AqtivAqua POLARIZED “Poseidon” Swim Goggles

Hubby’s been through more than a few swim goggles from various suppliers, and rarely have a pair been good for more than a couple of uses before they start to leak, or the anti-fog lenses fog, or some plastic piece breaks. These are the first, however, to claim to be polarized.

Polarized lenses not only reduce glare, they increase contrast and reduce eye strain. Unlike a traditionally tinted lens, they don’t just darken the field of view with various tints or shading in the lens, but block the horizontally polarized beams of sunlight. Generally this makes anything with polarized lenses more expensive than non, but the benefits for some greatly outweigh the costs.  So putting a polarized lens on a set of swim goggles seems like a no-brainer, since there’s rarely more sunlight bouncing around than when you’re in the pool in the summer, right? So far, these AqtivAqua® POLARIZED “Poseidon” Swim Goggles are the sharpest, clearest goggles I’ve ever used. Whether the lenses are truly polarized or just tinted perfectly, I can’t tell. But the sharpness and clarity both in and out of the water was stunning. They fit well around even Hubby’s giant pumpkin head, and there’s no leaks or fogging. They’ve only been used twice in chlorinated water, but both times on both of us they were comfortable, there was no pinching or binding, and they were easily adjusted on the fly to fit either of us. They are a touch on the bulky side and there’s not as much peripheral vision as we’re used to with our swim goggles. But other than that, we have no complaints. The zippered, molded storage case is a nice touch too, a real “value added” bonus. 

I will revisit this review after a few more uses, because testing and reviewing swim goggles has shown me that the first few uses are always perfect, and with exposure to chlorinated water over a season, the cheaper, poorly made ones tend to start fogging and leaking after about 5 or 6 uses. But as of now, these are Hubby’s go-to for lap swimming. Whether they stay that way, only time will tell, but AqtivAqua states on the Amazon listing: ” If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your AqtivAqua® Swimming Goggles, contact us and we will provide a no-hassle full refund”. Alrighty, then. I say give them a try!

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from ActivAqua. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Lejare Mirrored Swim Goggles with Earplugs

No, it’s not deja-vu. I’m really doing another swim goggle review in October. And yes, they look exactly like the last ones. Except this time, it’s the name “Lejare” on them. The straps are the same. The clasp at the back, the same. The lenses, the same (although Lejare seems to have opted for option “B” in lens shape); the storage case, the same! Even the claims are almost identical. So, let’s do this, then. From jump I’ll tell you that due to the timing of when they were sent (early fall), I couldn’t do any swimming in a frigid pool. So these were tested, again, by Hubby in the shower, with the hose, and dunking his head in the pool from the edge.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the product is branded differently, but it’s nearly identical in every way to several other products that come from overseas. It’s almost as if Lejare picked them from a catalog and paid a few cents extra per unit to get their name and logo on them. These goggles have all the same drawbacks as the last ones I reviewed, because they’re pretty much the same product from probably the same factory. Pinches at the nose? Check. Horrible clip/clasp at the back that is doomed to crack and break? Check (in fact, after trying them on again today, the plastic clasp did snap off). And while it has all the same pluses as the last pair (didn’t leak on initial uses; tinted, mirrored lenses, but not too dark; soft, pliable silicone straps; carry case included), The only noticeable difference is lack of “wavy” effect in the lenses, and for some reason, they included ear plugs. I never thought swimming was too loud, and while I sometimes used to get “swimmer’s ear” as a child, I doubt these ear plugs would do much to solve that. A nose clip might have been more appropriate, maybe even a swim cap. But the same noise-reducing earplugs that Hubby uses to mow the lawn? Yeah…no. There’s also this from the Amazon product page:

“100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE: If, For Whatever Reason, You Don’t Absolutely Love Your Per-Swim Goggle, Just Return It, And We’ll Refund Every Penny (Or Replace It, If There Is A Defect).”

Oh, and they want $19.00 for these, nearly 50% more than the others. I just don’t see the value. At all. That’s more than the Speedo brand Hubby bought before.

Look, I get it. Everyone starts somewhere. And innovation isn’t easy, and doesn’t come cheap sometimes. But this kind of stuff tells me you’re not even trying. You put zero effort and expect to reap major rewards? No, that’s not how business works. I was a small business owner, my father was too. It’s hard work, long hours, and a huge investment. If it was a simple as picking product A, B, and C out of a catalog and having my business name printed on it, and money starts pouring in, everyone would be a millionaire and have their own business. These are average swim goggles, and are identical to the last pair I got from another company, and they’ll be the last goggles I review for a long, long time. Lejare doesn’t have a functioning, maintained website (It doesn’t look like they even finished setting it up. Ug.). Their Facebook page is covered in pictures not related to their products or business. The product photo 0n Amazon is a fully clothed woman in a pool with their product photoshopped on to her face! Seriously? Get it together, guys.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Lejare.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Aegend Mirrored Anti-fog Swim Goggles

Summer has come and summer has gone, and despite the hotter than average fall, the cold nights have cooled the pool to the point that swimming for the season is but a memory. That didn’t stop a couple of companies from sending me swim goggles (that, in my defense, I had requested to review at the start of summer, but I digress…) to test out and review. So Hubby bit the bullet for me and wore them in the shower, dunked his head in the freezing pool, and bless his heart, had me turn the hose on his face. All in the name of my reviews.

The results were middling. While these Aegend swim goggles look sleek and neat, and at first glance seem decent, they have a couple of design flaws that make wearing them a little uncomfortable. The first of which is the nose piece that is not adjustable and pinches a bit on me, a lot on Hubby. Prolonged use would, one could extrapolate, be annoying if not downright painful. Next is the anti-fog coating on the inside. When wet, it gets “gummy”, so be very careful not to wipe or touch the lenses at all. As it stands, the coating went on a little unevenly, which leads to a lens that is no longer optically correct and downright disorienting. The final straw was, after a few adjustments and resizing from me to him, the little plastic tension “snap” that holds the two sides together has a crack. Not fully broken yet, but it’s really only a matter of time. How this was supposed to be a good feature is completely beyond my grasp, because it’s going to break, probably on all of them, and that’s just the nature of this kind of plastic. So understand that these swim goggles are on borrowed time.

I wish these performed as well as they look. They’re really snazzy looking and the tint provides good eye protection from the bright sun, without making everything too dark, The silicone bands are soft and pliable, and didn’t pull my very fine hair. The have a one year, money-back guarantee, and do come with a nifty travel/storage case. But there’s enough wrong with these that at $12.95, I have real trouble recommending them. The upside is, you can always try them and if you have the same problems I did, they can be returned for up to 12 months from purchase.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Aegend.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.