The Best Eye Protection Goggles for Racquetball Players

The Best Eye Protection Goggles for Racquetball Players

How Much Should You Spend on Racquetball Goggles?

A good pair of Racquetball goggles not only protect your eyes from potential injuries but also enhance your visual clarity to help you can catch the ball quickly.

Ideally, a new pair costs anything from $20 to $50. No matter the price tag, most goggles start to wear out after two years of usage, after which you should purchase a new one.

Why You Need to Wear Racquetball Goggles

Protection

A racquetball moves at high velocity during play, which is why you need goggles to protect you from eye injuries.

For maximum protection, racquetball goggles should have:

• Adjustable straps
• Polycarbonate construction material

When playing, racquetball goggles tend to slip down due to sweating and abrupt movements, consequently compromising your eye protection. Goggles with adjustable straps ensure you securely fit them so that you can stay protected during the entire game.

Most goggles are made of polycarbonate, which is shatter-proof and has higher impact resistance. This material also has in-built ultraviolet protection making it well-adaptable to outdoor racquetball games.

Comfortable

Racquetball goggles must fit comfortably to the wearer, lest they lose the rally.

The goggles should have:

• Rubber Padding
• Lightweight
• Adjustable side arms

Padded frames provide cushioning, especially on the nose and ear area, to prevent strain from wearing goggles during an extended playtime. The frame is also lightweight so that it doesn’t press down on, thus ensuring you are comfortable for improved performance.

Additionally, some manufacturers incorporate adjustable side arms into their goggles to make them on different face shapes and sizes.

Durability

Long-lasting goggles are a guarantee that you’ll use them more frequently and for longer, thereby saving you money in the long haul.

Durable goggles should have:

• Scratch-resistant coating
• Interchangeable lenses

Virtually all racquetball goggles have a scratch-resistant coating on the lenses and the back surface, to prevent wear and tear from continuous usage. Some also give you the freedom to completely change the lenses if they are severely damaged.

Peripheral Vision

Poor peripheral vision can lead to poor performance or injuries due to obstruction.

Goggles with clear peripheral vision have:

• Wrap-around frames
• Adjustable straps

Wrapped frames are characterized by a semi-circular curve that ensures the lenses sit around the head for a panoramic view. This gives the wearer a wide field of vision, including the peripheral area, for optimal performance.

Most importantly, the adjustable straps give the goggles a snugly fit, such that the lenses don’t sit close to your face, and obstruct your peripheral vision as a result.

Style

Stylish goggles are not only aesthetically appealing but also help complement your personal preference.

When looking for stylish goggles, pay attention to:

• Tints
• Compact size

Tints come in of various colors to match your preference as well as reduce the intensity of the light hitting your eyes. Also, compact-sized goggles are well-fitting for an appealing look.

What to Look for in Beginner’s Racquetball Goggles

Having a clear vision is integral in helping you improve your performance.

As such, a beginner should go for goggles with:

• Blue lenses
• Lightweight frame
• Economical price tag

Entry-level players goggles with blue lenses that offer more clarity compared to their tinted counterparts. The clear vision ensures that beginner players don’t miss a hit, as they learn how to serve the ball.

A lightweight frame contributes to the player’s comfort during the game, for excellent playing experience. Nylon frames are, in this case, preferred as they are lighter rubber and plastic frames.

Also, beginner players are better off investing in budget-friendly goggles, as they mainly encompass the protective and comfort features, which are essential when learning to play racquetball.

What to Look for in Racquetball Goggles for Advanced Players

A player’s skill level increases to an advanced level; the speed of hits increases in equal measure as the game becomes fast-paced.

When shopping for an advanced player racquetball goggles look for:

• Distortion-free lenses
• Impact brow bar
• Elastic head-strap
• Non-slip nose-piece

An advanced players’ game is characterized by hard and fastball hits, subjecting players to severe eye injuries. With distortion-free lenses, the players are protected from injuries while the goggles stay in good shape for longer.

A raised brow bar absorbs the most impact from a stray ball, ensuring it doesn’t get close to the eyes. Manufacturers also incorporate a rubber padding on the bar, to reduce the shock.

