Need help with gloves

[MaizeNBlue88]

I'm looking at buying an Aqua Lung SolAfx 8/7mm wetsuit as my main piece of exposure protection. Being that I will be mostly diving around the Great Lakes region, that seems to be my best bet as far as wetsuit (or semi-dry if you want to get technical). It has an attached hood which takes care of that issue but now I have to find a pair of gloves. I've looked at the Aqua Lung Aleutian and Thermocline products, as well as products from Henderson. Also, I want them to be 5-finger gloves, 3-finger mitts feel constricting and I just simply don't like them. From experience what would you guys say is the warmest pair of gloves that still allow for a fair amount of dexterity. Obviously thick clunky gloves that I can't grab anything while wearing defeats the purpose of having them. Lastly, no I'm not considering any other wetsuit, this is simply a discussion of gloves.

 

[decompression]

The best pair of wet gloves for warmth and dexterity I've found are the "HEAT" gloves by whites (5 finger). I use the 3mm on dives less than 1 hour in 45deg water. They are as close as you can get to a semi-dry glove. For longer dives, the 5 mm, a bit warmer with a little loss of dexterity.


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[tbone1004]

I disagree with your wetsuit decision, so I'll list it anyway.
4th Element Proteus 7mm Wetsuit | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba
plus
Pinnacle Merino 7mm Zippered Drysuit Hood | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba
It's an extra piece of gear, but it's more versatile, more comfortable, will actually keep you warmer, and higher quality, but what do I know?

Regarding gloves.
I prefer to dive with 3mm gloves and deal with my hands getting cold down to somewhere around 55F. Warm gloves are not dexterous gloves, so if I'm working with students, doing photography etc I'll deal with cold hands for the added dexterity.
4th Element 3mm Glove | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba

5mm is the next step and I'll use those down to realistically 40F
4th Element 5mm Semi Dry Gloves | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba
Your hands are going to get cold in cold water, no glove can stop it from happening, especially 5 fingered gloves, but for anything under an hour or so, these work pretty darn good. 7mm gloves are really no better than lobster claws so I don't bother with them. They are too restricting to really do anything with so you then need to have large bolt snaps, thick d-rings on your rig, etc etc and you have to take your gloves off at the surface for pretty much anything.

Now if you want cheap, you can get just about any gloves you want, but the ones listed above are the best in my experience, but I haven't used them all. Water above 60 I usually just use Mechanix gloves from Lowes or wherever.

 

[Malpaso]

I was wearing Henderson Aqualock 5mm gloves in 43*F water this past weekend and my hands were fine. They have plenty of dexterity as well.

 

[jboneng]

I like the Mares Flexa Fit 5mm gloves, They keeps my hands warm in 4°C (39° F) water and I still have enough dexterity to operate the UW camera.
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[steady1570]

I'd second the 4th element 3mm gloves, kept my hands warm (enough) down to around 8/9C and reasonably dry for a "wet" glove. The 5mm seem ok too for flexibility.

 

[Schrooge]

Another option is the Aqualung Dry Comfort Gloves 4mm.
Gloves we Love: Deep See Dry Comfort Gloves | ScubaGadget – Scuba News Service