TheMagic5 Review

This TheMagic5 review looks at custom-made swim goggles in some detail and, surprisingly, by the end of my research and testing for the review, I decided to keep them in my swim bag for long-term weekly usage. Take that as a recommendation if you like!

I’ll start off this THEMAGIC5 Review with a summary and for those of you who want even more details then please scroll further down. If you’ve just come here for TheMagic5 discount then use the code THE5KRUNNER20 for a whopping 20% discount or if you want to thank me for the review, THE5KRUNNER10 gives you a 10% discount and me a bit more commission!

Skip ahead to the section that most interests you

Background

I swim 2-4 times a week in support of my triathlon efforts, that’s OWS in the warmer months and maybe 7-12km a week of combined pool/lake usage. As a result, swimming is my weakest triathlon discipline.

For some unknown reason lost in the mists of time, my ‘go-to’ swim goggles have nearly always been Zoggs Predator Flex. I don’t especially like them, yet whenever I’ve tried an alternative pair they’ve badly leaked within a month. Having said that, the Zoggs typically leak after a few months as well. If I give them a good, soapy clean they return to their water tightness…for a while. Another short while later and they periodically start leaking again and I suffer months of occasional chlorine-filled puddles around my eyes before I get around to buying yet another new pair. #Repeat. Welcome to my swimming world!

That was until last year when I tried the latest tech-packed FORM Swim Goggles (Review here). They don’t leak but they’re a bit too ‘obviously techy’ (embarrassing) to wear in my group swim lane sessions and also perhaps the peripheral vision they offer is not best-suited to OWS either. So the FORM Goggles have their uses, yet they’re not my full solution to a leak-free world of swimming by a long way but they did mark the start of me starting to branch out in my choice of swimming eyewear.

Furthermore, I had heard of TheMagic5 custom-made swim goggles a while back and my interest in finding a non-leaking pair for regular usage was rekindled when I recently stumbled across them again…hence I wrote THEMAGIC5 Review

Product Options – TheMagic5 Review

Decide on the product you want first. There are various combinations of blue, clear or black lenses with no/silver/gold mirroring. Here they are arranged by degree of tint with the least tinted first. So the ones further down the list are better for the light conditions in sunlit swimming

• BLUE MAGIC – light blue tint. Best for clearest vision even indoors and in low light
• BLUE MAGIC MIRROR GOLD – Blue lens gives a clear view and the mirror stops more light.
• BLUE MAGIC MIRROR SILVER – Slightly darker than MIRROR GOLD
• BLACK MAGIC – More suitable for bright conditions
• BLACK MAGIC MIRROR SILVER – suitable for the very brightest conditions

 

TheMagic5 Review – Scanning & Ordering

You don’t have to wear your swimming gear to take the scan on your Android/iPhone as the following youtube clip shows ;-). The process is slightly different (easier) than shown in this video, with iOS I just turned my to the left and right and it was all over in about 10 seconds, I thought that was because of the facial recognition of my iPhone XR but apparently, even that is not accurate enough and THEMAGIC5 uses ‘depth perspective’ (now you know!).

 

If you are a returning customer then THEMAGIC5 retrieves a scan that was previously stored against your email so all you need is your original email address (or Amazon Order ID) to re-use the same scan.

What I would have liked to have seen was the ability to perform and store a few scans and then choose one from scan results that matched another scan to increase the chance of the scan being ‘right’.  Although THEMAGIC5 might strive to sort out an ill-fitting pair of goggles, I’d just rather get it all right the first time and save me AND THEM some time.

TheMagic5 Review – What You Get

My goggles came with a decent, hard case and 4 extra nose pieces ie a choice of 5 nose pieces. The case costs a little more and the goggles arrive with the correct nose piece for you already in place and that’s what I found.

The replacement nose clips are on the underside of the foam insert.

TheMagic5 Review – Aesthetics, Wearing & Using

Aesthetics

THEMAGIC5 swim goggles DO look good, or so I am told when wearing them! Maybe it’s just me 😉

The lens construction is of 4 almost flat pieces rather than one larger curved or flat piece of plastic. They are made with no visible rim.

Bonded onto the lens is the frame which extends out away from the lenses for over 5cm on each side, this means that the adjustable strap is threaded through the lug well away from the eye sockets.

