Which gloves and hood for drysuit

Shoreliner11 · Aug 31, 2007

I'm finally getting a drysuit and I'm in need of a new hood and gloves. I've just received a gift cert. for scubatoys so I'm definately going to take my business to them again. I'll be doing quite a bit of rigorous scientific diving in the next couple months so I would like the gloves to be both warm and durable. I also have skinny wrists so a strap on the gloves would help. Does anyone have any experience with the henderson gold core hook and loop gloves? Thanks for the help.

Aaron

bubbleblowindude · Aug 31, 2007

support your local dive shop please

Tassie_Rohan · Aug 31, 2007

How cold is the water you are diving?

I've found a large range in fit for hoods: even within one brand and within one size, so its a matter of trying some on before buying. Make sure you get a hood designed for a drysuit - with a short neck.

RJP · Aug 31, 2007

what kind of drysuit it is? Does it have a "warm neck" like the DUI suits that allow you tuck your hood in? If so I'd go with the DUI 7mm hood. Otherwise BARE makes a nice 7mm hood.

dannobee · Aug 31, 2007

I see you're in WA and you're probably diving cold water. For a hood, I'd call Cricket at Otter Bay and get a 12mm or 14mm custom hood. Give her a call and she'll tell you how to measure it and send it to you. It really does make a difference and those who have them can't recommend them enough.

http://otterbaysuits.com/

With gloves you have plenty of choices, including dry "smurf" type blue gloves, but I've found that the deep see dry comfort gloves work very nicely and keep hands warm because they don't allow water exchange to take place. You can wear them as dry gloves (carefully put them on under your wrist seals), but I just use them as wet gloves.

http://www.deepseeinc.com/products/dry_comfort.html

I've seen that XS Scuba now makes a glove like the dry comfort gloves, and they looked a little more robust than the deep see's, but I haven't tried them yet.

Dan

Shoreliner11 · Aug 31, 2007

bubbleblowindude:
support your local dive shop please

I've supported dive shops in the past, but because I'm on Friday Harbor and I really don't like the local dive shop, I'm going online. And Scubatoys has always offered me great customer service, even more so than many lds's. I also was given a gift cert. for them as well.

Thanks for the info everyone. The drysuit is a USIA Aqua Pro Plus which I'm getting relatively cheap

. I'll be diving in the San Juan Islands all fall, which can get down to mid 40's easily. Anyhow, I'll definately take a look at some hoods before ordering online for the comfort issue. I'd like to still have wet gloves as opposed to the dry ones. I've heard good things about the henderson hyperstretch hoods as far as comfort goes. Anyone have any experience with those?

Aaron

do it easy · Aug 31, 2007

I have two pair of the Henderson drysuit hoods. I dive them in freshwater below the thermocline, so 45f-ish. I did get a Pinnacle Merino hood for ice diving since I was getting brain freeze- I think the Pinnacle is a little better, but not night and day difference.

I have several pairs of Henderson hyperstrech gloves- the 7mm and the 5mm (I think?) - they fit like gloves. I don't use them much as I normally use smurf gloves. I was diving the 5mm last weekend in 45f water- my hands started to get a little chilly, but not cold and numb, although I was diving within NDLs so it's not like I was spending hours at depth.

EDIT: I think my oldest pair of gloves is starting to get holier than thou and the grippy painted stuff is flaking off, but I got my money's worth out of them.

PanamaMike · Aug 31, 2007

Shoreliner11:
I'm finally getting a drysuit and I'm in need of a new hood and gloves[...]

As far as a hood, I use and would recommand the Bare zippered
hood with my DUI suit. Before I got that hood, the part I
dreaded most about suiting up or down was putting the hood on
and off.

Peter_C · Aug 31, 2007

dannobee:
I see you're in WA and you're probably diving cold water. For a hood, I'd call Cricket at Otter Bay and get a 12mm or 14mm custom hood. Give her a call and she'll tell you how to measure it and send it to you. It really does make a difference and those who have them can't recommend them enough.

http://otterbaysuits.com/

There are more of us around here that use the Otter Bay hood than any single other brand. I have a Pinnacle hood and it sucks compared to my Otter Bay 12 mm. Custom fit makes a big difference too.

My friend just started diving with the XS Scuba dry type gloves and he is happy with them.

Matt S. · Aug 31, 2007

My Bare hood is great. Easy to put on, and it zips up tight. Most of my hair comes up dry!

Which gloves and hood for drysuit

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