I just looked at photos from yesterday’s triathlon. I noticed that I had I had a bunch of wrinkles in my event issued latex swim cap. Usually, I try to make sure it is not wrinkled but I was a bit rushed getting ready. Any idea how much time the wrinkles might have cost me over 1500 meters? A few seconds would not have a difference yesterday but sometimes they will.
When I get out of a swim, my cap is barely hanging onto my head… all wrinkled up. I don’t think there’s any measurable penalty for that.
This has to be a joke. Please tell me this is a joke.
When Katie Ledecky broke the wr for the 1500, her cap was barely on her head at the finish.
The penalty isn’t enough to worry about.
What, you didn’t iron your swim cap before the race?
What were you thinking!
They laugh, but Speedo has been selling “dome caps” for years now…at least since before the 2004 Olympics.
The Fastskin3 Cap+Goggle system claims a “5.7% reduction in drag,” though it’s not specified whether this is drag on the head/face alone, or in total Cd.
I’m sure it doesn’t make you slower–I have one of the older Aqua V style dome caps (I’m not shelling out $40 for a cap) and it “seems” faster, but you’d need to have one in basically every color in order to wear it in a triathlon.
So that’s 3 strikes against a dome cap for triathlon:
- Cost-- you’d need to have lots of colors to fit in at a race.
- Fit (a): these caps tend to fit so tightly that they will roll up at the neck if you pick your head up as one does while sighting in OWS. I imagine this is worse than latex cap wrinkles.
- Fit (b): these caps tend to fit so tightly that you can feel them squeezing your brain. For a short race like any of the swimming event that these were intended to be used for it’s a non issue because the cap will be on and off in a matter of minutes, but for a 1500m swim, the cap will likely be on for half an hour by the time you take into account the standing around before the race and/or warmup, and the race itself.
Unless you’re capable of holding sub-1:00 consistently for sets of 100yd sprints…you have bigger things to worry about than any “drag” the wrinkles in your cap may create over 1500m.
That’s a sarcastic answer, but it’s the gods-honest truth. Spend your energy elsewhere.
It certainly isn’t in total Cd. They may fit “slightly” better, perhaps worth a 0.05 to 0.1 over 100m, but I see so many that ride up over the course of a race that I question whether they are actually faster in practice beyond 200m or so.
I’m still on old school latex caps. They stay put a lot better, and I have a huge cranium, so no wrinkles 
When you put your race-issued cap on, fold the edge under to make it a “smaller” size cap and stretch it down. You will need to reset the edges again when it is on by re-folding it under where it has come unfolded.
My head is so gigantic, I will never have a wrinkle problem. I just hope I can finish the race without my head exploding the cap and getting me a DQ for swimming without my appropriate cap (would that happen? So far haven’t broke one midrace yet…)
I usually do this but I was kind of rushed getting ready last weekend.
Not to mention they fit so tight most people need to wear a latex cap underneath to keep it from sliding up, so the head squeeze factor is even higher!
Unless you’re capable of holding sub-1:00 consistently for sets of 100yd sprints…you have bigger things to worry about than any “drag” the wrinkles in your cap may create over 1500m.
That’s a sarcastic answer, but it’s the gods-honest truth. Spend your energy elsewhere.
You’re too late. Half of ST just went out and bought expensive swim caps in every color!
I just looked at photos from yesterday’s triathlon. I noticed that I had I had a bunch of wrinkles in my event issued latex swim cap. Usually, I try to make sure it is not wrinkled but I was a bit rushed getting ready. Any idea how much time the wrinkles might have cost me over 1500 meters? A few seconds would not have a difference yesterday but sometimes they will.
If the top of your head is underwater such that the wrinkles are creating drag, your body position problems are causing far greater issues to your swimming proficiency than anything a few wrinkles might do.
I just looked at photos from yesterday’s triathlon. I noticed that I had I had a bunch of wrinkles in my event issued latex swim cap. Usually, I try to make sure it is not wrinkled but I was a bit rushed getting ready. Any idea how much time the wrinkles might have cost me over 1500 meters? A few seconds would not have a difference yesterday but sometimes they will.
If the top of your head is underwater such that the wrinkles are creating drag, your body position problems are causing far greater issues to your swimming proficiency than anything a few wrinkles might do.
Come again? I would argue that if you are not getting the top of your head at and just below the surface of the water then you have far bigger problems with your stroke and shouldn’t be giving advice to others.
(How is that for raising a thread from the dead?)
Reminds me of a couple of folks I saw at the pool not too long ago. They wouldn’t pull their caps all the way down made it look like they were wearing condoms with a reservoir tip.
As long as they pinch the top when putting it on. And remove it as soon as they get out of the pool, before the pillow, er, deck talk.
If by the top of the head, you mean your forehead, your right. If by the top of the head you mean the very top of the skull…your wrong. I love this semantic cess pool, & I’d kick your ass in the pool any day of the week, so don’t worry about my mechanics.
If youve gotta dig up weeks old threads to be an internet bully, you’re not spending enough time training. Off this board & off to the pool for me!
I just looked at photos from yesterday’s triathlon. I noticed that I had I had a bunch of wrinkles in my event issued latex swim cap. Usually, I try to make sure it is not wrinkled but I was a bit rushed getting ready. Any idea how much time the wrinkles might have cost me over 1500 meters? A few seconds would not have a difference yesterday but sometimes they will.
If the top of your head is underwater such that the wrinkles are creating drag, your body position problems are causing far greater issues to your swimming proficiency than anything a few wrinkles might do.
Come again? I would argue that if you are not getting the top of your head at and just below the surface of the water then you have far bigger problems with your stroke and shouldn’t be giving advice to others.
(How is that for raising a thread from the dead?)
Those caps aren’t wrinkled, they’re ribbed, for her pleasure.
If by the top of the head, you mean your forehead, your right. If by the top of the head you mean the very top of the skull…your wrong. I love this semantic cess pool, & I’d kick your ass in the pool any day of the week, so don’t worry about my mechanics.
If youve gotta dig up weeks old threads to be an internet bully, you’re not spending enough time training. Off this board & off to the pool for me!
I just looked at photos from yesterday’s triathlon. I noticed that I had I had a bunch of wrinkles in my event issued latex swim cap. Usually, I try to make sure it is not wrinkled but I was a bit rushed getting ready. Any idea how much time the wrinkles might have cost me over 1500 meters? A few seconds would not have a difference yesterday but sometimes they will.
If the top of your head is underwater such that the wrinkles are creating drag, your body position problems are causing far greater issues to your swimming proficiency than anything a few wrinkles might do.
Come again? I would argue that if you are not getting the top of your head at and just below the surface of the water then you have far bigger problems with your stroke and shouldn’t be giving advice to others.
(How is that for raising a thread from the dead?)
LOL. You keep that head up.