Swim caps?

[Blaze]

Hey everyone,

Looking for input on getting a swim cap. My new gym allows swimming with monofins so I want to take advantage of that. I am hoping to reduce the damage to my hair though from the chlorine and want to get a swim cap. I've never used them before and I have a LOT of hair.

Any suggestions on what might work best for me?

Thanks!

[MerEmma]

Latex swim caps HURT really bad imo on the head, I'd look into a silicone one for you. You can find some pretty neat ones on Etsy and eBay.

[PearlieMae]

Speedo has a great silicone cap, super stretchy and comfy (I have a lot of hair, too!)

[Echidna]

^^I have that one.
My hair is over 1m long, and I can fit it under that cap no problem (ok, maybe it looks a bit bunched up, you know, conehead-like :lol: but I'm not wearing it for looks).

[Blaze]

Thanks everyone! Speedo seems to have several; do you have a link to the kind you recommend? Does it really keep your hair dry?

[Blaze]

Also if you recommend any goggles that would be appreciated too! I'm sure it would be better for my eyes to be protected as well. :)

[MerEmma]

For goggles it's all about your face shape...probably best to go to a Dick's or Sports Authority and just try them on to figure it out.

[PearlieMae]

http://swimoutlet.com/product_p/3620.htm This us the cap I have and it works beautifully.

http://m.swimoutlet.com/product_p/1642.htm and these are my favorite goggles. I recommend them both.

[Echidna]

Does it really keep your hair dry?

The idea is to soak your hair thoroughly and braid it, THEN put the swim cap on.
First, it's easier to do so when your hair is wet; second, it won't take so much chlorine in as if it were still dry.

As for goggles, you'll have to try out which ones fit you best.
Speedo goggles work nicely, so do Swedish Malmsten, which are the least obvious since they're clear.

Remember it's not recommended to dive deeper than 2m with goggles though, if you go deeper than that, wear either nothing or a dive mask to prevent eye barotrauma.

[MerEmma]

Wait, what's barotramua? I live in Florida surrounded by divers of all sorts and I've never heard of it before. Sounds intense. D:

[Echidna]

It's what happens if you cannot equalize, like when your ears are sealed by a diving hood, or you wear swimming goggles which cannot be equalized at all.
Most pool are shallower than the "critical goggle depth" of 2m, but if you go deeper, you can damage your eyes because the goggles suck at your eyeballs.

[MerEmma]

Wow, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of that before. Sounds kinda scary. :s
What is 2m specifically? A meter according to google is three feet but three feet is also a yard and two meters deep would only be six feet and I can go 20 feet easy without my eyes being sucked at. ^^'

[Echidna]

2m is around 7 feet, I think.


I can go 20 feet easy without my eyes being sucked at. ^^'
Then you have either really cool goggles, or very sturdy eyes ;)

I've discussed this before on a diving forum.
There is a reason why divers use a diving mask and not just handy small goggles ya know.

[AptaMer]

Also if you recommend any goggles that would be appreciated too! I'm sure it would be better for my eyes to be protected as well. :)

Hey Blaze, I actually still use a crazy silicone all-in-one silicone swim cap-goggles combination by Speedo called the SpeedMask. Here's what it looks like:

15592 You do look kind of like an alien (ha ha, I like the look myself) but it seals to your head, and like Caltuna says, if you wet your hair in the shower before you put it on, you get no chlorine damage.

Also, like the name implies, it actually does streamline you, and you feel like you can shoot through the water faster.

Like they do for everything you could wear that helps you swim faster, though, the international governing body for swimming FINA banned them for wear in sanctioned swimming competitions, so they aren't made any more.

It is sometimes possible to still get them, though. Just post if you'd like to look into getting one.

Here's a picture of the Australian national team goofing around in their hats at the world championships in the days before FINA banned them :)

15593

[AptaMer]

I've never worn this cap (still wearing my SpeedMasks) but I have friends who swear by this Aqua Glide cap by Aquasphere

15641

They say it gives the best seal of any you can get, it has room for lots of hair, and it's treated somehow on the inside so you get less hair pulling.

Price is $10 at Swim Outlet http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/10239.htm#color=9325