There is little question that vision training for athletes is one of the fastest growing training techniques in sports as a whole.
In an article written for NHL.com, Washington Capitals netminder Braeden Holtby was quoted saying, “I do a lot of visual training in my pregame routine to warm up my eyes and keep them sharp. If you’re not seeing it, nothing else matters. Your eyes are the basis of your whole game.”.
And let’s face it. Training your eyes is important, very important. But if you’re a coach or a goalie on a budget, how can you afford it? With vision training boards ranging in the thousands of dollars, for most athletes, affording expensive vision training equipment simply is not feasible.
Swivel Vision Sports has built a simple solution to that problem.
The Swivel Vision Training Goggles retail for right around $30 and to be quite frank, they’re worth every penny (nope, they didn’t pay to say that).
You can purchase them on Amazon.
Our Swivel Vision Goggles Review (also called the Swivel Vision Training Aids.. you get it)
For goalies and even athletes in general, these goggles are a nice add to the duffle bag. There are a million different drills/warmups you can do with the goggles and for the price, you can hardly go wrong.
Out of the box
The goggles themselves come in a neat little plastic package. They come inside a carrying sleeve, a nice little touch to keep them safe in your locker/bag/backpack, etc.
It’s worth pointing out, they are a one size fits all product. The elastic strapping system adjusts easily—the only real potential issue is the width of the athletes face. The good news is, we’ve had them on younger athletes (and saw them on younger athletes) with no real issue. You may run in to the glasses bumping the edge of your goalie mask, but if it’s too big of an issue simply do not bring them on the ice.
They’re practical (more on this below), as well. The focus of Swivel Vision is clearly on training your vision and it’s benefits, not training your vision for a specific sport.
Biggest Cons of the Glasses Themselves
It seems as if there is some new training “gimmick” every day in sports training, with good reason. It’s a gigantic market. Throughout the past 100 years in the NHL, goalies have gotten along just fine without focusing specifically on vision training—which means you probably won’t die without it.
My personal two cents on this topic, determination is far greater than access to various training aids when it comes to your success at a high level of play. Bottom line, you purchasing a set of Swivel Vision Goggles will not dictate whether or not you make it to the pros.
Overall, this is one of those accessible products that brings a lot of benefit to multiple sport athletes, so cons aren’t exactly crawling out of the woodwork. The only real issue I could see with these glasses is the longevity.
1- Longevity (they’re built to afford, not to withstand a war)
With the Swivel Vision Goggles being relatively new to the sports training market, we haven’t really seen evidence of these glasses lasting longer than a year. With anything, the more you use them, the more likely they are to wear out. At this price point, the longevity of the glasses isn’t a massive concern of mine. They’ll wear out, but not after you get a TON of training time out of them.
2- Overall Quality
Really, it’s hard to look at the quality as an overall “con”, because for the investment here—you’re getting a ton of quality. Removing price from that sentence, Swivel Vision could improve the foam on the backside of the lenses.
2- Fitting The Glasses Under Your Helmet (they do fit, but may get squished depending on what style of helmet you have)
The only actual complaint I have ever received on the training goggles themselves was from a younger netminder, who said “The glasses touch the outside of my helmet!”.
For younger athletes, yes, this may be a concern as there is no “Junior Size” of the product, however, I wouldn’t let it get in the way of your decision on the product.
As far as how well they fit a face, they truly are a one size fits all product. For athletes aged 12+, I would say you’re in the clear size wise. And they’re not a several hundred dollar purchase you’ll have to replace in a few years because they were outgrown.
The 4 Biggest Pros of The Glasses
As far as a neat training aid that is practical not only for hockey, but a host of other sports as well (virtually every other sport), these glasses fit the bill. So, if you’re a goalie during the winter but play 3rd base for the local High School team in the Spring, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of training with these in both sports.
If we’re counting the real pros of this product, there are quite a few. However, given the end user and their price, here are my consensus top 4.
2- Price (under 50 bucks)
Cannot beat the price on these goggles. Check current price on Amazon. Not a whole lot more to say here, you could probably argue that they should be cheaper—but if you’re worried about spending an extra thirty bucks on your game, I would recommend you focus on getting your finances in order first and purchasing the goggles second.
2- Versatility
Price and versatility are tied for the two best pros of the product. Versatility comes second in the alphabet, so it gets listed second here. Sorry.
I’ve alluded to this a little bit above, however it’s worth pointing out that these glasses will give you benefit at just about any sport, at any level. The key here is any level. We’ve had squirt goaltenders using the training goggles, as well as netminders playing Division 1 and beyond. If you’re looking to add vision training to your training regimen, this is a product that will add a lot of depth and challenge to your workout.
3- They’re Practical
Unlike a zillion other training aids out there, it would be hard to argue that these are a gimmick. At the time we posted this Swivel Vision Goggles review, the company (Swivel Vision Sports), claims to have 4 NHL teams training with the glasses, 1 NFL team, and various MLB players along with college athletes across the board.
As far as owning a training product that a professional athlete uses, it’s not that common of an occurrence. If you do decide to pull the trigger on a set of these goggles, you’ll quickly find that their application is endless in a variety of training scenarios. Whether you’re at the gym with a few tennis balls, or taking shots on the ice before practice, the glasses work just about any where.
4- Weight
As you could probably imagine, the glasses are super light (4 ounces, to be exact, according to their Amazon Listing). If they sacrifice any materials in quality, the glasses themselves make up for it in weight. Other than the elimination of your peripheral vision, you won’t notice the glasses on your face. Well, you’ll notice them, but it won’t be because of weight.
Worth Purchasing?
Here’s a little secret. Swivel Vision Sports didn’t have a clue that we intended to write this review, or had any plans to. The glasses were shipped to us just as a normal consumer would receive them, no extra bells and whistles. If the glasses would’ve been a rip-off, we would’ve told you. In fact, I even tried to destroy my pair.
For their price, practicality, and versatility between sports, I would recommend these a thousand times over. You may need to purchase a new pair next year depending on how hard you use them (if you’re wearing them out, that’s probably a good problem).
It’s not often a $30 product comes along that could make an impact on your game like these goggles could. If you’re a multiple sport athlete, throw a pair in your gym bag and you’ll find use out of them the entire year. If you’re a goalie, keep a set stashed in your locker and break them out before/after practice to keep the eyes sharp.
They’re worth the purchase and I’ll be ordering a few sets again soon.
Buy the Swivel Vision Goggles on Amazon.
Have a product you’d like us to review for you? Let us know!
