The ability to modify the contact angle (CA) of water on silicon has applications ranging from thermal management of electronics to miniaturized biomedical devices. Here, we report similar to 30 + 1 degrees variation in superhydrophobic CA on silicon nanowires (NWs) coated with few nm of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), using a simple and stable plasma treatment. The variation in CA arises from choosing NWs of different lengths. We characterize the surfaces using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other techniques. Together with CA available from similar treatment on bulk silicon, it is possible to non-lithographically create regions of diverse CA, from similar to 5 to 149 +/- 1 degrees. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.