My ten year son has swimming lessons in a private swimming pool attached to a local school. The pool insists that all swimmers wear a swimming cap for hygiene reasons, regardless of how short their hair may be, much to my son's displeasure.

Initially, my son wore a silicone swimming cap from Zoggs but he found this a real struggle to put on himself and gave him a reason to moan about wearing it on every occasion. I searched for a stretchy alternative and ultimately found this spandex cap also from Zoggs, available from a third party seller on Amazon.

I paid just over £3 including postage back in March but the prices of these caps seems to fluctuate daily, generally somewhere between £3-£5. Bizarrely, the prices seem to change according to colour choice so the more flexible you're able to be on colouring, the more likely it is to find a bargain. Unfortunately, I don't think my son would have been too impressed with a pink or purple cap but the royal blue one I chose is suitably neutral to appeal to a fashion conscious child without embarrassment. The design of the cap is fairly inoffensive, with a single block of colouring and the familiar Zoggs logo positioned at the front.

My main reason for purchasing this cap was so that it would be easy for a child to put on and remove after swimming, without needing any adult assistance. The stretchy material that this is made from is absolutely ideal. Containing 80% nylon and 20% spandex, this has loads of stretch and simply pops into place with no effort whatsoever. It is easy to adjust to the correct position with no problems and my son's hair isn't caught up at all, which was something that he experienced with the tighter fitting silicone cap. Once in position, this spandex cap fits securely and has never become loose or slipped forward to distract my son whilst swimming.

I was a little unsure prior to purchase whether this would be a suitable fit for a ten year old as the cap isn't sold in a junior size. I really needn't have worried as the amount of stretch provided means that the cap adjusts really easily and would be suitable for everybody from very young children, right through to adults. I can easily put this cap on and there is plenty of room to tuck in my long, thick pony tail too, without feeling that my hair is being pulled or restricted. Even my two year old is able to wear this without obstructing his eyes. (His favourite trick is to pull the cap on himself, lay down on the carpet and announce that he is swimming!)

The only drawback to this design is that the fabric is not at all water resistant, let alone waterproof. This material offers no protection whatsoever to hair and certainly doesn't prevent it from getting wet whilst swimming so this cap would not be suitable for that purpose. It is ideal for situations where a swimming cap is compulsory or for swimmers with longer hair simply needing a cap to keep their hair out of the way neatly.

Long term care of the cap is pretty straightforward. The care label does indicate that this should only be washed by hand after use but, in all honesty, I tend to stick this straight in the washing machine along with the towel and trunks. Handwashing is all well and good but I find that it isn't enough to remove the strong smell of chlorine left behind after swimming. I usually put this through a 40 degree cotton wash on a high spin, with no ill effects. This has been worn on a weekly basis since March and is showing no signs of any fading, bobbling or misshaping and the side seams are all still secure. Even the Zoggs logo is still firmly intact, despite my blatant disregard for the washing instructions. After rinsing or machine washing, this dries really quickly too as the fabric is thin without being flimsy.

This backs up my previous experience with the Zoggs brand, having found them to produce excellent quality products that are robust enough to meet the needs of kids undertaking water sports and swimming for pleasure, whilst still offering good value for money.

For a swimming cap this is relatively expensive but I certainly feel that this is well worth the money, given the high quality of the fabric used. If worn for the sole purpose of covering hair and keeping it out of the way whilst swimming, this is an excellent purchase and a design that even very young children will be able to wear with needing adult help. I'd certainly be happy to purchase this style of cap for my younger children and can recommend them to other parents and adult swimmers.