Silicone VS Latex

One necessity while swimming is a swim cap.  The cap keeps your hair relatively dry, protects your hair from chlorine and other harmful chemicals, and keeps your hair out of your face while you are swimming.  Caps come in many different fabrics, but mostly for training and competitive purposes, latex and silicone are the most popular.  Swimmers have their preferences between the two, and there are many differences between the different fabrics.

• Latex Caps
• Less expensive.  These caps usually are priced around $2- $6.
• Because they are made of thin latex, the cap usually does not last for an extremely long period of time
• The latex material fits snugly and does not slip off of your head too easily while swimming for long periods of time.

• Silicone Caps
• Durable material makes these caps last longer than latex caps
• A little more pricey, usually in the $10- $15 range.
• Silicone caps are usually non-allergenic
• Silicone caps do not pull your hair as much as latex, making them more susceptible to slip off.

Neither of these caps are a good choice unless you take care of them properly. Be sure to dry out your cap after every use so that the cap does not get stuck together.  I would also reccomend putting baby powder in caps that you are not using to keep them fresh.

My personal choice of cap would be a latex cap.  The cap fits on my head better, and provides me with a more secure fit.  My caps do break occasionally, but that means that I can wear a cool new cap :).  Try both of them out.  See which one fits you best, keeping you swimming fast, well, and swiftly :)