Glove Recommendations?

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viper61 - 27 Dec 2007 17:16 GMT

Got a dive in the other day which i'm glad of as I haven't dived for a
while and first time with the new suit. Only thing i'm not 100% with
is my gloves really as I think they are a little too big and don't
keep my hands as warm as I like.

Was thinking of getting some scubapro kevlar semi dry gloves. I do a
lot of wreck diving so kevlar or re-enforced palms would be good but
not essential. Just wondered if anyone had any opinions on any gloves
before I bought some new ones?

Cheers all.

Rob

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Ken - 27 Dec 2007 18:42 GMT

> Got a dive in the other day which i'm glad of as I haven't dived for a
> while and first time with the new suit. Only thing i'm not 100% with
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> not essential. Just wondered if anyone had any opinions on any gloves
> before I bought some new ones?

Yes - try to use as little glove as possible. Unlike hoods where comfort is
paramount, with gloves I'd sacrifice SOME comfort (i.e. cold) for sake of
thinness. I agree kevlar gloves are great for wrecks and other sharp and
injurious surroundings, but you can feel NOTHING through them. The more
protective a glove is (kevlar or thickness of neoprene) the less you can
feel through them, the less you can tell if you've the right bit of your kit
in your hands.

Ken

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Le fantôme du Parc - 30 Dec 2007 20:22 GMT

Ken a écrit :

>> Got a dive in the other day which i'm glad of as I haven't dived for a
>> while and first time with the new suit. Only thing i'm not 100% with
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Ken

I agree 100%
While diving nothing compares to fingertip feeling (+ ears' I should say).
A friend used light silk gloves under a thin pair of diving gloves (not
even 2/3mm thick) and was happy with it in 5/6° C waters.
May sound strange but the best way to keep your hands and feet warm is
to protect your head and avoid having your brain trusting too much blood
(for his own thermical equilibrium) from arms and legs . Remember those
funny night caps from our great grand mothers...
Nice microbubbles to you this New Year's eve.
Olivier

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viper61 - 31 Dec 2007 10:31 GMT

Cheers guys. So you think that maybe trying some 3mm gloves with
perhaps some thin undergloves like silk ones you mentioned as well
might be alright. It'll be mainly for UK so temperatures like you
mentioned aren't far off! I will perhaps give this a go and see how I
get on. I was also considering some mitts for the really cold weather.
Maybe I just need to move to aus ;-)

Cheers guys, have a good new year.

Rob

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Ken - 31 Dec 2007 16:17 GMT

> Cheers guys. So you think that maybe trying some 3mm gloves with
> perhaps some thin undergloves like silk ones you mentioned as well
> might be alright. It'll be mainly for UK so temperatures like you
> mentioned aren't far off! I will perhaps give this a go and see how I
> get on. I was also considering some mitts for the really cold weather.
> Maybe I just need to move to aus ;-)

That's my solution - I do most of my diving in the Red Sea these days! BTW
you must by now have heard / noticed it's a BITCH to get wet neoprene gloves
on for the second / subsequent dives of ther day? You can get these on far
more easily if you wear a pair of the thin "diesel gloves" such as you find
on fuel forecourts. Available cheaply from most chemists. These can also add
some insulation if once on, you tuck them under the wrist seal of the wet or
dry suit. Some air is captured and is soon compressed at minimal depths, but
the glove itself adds another layer between the water and your skin making
any thickness of neoprene glove warmer than if worn alone, without impairing
sensitivity to any appreciable extent.

Ken

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viper61 - 31 Dec 2007 18:44 GMT

Cheers, yeah I use those gloves as it's a nightmare to get them on as
you say when they are wet. Will maybe try that trick next time by
tucking them under the suit wrist seal, but would there not be a
chance of leakage in the suit then as it's not sealing around your
skin? I'll give it a got perhaps next time anyway. You have the right
idea sticking to red sea diving I think ;-) although there are some
excellent sites in the UK and i've just forked out for my new drysuit
so I will justify this cold water diving to myself one way or another
haha.

Cheers.

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Ken - 31 Dec 2007 20:02 GMT

> Cheers, yeah I use those gloves as it's a nightmare to get them on as
> you say when they are wet. Will maybe try that trick next time by
> tucking them under the suit wrist seal, but would there not be a
> chance of leakage in the suit then as it's not sealing around your
> skin?

Like so many things in life, this one too I suspect is totally relative. My
dry suit wrist seals o not grip my wrist tightly - just as well or I'd get
swollen hands with blocked venous drainage! However the seals are effective
over a length of around 4 - 5 inches, and have never leaked. I can afford to
tuck in the plastic glove for around an inch or so, and it makes a
difference. I have only EVER had 3mm neoprene gloves, and have worn them in
Stoney at 5ºC. Sure my hands were cold - but they weren't painfully cold,
and the cold did not distract me at all. Meanwhile 3mm does not remove
sensation to the point you can't tell what you're holding. I doubt a blind
man could read braille with them on, but it left enough feeling through for
me to know whether I was holding the BCD pocket zip toggle, or the dump
valve release etc etc.

> I'll give it a got perhaps next time anyway. You have the right
> idea sticking to red sea diving I think ;-) although there are some
> excellent sites in the UK and i've just forked out for my new drysuit
> so I will justify this cold water diving to myself one way or another
> haha.

Hopefully will be going to Sharm some time Feb. This will be the first time
my wife joins me on a rip to Egypt, so I'm sticking to known territoriy
where I know the lay of the land and hotels to know she'll not be bored
while I'm out on my boat trips. Had she not come my intention was to go
further south for a change, Marsa Ghalib and beyond. Next time then.

K

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Le fantôme du Parc - 31 Dec 2007 22:25 GMT

viper61 a écrit :

> Maybe I just need to move to aus ;-)

We all do.

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weezle.diving - 03 Jan 2008 11:07 GMT

Hi there
I have been using a thin material glove made by(wait for it,don't
laugh)Marigold made in the USA,
I will try to find the material name.
Used under my neoprene glove it works well.
Cheers Paul

Was thinking of getting some scubapro kevlar semi dry gloves. I do a
lot of wreck diving so kevlar or re-enforced palms would be good but
not essential. Just wondered if anyone had any opinions on any gloves
before I bought some new ones?

Cheers all.

Rob

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viper61 - 27 Jan 2008 18:07 GMT

Hey guys.

Bought some new gloves in the end and they're loads better than the
previous ones I had. Still start to get cold by the end of a 25 minute
dive though, for example. And by the time i've left the water my hands
are usually stinging so taking the enjoyment out of it altogether and
making me reluctant to get in for a second dive!

Have decided to get some dry gloves. I know that dexterity will be
comprised etc but can't be less than not being able to move my fingers
at all due to the cold!

The most common ones I have seen are the rubber type ones with the
thinsulate fleece lining. I have however seen on deep blue's website
some neoprene ones with a latex seal which I will probably try as they
will no doubt be a bit more durable than thin rubber ones.

Does anyone have any experience with these or any other opinions on
dry gloves in general? I was also wondering whether to put the seal
for the gloves over my neoprene wrist seals or under? Will latex make
a good seal over the top of neoprene do you think?

Cheers all,

Rob

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