Dry gloves?

[Thrillhouse]

I've recently considered investing in some gloves and had the suggestion made by some members of my club to look into dry gloves. The sort our shop sells are about 60 dollars, the sort which have a ring which fits onto the drysuit then has a heavy-duty glove (like a dish glove) slide over top to form a seal.

I dive in Vancouver, BC, so the water is relatively cold. Are dry gloves worth the investment, or should I just go for a nice pair of 5mm neoprene?

 

[OceanMist333]

Personally, I find that dry gloves are still cold. So, I wear 6mm three fingered gloves. Your thumb and pointer fingers have their own compartment while your remaining three fingers are together almost like a mitton. Then I wear a set of wool gloves as a base layer because wool retains a lot of heat. (I wear a wool hat under my hood too).

 

[TSandM]

I got out of the water in the middle of my first winter of PNW diving in tears, because my hands were so cold in my wet gloves. I realized I couldn't keep doing that and something had to change. I went to dry gloves and have never regretted it, nor would I go back; I don't even dive wet gloves in the summer any more.

I use the Viking ring system, which is, in my experience, absolutely the best option out there, in terms of ease of installation, ease of glove replacement, and solidity of the join between glove and suit. It isn't initially cheap, but in the long run, it's worth it in dives not endured with wet hands. I dive an inexpensive polarfleece glove for a liner, and use Atlas gloves for the outer layer, which are easily and inexpensively come by in my local hardware store.

Go for dry gloves. You'll be amazed at what a difference it makes. And dry gloves with five fingers will give you far more dexterity than wet mittens.

 

[DaleC]

I second the dry gloves.

I have a different system from Lynne but have seen the Vikings and think they work better. The snap and twist is simple and they don't seem to suffer from the extruded o ring problem I occasionally have. Those heavy blue replacement gloves can be bought cheaper at places other than LDS's (Stevestons Marine has them for 3.99 for example). I have about 65 dives on one pair so far. Some people use thinner gloves, just pulled airtight over the rings and these can be bought dirt cheap at places like Princess Auto (I don't like the risk of a tear and flooding that they pose though.

Your "need to pee" ratio will decrease with dry gloves as well.

 

[fdog]

Yes. Get dry gloves.

Your hands will be warmer, which makes your feet warmer (odd but true).

Personally I use the SiTec rings but the Vikings are nice too. I'm the same as Lynne, I wear my dry gloves year-round. The only time I dive in a dry suit, with wet gloves, is in the tropics.


All the best, James

 

[C-stone]

Dry gloves for the win.

Just get rings installed on your drysuit and then wear wool gloves with a pair of marigolds stretched over the ring. Just remember to to fold your wrist seals (if neoprene) so you can get air into them.

 

[helimvee]

Another vote for drygloves. I recently purchased a drysuit and stayed with my wetgloves. The first dive was enough to make me order the drygloves (Viking). What a difference in comfort and much easier to put on for the second dive than a dripping wet glove.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Here are a couple dry glove systems with videos showing how to put them on, and how they work

https://www.diverightinscuba.com/ca...ove&osCsid=s5mf9du1g6utjg9pic6hd11tu1&x=0&y=0

 

[Hawkwood]

Dry gloves for the win.

Just get rings installed on your drysuit and then wear wool gloves with a pair of marigolds stretched over the ring. Just remember to to fold your wrist seals (if neoprene) so you can get air into them.

Another vote for rings on the suit with a pair of Marigolds for the gloves (cheap!).

 

[OceanMist333]

You guys are a bunch of babies waaaaa my hands get cold. suck it up!