Aquasphere Defy.Ultra swim mask review

No, you’re not reading this review wrong. This is indeed a swim mask for £129.99. Deep breath. However, this is no ordinary swim mask, as I quickly realised when I got my hands on one just after launch.

This mask is about as far away from the budget pair of goggles I tend to use for most of my training as you can get. (Full disclosure: I tend to lose a lot of sets, or scratch them, being the clumsiest person alive.

The word ‘premium’ was invented for this new top-end outdoor swimming mask from Aquasphere called the Defy.Ultra. Think of it more like Oakleys for swimming. versus that cheap pair of sunnies you picked up in the corner shop on holiday.

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Aquasphere Defy.Ultra first impressions

Admittedly, though, it does also manage to look like the kind of thing you’d find in a sci-fi comic if your superhero was a cross between a pro cyclist and a snowboarder and decided to take up swimming.

Those unique looks are down to the brand’s pledge to create a mask that allows ‘infinite vision’, a phrase in itself that sounds pretty futuristic.

So what does that mean for the humble open-water swimmer? Well, nothing but good things, luckily.

The Defy.Ultra is designed around giving you the maximum clarity and visibility, which means that one-piece lens is unhindered by any central column or dividing piece, so there are no blind spots at all – a feature which is helped by the ‘DuoCurve’ design, which shapes the lens to allow superb peripheral vision.

If you want to see absolutely everything that’s going on around you as you swim, this is likely designed just for you.

Swimming in the Defy.Ultra

I tested the ‘Indigo Titamium Mirrored’ version (£129.99), but the mask is also available in smoked (£90) and yellow titanium mirrored (£117) options.

The Indigo version was good at blocking bright sunlight and enhancing colours, but equally still allowed good clarity on a grey day.

It’s less of a performance point, but I did like how the mirrored look made this mask feel a little bit more race appropriate and closer to a set of performance eyewear than the kind of swim masks you see on (usually!) older ladies at the pool.

In the water, I found clarity was unrivalled by anything else on test.

I found myself looking forward to visiting venues with more to see under water during the test period, and really seeing the detail in the underwater plants and tiny fish in our local lake more than before.

Whether this is handy for racing (you don’t want to be stopping to sight-see!) is debatable, but there’s no doubting the range of vision you get.

Of course, if you’re the kind of swimmer who likes to race in interesting or exotic places – or for the journey, not the splits – then you’ll welcome the ability to take it all in.

Although hard to test during our swims, Aquasphere claims the formed nose piece and low profile help with hydrodynamics. So if you’ve been put off masks for reasons of marginal gains, this could be worth exploring.

It’s certainly very light, too, thanks in part to the ‘cool inject frameless technology’, which means the silicone gasket sits directly onto the lens, with no surrounding frame.

The goggles didn’t leak at all, though on long swims we did find the huge gasket gave us a bit of a headache at first – lesson learnt to loosen it off a bit.

That said it didn’t budge at all. The huge, soft gasket welds itself to your forehead and even though it’s a largish unit, we don’t think it would be easy to knock off in an open-water race.

Adjustment is simple via the large side buttons and the mask comes with a half-hard/half-mesh case, which is a nice touch. Looking after the mask is imperative given the investment, plus a scratch on that huge lens would really cheese me off.

Final thoughts

The humble swim mask, beloved of older ladies in the pool, gets a serious glow-up here. In fact it’s not really fair to compare the two, as the primary goal of the Defy.Ultra is visibility and clarity, not just avoiding getting water in your eyes.

I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised by how much better the view under water was with this mask. Clarity was insanely good and there was no distortion or curving in the view, as with many wider goggles.

Would I wear it to race in though? If I was somewhere that the scenery demanded it, then yes. It has the looks of a performance piece of kit and wouldn’t look out of place at a triathlon.

Just be mindful that you need to try it in training, as if pulled too tight the suction can be a bit intense!

Still looking for the right swimming goggles for you? Here’s our complete guide to the best swimming goggles for triathlon.

Aquasphere Ultra.Defy swim mask facts

Price:	£129.99
Lens options:	3
Case included:	Yes
Easy to adjust?	Yes, with side buttons
Visibility:	Great