Huub Lurz goggles review

Derby-based triathlon gurus Huub have a habit of naming their kit after the athletes they work with. See also their ‘Brownlee Agilis’ wetsuits and ‘Varga Race goggles’. So What about the Huub Lurz goggles (£29.99)?

For those of you not as up on your open water swimmers though, the namesake of these goggles might escape you. So first up, a history lesson.

Thomas Lurz (born in 1979) is freestyle swimmer from Germany, who competed in the Olympic Games twice, representing his country in the 10km open water marathon swim event. Lurz took bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver in London in 2012. He also won many medals (mostly gold) over the years at the World Open Water Swimming Championships.

Long story short? Lurz is a bit handy when it comes to swimming long distances in open water.

First impressions

In itself that pedigree tells me I’m about to pull on a pair of goggles that have speed as their primary goal. Even without that clue though, the sleek, low-profile design is a sure giveaway.

With open water specific goggles there’s always that compromise for many of us. Finding a set of goggles that combine visibility but with lenses that are still sleek enough to not create drag is the goal. The other benefit of smaller goggles? They’re less likely to get snagged by another swimmer and knocked off!

I have to say, when I tested the latest batch of new goggles for our best swimming goggles for triathetes round-up, these sleek goggles easily won the prize for being the best-looking on test.

That slightly uplifted lens shape and combination of white frames and mirrored lenses looked great. Mirrored lenses will always be my choice for racing too. They are designed to block glare, but also (I have to admit) look way cooler than non-mirrored.

Adjusting the straps was easy. The single strap is threaded through to create a double strap with one clip used to make them longer/shorter.

Like many goggles I test for 220 this means you can’t really adjust them mid-swim. I never tend to though, the key is to get them right in training and once tweaked for testing, I didn’t feel the need to change them again.

Fit and comfort

Once on, I found the Lurz goggles very comfortable. They’re a smaller goggle and low profile but the silicone gaskets were soft and easily created a good seal without having to be smooshed (technical word!) into my face.

A choice of easily-swapped nose bridges made it easy to get the perfect fit.

Into the water and I didn’t experience any leaks either, even in multiple swims over 3km. I didn’t have any fogging, either and the anti-fog coating lasted well throughout the test period.

Lens choice and shape

In my test lake the goggles gave a good range of vision, while sitting close enough within the eye sockets to feel like they wouldn’t budge (or get knocked) in the melée of an open-water race.

One thing I would say about this option is it’s quite a dark tint, so I wouldn’t reach for these in low light. I tried them in the swimming pool as a well as a comparison and they were still dark under the fluorescent strip lights.

On a bright sunny day with clear blue skies and blue water they came into their own though! Maybe a choice to consider if you are lucky enough to be racing overseas this year.

Other lens tints are available, though, all for the same RRP.

Conclusion

I can’t fault these goggles for their sleek looks and superb visibility. For a low-profile goggle they give a great range of peripheral vision with no leaking or fogging.

My only note would be that these are goggles for the brightest conditions. A lighter tint would be better for a lot of my swims but I will definitely choose these for overseas events with strong sun!

Huub Lurz specs

Price:	£29.99
Colours:	White/gold
Shape:	Curved lenses, low profile
Lenses:	Mirrored
Case:	No