.

Look and Feel

The Hydrobat is a new line of racing goggles by Barracuda USA.  They feature an interesting ‘batwing’ design that is supposed to cover the eye socket, thereby smoothing the area to reduce drag.  The lenses are polished and anti-fog treated.  The goggles feature a dual strap head band and the nose bridge is adjustable, a great feature for swimmers with smaller faces.  The actual goggles are pretty small, consistent with most other racing goggles.  Again, great news for racers or for casual swimmers with smaller faces.

We tried these goggles this morning during our regular swim.  The head band adjustment is very sturdy and therefore, impossible to adjust once on your head.  Make sure you try these on before you hit the water.  Remember also that the Hydrobat has an adjustable nose bridge and make sure you get that sorted out too.  Much easier at home versus in the water at 0630.

Final Observations:

Since we received these goggles, and the other goggles from Barracuda, we’ve been very impressed with the quality and performance of the goggles.  Without sounding like the marketing department for Barracuda, these are excellent goggles that perform very well in all conditions.  As we mentioned in the first review, our opinion is that the Hydrobat goggles are most useful for racers or folks with smaller faces.  The goggle cups are small and sleek and therefore don’t provide as large of a field of view.

We used these goggles in all lighting conditions, both indoors and out.  We have used them in chlorine, salt, and freshwater.  In the past month, we haven’t noticed any issues with the soft rubber, an initial concern.  We will continue to keep you updated on the long-term durability of the goggles.

We are pleased with the fit and the positive pressure system.  We have used these goggles on long swims, some over 2500m, and have yet to see any red rings around our eyes or experienced any headaches.  The anti-fog coating works well out of the box, but even better if you dip the goggles in water before your swim.

We don’t know if the fluted holes, claimed to increase hydrostatic pressure and hold your goggles on during flip turns and dives, work better than any other goggles, but the goggles certainly stayed on our face without issue and without leaking.

We highly recommend these goggles, especially if you have a smaller face or if you’re used to the smaller goggle cups that most racing goggles feature.  If you’re a casual swimmer or if you prefer more field of vision, you might want to take a look at the Barracuda Ultimate or Barracuda Predator goggle.  You can check out our Barracuda Ultimate review and our Barracuda Predator review.  We will publish the final reviews for these goggles in the near future, but our finding are similar and we are pleased to recommend the Barracuda Hydrobat goggles.