I have recently spoken to a friendly local bad ass diver with some serious DIR background, who apparently eats 200ft wrecks for breakfast, and he argued somewhat convincingly that one day, dry gloves will kill you when they fail while you have a deco obligation. He implied that real divers use wet gloves, and that this knowledge does not come from the Internet, but from decades of actual experience hauling lots of tanks into all kinds of scary places. I wonder why this aspect of equipment configuration has not (to the best of my knowledge) been standardized.
Are dry gloves kosher?
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I know loads of technical and cave divers who wear dry gloves. Some all year round, others just in winter. In fact, i think most of the technical divers i know wear drygloves. The local GUE lot are the blue smurf glove brigade. Although more and more kubis are making their way on the scene.
HungoverDiver
Contributor
Your bad ass diver has poor logic. Yes the dry gloves could fail, but so could any part of the rig, which would make a deco uncomfortable, but not impossible. By his same logic, you should only use a wetsuit because your drysuit seals might fail.
Yes, the dry-gloves do add another fail point, but their benefit outweighs the risk in terms of temperature regulation and circulation.
He may not like them, but that shouldn't discourage you from using them.
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---------- Post added March 13th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ----------
Also if your dry gloves were to fail, you'd notice the leak at the start of your dive and would choose to abort then, before you have any deco obligation.
Sure, they could flood some point during the dive, but only a catastrophic fail would hinder a deco obligation.
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Yes, the dry-gloves do add another fail point, but their benefit outweighs the risk in terms of temperature regulation and circulation.
He may not like them, but that shouldn't discourage you from using them.
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---------- Post added March 13th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ----------
Also if your dry gloves were to fail, you'd notice the leak at the start of your dive and would choose to abort then, before you have any deco obligation.
Sure, they could flood some point during the dive, but only a catastrophic fail would hinder a deco obligation.
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So, what's the actual risk? Is dry glove failure known to happen, or not really? I could imagine that while a neck seal is fairly secure, a dry glove can get punctured by a part of a wreck, pinched by a bolt snap, catch on something during a valve drill, get cut while you deploy a knife or whatever... not sure whether that increased risk is real, or purely theoretical. Also, on a mild tangent... speaking of failure risk, do you think some dry glove types are particularly more tear or puncture-resistant than others?
PfcAJ
Contributor
Dryglove failures for sure happen.
So do neck seals, wrist seals, and zippers too.
So do neck seals, wrist seals, and zippers too.
LiteHedded
Contributor
Just to clarify, you mean latex or silicone seals, or zip gloves, are not DIR, because they are prone to failure, whereas presumably simple neoprene seals are kosher?
PfcAJ
Contributor
OK before a joke gets out of hand and taken as literal, all the seal types are fine. They all have strengths and weaknesses.
I don't use zip seals because I don't need them. If I was traveling more, I would have them. I don't use dry gloves because I don't need them. If I dove cold water, would have them.
Its all about what you need. If I only dove in the Caribbean I wouldn't have a drysuit at all!
I don't use zip seals because I don't need them. If I was traveling more, I would have them. I don't use dry gloves because I don't need them. If I dove cold water, would have them.
Its all about what you need. If I only dove in the Caribbean I wouldn't have a drysuit at all!
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... he's full of sh!t ... look around at what all your local DIR friends are wearing. Many of them have done dives that are significantly more impressive than all those 200-foot wrecks in Lake Washington that your friend apparently eats for breakfast ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
---------- Post added March 13th, 2015 at 02:41 PM ----------
Most common ways a dryglove can fail ... seal failure and puncture. I've had both happen ... at times with some serious deco obligation. It's uncomfortable, but hardly life threatening. And if you've chosen the right kind of liners for your gloves, it's not even all that uncomfortable.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
---------- Post added March 13th, 2015 at 02:45 PM ----------
The problem with zip seals ... with respect to drygloves ... is that it leaves you with two less than optimal options. First option is to use zip gloves ... which stay on the suit all the time, and therefore you put your drygloves on when you get into the suit. That makes gearing up a bit more of an annoyance than if you have the option of gearing up, and then putting on your gloves. The second option is to put standard dryglove rings on the zip seal. This works ... but because of the placement of the seals on the suit it usually means your rings will sit further down on your hands than normal ... which tends to make them get in the way when you're trying to do things with your hands. I had zip seals on my first DUI suit. Sent the suit back and asked them to take them off and put regular seals on the suit. Never regretted that decision.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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