CUTTING
EDGE
BEST
VALUE
BESTON
TEST
GOGGLES TEST
June 2019 / / 73
AQUASPHERE
KAYENNE
£29.99TheKayenneshavefeaturedinthis
testmultipletimesovertheyearsas,while
newertechandinnovationsabound
elsewhere,AquaSpherearestickingtothe
‘ifit ain’tbroke...’format.Andthatis no
badthing,becausetheKayennesaresome
ofthemosteffectiveopen-watergogglesin
history.Muchofthisacclaimstemsfrom
thetriangularshapeofthelensesoffering
animpressiverangeofvisionandyetstill
producinga low,hydrodynamicprofile.The
gasketis comfyandthesplitstrapsassist
withfindinga securefit.We’veusedthem
foryearsintrainingandracingandareyet
tobreaka pair,helpedbythereinforced
nosebridgeandbuttonadjustmentsystem
onthestraps.Youcanbuyclearormirrored
versions(thelatterhavea reputationfor
fogging)butwe’drecommendthepolarised
seenhereforglarereductionandclarityin
low light conditions.aquasphereswim.com/uk
92
%
VERDICTSTILLCOMFORTABLE,STILL
PRODUCINGGREATVISIONANDSTILLONE
OF THE BEST OW GOGGLES AROUND
HUUB
APHOTIC
£44.99TheHuubAphoticarealsointhe
photochromaticparty,withthelenses
changingfromcleartodarkdependingon
thelevelsoflighting.Thebenefitswhen
open-waterswimmingareinstantly
apparentandtheyoffertop-classclarity,
especiallyatsunrise/setandwhenchanging
directionaroundbuoys.Thelargegasket
sealis comfortableandsecure,whilethe
buttonadjustmentsystemmakesfinding
theoptimumfita simpleprocesswithlittle
dangerofsnappingthesplitstraps.While
£45seemsa heftyoutlay,skimpingon
gogglesis flirtingwithrace-dayperiland
theprovendurability(andprotectivecase)
willensuretheylastmultipleseasons.
Wheretheywilldivideopinionis that
they’renoticeablylargerthananything
here(at86g,they’redoubletheweightof
theAquaSphere),whichmaydeterthe
speed merchants out there.huubdesign.com
87
%
VERDICTDUR ABLE,SECUREAND
BOASTINGSOMEOFTHEBESTCLARITY
AROUND; QUITE LARGE, THOUGH
ZOGGS FLEX
PREDATOR
£36Sincetheirlaunchin2011,thevarious
incarnationsofthePredatorFlexhavehad
a historyofhighsandlows;oftencelebrated
fortheirrangeofvisionandclarity,butalso
criticisedfortheirhardgasketsanda batch
ofdurabilityflawswiththenosebridges.
Andyetinsortingthosenosebridgeissues
andreturningtotheoriginaldesign,Zoggs
havecreatedanopen-waterclassicwith
thePredatorOriginalPredatorFlexseen
here.Thegasketsinstantlyproducea great
andsecuresealthatdoesn’tleakatallon
long-distanceswims,andthewidescopeof
visionis unsurpassed.Thepolarisedlenses
trulyimpressina hostoflightandweather
conditions,andthey’realsoadeptattaking
theglareoffthepoollights(whilenot
makingit toodark)if youwearthem
indoors.Adjustmentis easyviatheclips.
Worthnotingis thattheylooka lotlike the
less impressive Flex 2.0.zoggs.com
93
%
VERDICTZOGGSFINALLYNAILTHE
PREDATORFLEXR ANGEWITHTHECOMFY
AND WIDE VISION OF THE ORIGINALS