How to Load Smurf Gloves (SHOWA 660, 620, 720) on KUBI Rings

[Deep South Divers]

The subject has come up a lot... So here's how.

Thanks to buddhasummer for sharing these awesome instructions and allowing me to post them here.

Some detail on these gloves: The SHOWA 720 is the latest and greatest "smurf" style glove. It is thinner, stretchier, warmer, and tougher than the 660 or 620. It's also easier to load on rings since it stretches more - so that's the recommended glove to use when looking for a tougher, more trustworthy alternative to latex drygloves. All pictures below show a SHOWA 720.


Step 1

Take the ring as shown in the picture below:

View attachment 507171

Step 2

Grab your cotton backed glove (or acrylic in the case of the 720s) and place the retaining o-ring the one that slips in the empty grove above and place it approximately two inches down from the edge of the cuff of the glove. This will vary depending on the size of the glove.

View attachment 507172

Step 3

Fold over the excess material of the cuff over the o-ring as shown in the attached pictures below:

View attachment 507167

View attachment 507168

Step 4

Grab the glove with both hands and then stuff the ring into the glove. If you have ever changed a motorcycle tire you will understand what I mean. basically take the cuff and place it against the o-ring and use both hands to pull the o-ring(which the glove is still around) up and over the ring. Once it seats in the grove you are pretty much done. See the pics below:

View attachment 507169

View attachment 507170

Step 5

Once the glove is installed how you want it on the ring and adjust properly for length and wrinkles removed. Note: The wrinkles/folds/kinks in the gloves can be a royal pain in the arse. My GF's gloves barely pull over the ring system as her hands are tiny but my xxl hands are a royal pain in the butt sometimes and can take a few minutes to get the gloves situated just right. Anyways you then end up with the glove looking like below. All that is left is to install the protection ring and the securing o-ring, see attached pics:

View attachment 507170

View attachment 507165

View attachment 507166

Now a word on cotton backed (or acrylic backed) gloves, there are two different types:

Type 1;

The cotton (or acrylic) is a continuously knitted or woven glove, meaning no seams, these are ideal as the seams do not interfere with the installation of the o-rings.

Type 2

These are gloves that the cotton backing (or acrylic backing) was originally stitched together and flipped inside out prior to dipping them into the rubbery nitrile (720) or PVC (660 and 620) for coating. The seam will cause leaks on the gloves with these systems. What I do is flip the gloves inside out and where the o-ring should sit, I go get a very sharp set of scissors and cut the seam off the cotton backing right down to the rubbery coating. NO this does not cause the glove to leak, it simply is removing the fabric backing in that area which does not cause a ridge in the gloves over the o-ring.


Hopefully that all made sense.

 

[rhwestfall]

 

[Deep South Divers]

The subject has come up a lot... So here's how.

Thanks to buddhasummer for sharing these awesome instructions and allowing me to post them here.

Some detail on these gloves: The SHOWA 720 is the latest and greatest "smurf" style glove. It is thinner, stretchier, warmer, and tougher than the 660 or 620. It's also easier to load on rings since it stretches more - so that's the recommended glove to use when looking for a tougher, more trustworthy alternative to latex drygloves. All pictures below show a SHOWA 720.


Step 1

Take the ring as shown in the picture below:

Step 2

Grab your cotton backed glove (or acrylic in the case of the 720s) and place the retaining o-ring the one that slips in the empty grove above and place it approximately two inches down from the edge of the cuff of the glove. This will vary depending on the size of the glove.

Step 3

Fold over the excess material of the cuff over the o-ring as shown in the attached pictures below:

Step 4

Grab the glove with both hands and then stuff the ring into the glove. If you have ever changed a motorcycle tire you will understand what I mean. basically take the cuff and place it against the o-ring and use both hands to pull the o-ring(which the glove is still around) up and over the ring. Once it seats in the grove you are pretty much done. See the pics below:

Step 5

Once the glove is installed how you want it on the ring and adjust properly for length and wrinkles removed. Note: The wrinkles/folds/kinks in the gloves can be a royal pain in the arse. My GF's gloves barely pull over the ring system as her hands are tiny but my xxl hands are a royal pain in the butt sometimes and can take a few minutes to get the gloves situated just right. Anyways you then end up with the glove looking like below. All that is left is to install the protection ring and the securing o-ring, see attached pics:

Now a word on cotton backed (or acrylic backed) gloves, there are two different types:

Type 1;

The cotton (or acrylic) is a continuously knitted or woven glove, meaning no seams, these are ideal as the seams do not interfere with the installation of the o-rings.

Type 2

These are gloves that the cotton backing (or acrylic backing) was originally stitched together and flipped inside out prior to dipping them into the rubbery nitrile (720) or PVC (660 and 620) for coating. The seam will cause leaks on the gloves with these systems. What I do is flip the gloves inside out and where the o-ring should sit, I go get a very sharp set of scissors and cut the seam off the cotton backing right down to the rubbery coating. NO this does not cause the glove to leak, it simply is removing the fabric backing in that area which does not cause a ridge in the gloves over the o-ring.


Hopefully that all made sense.

 

[Deep South Divers]

How 'bout now?

I tried editing the original post, but the images only come up as links.

In the last post (a repost of the original), I think that the images probably show up on their own for everyone.

Can y'all verify please?

 

[Deep South Divers]

Annoyingly complicated image handling in this software - especially for 2019. It was forgivable in 2004.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

They do. An easier method, if the photos are online somewhere is to simply copy and paste them.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Great! Thank you.

 

[buddhasummer]

And all credit for the instructions go to Steve Aaen.

 

[ZeroG]

Thanks @Deep South Divers and Steve Aaen, super helpful.

I mounted the 720s per kubi instruction and they leaked on my dive last Saturday. These institutions seem obvious now the we have pictures.

Well done.

 

[Deep South Divers]

And all credit for the instructions go to Steve Aaen.

I'd edit the original post (and the post with the corrected images later) to include a credit to Steve directly, but the software here has disallowed any additional editing on my part - I suppose due to time passed.

So thank you for the proper credit to Steve for the instructions.

Thanks @Deep South Divers and Steve Aaen, super helpful.

I mounted the 720s per kubi instruction and they leaked on my dive last Saturday. These institutions seem obvious now the we have pictures.

Well done.

ZeroG, I assume that the KUBI instructions were to mount them as you'd mount latex gloves, sealing on the inside surface? Yeah, some people have had luck with that - but logic says that the liner will make them leak - or at least weep - and you found that logic is on your side.

So yeah - ya gotta turn the cuffs inside-out so that the sealing surface mating with the ring is the OUTSIDE of the glove - the rubbery part.

Hopefully this will help with the leaks.

Side note about mounting gloves this way and the "pain in the arse" (Steve's words in the instuructions) about smoothing things out and getting all of the wrinkles out: I find it's much easier if the o-ring that goes inside the glove is lubricated with silicone o-ring lube or Christolube. If the o-ring is smooth and shiny, it seems much easier to smooth things out and get all of the wrinkles out of the glove when loading them onto the rings.

Whenever I load a new glove (I have the Waterproof Ultima Dryglove rings instead of the KUBIs, but the premise is the same when loading 720/620/660 gloves), I wash all of the rings and o-rings in Dawn using a toothbrush. Dry and lube the o-rings... Then reassemble and load the gloves onto the rings. I haven't found them to be too bad getting everything even and smooth.