Strip the sport of swimming down to its bare bones and an athlete doesn’t need tons of fancy equipment to become one with the water. A suit is mandatory, but even caps and goggles are optional, although most aquatic athletes would prefer not to have hair floating in their face all practice on top of permanently red eyes after the workout.
Like progression in just about everything else in today’s market, goggles have come a long way from the once foam-surrounded bug-eyed look.
When searching for goggles on a well-known swimming supply website recently, I was presented with more than 500 options just for these pieces of plastic that cover your eyes. There are myriad different lens shapes, gasket sizes, colors, straps and nose pieces, which all give swimmers the chance to either go standard or to standout with their aquatic eye wear choice. Sometimes keeping things simple is the way to go, though.
Enter the original Swedish goggle – a classic, no frills goggle that is popular worldwide. Originally produced by Swedish company Malmsten AB back in the 1970s, the company claims that their design is probably the world’s ‘most copied swim goggles.’ Instantly recognizable from their lack of a gasket, the Swedish goggle has been donned by the likes of Australian legend Ian Thorpe and Hungary’s Iron Lady, Katinka Hosszu, giving the simple design credibility in performance at the world-class level.
But even everyday swimmers, both just starting in their competitive years and well beyond (ahem), can appreciate the Swedish goggle in all their basic, luxury-less glory. Here are just 4 reasons to love this storied piece of swimming history.
They’re Cheap
Aside from raiding a random clearance bin at your local swim store, I challenge you to find a quality goggle that is priced beneath the Swedish goggle. They’re usually priced right around $4.99 for the non-metallized lenses, which is cheap enough to buy several pairs at once and always have an extra on-hand. If you’re a parent, get your kids started on Swedes early! You’ll save hundreds in goggle cash over the years.
They’re Customizable
No other piece of swimming equipment is as customizable as the Swedish goggle. They come completely un-assembled with a set of eye lenses, latex strap, plastic nose piece and nose piece string. The ‘spare parts’ packaging gives the goggles’ owner full range of options for how far apart the eye pieces can be, how long and tight of strap is needed, if the plastic piece will be used for the nosebridge or if an extra piece of latex will do instead. You can even get creative, buy two pairs each with different colored lenses, and assemble the two goggles each with 2 different colored eye pieces.
They’re Probably Not Going To Be Stolen
In a world where some goggles cost upwards of $50, if a swimmer were to accidentally leave a pair behind or if a pair should be mistakenly taken by another swimmer, you’re out some not-so-inconsequential cash. However, with your Swedes, you’re only out just $5 or so. Plus, many people find Swedes uncomfortable since there’s no silicone or cushion surround the eyes. Not everyone can wear Swedes due to eye shape, pain tolerance, etc., so the chances of someone taking your cheapies is low.
They Just Look Cool
Something about Swedes equates to the vision of a ‘serious swimmer’ – the low profile, the gasket-less eye pieces, the no-messing-around simplicity. It’s easy to look like a killer, even if you hop in and just float around for an hour.
Do anyone else’s fog up like mad for about 20 mins at the start of a session then after that they calm down and just stay crystal clear for the rest of the session? It’s incredibly annoying at first but so gloriously transparent thereafter that I always forgive them their sins
Not to mention they have the best vision too
The design of the Malmsten goggles are themselves plagiarised – the inventor of the “Swedish” type goggles was a British guy called Tony Godfrey and they were available in the U.K. from the late 1960s to early 2000s under the name “Godfrey Mk.1”.
Hind Compy’s are the very best goggles ever made. That is all.
Everything from Sweden is BAE
I love swedes for all these reasons, but they shouldn’t be worn by anyone under about 12. I permanently damaged my eye at age ten when I dipped them in the water to clear the fog with the strap still around my head, they slipped out of my grasp, and my chances of ever being a fighter pilot were gone forever. I saw another kid get kicked and start gushing blood from his eyebrow. I have worked with programs that don’t let littles wear them for these reasons, and I 100% agree with that policy. I wore them through college and continue to wear them now 30 years after I screwed up my eye, but I shouldn’t have been wearing… Read more »
Yeah I forgot to mention a half dozen or so times in my career of wearing swedes, I got black eyes from cleaning the lenses while they were on my face or taking them off and my hand slipped. Very painful!
Borrowed an unopened pair from a friend when I was 11 and without goggles at practice. A week of forgetting to ask my mother to take me to get a new pair of “comfortable” giggles resulted in me getting over the pain and I have never looked back. I still have the same lenses I received my first day of practice in college almost 15 years ago. I just keep replacing my straps.
They did unfortunately cause bags to form above my eyelids (fatty deposits I was told by a doctor). They don’t bother me and aren’t obscene, but every once in a while I get asked about them. I am almost certain the cause was wearing Swedish goggles right… Read more »
**edit**
To fix stupid autocorrect, that last sentence should read “…wearing Swedish goggles TIGHT against my face.”
LOL I had the same bags and the doctor told me the same thing. 24 years later and I can still feel the pain when I took them off after my last college race. The blood rushing back to my eyelids was excruciating.
I’ve happily converted to Speedo Vanquishers.
I wore them once. it was the most pleasurable experience I’ve ever felt taking them off. Words fail me when describing how good it felt to get them off my face.
I can see that they could be uncomfortable for some swimmers, but they fit my eye sockets perfectly. They’re not for everyone, but they’re great for me. JMHO.