HoloSwim 3 Pro Review: Are These the Best Smart Swim Goggles for Open Water?

AD: HoloSwim 3 Pro Review. The HoloSwim 3 Pro goggles featured in this review were gifted to me by HoloSport. This review reflects my own experience and opinions. Some links in this article are affliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you.

As a long distance open water swimmer I was looking for a way to track my swims, particularly during training. I like to know in real time if I’m pacing a swim correctly and how far and how long I have swum. Previously I have found smart watches to be distracting and largely inaccurate when it comes to the GPS tracking. I had a goggle mounted GPS system which I liked and was better than my watch, but ultimately it didn’t have a very long battery life and the ear conducting headphone stopped working which rendered it useless. The HoloSwim 3 Pro smart goggles seemed like a good solution and I was keen to give them a try.

So for the past 6 weeks I have been putting the HoloSwim 3 Pro goggles through their paces on some very long swims. I was very skeptical at first, I’m a bit a a technophobe so I had concerns about their ease of use and the set up. I was also concerned that they may not suit me well as a pair of goggles. Comfortable and well functioning goggles are more important to me on any swim than collecting data. I can swim without GPS but not with leaky fogging goggles that feel like they are sucking my eyeballs out!

Fortunately I have been very pleasant surprised, not only on their ease of use and functionality, but also with their comfort and performance. The HoloSwim 3 Pro goggles are now a staple in my open water swim kit.

What Are the HoloSwim 3 Pro Smart Goggles

Ultimately the HoloSwim 3 Pro smart goggles are a pair of goggles that incorporate a AR display to show real time metrics whilst you are swimming. The goggles then sync with an app on your phone to give you detailed information about your swim.

They are for any swimmer that wants to track their swims in the pool or open water.

The pool mode allows you to select free training or target training modes. They display and record distance, lengths, duration, pace, strokes and SWOLF. Targeted training mode can be used for goal based swimming and you can set your targets in the app before you start. There is also a planned future release of a training plan mode whereby you will be able to set a training plan in the app before your session.

The open water mode uses GPS to record tracks and distance. There is also compass guidance to help with navigation. A future release of an open water route training function is also planned, whereby a route can be created in the app and sent to the goggles to provide route guidance during your swim.

All the information collected by the goggles during your swim is saved and collated in the app when they are connected.

My First Impressions of the HoloSwim 3 Pro

I loved the sleek design and the bright colourful reflective lenses. I was concerned they may have been a bit bulky, but actually they didn’t look that dissimilar from other goggles I own. When you are wearing them it’s hard to tell that they aren’t just a normal pair of goggles.

They came in a hard protective case as standard, which was a nice addition and means I can look after them a bit better. As an open water swimmer things do tend to get chucked in my bag at the end of a swim!

I was also concerned about the set up, but actually it was pretty simple. You simply charge the goggles, download the app, connect the two and you’re ready to go. Nice and simple even for a technophobe like myself!

HoloSwim 3 Pro Fit and Comfort

First and foremost I wanted make sure that they functioned well as a pair of goggles.

They were a little heavier in the hand than the goggles I have been using recently (but still on 73g), but this was really unnoticeable once I was wearing them.

It took a couple of attempts to find the right size nose bridge for my face. I started with the medium but struggled to see the whole of the AR display whilst swimming. The goggles come with 8 different sizes of nose bridges, sizing up for me meant the AR display was clear in my field of view whilst swimming.

The goggles sat comfortable round my eyes with a good seal without having to push them on or have the straps to tight. As a result of the good fit I have not experienced any leakage whilst swimming with them.

If you’re an open water swimmer you’ll know that visibility is important. The built in anti-fog so far has been pretty awesome. To activate it you simply rinse in water and wipe the inside with a soft lens cloth before your swim. They have quite a wide field of view so there is a reasonable amount of peripheral vision.

The mirrored lenses not only look good but are functioning too. They provide 100% UV protection and the anti-glare is ideal in bright sunny conditions. I have also used them in pretty overcast conditions with no problems at all.

The main difference to a pair of regular goggles is the AR display. On the first use I found it a little disconcerting. Every time I was putting my face in the water and seeing the green display my mind was telling me it was something in the water with me! I’m so used to not being able to see anything, that at first it was a little off putting. However, you quickly get used to it, and by my second swim it wasn’t a problem. Also changing the display to my dominant breathing side really helped.

How do they feel on a Long Swim?

I have used them in a 7km and a 17km swim (which was just over 7 hours) and they felt as comfortable at the end of those swims as they did at the beginning. Yes I still had goggle eyes, but at no point did they feel uncomfortable or start giving me head or eye ache. The anti-fog held up well and having good visibility throughout a long swim was fantastic. I didn’t have to stop and adjust my goggles on either of those swims.

