Speedo Hydrospex Classic Swimming Goggle Review

Review by Phil Gerrard, Updated 2nd of May 2021

Who hasn’t heard of Speedo goggles? Look around at your local swimming pool, and they are everywhere. The Hydrospex Classic is Speedo’s ‘recreational’ offering. They have an ‘outer eye’ silicone gasket for comfort and universal fit. They have an anti-fog coating. And come in a range of colors and tints so you can choose your style. For an occasional leisurely dip, it’s hard to go wrong! But if you are training or a regular lap swimmer, these goggles don’t quite cut it.

	Speedo Hydrospex Classic Swimming Goggles • Speedo's recreational swim goggle • Perfect for general pool use • outer-eye gasket design
	TINTED Speedo Hydrospex Classic Swimming Goggles • Tinted Hydrospex option • Ideal for swimming in bright conditions

Speedo Hydrospex Classic goggle fit

The Speedo Hydrospex excels in terms of universal fit and comfort. There are not many goggles that fit a range of face shapes like the Hydrospex. This is thanks to their ‘outer eye’ silicone gasket. Some goggles – which sit more in the eye socket can be hit and miss. They can also take a bit of fine tuning with interchangeable nose pieces. The Hydrospex takes out the fuss, and gives you a good comfortable fit straight out of the box. But this design does come at a cost – bulk. But for recreational swimming, that’s not a concern. But for lap swimming, it’s not ideal.

While they are a great fitting goggle in terms of comfort, the most important aspect of the fit is they are watertight. You don’t need to pull the strap really tight to achieve this. You need just enough pressure to keep the goggles on your face. In fact, I found putting these goggles on too tight actually made things worse. This is because the pressure changed how the gasket seated on my face.

The Hydrospex performed admirably in terms of fog – or lack of it! The anti-fog coating is effective. Having said that, I have not swam a long distance with these goggles, so can’t comment on how they perform over a longer time period. Like all goggles, caring for the anti-fog coating is required to maintain its effectiveness.

Hydrospex styles and tints

Options available for the Speedo Hydrospex include style choices, and different tints. Note here that tints are more than a style option. Tints are designed for different conditions. For an outdoor or sunny location, the ‘smoke’ tint Hydrospex would be appropriate. Smoke tinting is kind of like the goggle equivalent of sunglasses. Smoke tints can be a bit dark in an indoor swimming pool without natural light. For swimming indoors, a clear lens is the best option. The clear lens brightens the pool so you can see further. The blue tint is closest in characteristics to the clear lens. Some blue lenses are quite intense, but in the Hydrospex, it’s a subtle and pleasant light blue. I would use the blue indoors, but not outdoors in bright light.

Adjusting the Speedo Hydrospex Classic

The Hydrospex are adjustable at both sides of the strap with toggles located at your temple. The strap has notches that once in place, secure the strap so it won’t accidentally loosen when swimming. The Hydrospex strap also splits to form a double strap at the rear. This helps keep the goggle secure in its position. This is helpful for diving.

One area I would like to see Speedo improve these goggles is to have a retaining clip for the excess strap on the side of the goggles. When I swim laps with these goggles, I find the strap bumps around and is distracting. It’s a small addition that would make a big difference. Many goggles with side adjusting straps include this feature, so I am not sure why Speedo didn’t go down this path. But in truth, for the Hydrospex intended purpose - which is recreation - it’s not a big deal.

Other goggle options

In summary, the Speedo Hydrospex Classic goggles are ideal for recreational swimming. But if you are looking for a goggle for lap swimming, there are some better options out there. We consider a range of goggles for different purposes in our best goggles review page. Take a look if you want to see some alternative choices.