Arena Cobra Tri Mirror Swipe Goggles Review

This weeks review comes from James who has been helping with our massive round up of swim goggles. James has been using the Arena Cobra Tri Mirror Goggles. An interesting lens design compared to others in our round-up of goggles. Worth considering?

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Summary of the Arena Cobra Tri Mirror Goggles Review

Trivelo Score 4.5 / 5

Overall, the Cobra’s are a very well-built goggle with excellent visibility that is backed up by an impressive anti-fog and anti-leak technology. As a personal minor-quibble the split strap sizing is a bit small. Also the gasket fit on longer swims a bit tight. For shorter sessions and racing up to even Ironman distances these would be an strong contender for my goggle pick.

Pros & Cons

Pros – Awesome anti-fog technology that doesn’t let you down

Cons – Rear strap design takes some getting used to and not a cheap pair of goggles

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First Impressions

The Cobra’s come in a recycled plastic box with just the goggles and two additional nose bridges to tailor the fit to your preference.

Arena are a German swimwear brand launched in 1973 after the Munich Olympics the year prior. Their range covers all aspects of swimming kit and equipment as well as triathlon, gym, running and leisure wear. I am reviewing their Cobra Tri Mirror Swipe goggles (a bit of a mouthful I know!). These are a triathlon and open water orientated mirrored goggle. The ‘swipe’ addition refers to the anti-fog technology that is claimed to last 10x longer and can be reactivated by rubbing, or ‘swiping’ the lens in the water when they start to fog up.

As an almost life-long swimmer who still regularly clocks up around 20Km per week in the pool, and during the summer, open water, having a reliable and comfortable goggle is a must. Goggles are quite a personal choice I have found, requiring them to fit to your face or eye sockets well to produce a good seal and prevent water ingress without biting in and leaving you with ‘panda eyes’ post session.

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Fit of the water – Comfort

Personally, I’ve moved through a few different versions of Aqua Sphere/MP and Speedo goggles and got on immediately with the Cobra’s. The gaskets are well shaped and provide an as-advertised no-leak seal that lasted through 4K+ swims and is still going strong. The only negative I could cast against the fit is that after about an hour and a quarter I found a bit of pressure building around my eye sockets which I put down to them being slightly smaller than my usual goggle choice and my eye socket shape.

Seal of the Goggles

For me, the pre-fitted middle width was ideal but changing nose bridges is a simple affair by just popping the part in and out of the goggle frame. The split strap is made from a comfortable rubbery material that has good stretch and is adjusted with a tidy retention system that is well integrated into the goggle body. Over the course of testing this has held well and required no adjustments whilst the excess strap is held closely with two clips to prevent flapping in the water if, like me, you wear your goggle over your swim cap. However, I found the design of the split strap oddly shaped and a bit smaller than I am used to and couldn’t quite get the same placement and feel as I usually would with it over my cap. This is very minor however and was soon forgotten when swimming.

Anti-Fog Durability

Clarity under the water is also crystal clear and makes following feet in open water and sighting a delight. The aforementioned anti-fog is also impressive, similarly to the seal not leaking during 90-minute swims I also haven’t had to remove them to wash away any fogging up. So far, I haven’t had to reactive the anti-fog which Arena say is possible to extend the life of the Cobra’s by rubbing the goggles in water.

Quality of Materials

The lenses are copper coloured with a mirror coating that enhances the light when indoors as well as giving a slight yellow tint to the surroundings. As an odd disparity, the box claims that the Cobra’s are ‘ideal for indoors’ whilst they are marketed as an open water goggle with glare and UV protection. From my experience I would agree that they are perfectly suited to both indoor and outdoor use as they give a good field of view that is unobstructed.

Would you buy these?

At an RRP of £61.99 (although reduced to £54 currently) they are potentially a touch more expensive than some other triathlon goggle options. The high-quality optics and anti-fog/leak in my opinion makes it money well spent.

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Video Review of the Arena Cobra Tri Swipe Goggles

Hear from James as he talks more about his testing of the Arena Cobra Tri Goggles on the Trivelo YouTube channel.

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