I have been racing for a long time, and every race my swim cap slides up my head. It’s not the end of the world, but annoying as it takes my goggles with it and they leak, and I have to stop and pull it back down or off. I’ve tried everything I can think of to keep it in place - put goggles on over it, under it, dry hair, wet hair, right before start, well before start, two caps. I have big ears, so I put them under the cap, hoping they will act like an anchor - nope. If I leave my ears out of the cap, it quickly slides up my head. Do I need to resort to some kind of strap?
are you using moisturizer (or sunscreen) on your forehead? serious question - a silicone cap will definitely slide off if so. i always double-cap, latex first, then goggles, then the race-issued silicone crap.
Goggles under the cap (at least the cap riding up won’t cause them to move). Goggles on top don’t help to keep the cap from sliding up the forehead.
Make sure your forehead is as free of potential lubricants (sunscreen, skin oils, moisturizer) as possible.
I’ve had some luck using a 1.5" “headband” made from an old latex cap. The silicone cap then goes on top. The headband helps anchor the silicone cap, and the headband is more resistant to sliding up since (unlike a full cap) it doesn’t hold air that keeps pulling on the cap.
Do you have any product in your hair from the day/night before?
Someone else suggested it but considert wearing goggles under your cap. If your cap slides up, your goggles will be unaffected. And that’s what’s most important.
I used to wear to latex caps for 25+ years but much prefer silicone now. At least for training. The silicone does slide up more but it’s much more comfortable imo.
Lean into being a no cap bandit is my advice. If I have to wear one I wear it over my goggles and then let it slide up. If I can discreetly remove it I just chuck it where it will be picked up by a volunteer (sounds super entitled but not meant to be). If I keep one on I come out of the water with my ears showing. It’s not a bad thing. Colder temperature that way - the ears cool you down a lot
I’ve never had this problem, but I also have a big noggin. I know they make different sized caps for this reason. Have you tried any different sizes? Might help, but I don’t know.
Nope. Many people lose their cap during the swim, and if it comes off during contact/surf/etc. there is no reasonable way to expect you to keep hold of it.
I recall @Monty talking about making sure his cap would come off during warmer swims so as to help with thermoreg.
I typically have that problem with new caps. For races, I rinse the inside of the cap really well and make sure I wear it once before a race day. That seems to resolve most of the issues.
Just to add, an actual sports headband under a cap in colder water works a treat where you don’t get that extra feeling of compression that two caps can give you, yet keeps the brain freeze away.
I’ve had similar experiences. I got tired of trying to keep the cap on my head during the swim in Santa Barbara last year and just let it come off. Somehow, it managed to come off my head without disturbing my goggles (weird).
