Arena Smart Silicone Cap

Odd as it may sound, there is a definitely learning curve to this thing. No doubt it varies with hair length to some extent. I personally have mid-butt length hair.Suggestions to the newbie.Check that the silicone cover is the right direction and properly centered in back.Slide the neoprene part as far back as you can and still have it stay. Personally I like my headbands to sit half way on my forehead, but this isn't serving quite the same purpose. You want the neoprene far enough forward to hold your hair back and funnel it into the silicone cap, but you want it farther back so the silicone has more skin to grip on your forehead.Put your hair in a position on your head that you can use your thumb to sort of hold the backmost part of the strap in place/low so that it doesn't pull upward. It's not vital, but you'll avoid a bubble of loose hairs at the back.Like I said, there's a learning curve. When I first started using it, all of my hair would get a little damp and often it would start to slip mid-swim. That progressed into most of my hair staying dry. And now I might get a little moisture close to my scalp, particularly in back, but that's really it, and I swim freestyle for a good hour at a time and fully submerge my head several times, so I'd say that's a pretty good deal.Edit: 1/14/2015 Well, the danged thing ripped. And that is a major let down seeing I've only been using it for about 3 months, granted several times a week. I plan to contact the company and see what the heck man. I had paid $30, and that's just unacceptable. For the current $15, that's still unacceptable.Edit: I never did hear so much as a peep from the company.. Since I had been planning to play around anyhow, just in case, I'll share my current setup.___For starters, I use a modified Infinity Knot (here's a video~[...]~ "JJJ's Figure 8 & Infinity Bun" on youtube if that link goes kerflunk) with no rubber band, and just continue to pull more loop sections outward and against the head until it's about as flat as you can get (hair bulges are a pain with *any* cap). If it's a little loose, 'twist' the whole hodgepodge of it together in whichever direction your hair is twisted and it'll tighten it up.___Then I use what I'm calling a 'divers cap' (because I originally used it for diving to keep my hair out of the way), the lining is 80% polyester, 20% spandex, with an outer shell of 100% polyurethane. It's not at all waterproof, and is only mildly stretchy. I just use it to hold my hair in place, because there is no other swim cap (than these Arena ones) designed to hold a mess of hair in one hand and apply a cap in the other (come on swim scientists!)___So, with both hands free, I use a basic 'long hair' cap that comes down over the ears. I'm using the awesome 'The Friendly Swede' set of two caps.___It's working quite well, just a bit of dampness to the back, possibly even better than the Arena. But definitely without the convenience of a ten second application. :cEdit:___I've been using the Finis Underwater MP3 Player (the pre-Neptune version, which still works like a charm after a few years!), and use a third cap, a plain one with the top cut off so it's like a headband, to keep the player in place. And I've noticed it helps a lot to keep the edges of the second cap from rolling. I've actually managed to get out of the pool after laps and had my hair bone dry, root to tip.I'll be sure to see any questions left as a comment to this review too, in case I can somehow help..

My young daughter is a competitive swimmer so her hair is constantly in chlorinated water. This is the first cap we've found that she says is comfortable and doesn't complain about it pulling her hair. It does seem to take a bit to put it on, as it wants to slip off of her head. I have had to ask another mom hold the back down while I pull the cap over to keep it down around the back hairline.It is fabulously easy for her long hair, as I just throw her braid in the cap and pull it over. I think we just need more practice, since the headband portion is seeping very small amounts of water, just dampening the hair and putting it on is a little different. Overall, I am very satisfied since my kid will actually wear this cap!

I didn't received the waterproof Silicone cap, instead they sent me a fabric one, same style but not waterproof. i kept it just because it keeps my hair in place and it was a good price. I use a regular shower cap on top to keep the water off my hair during my water aerobic class. It does the job, but I will like to reorder the silicone one, the extra headband really helps keep the cap in place while working out.

It's not as easy to put on as it claims because the cap slips up from the back but once it's on it works very well.

Size of this cap runs small. I wear a 38 and have a lot of hair. Nonetheless, the company tried to find an alternative style for me. I appreciated the help.

awesome product. I wish Arena North America had more of the products they have at Arena Europe. They have the coaches bag which u cant get in the states.

I wish they had a larger size. The idea is nice, but it's really small. I can't imagine how this can work for people with really long hair.

I have the older version; I'm still using it after 18 months with no problem. Thought I'd try the heavier one for more waterproof outer layer. It does not work.

Love the idea of this '2-piece' cap and thought it would really ease my swimming pool preparation, but unfortunately it is pretty small for this purpose. I have long hair but not extra curly, or extra quantity, just normal long. And for me, the silicone part is too small. It is very hard to get it on. The textil part got loose up after a year of usage which would be ok since I use it in the pool pretty often. But I expected the 'cap' part to be definitely bigger / better shape to accommodate long hair.

Has cap for almost a year now and I have found it to be the best swim cap I’ve ever used. I swim several times a week and have shoulder length hair -it’s fine but I have a lot of it. Previous caps hurt and pulled my hair out. This is a decent cap. It’s long lasting, comfortable and easy to put on -or take off.

Silicone broke after just two uses - expected more out of the "smart silicone" branding - especially given the higher price point.

The rubber is not very strong it broke after only wearing it 2 times.

This is the best swim cap I've ever had. It actually keeps my hair completely dry!! It's so great I've ordered a second one