Any swim goggles that may be beneficial for a surfer?

Question

I took a surf lesson and got the following:

• Splash/ sand in the eye in an abrasive way that put me out for 20 minutes and was bothering me for few more days

• Bright tropical sun

• Pros / cons of having them on for water protection vs visibility?

• Maybe ones with larger/ wider "rim" that don't decrease field of vision?

• Redness, burning & eyes watering for next few days

• Surfers getting eye damage:

  • https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110801194540AAhB1l4
  • http://mellow-waves.com/should-you-surf-with-contact-lenses/

• Surf Goggles being recommended:

  • http://www.surferdad.co.uk/surf-goggles
  • https://www.maximumeyewear.com/productfolder/water-glasses/water-glasses.html
  • http://oceanfit.com.au/6-ocean-swimming-products-i-couldnt-do-without/ - http://www.vorgee.com/node/145
  • Especially, for people with prescriptions: https://www.facebook.com/Aquaviz/photos_stream

• US sources of similar goggles: Now I'm leaning towards these as its US/ Amazon and easier to order compared to UK.

  • http://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Sphere-Kaiman-Swimming-Goggles/dp/B00HQL9AEI
  • http://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Sphere-Kayenne-Goggle/dp/B00V6T3FKQ
  • http://www.gogglesandglasses.com/Surf-Sunglasses_c_2286.html

As a beginning learner spends more time splashing in Water, than surfing/ standing on the board.

Not sure, if there's benefit to any of them?

If they do not have any pros for a newbie/ beginner, would there be any benefit once you've picked up a bit of surfing foundation?

Answer 1

For years I used to wear Oakley Razor Blades when surfing (yes, I am that old...) but once I started to manage slightly bigger waves, even wearing a strap to hold them on wasn't enough.

In reality, unless you are on small surf, you will have them ripped off when you wipe out, so your best bet is to learn to surf without them.

You will very quickly avoid spray and sand in them. Not sure what to do about the sun, though. Typically at noon it is at its highest, so it shouldn't be an issue. I have only ever had problems with morning or evening surfing where you end up facing the sun when it is low on the horizon.

Answer 2

You might want to try a baseball cap that you're not really that fond of.

I've safety pinned mine onto my wetsuit leash and it was okay-ish. A lot depends on where you are, and the differences between the tropics and higher latitudes can be really extreme. It also depends on how long you're going to be out for. Again, big differences between an hour surf session in the morning vs all day at 15 degrees lat.

The hat will most definitely go off your head when you hit the water, and when you put it on it will feel like a wet sandwich, but there's a lot to be said for cutting down the rays a bit.

Of course, the light still bounces off the water so it's not 100%, but it does cut things down a lot.

If you live in a sunny place and do the baseball hat thing for a while, you'll eventually see your hat getting completely sun bleached and fried out. That's enough to motivate me to wear one, to keep that damage off my head/skin/face.