by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
TheMagic5 Swim Goggles are the first of its kind—custom-built goggles made for the specific shape of your face. But are they as good as advertised? In this review, I buy a pair for myself and hit the pool.
Swim goggles have come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days of quick-to-crack latex straps, foam gasket skirts, and lenses so foggy you can’t see your outstretched arm in front of you while swimming.
Nowadays, there is all manner of swim goggles, from goggles designed for elite competition to high-tech swim goggles to updated versions of the classic Swedish goggles.
And one type of goggle stands apart from the rest…
TheMagic5 Swim Goggles.
TheMagic5 Swim goggles are built specifically to the individual measurements of your face using a face scan and 3D printing for a one-of-one goggle gasket.
The result?
A one-of-a-kind swim goggle that never leaks, looks great, and is exceptionally comfortable for extended wear.
If you are the kind of swimmer who gets headaches from regular swim goggles, has a hard time finding that perfect, leak-free fit, and swims for LONG periods of time, the Magic5 Swim Goggles will be perfect for you.
In this review of the Magic5 Swim Goggles, I will outline my experience buying, testing, and using them, including the pros, cons, comparable alternatives, and some tips for how to get the most out of these swim goggles.
Let’s dive right in.
In this overview of my testing and evaluation of TheMagic5 Swim Goggles, we will cover:
Let’s dive right in.
TheMagic5 is a customized swim goggle that uses 3D printing to create a one-of-a-kind goggles gasket that fits to the specific dimensions of your face.
The purpose behind TheMagic5 goggles is to give swimmers a swim goggle that doesn’t leak, stays in place, and is comfortable while swimming.
The goggles were developed by three Danish friends in 2016 with the goal of making the world’s first made-to-measure swim goggle.
After a successful Kickstarter in 2017, the goggles began to ship and TheMagic5 founders landed on the TV show Shark Tank in October 2021, where they secured a $1,000,000 deal with Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec.
After having trained daily with my sets of TheMagic5 goggles for over a year, up to 1:30hr per day, here are the things that I liked about them:
Okay, let’s kick this review off with a look at the main selling point of these swim goggles—the custom fit.
Because the Magic5 swim goggles are constructed for your face, the width of your nose, and the way your eye socket is shaped, the goggles don’t have to be mushed into your face to guarantee a leak-free swim.
There are two main benefits of this customized socket design:
First, no headaches from extended wear.
If you are the kind of swimmer who gets headaches often in the water—and I am that kind of swimmer—a properly fitting and un-tight goggle suction is a complete game-changer.
The goggles provide a leak-free experience without choking off your head or wearing goggles so tight that you can measure your heart rate on your forehead.
Second, TheMagic5 swim goggles are perfect for the “hard-to-fit” swimmers.
Because the shape of each person’s face differs, it can be very hard for some swimmers, the Hard to Fit crowd, to find goggles that fit properly and don’t leak porous amounts of water.
For this swimmer, the Magic5 goggles are an absolute dream.
The scanning process measures your eye length, eye size, nose bridge width, and eye socket, producing a one-of-a-kind goggle gasket that fits your unique face.
I know how infuriating it can be to find swim equipment that fits, whether it’s a tech suit, paddles, or swim goggles, and TheMagic5 goggles swoop in to solve this common issue.
One of the best features of TheMagic5 Swim Goggles is that because they don’t need to be worn with excessive tightness, they reduce the goggle marks that can last hours after your swim.
Ultimately, swim goggles do many things that are profoundly helpful for us in the water.
They do things like help us time the walls correctly. Finish on a full stroke. See the head-up breaststroker that’s wandered across the black line towards us. And helps us see the pace clock to know when we are crushing the main set.
However, leaving indentations on our skin after wear is not so helpful.
Because TheMagic5 goggles have such a light fit, they don’t press hard against the skin, leaving those big, oval-shaped rings on your face when you are done swimming.
While the goggles won’t completely eliminate the raccoon eyes typical of swim goggles, they will greatly reduce goggle marks after a swim.
The primary function of swim goggles is to allow you to see under the water. (Duh.)
Not just in front of you so that you can do your flip-turns like a boss and see oncoming traffic but also so that you can see to the sides.
TheMagic5 goggles have outstanding peripheral vision, making it a piece of cake to see the pace clock at the side of the pool without having to pick your whole head out of the water.
Many of the best swim goggles on the market feature a slim profile, promoting less drag in the water.
Goggles like the Arena Ultra Cobra Swipes and the Speedo LZR Pure Focus Swim Goggles are all about having a gasket profile that eliminates as much drag as possible.
While the drag reduction benefits are, in my opinion, a little overblown, the reduced drag profile does keep the goggles in your eye socket better.
When swimming at top speed, the goggles don’t act as a speed bump, risking getting jostled and cracking a leak. This is also crucial for keeping your swim goggles firmly in place when diving into the water off the start of a race.
TheMagic5 goggles were actually a lot slimmer than I guessed when I first put them on, with my measuring tape giving me a 0.5” gasket thickness, tying it for the slimmest swim goggle gasket on the market.