Each side of the frame is joined to each other by a customised nose bridge (all 5 sizes are supplied)

Thus the flexible rubber cup is fastened on the underside of the frame. These rubber cups are the main pieces that are customised and, for me, they REALLY are not quite the same for each eye, you can see the LACK of symmetry which, presumably, matches the slight facial asymmetries that most of us probably have.

The strap material is typical of swim goggles and this one-piece strap has its ends joined by a simple, secure & adjustable mechanism at the rear of your head.

Wearing

The goggles should come already made with the correct nose piece for you. There are 4 other sizes to suit any other preference you might have

Each of the two lengths of the strap should be about 2 inches apart at the rear of your head, which is what you might typically do with other goggles in any case (I would). This could be an issue for people with long hair tucked into some form of bun under their swim cap.

The goggles should NOT be worn as tightly as with your regular goggles. When you have them like this it feels like they will leak but the water pressure holds them in place around your eye sockets. I remain to be 100% convinced that unusual head movements will still let no water in.

In Use – Pool Swimming

There were significant positives of a clear and crisp view.

They are comfy to wear, perhaps becoming slightly uncomfortable with over an hour of continuous in-place usage (eg lake not pool where you might raise them between sets)

They are a ‘small socket’ design that tends toward going into the eye socket. So if you are used to larger goggles resting outside of the eye socket, then these will feel different.

I think I probably got the right pressure setting the first time around and then fiddled unsuccessfully with them to remove a small amount of pressure that I always get on the inside of my right eye. I probably should have changed to a slightly wider nose bridge but whenever I’ve tried previously that with sunglasses or goggles it never helped…so I didn’t try that!

On a less crowded public lane swim where no one particularly bothered me, there were zero leaks.

During a tumultuous club swimming session, I had some small amounts of water coming in, probably as I was pushing off strangely and perhaps also had the strap too tight as I was experimenting.

In Use – Open Water Swimming (OWS)

It’s January. It’s cold. 🙂

Edit: These are fine for OWS training.

In Use – Triathlon (OWS, mass start)

Again it’s January.

From a crowded pool session and ‘mass start practice’ in the pool, I am nervous about using these in a mass-start tri race. The goggles are perhaps more easily dislodged by an errant heel or elbow than your regular pair. So I specifically wouldn’t use them in a triathlon.

If you’re not so good at diving the impact pressure will flip them more than a regular pair of goggles.

THEMAGIC5 Specifications

THEMAGIC5 Specifications
Protection	UV-400
Sizes	One size fits all
	Custom rubber seals
Prescription lens support	No
Polarized	No
Suitability	Adult, indoor & outdoor
Ability Level	Improver to elite
Anti-Fogging Treatment	Yes

 

The name THEMAGIC5 refers to the last, magic, 5% of design that makes goggles fit perfectly..ie the customised part.

TheMagic5 Review – Guarantee

THEMAGIC5 seems geared towards trying to get it right for the customer and give this guarantee…

All our goggles are custom-fitted to each customer. If the fit is not perfect, we will review the data used to build your goggles and if we can’t fix it, we will refund your entire purchase.

 

THEMAGIC5 – Alternatives

I’m NOT AWARE of any custom alternatives. More generic alternatives might include these

• Huub Brownlee,
• Zoggs Podium,
• Zone3 Voltaire,

Buy THEMAGIC5 – Price, Discounts, Availability & Timescales

If you buy themagic5, they should be manufactured and delivered within 10 working days of your scan. Obviously, there is no ‘stock’ of finished goggles as the cups are custom-made to fit you.

Prices vary in the USA from US$54 for non-mirrored to $59 for mirrored goggles – in the Rest of the World pricing includes higher delivery costs, so 63$ and 68$ (discount code: the5krunner). All taxes, customs and shipping costs are included. There’s a Hardcase option for $10, an annual subscription option and a gift card option too, which are nicely thought through.

Use the DISCOUNT code THE5KRUNNER – thank you.

YOU HAVE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP TO SCAN YOUR FACE AND CHECKOUT IS IN THE AFTER AFTER THE SCAN

• themagic5 Android App: here
• themagic5 iOS app: here
• or Re-order online with your original email address

The normal discount code gives 10% off and is THE5KRUNNER. It’s applied at the end of checkout as shown in the following image. If you use the code you also help this blog, thank you.

From time to time, the ‘special’ 20% discount coupon THE5KRUNNER20 will be activated at this link. That is controlled by THEMAGIC5 and I will announce it to subscribers and on my usual channels. You can just try it and you may strike lucky…or not.