The MAGIC5 goggles are custom fit swimming goggles. Using clever face scanning technology, swimmers and triathletes can get custom made goggles designed precisely for the contours of their face. Without having to go and actually have your face mapped and measured.
The MAGIC5 boasts goggles that will fit your face perfectly – no annoying leaking, fogging or over tight goggles giving you a headache mid-swim. So do they actually work? I’ve been testing out a pair over several weeks to bring you my verdict.
Key features
| Custom swimming goggles | Range of lens styles to choose from |
| Designed to eliminate leaking and fogging | RRP £65-75 |
HOW WE TESTED the magic5 swimming goggles
I’ve been testing these goggles out over several weeks of pool swim training sessions. From steady endurance swims, to threshold sets.
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Summary: The ‘TL;DR’ overview
Once I got the strap tightness just right, the MAGIC5 custom swimming goggles have delivered on their promise of leak-free, fog-free swimming. They fit nicely on my face, and the clarity of the lenses is excellent even in the low lighting conditions the pool I train in favours.
The process of ordering and uploading a face scan was way easier than I thought it would be, and the goggles also arrived far quicker than I expected. I’d already found my holy grail goggles thanks to TRI-FIT. But if you’re someone who’s really struggled to find goggles that suit your face shape, I’d definitely recommend giving the MAGIC5 a go. If you’re spending every swim emptying out your goggles every other length, they’ll be more than worth their premium price tag.
- Comfortable fit – the custom face scanning tech really does wok
- Excellent lens clarity
- Goggle marks while not eliminated, have been less obvious and fade quickly post-swim.
- Ordering process easier than you might think.
- Option to return for amendments or a refund if your goggles don’t fit properly.
- Small gasket size might limit field of vision for open water – more of a pool swimmers’ goggle.
- Paying a premium for the custom fit
- Lack of suction cups around the eyes can feel a little harsh.
best for…
Pool swimming – particularly for swimmers who have struggled to find a pair of goggles that work well for their face shape.
What are MAGIC5 goggles and how do they work?
The MAGIC5 goggles are made to measure swimming goggles – making custom goggles more accessible to a wider audience, using at-home face scanning technology. You just take a scan of your face using your phone camera and the MAGIC5 app. An algorithm then analyses your scan to map the shape of your goggles to match the structure of your face.
The idea is that the goggles are created specifically to match the contours of your face. Eliminating leaking, suction marks or other distractions you can get from ‘generic’ goggles that have to be able to adapt to a wide range of face shapes.
That’s the theory, so what are these custom swimming goggles like in practice?
Ordering process
On paper, ordering a pair of MAGIC5 goggles sounded like a bit of a faff – if I’m honest. You’ve got to choose which type of lens you want (I went for the Blue Magic Mirror Gold) and then download an app to pair your order and upload your face scan.
In practice, the ordering process was actually really easy, straight forward and took a matter of minutes. The app was easy to use, and I didn’t run into any annoying teething problems pairing my order. The scan was surprisingly easy to do while home alone too – you just have to hold a credit card on your forehead (presumably, to give a standardised context of size/shape) and the app does the rest of it for you.
Once I’d uploaded my scan, it only took 2 working days for the scan to be validated and I got a notification to say that my goggles were now going into production. I expected I’d have to wait at least another week or so before my goggles were ready for dispatch, but it actually only took 3 days. Impressive! The goggles shipped from Germany (I’m in the UK), so all in from placing the order to the goggles landing on my doorstep it took a total of 2 weeks. Considering the custom element, this was far quicker than I expected.
First impressions
The MAGIC5 goggles sit at the premium end of the scale, and the initial unboxing reflects that. They come with a really nice zip up case made from materials designed to help your goggles dry faster between swim sets (if you’ve ever had a mouldy goggles situation, you’ll know why this is important).
They felt lightweight and the overall design looked like it should be pretty hydrodynamic. But wondering around my kitchen wearing them and actually swimming in them are two different things. So it was time to hit the pool!
First splash: can these goggles really eliminate leaking and goggle marks?
My first swim in the MAGIC5 goggles revealed that I have some lingering goggle-related trust issues. I did them up way too tightly and as such, spent most of the swim with eyeballs like Doc from Back to the Future. Poppin’.
That’s more of a user error than the goggles’ fault though. Overtightening aside, I was struck by how much clarity the lenses offered – even with the ‘mood lighting’ my local pool likes to deploy after 6pm. And there was no sign of fogging either. I’m used to a much larger gasket than the MAGIC5 offers because I generally go for a goggle that can cope with both pool and open water swimming (like the TRI-FIT Volt). So the smaller fit took a bit of getting used to.
I did have some goggle marks, again probably because I’d fastened them tighter than a pair of budgy smugglers. But despite this unnecessary self-inflicted eye pressure, the goggle marks did fade pretty quickly afterwards.
Finding Goldilocks
My next trip to the pool saw me take things too far in the other direction – I’d loosened the goggles off significantly which led to some water ingress when pushing off the wall. But a quick tighten up between sets, and I eventually found my Goldilocks fit.
Once I’d find the right level of strap tightness, these goggles really came into their own. The pressure around the eyes I’d experienced during my first swim in them was eliminated, and I wasn’t getting any water ingress even when pushing off at pace during some threshold sets.
The verdict – do Magic5 goggles work, and are they worth it?
Several weeks later, these goggles are still working their magic. That is: comfortable, no leaking and no fogging. So I think it’s safe to say they work.
But they haven’t entirely replaced my TRI-FIT Volt goggles. I’ve been using the two interchangeably in the pool. And I think once I start swimming in open water, I’ll probably stick with the TRI-FIT goggles just because I prefer the slightly larger field of vision. The gasket on the TRI-FIT goggles is also a lot softer so I feel like if I take a hit to the eye in a race, I’ll be less likely to get any cuts or bruising.
That all comes down to personal preference though. And I think if you’re someone who’s tried countless pairs of goggles and still not been able to find a pair that are comfortable and don’t leak – the MAGIC5 could be your magic bullet. Constantly having to defog or empty your goggles quite quickly takes all the joy out of swimming, so if you’re struggling on the goggle front then it’s well worth giving the MAGIC5 goggles a go.
