TYR Goggle Review-Technoflex 4.0 and Technoflex Vision

TYR Goggles:

I arrived at TYR goggles mostly by accident.  The local sporting goods store only carries a few goggles off season and when I started training, it was January.  Most people will say that goggles are goggles and not spend too much time worrying about the specifics.  Six months ago, I would have agreed.  However, I picked up two goggles last time I went to the store.  I was going to do my first open water swim and I knew it’d be sunny on the return leg, so I decided to pick up some smoke colored goggles in addition to my standard clear goggles.  I didn’t even notice that the clear and the smoke goggles were different products until I tried them on.

I’ll give you a few pointers here on picking out goggles.  If you train indoors, I’d highly recommend clear goggles.  The YMCA pool here gets a bit dark in the mornings and evenings, so it’s a good idea to keep the visibility high.  I’ve seen folks with high contrast, yellow, goggles, but personally it gives me a headache.  If you’re planning to do an open water swim, bring your clear goggles and and tinted goggles too.  If it’s overcast on race day, you’ll love having the clear goggles.  If, like it was in Hartsville, the sun in directly in your face on the swim, you’ll appreciate having the tint when you’re sighting in.

Technoflex 4.0 (Clear): I’ve had two pairs of these goggles.  They’re basic, entry level goggles.  Good fit and a solid value.  I prefer the clear goggles as most of my training is in the pool, not open water.  For less than $15, these are a great value and decent all around goggles.  However, if you’re used to a race goggle, you’re going to be disappointed on with these.  The frames are a bit larger, so they can become uncomfortable if you wear them for long periods of time.  I’ve had some decent headaches from these after 1500m or so.  Could be that they slid into an uncomfortable position, or could be that the frames are large and the suction causes some issues with me.  The frames are also clear, but you have absolutely no peripheral vision.  My first pair of these only lasted about 4 months.  Granted, I was swimming at least five days a week, but I still expect the nosepiece to last longer than a few months.

Clearly, I don’t hate these goggles, since I’ve bought two pairs.  But, the quality isn’t excellent and the field of view leaves a bit to be desired.

Technoflex Vision (Smoke): Out of the three sets of TYR goggles I’ve owned, these are my favorite.  Next time I get new goggles, I’m picking up these in clear.  Simply put, they’re excellent goggles.  The lenses provide excellent vision, largely because the frames are also transparent.  No bulky frames to decrease your peripheral vision.  The frames are compact and fit inside my eye sockets easily.  I have a pretty large face, but I loaned these to a friend of mine (female) and she had no problem with the fit during her swim.

When I first put the goggles on in the pool, I was shocked at how much I could see.  This was especially helpful when you’re circle swimming in a pool.    The Technoflex 4.0 goggles, above, were comfortable, but too bulky and restricted my vision.  Even after 1500M+, I experienced no tightness of the goggles, no headaches, and no redness after I removed the goggles.

Overall:
I have to admit that I’ve a bit partial to TYR.  The goggles are well made and generally hold up well.  While I don’t think you can call either of these goggles sexy, the Vision goggles have a very sleek design and are extremely comfortable.  I highly recommend the Visions but would encourage you to stay away from the Technoflex 4.0 goggle.