Howdee.
I had been agonizing over buying dry gloves, mainly because I had read that they can be difficult to install. After a winter of diving wet gloves in 37 degree water, I decided it was time to try dry gloves.
So, I Pm'd Bob3, had him send me a set of Viking Bayonet Rings and I was well on my way. They arrived a few days later, and I set to the arduous task of installing the damnable things. I agonized over them for an hour, then finally had an "Eureka" moment. After that, I finished the installation in about 3 minutes.
So, for those of you who are interested, here's a quick howto guide with pikturez!
I installed these on my Bare XCD2 Suit, which has latex seals. I also chose to use the very inexpensive Atlas glove setup instead of the MUCH more expensive Viking gloves. Installation will vary based on what you have.
Let's get started!
Here's what comes in the package... You get two of each colored ring, which the instruction booklet says correspond to various different types of Viking suits. They claim that you use the blue ring for non-Viking suits. Uh-Huh. You also get a sets of large bayonet rings (these mount to the suit side), and the smaller set that mounts to the gloves. They even throw in a little tube of grease for the o-rings. Oh, and a confusing manual.
Ya know... forget the manual. If you follow it, you'll get nowhere. Chuck it in the trash and don't look back.
Okay, with that resolved. Bust out the gloves! These are standard issue $3 Atlas 660 gloves. Any marine supply store should carry them, and they're tough as nails. The liners are another $1 or so. Compare these bad boys to the $80 version dive shops try to sell, and you'll notice they're the exact same thing. Don't get had.
Gloves in hand, we need the rings. You'll need a blue ring and one of the smaller bayonet rings.
Check out the bayonet ring. You'll notice that it has two very different sides - the bayonet lug side obviously interfaces with the other bayonet ring, and the opposite side has a large inner surface that will form the seal on the dry glove.
Take the blue ring, and stuff it inside of the glove. Get it to stand upright, about 1" from the end of the glove.
Then tuck the extra glove material inside. This will help support the ring as you press it into the bayonet ring.
Line up the bayonet lug with the glove's thumb and press the gloves into the ring. This is easiest if you grab the glove side with both hands, using 4 fingers on each hand to press the glove into the bayonet ring while pushing against the ring with your thumbs. This is difficult to photograph
When you're done, the glove should look like this:
Perdy.
I had been agonizing over buying dry gloves, mainly because I had read that they can be difficult to install. After a winter of diving wet gloves in 37 degree water, I decided it was time to try dry gloves.
So, I Pm'd Bob3, had him send me a set of Viking Bayonet Rings and I was well on my way. They arrived a few days later, and I set to the arduous task of installing the damnable things. I agonized over them for an hour, then finally had an "Eureka" moment. After that, I finished the installation in about 3 minutes.
So, for those of you who are interested, here's a quick howto guide with pikturez!
I installed these on my Bare XCD2 Suit, which has latex seals. I also chose to use the very inexpensive Atlas glove setup instead of the MUCH more expensive Viking gloves. Installation will vary based on what you have.
Let's get started!
Here's what comes in the package... You get two of each colored ring, which the instruction booklet says correspond to various different types of Viking suits. They claim that you use the blue ring for non-Viking suits. Uh-Huh. You also get a sets of large bayonet rings (these mount to the suit side), and the smaller set that mounts to the gloves. They even throw in a little tube of grease for the o-rings. Oh, and a confusing manual.
Ya know... forget the manual. If you follow it, you'll get nowhere. Chuck it in the trash and don't look back.
Okay, with that resolved. Bust out the gloves! These are standard issue $3 Atlas 660 gloves. Any marine supply store should carry them, and they're tough as nails. The liners are another $1 or so. Compare these bad boys to the $80 version dive shops try to sell, and you'll notice they're the exact same thing. Don't get had.
Gloves in hand, we need the rings. You'll need a blue ring and one of the smaller bayonet rings.
Check out the bayonet ring. You'll notice that it has two very different sides - the bayonet lug side obviously interfaces with the other bayonet ring, and the opposite side has a large inner surface that will form the seal on the dry glove.
Take the blue ring, and stuff it inside of the glove. Get it to stand upright, about 1" from the end of the glove.
Then tuck the extra glove material inside. This will help support the ring as you press it into the bayonet ring.
Line up the bayonet lug with the glove's thumb and press the gloves into the ring. This is easiest if you grab the glove side with both hands, using 4 fingers on each hand to press the glove into the bayonet ring while pushing against the ring with your thumbs. This is difficult to photograph
When you're done, the glove should look like this:
Perdy.
