Operating Equipment with Thick Gloves

[rakpix]

Just got my 5mm OMS ergo kevlar-lined gloves and DAMN they're thick. Seem thicker than my 5mm fullsuit, at least. Anyway, I do fine operating my reg knob & venturi switch, BC, and light. But I'm having serious difficulties clipping & unclipping my SPG. Sure, I can crane my neck to look at it, but that throws my trim off. Any suggestions? How do you all handle this in thick wet / dry gloves?

 

[fppf]

What size bolt snaps are you using?
I use larger snaps with thicker gloves.

 

[wadedeeper]

How about using a retractor? that might help to avoid the clipping and unclipping.

 

[Thalassamania]

Try larger clips, or even a spinnaker shackle.

 

[Matt S.]

I use the thinnest gloves that I can get away with. I would prefer to have cool hands with good dexterity rather than toasty warm hands that can't feel anything. It takes some experimenting to find the right gear. As an example, sometimes I will use 3mm "tropical" gloves in 55F water. When the rest of you is kept warm in a drysuit, it's not bad. YMMV.

Also, experiment with the position of your rings. I found that moving my D-rings just an inch made a big difference in how easy it was to reach them.

Maybe try the Deep See "Dry Comfort" gloves.

Deep See: Part of the Aqua Lung Family of Brands

(That's actually what I use on my dry glove rings, with a thin knit or silk liner.)

 

[fppf]

You must not be doing very long dives.
50 degree water with 5mm gloves and an hour dive less then 30 feet deep my hands hurt.

Wear proper gloves, and just adjust your equipment for them. I shoot a dSLR with smurf gloves without a problem.

 

[Matt S.]

I don't know what's long to you, but my dives are usually about 45 minutes. If I am wearing thin gloves in 55F water, at the end of the dive my hands are definitely cool, but not uncomfortable. If I was doing long dives or several cold water dives in a day, I wouldn't use the wet gloves.

All I'm really saying is that the OP might not actually need the 5mm gloves, at least on a one-dive day. You never know til you try. Some people are like that.

 

[amascuba]

I'm either bare handed, 1mm gloves purely for abrasion protection, or dry gloves.

If you're having problems handling equipment in your gloves, then do a practice dive wearing your gloves where all you do is clip, unclip, and handle equipment. I know when I start wearing dry gloves again, it usually takes a dive or so until I'm clipping and unclipping gear efficiently.

 

[Becca_007]

I have 5mm gloves and my hands were so bad after a 30 minute dive in 48F water that it was almost impossible to grip and get out of my semi-dry suit. Don't know if I'm turning into more of a wimp or what, but cold is not good.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Just got my 5mm OMS ergo kevlar-lined gloves and DAMN they're thick. Seem thicker than my 5mm fullsuit, at least. Anyway, I do fine operating my reg knob & venturi switch, BC, and light. But I'm having serious difficulties clipping & unclipping my SPG. Sure, I can crane my neck to look at it, but that throws my trim off. Any suggestions? How do you all handle this in thick wet / dry gloves?

As others have suggested, get a larger bolt-snap. That would help immensely.

I don't know how many dives you've done using your rig. As others have mentioned, you should optimize positioning of the left waist D-ring. Practice clipping/unclipping the SPG on dry land. Once underwater, you should be able to do it without thinking about it much.

Prior to transitioning to drygloves, I was wearing 5mm wetsuit gloves. They were thick and didn't prevent my hands from getting cold during the course of the dive. Near the end of a 1-1.5 hr. dive in water temps in the low 50s (°F), my hands got so cold that I lost a significant amount of dexterity. Operating small camera buttons became very difficult. Now I wear drygloves. My hands no longer get cold, and I can push the smallest of the camera buttons with ease. I don't know why I waited so long before trying them. I've used both the blue "Smurf" gloves (Atlas 660 triple-dipped) and the orange gloves (Atlas 620 double-dipped). The orange gloves work a lot better for me. They provide much more "feel" and are easier to invert post-dive for drying.