Bake Even Strips??

Happy Wednesday Everyone!  

Has anyone ever tried the 'bake even strips' or created their own at-home version? If so, what was your experience like?  Lately, whenever I bake my cakes I seem to get a dome shape in the middle. Then when I level the cake out it's just really short.  :-/  I wonder if I am doing something wrong...  Has this happened to you before?

Over the past few days I have been doing a few searches for online reviews on these bake even strips.  Let me just say, I am more confused than when I started my search.  The reviews were rather mixed. Some people liked the bake even strips, others not so much. I also noticed that some people were using towels and made their own strips.  

Sigh...now do you see my dilemma?  I am baking a cake for my final cake class and I want it to be perfect and rise properly.  Part of me wants to give these cake strips a try, as I am starting to see that baking is all about trail and error.  

What do you think? Have you ever used bake even strips before? ...