Due to the fast movements during the game, reliable advanced players goggles elastic head-strap with a clip-on. This helps the goggles fit securely without falling off frequently, as a player runs to make a hit.

Similarly, a rubberized non-slip nose-piece keeps the goggles snugly on your face, for more comfort when playing.

What Should you Look for in Tournament Play Goggles

Goggles with enhanced clarity and comfortable fit ensure you are at your best during a competitive racquetball game.

For your next racquetball tournament, go for goggles with:

• Vented lenses
• Absorbent brow bridge
• Modifiable temples

Vented lenses improve the aeration of the goggles, preventing fog build-up during intensive tournament play.

Racquetball with absorbent brow bridge help ‘suck-up’ the sweat trickles, lest they end up obscuring your vision if they trickle down to the lenses.

For a smooth playing experience during the extended tournament playtime, modifiable temples make it easy for you to fit the goggles according to face size and shape. This way, you won’t have to stop during play, to adjust your goggles abruptly.

What Features Should you Look for in the Best Racquetball Goggles

Style

• One-piece Lens
• Two-piece lens

Goggles with a one-piece lens cover both eyes with one big lens. Their level of protection is therefore high, as the lens fully covers the eyes up to brows. Also, they allow peripheral vision compared to their counterparts.

The two-piece lens goggles have two separate lenses to cover each eye. They are highly stylish in their appealbut the one-piece lens goggles rival their protection.

Swappable Lens

Swappable lens offer freedom of customization for adaptability to different lighting conditions.

• Clear Lens
• Blue Lens
• Amber Lens
• Tinted lens

Clear lenses are ideal for typical indoor lighting conditions. They are alsoe an excellent choice for those who find colored lenses uncomfortable.

In a similar vein, blue lenses are used in indoor lighting but offer more clarity and ball visibility than clear lenses in the same lighting condition.

In low lighting conditions, amber lenses are a viable option due to their ability to brighten dim lights. They are mostly used when playing in the outdoors at dusk.

Tinted lenses are designed to reduce light intensity during an outdoor play on a sunny day.

Lens Material

• Polycarbonate
• Trivex
• Advanced acrylic

Polycarbonate is a highly impact-resistant and lightweight material that doesn’t shatter on impact. Though susceptible to scratch, manufacturers coat it with a protective anti-scratch film in addition to integrating ultraviolet blocking-capabilities, for maximum protection when playing indoors.

Trivex lenses are preferred for a clearer vision, though they are a bit heavier than other lenses. Their impact resistance is more reliable than plastic lenses.

Acrylic lenses are plastic lenses that are modified to increase their impact resistance and provide protection against ultraviolet rays. They also hold up against everyday scratches.

Anti-scratch Coating

• Scratch-resistance layer
• Built-in scratch protection film

Most lenses have an additional layer to offer protection against scratches, consequently improving the goggles’ durability as well as maintain the aesthetic appeal.

Polycarbonate lenses, in particular, comes with a built-in scratch-resistant coating.

Anti-fog Coating

• Hydrophobic coating
• Hydrophilic

A hydrophobic coating helps repel water and sweat, preventing loss of vision from fog build-up. Hydrophilic layer, on the other hand, absorbs water causing the droplets to disperse, thus eliminating fogging.

Vented lenses

• Direct ventilation
• Indirect ventilation

Direct ventilated goggles have large holes on top of the lenses for maximum airflow, while indirect ventilated goggles have small but numerous holes on the upper-side of the lenses to prevent splash entry by when wearing a helmet or cap.

Prescription lenses

• Myopic lenses
• Hypermetropic lenses

Myopic lenses are designed for shortsightedness, while hypermetropic are for longsightedness.

Straps

• Rubber strap
• Fabric strap

A Rubber strap tends to rest too tightly on the wearer’s head, yet it can are adjustable for a comfort fit. A fabric strap is easy on your skin and often comes with a clip-on for size adjustments.

Adjustable Side Arms

• Double strap
• Split strap

Double strap goggles come with two interconnected fabric with a single-clip designed to allow fastening for a firm fit. Split strap goggles exist as a single strap with a sizeable cut-through in the middle, separating the straps offering more comfort and ventilation.