5 Best Youth Swim Goggles for Clear Vision and Fast Swimming
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
Author, swimmer. Obsessed with helping swimmers level up in the water (and life).
Looking for the perfect junior goggles for swimming? Here is a look at the top swim goggles for youth swimmers.
Swim goggles are one of the essential types of swim gear for swimmers of all levels.
The right swim goggles allow youth swimmers to train and race in comfort, reduce leaks, and give them the confidence to compete in confidence.
Choosing the best junior swim goggles comes down to finding the right goggles fit and matching features with your swimmer’s goals.
Whether just starting with the swim team or charging towards their first Junior Nationals cut, the right swim goggles can make all the difference.
In this expert guide to the best goggles for youth competitive swimmers, we will look at the top options for swimmers looking to maximize comfort and visibility in training and competition.
Let’s dive in!
Best Goggles for Youth Swimmers
The top goggles for youth swimmers include:
Next, we will look at each swim goggle, compare them, highlight key pros and cons, and by the end, you will have a crystal-clear idea of which junior swim goggles are best for you.
TheMagic5 Youth/Junior Swim Goggles
? Best goggles for comfort and leak-free fit
TheMagic5 Goggles are truly unique swim goggles in that the gasket of each set is custom designed to the exact specifications of the swimmer’s face.
Here is how it works: after you’ve ordered a set of the goggles, download TheMagic5 app, perform a face scan of your junior swimmer’s face, upload it, and boom, one or two weeks later, a one-of-one, truly custom set of goggles shows up on your doorstep.
Custom-fit goggles like TheMagic5 are perfect for youth and junior swimmers putting in the laps and hours at the bottom and wanting a superior fit.
And because the goggles don’t need to be worn as tightly or smushed into the face, junior swimmers won’t experience goggle marks around the eyes as intensely.
These goggles are also excellent for youth swimmers who tend to get headaches from wearing ill-fitting swim goggles.
TheMagic5 Youth/Junior Swim Goggles are designed for swimmers ages ten and up and are available in a broad range of tints and colors to satisfy the unique requirements of swimming indoors or outdoors.
Each set has an anti-fog coating on the inside of the lens, a goggle case to protect the lenses between swim workouts, and TheMagic5 backs the goggles with a 100% leak-free guarantee.
The main downside? As you can imagine with a goggle that is custom manufactured for an individual swimmer, it is much pricier than comparable youth goggles like the Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Junior.
These goggles are certainly not for recreational youth swimmers who go to the pool once in a while for the periodic splash.
All that said, the goggles fit amazing, don’t leak, and look as fast as they perform.
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Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Junior Goggles
? Best junior swim goggles for training and competition
Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Goggles are one of the most popular training swim goggles for competitive and even recreational lap swimmers.
So obviously, Speedo released a Junior version of the Vanquisher with a design that is made for the narrower and smaller faces of junior and youth swimmers.
The silicone seals on the Vanquisher Juniors are exceptionally comfortable, sitting snugly and softly against the skin to create a watertight seal. Having used Vanquishers on and off over the years, it ceases to amaze me how proficient they are at generating a comfy and watertight seal.
Speedo offers the goggles in over fifteen different colors and tints, and the silicone head straps will last longer than that main set that you hated last week. And because they are so durable and inexpensive, the Vanquisher is an excellent goggle for youth swimmers looking for a goggle that kicks butt at practice and in competition.
Each set of the Junior Vanquisher comes with three nose pieces and the price point in them is excellent too, with most tints coming in at less than $25 per set.
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Sporti S2 Junior Swim Goggles
? Best budget-friendly youth swim goggle
Junior swimmers looking for a no-frills swimming goggle will love the super low price point on the Sporti S2 Junior Swim Goggles, which retail for less than $10.
Sporti is the in-house swim brand for SwimOutlet.com, the leading retailer for competitive and recreational swimmers online (they support a lot of teams, swim organizations, and sponsor Olympians), and the Sporti S2 Junior Goggles competes with the big swim brands on quality at a much reduced cost.
The Sporti S2 Junior is less than $10 per set, making it our budget-friendly youth goggles for junior lap swimmers. The S2 comes in a wide range of colors and tints, including mirrored for outdoor swimming. The narrow profile is designed for younger faces, and the anti-fog coating and UV protection provide clear vision and eye protection.
Each set of the S2 Junior’s come with three nosepieces to get that perfect fit, dual head straps to position the goggles in a way that they will stay in place when racing towards a new personal best time, and you absolutely cannot beat that price point.
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Speedo Jr Vanquisher 2.0 Optical Goggles
? Best junior optical swim goggles
We’ve already featured Speedo, but here they are again, and with another Vanquisher 2.0 Junior Goggle. This one, however, is for youth swimmers with a prescription.
The Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Junior Optical Goggles are especially designed for younger swimmers who need corrective lenses in the pool.
The goggles offer clear vision according to your swimmer’s diopter rating while also providing the same benefits of standard Vanquisher 2.0 Goggles, including excellent fit, comfortable silicone seal, and dual head straps for a leak-free swim.
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Vanquishers are designed to be low-profile, which reduces drag (hey, every tenth of a second counts!) and also reduces goggle leaks and outright goggle malfunctions when swimmers dive into the water.
The optical version of the Vanquisher 2.0 Junior Goggles are available in limited colors and tints, which is unfortunately standard for prescription goggles, which focus on servicing a variety of prescription strengths over aesthetics.
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Nike Youth Legacy Mirrored Swim Goggles
? Best junior swim goggles for swimming outside
Nike is not typically the brand that most swim families think of when it comes to purchasing swim goggles for the youth swimmers in the household.
But every so often, Nike comes out with a killer swim product that makes me wonder why they don’t spend more time in the pool. The Nike Youth Legacy Mirrored Swim Goggles are just that kind of product.
The mirrored lenses, available in five different color combinations, are perfect for swimming outdoors. The mirrored lenses block 99% of UV rays and also eliminates glare that can cause eye strain when doing swim workouts in an outdoor pool.
The nose pieces on these swim goggles are surprisingly easy to swap out, making a perfect fit a breeze.
The curved lenses of the goggles give swimmers excellent peripheral vision, dual silicone head straps don’t tug on the hair, and the adjustment buckle makes adjusting strap length simple.
SwimOutlet carries the Nike Youth Legacy Mirrored Goggles and can be had at a 20-25% discount when you sign up for a yearly subscription ($5 per year, so absolutely worth it).
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How to Choose the Right Youth Swim Goggles
Choosing the perfect junior swimming goggles makes a world of difference when it comes to comfort and performance in the pool.
Nothing ruins a good swim workout or a high-stakes race faster than goggles that leak, pinch the nose bridge, or straight-up fall off when diving into the water.
Here are the key things to look for when choosing the right goggles:
Comfort
Swim goggles should, above all else, be comfortable for extended use.
Look for comfort features like multiple nose pieces, adjustable silicone head straps, and a rubberized gasket to ensure junior swimmers can focus on technique and effort instead of tinkering with their goggles during practice.
Age appropriate
Opt for goggles designed for narrower faces by looking for “youth” or “junior” in the product description.
Youth swimming goggles are designed for swimmers aged 10-14 years, so keep this in mind when looking at the options on the market.
Larger youth swimmers should consider adult versions of the goggles listed above, as well as other options such as the Speedo Speed Socket 2.0 and Arena Cobra Ultra Swipe.
Lens tint.
Swim goggles come with a variety of lenses. Look for goggle lenses that match the environment and personal preferences of your junior swimmer.
Mirrored and dark lenses are ideal for outdoor swimming to reduce eye strain. Colored or clear lenses are ideal for darker, dimly-lit indoor swim pools.
Junior swim goggles with optical lenses are perfect for swimmers with a prescription.
Lens features.
Other lens features to look for with junior swim goggles include anti-fog coatings and UV protection.
Anti-fog coatings help reduce the fogginess from condensation. These anti-fog coatings are not permanent, they degrade over time and can be rest with an inexpensive anti-fog spray for goggles.
For swimmers who train outdoors, look for swim goggle lenses with UV protection to shield the eyes from harmful ultra-violet rays. This type of lens also reduces shimmering glare from the surface of the water, further reducing eye strain.
Goggle seal.
Look for swim goggles that have a rubber or silicone seal or skirt around the lenses.
These provide mild suction against the skin, creating a watertight seal that keeps water out. Goggle seals reduce peripheral vision but make up for it with increased comfort and reducing water leaks.
Design
Goggles for competitive swimming should feature a low-profile design that helps to reduce resistance and also keeps the goggles firmly in place when diving in or pushing off the wall.
Other design options include color and style; choose a swim goggle that your little youth swimmer will be proud to rep each day in training and on the weekends at swim meets.
Wrapping Things Up
Swimming is one of the best sports for youth and junior athletes. The early morning workouts, bonding with teammates during long main sets, and the delayed gratification of working hard towards a season-end goal are legit.
By choosing the right youth swimming goggles that match your swimmer’s goals, needs, and abilities, they can concentrate on chasing their goals instead of painful goggle marks and endlessly leaky lenses.
Select the right junior goggles from the list above, and happy swimming!
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