Here’s how that compares to other swim goggles that are low profile:
| Magic5 Swim Goggle | 0.5” |
| Arena Cobra Ultra Swipes | 0.5” |
| Speedo Speed Sockets 2.0 | 0.7” |
| Speedo LZR Pure Focus | 0.7” |
| Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 | 0.8” |
TheMagic5 were originally designed for older youth and adult swimmers.
In 2024, they launched a youth-size goggle for swimmers aged 10-14 years so that younger swimmers can also take advantage of the customized gasket, slim goggle design, and comfortable fit.
The youth version retains much of the same features and benefits but with a smaller overall gasket design to account for the narrower and smaller faces of youth swimmers.
Along with the Speedo Vanquisher Junior 2.0, TheMagic5 Youth Goggles are among the top kids’ swimming goggles.
Alright, so you’ve been reading along so far, liking what you are hearing, but there is that gnawing suspicion in the back of your mind: what if they don’t work for me?
Great question.
TheMagic5 backs its swim goggles with a 100% leak-free guarantee. If the swim goggles don’t meet your expectations and aren’t comfy and leak-free, they will work with you to get that perfect fit or issue you a 100% refund.
No leaks and no worries.
Each set of TheMagic5 goggles ships with a goggle case. The case is vented and can be zipped shut to help protect your swim goggles between swim workouts.
Swim goggles inevitably get scratched and dirty over time, and a well-built goggle case can help extend the life of the goggle lenses.
Let’s be honest: most swimmers take zero care of their swim goggles once practice is done.
The goggles get launched into the bottom of the swim bag and bounce around with the rest of your swim gear between workouts.
The case that TheMagic5 goggles come with will extend the lifespan of your one-of-a-kind swim goggles.
The Magic5 goggles perform great in the water, but no swim goggles are perfect.
The main drawbacks of these goggles have less to do with how they fit and feel and more with the ordering process.
With a price tag ranging from $65-90, TheMagic5 Swim Goggles are more expensive than your run-of-the-mill swim goggles, like a Speedo Vanquisher or Speedo Speed Sockets, which cost $20-30.
This may make them too pricey for the casual lap swimmer who only goes to the pool occasionally.
The ordering process also takes 1-2 weeks for the swim goggles to be customized to your face scan, manufactured, and delivered to your front step, so if you are used to that overnight delivery or have a swim planned tomorrow, you will be out of luck.
In terms of cost, there are some ways to lower the price threshold by ordering bundles, which can result in savings of 15-30%, and TheMagic5 does run deals on limited-run colors and tints.
Usually, when it comes to swimming goggles reviews, I offer alternative goggles with each set.
But there aren’t any other swim goggles like the Magic5 out there. No other swim goggles manufacturer, from the heavyweight swim brands Speedo and Arena to smaller outfits like FINIS and TYR, are mass-producing customized swimming goggles.
The Magic5s are in a category of their own.
The swim goggles are built based on a face scan that you do via an app on your smartphone.
After purchasing the specific goggles you want from their website (there are 11 different tint and color options), download the Magic5 app, link it to your order with your email address, and scan your face.
From there, the goggles go into production.
Tip: The face-scanning app for TheMagic5 works differently depending on your smartphone model. I didn’t know this when trying to do the face scan and wasted probably 20 minutes waving my phone around my face. The Magic5 website has detailed information on how to do the face scan properly that I recommend you read before starting.
How long it takes to get your hands on your brand-spanking-new custom swim goggles comes down to the shipping option of your choosing and where you live.
According to the Magic5 website, international orders can take up to 14 business days (4-7 if you choose express shipping), and USA orders take six business days or less.
In my case, I got them in less than a week from when the face scan was submitted to when the FedEx deliveryman left them on my front porch.
TheMagic5 Swim Goggles are FINA-approved, which means they can be used in swimming competitions sanctioned by World Aquatics (formerly FINA).
When writing this review (December 2023), the only place the Magic5 goggles are available is on the official Magic5 website, which you can access here.
I had my doubts about these swim goggles.
This is of no fault of Magic5 and their founders; I’d been burned by a handful of startup swim tech companies that promised big thangs but fell well short over the past couple of years.
So basically, I assumed that these swim goggles and the premise of a custom fit were simply too good to be true.
I’m pleased to say that those doubts were misplaced. (Ultimately, I’m rooting for their success—the swim community needs more of these trail-blazing companies.)
TheMagic5 swim goggles are extremely comfortable. They fit like a chlorinated glove on my face. They have a slim profile. And they look great.
Perhaps more importantly, they serve what I believe to be a very underserved market: the large swath of swimmers in the pool who have grown exasperated from finding goggles that fit their faces.
To recap my testing and review of TheMagic5 Swim Goggles:
| ✅ PROS | ❌ CONS |
| The world’s only customized swim goggles. | Pricier than your typical swim goggles. |
| Very comfortable; excellent for longer swims and reduced goggle marks. | Takes 1-2 weeks to get them. |
| Most hydrodynamic goggle gasket on the market. | |
| Available in a youth size for smaller swimmers | |
| Save $$$ with bundles. | |
| Leak-free guarantee. |
+ Custom fit for your face
+ Comfortable for extended wear and reducing headaches
+ Extremely slim lens profile
+ Available in 11 colors/tints and discounts on bundles
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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