I love swimming and challenging myself. I especially love OWS. I readily admit, I am never the fastest- trust me, it's been confirmed! I am what some refer to as a 'completer'. My goal is to complete the race. I love the freedom, serenity, wonderment and oneness of OWS. What I don't like is my inability to swim straight. actually this is no surprise, I can't walk straight...I'm a natural wanderer. Generally this doesn't matter on casual swims, but in more than one race, I have added more than 200 yards due to poor sighting. The angst associated with veering and drifting is a huge distraction and takes away from the fun of the competition. Enter OnCourse, a real OWS game changer. How big of a game changer? The technology has been approved for use by many of the governing boards for races. This is not surprising, as in many ways, it is an added safety feature.
So, after online research, I bit the bullet and made the purchase. I received my order in 8days. The product was well packaged. The directions were so easy, I thought I has overlooked something. I was ready to use the OnCourse goggles after less than 15minutes (including opening the box, watching the OnCourse online video and reading the directions).
Took the goggles out this morning. Clicked the on button. Eyed the buoy, locked in my direction and started swimming. The goggles are super comfortable. The feedback of green, yellow or red is unobtrusive and innate as we are already attuned to responding to red, green and yellow. I did experience going off course without immediate yellow or green notification, but it was due to lateral drift. OnCourse HAS a feature to address lateral drift, but mine was so minimal that instead of changing modes, I simply refocused on my destination and locked the target from the drifted direction. Easy breezy. Took seconds. Mind you, I still manually sighted during my swim but guess what, each time I was on track. An added note, I tested the goggles at sunrise. Generally the marker is quite difficult to see due to the sun's position. This can waste time or be disorienting. ONCOURSE is great for markers masked in the horizon. Overall, I felt more confident swimming and was able to spend more time focusing on my rhythm and stroke and honestly just enjoying the gift of our earth's wonders. This morning was my first use, but the product performed as promised! I'll update it anything should arise. But for now, well worth it!