What Is the Holoswim 3 Pro Display Like?

As I said before initially I found the display a little off putting as I simply wasn’t used to seeing anything when putting my face in the water. However it was short lived and by my second swim I barely noticed it.

The display is clear and you can use the button to skip between different displays depending on what metrics you want to see whilst swimming. There’s only 3 buttons on the goggles so it’s simple to operate even with cold fingers.

I have been leaving it on the first screen which displays distance, time and the compass, as I really like just having time and distance to read whilst I am swimming. I tend to do a lot of swim math in my head which keeps me occupied during those long swims!

Personally I haven’t found that the display interferes with my sighting at all. After using them for the past 6 weeks I honestly really don’t notice the display now unless I want to look at it.

Holoswim 3 Pro in Open Water

As an long distance swimmer my use of these goggles has been confined to the open water, I have yet to try them out in the pool.

GPS and location is super easy and quick to set up. You turn on the goggles and select the open water mode. It tells you to look up and down and move your head for the compass calibration, and takes about 20 seconds for the GPS to sync and that’s it.

I found the GPS tracking to be extremely accurate. On my 7km swim which was on known loops at my local lake it was only about 40m out. It’s probably the most accurate GPS device I have used to track my swims.

The compass feature is another nice addition. I haven’t really used it as I think through habit I’m still sighting for buoys. However, I think it would be useful where you don’t have a fixed course . As we all know swimming in a straight line is more efficient yet hard to do in open water! I don’t think the compass feature would replace sighting, but perhaps may reduce unnecessary sighting.

The goggles also measure water temperature and depth. The depth is only the depth at which the goggles are at which personally isn’t that useful to me. Water temperature isn’t essential either, but it’s a nice addition. The water I’ve been swimming in recently has been quite warm and the temperature readings appear to be pretty accurate. However I do still need to test this feature in the colder waters this Winter.

As much as it’s been nice to track my swims with accurate GPS, one of the most useful features is the fact that I can see the metrics in real time whilst I’m swimming. This has been great for my training swims where I am trying to hold a consistent pace over a long distance, and will be useful when I start focusing on my speed and technique.

Holosport App Review

Once you have finished your swim the goggles save the information and sync with the app once connected.

The app gives you metrics of distance, duration, stroke, Kcal, average pace and water temperature as well as charts on stroke rate and pace to see how consistent you are which I’ve found very useful. It also displays an accurate map of your swim which I really like.

You can connect the app to Strava and it automatically uploads to that platform. However one slight bug bear of mine is that the map doesn’t upload, just the basic metrics (distance, moving time, average pace). Not a huge issue, just one of the very few disadvantages.

There is also a social element to the app where you can share your activities and follow other HoloSport users. Not something I have used, but a feature that will appeal to some.

HoloSwim 3 Pro Battery Life

It takes 2 hours to fully charge the goggles.

The manufacturers quote a 16 hour battery life in the pool and 5 hours in open water. I thought I’d test this out on my swim of Windermere end to end. The battery actually lasted 5hours 53 minutes (5 hours 27 minutes swim time) which is pretty good when the GPS is running constantly. It also saves the data if the battery runs out, so as soon as it was charged and connected to my phone the data was still available.

My HoloSwim 3 Pro Verdict

What I Love about the HoloSwim 3 Pro

• Comfort (and anti-leak)
• Style
• Visibility in the water (anti-fog and wide field of view)
• Being able to see real life data whilst swimming
• Accurate GPS tracking
• Simple set up
• Ease of use
• Reasonable price

What I Don’t like about the HoloSwim 3 Pro

• Can’t use for swims greater than 5 1/2 hours in open water (around 15km for me)
• More expensive than a regular pair of goggles
• Require remembering to charge before a swim
• Map doesn’t upload to Strava (small issue)

Are the Holoswim 3 Pro Worth It?

Would I recommend them? Absolutely yes, if you’re interested in data and metrics, logging your swims and seeing real time data. They are great for open water swimmers, triathletes, pool swimmers and for long distance swimming but only up to marathon distances.

If you are a casual swimmer, prefer simplicity and don’t care about your metrics then these probably aren’t for you.

Would I buy them? Yes. At the price point (currently £190) I think they are a fantastic piece of kit.

Does having this technology make me a better swimmer? Potentially yes. They definitely help with my structured training. Seeing real time metrics means I can pace my long swims and when I’m doing short sets focusing on my technique I can see how my adjustments are affecting my pace. I can’t wait to try them out in my pool sessions.

So what do you think? Are the HoloSwim 3 Pro goggles something you would want to try? Do you think there is a need for smart goggles?

If you want to check out the HoloSwim 3 Pro goggles out for yourself then if you use the code OUTDAWSY for will get 10% discount.

I would love to hear your thoughts, and if you have any questions just pop them in the comments.

Kerry x