DIY Prescription Swimming Goggles

diy-prescription-swimming-googles

We can’t see much without our glasses (which is why our habit of shaving in the shower often ends badly). Our glasses cost a bundle, but we wear them every waking moment so it’s worth it. But only recently did we break down and spring for prescription sunglasses. However, when it comes to sports we don’t pony up the dough for dedicated specs. Here’s a hack that will change that. If you’ve still got your last set of glasses on hand hack up the lenses for swimming goggles or other applications.

In this case [Dashlb’s] lenses were already small enough to fit in the goggles. He simply added a bead of Sugru around the edges to hold the lenses in place. But if you do need to cut them to size aligning the lenses with your eyes is important, so we suggest the following: have a buddy stand in front of you and mark the center of your pupil on the glasses, as well as the goggles. If you need to cut down the lenses (which are probably a type of polycarbonate) just make sure the marks match up before doing any cutting.

We might give this a try with some wrap-around sunglasses to make an inexpensive pair of prescription cycling shades.

12 thoughts on “DIY Prescription Swimming Goggles

  1. Mind you, spheric only prescription swim goggles are on the order of $20-$30 to get you something that will at least allow you to recognize people even if it isn’t a perfect prescription. If you have astigmatism, ask your optometrist to provide a spherical prescription as well. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than being blind in the pool.

  2. With most of the world tending towards being fat slobs, do you really want to see these people clearly at the pool/beach?

    I find seeing them in smooth Vincent van Gogh-esque blobs without my glasses to be a “huge” improvement.

    1. i was just about to suggest zenni.. while the very inexpensive glasses they sell tend to lack much popular style, they are completely functional. i ordered a pair a few weeks ago, for around 17usd shipped, they’d be perfect for this kind of project.

  3. If the lenses are anything but uncoated glass, do not use a sharpie or other permanent marker for marking the pupil alignment. Use some small adhesive dots with glue that’s water based. Can’t find small enough dots? Use a small paper hole punch to knock some out of larger dots.

  4. Actually you can DIY your swim goggle cheap inexpensive way to make prescription at home. I got my Elasses a few days ago from http://www.elasses.com and it worked alright. It took my astigmatism and customized designed to fit into my goggle. I thought I will give it a shot and it turned out alright.

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