2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

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