Tom Grippo is a longtime personal trainer in New Jersey whose passion for fitness led him to recently try the FINIS Smart Goggle as part of his workout regimen. Here is what Grippo had to say about this new piece of technology.

I enjoy lap swimming as a balance to my other fitness pursuits of running, cycling and weight training. The forgiving nature of the water seems to provide a safe haven for additional conditioning, as well as recovery. But lap swimming can be monotonous and boring and I often lose track of my lap count, or pause at the end of the pool to look at my wrist for my time. I remember as a kid watching my father keep track of his laps in our backyard pool with clothespins and wearing no goggles. Now that’s old school!

Having said that, the FINIS Smart Goggles are a game changer for me.

The innovative technology of the FINIS HUD (Heads Up Display) tells me all I need to know. I now feel more challenged and engaged in the swim – a quick glance to the left providing my lap count, split and overall time. It all syncs post-swim to “My History” in the Ciye App. It is very useful, as it eliminates the need for me to record it in my calendar, as fitness junkies often do. I also found the 3D Video Display analysis of my head movement throughout the swim useful feedback, showing, as a novice swimmer, the need to focus more on my head positioning as I get more fatigued. Maybe in a future firmware update, we’ll be able to upload our own headshots for the 3D animation. How cool would that be?

The overall goggles setup was seamless after downloading the Ciye app, although it can be a little buggy pairing the goggles at times. Another nice feature is the fact that you can replace the reasonably priced ($35) goggles alone and just swap out the Ciye Smart Coach, as I plan on alternating from the “Smoke” for outdoor to the “Blue” for indoor swimming. This makes the whole concept more cost-effective, as well as customizable for me.

Overall, I found the FINIS Smart Goggles, with all of its metrics and meaningful feedback, innovative technology and a nice addition to my “fitness toolbox.”

My Dad would have got a kick out of these!

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