Chances are you haven’t heard of Danish swimming brand Watery. After all, although they’ve been around since 2016, they’re not big in the UK. That’s something they are hoping to change, with a range of swimming basics at reasonable prices. They sell everything from pullbuoys to paddles, suits to snorkels, but in an attempt to figure out if they are worth a deeper look, their goggles seemed a good place to start. After a few weeks training with their Poseidon Ultra Mirror, here’s the verdict.

First impressions are good. The goggles came in a smart cardboard sleeve and were packed with a nice material storage bag which also functions as a lens cloth. The goggles have more than passing resemblance to the Arena Cobra but with a slightly shorter lens; that makes them a low profile goggle that sits well into the eye sockets. They look good and the gold mirror finish adds a touch of bling to proceedings, but if you want something a bit more restrained they’re also available with a silver mirror or with smoke lenses.

Initial fitting was simple with the tried and tested method of interchangeable nose pieces, albeit they were quite a struggle to remove, but a positive for me was the fact that there were 4 options to choose from including an XL option. That meant there was plenty of scope to get the lenses the correct width apart and not to end up with pinching at the bridge of the nose or the nose piece digging in. So far so good.

The Poseidon has a decent gasket which is made from a solid silicon that was comfortable and sealed well. It had enough give to it that it sealed even with the strap not being too tight, which means you could potentially use them for training without too much of the dreaded panda-eyes. The lens was tinted, but let enough light through that they were perfectly usable in an indoor pool on an overcast day.

There is another nice touch in the strap; it’s easily adjusted via the buckle which sits at the back of the head, but that adjustment is helped by the strap being marked with graduations so you can adjust simply to the right setting once you know what you need. That makes it a doddle to switch from loose for training to tight for racing and know you’ve got the strap tension exactly as you like it for each. That’s also helpful because like many goggles there isn’t a huge amount of stretch in the straps.

In the water, they felt good. The low profile meant no discernible drag off the walls while the optical clarity of the lenses was excellent. The shape meant that peripheral vision to each side was a touch limited, but there was still a good field of vision. The anti fog coating was decent, easily lasting 1500m from dry with no hint of fogging. As usual any coating will only last as well as you treat it, but it seems to be a good place to start from.

Price-wise the Poseidons come in at around £36 so they are comparable to similar models from established brands such as the Arena Cobra or Speedo Speedsocket, but since they’re coming from Denmark be aware of shipping costs. There is free shipping for larger orders however.

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Verdict

• Low profile for racing, but enough give in the gasket that they could be used for training
• Peripheral vision a little restricted, but visibility good and effective anti-fog.
• Excellent build quality which appears to give good value.
• Nose-pieces won’t suit all faces, as with all fixed nose goggles, but plenty of variety in bridge size with the 4 options.

These goggles certainly seem to match quality of their better known rivals and performed well in the water. They’re certainly worth a look if you fancy a change from the usual suspects, or indeed if you are just after a decent pair of goggles.

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The Poseidon Ultra Mirror is available directly from Watery, who provided the sample for testing. See our review policy for details of how we review products.