Lobster Hunting Gloves? California

[Akimbo]

True, i realize this thread is from California but I was 95% sure that @Johnoly would see it and share his knowledge, so no need to starts a new thread.

I try to remember that people from all over the world read these threads, most are not ScubaBoard members, and many are very new to diving. I threw that comment in for their benefit rather than for old salts like you that understand it without a second thought.

 

[happy-diver]

wow




wow

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[BoltSnap]

Kevlar lined dive gloves don't help?

 

[Johnoly]

wow

The problem with the 9011 gloves is the rubber wrinkle coating. It has too many ridges that catch the outward facing barb's on the lobster's antenna. When a bug is in the hole and have you have to hand grab all the way back on his head knuckles to shake him loose, you need a finger material that can "Easily" slide down the antenna and over the barbs so your fingers don't get caught on the barbs. And @BoltSnap , that's why leather or just kevlar knit gloves don't work.

But at the same time, the finger tip material can't be too slippery like glossy stiff rubber,,, so you can grab the knuckles without sliding off. The dull foam Nitrile finger tips from HexArmor has proven to the best "Balance" of slip versus grip when it comes to bug hunting. When we are bug hunting in deep water and quickly losing NDL & gas, we can't waste 3 minutes at a hole working out a bug just to discover it was loaded with eggs. We got 30 seconds tops to grab and go !!

 

[Ana]

QThe problem with the 9011 gloves is the rubber wrinkle coating. It has too many ridges that catch the outward facing barb's on the lobster's antenna. When a bug is in the hole and have you have to hand grab all the way back on his head knuckles to shake him loose, you need a finger material that can "Easily" slide down the antenna and over the barbs so your fingers don't get caught on the barbs. That's why leather or just kevlar knit gloves don't work.

But at the same time, the finger tip material can't be too slippery like glossy stiff rubber,,, so you can grab the knuckles without sliding off. The dull foam Nitrile finger tips from HexArmor has proven to the best "Balance" of slip versus grip when it comes to bug hunting. When we are bug hunting in deep water and quickly losing NDL & gas, we can't waste 3 minutes at a hole working out a bug just to discover it's loaded with eggs. We got 30 seconds tops to grab and go !!

That up there are the ways of a professional bug hunter.

Amateurs like me go looking stuff around and if seeing a bug that wants to commit suicide i render assistance. Most of the times I'm successful but for sure don't take 30 sec. Is more like 3 minutes sometimes more... I see if there are eggs before getting my hands on it, i use a tickle stick, sometimes even take a net... Which by the way takes for ever to get the bug OUT of the net... So yeah efficiency bug hunting is not my priority.

My husband is closer to the 30sec per bug style, but he also has 3 bites from eels in his hands thu the years.

I'm ok only getting small amount of bugs, even if I come back empty handed from a dive I'm perfectly happy.

Ignoring the mini season that we usually get a bunch, regular season in Florida is from August to the end of March , if on each dive I only get a couple and so does my husband, it keeps our freezer with a good supply for just about the whole year.

With that said my fingers now are pretty bloody from getting just 3 yesterday. Leather, nitrile, kevlar or something will be protecting my hands on the next dive for sure.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

 

[Johnoly]

My husband is closer to the 30sec per bug style

Your husband @Zieg is a MUCH BETTER, bug hunter than me and a great guy too !! {always fun to dive with him!}
There are $1500 BC's and $3000 regulators, but I'm a firm believer that if your gear is the best for your type of diving then it's the best for you. And if it doesn't work, then sell it and get what works for just your type of diving and ignore the advertising. Except for my fins, all my gear has been hacked, modified or custom made, slightly or majorly. Buy whatever closely works for you and then improve upon it.

 

[BoltSnap]

@Johnoly

I noticed that on Amazon there are two types of the HexArmor 9000 Series gloves, the 9016 and the 9013 (you mentioned the 9013 in your previous post) with the 9013 more than double the 9016 in price. Is the 9013 the more durable/heavier duty/better than the 9016? (The description of these two items seems to imply that the 9016 is heavier duty but the price seems to suggest the opposite).

 

[Johnoly]

@Johnoly
Is the 9013 the more durable/heavier duty/better than the 9016?

The 9016 is being discontinued so retailers are dumping them cheap. BUT if you can find them buy the 9016 in your size. I bought 5 pairs at a time so I have backup stock. The 9013 is not the thinner foam nitrile, it is a sand filled nitrile. BOTH are great for grip, but the 9013 is a thicker coating and therefore not as flexible as the 9016. Flexibility is not that much different unless you are a photographer with tiny buttons to push.

Funny story is that 4 month ago I met with the HexArmor sales rep at an industrial business and told her how much us spearo's love the 9016's an they should make sales calls on the dive retailers (which they said was a great market they hadn't considered). And then I find out they are killing the 9016's. Dunno?

 

[BoltSnap]

The 9016 is being discontinued so retailers are dumping them cheap. BUT if you can find them buy the 9016 in your size. I bought 5 pairs at a time so I have backup stock. The 9013 is not the thinner foam nitrile, it is a sand filled nitrile. BOTH are great for grip, but the 9013 is a thicker coating and therefore not as flexible as the 9016. Flexibility is not that much different unless you are a photographer with tiny buttons to push.

Funny story is that 4 month ago I met with the HexArmor sales rep at an industrial business and told her how much us spearo's love the 9016's an they should make sales calls on the dive retailers (which they said was a great market they hadn't considered). And then I find out they are killing the 9016's. Dunno?

Sorry, just to make sure that I understand you correctly, the 9016 is the glove to have not because it is cheaper but because it is a "better" glove than the 9013?

 

[Johnoly]

Sorry, just to make sure that I understand you correctly, the 9016 is the glove to have not because it is cheaper but because it is a "better" glove than the 9013?

I think the 9016 is better than the 9013 because the coating material is thinner and more flexible(after 1 dive to break it in). For lobster hunting in tight holes, it can be really tough to wiggle your fingers back inside to get a grip on his head antenna knuckles. Sometimes he's in there so tight I can only get ahold of one knuckle and not both. The 9013 still has the excellent "grip vs slip" down the antenna barbs, but it's just a little stiffer thicker material. I can't find the 9016's instock at the any of the industrial / hospital safety supply websites in size large (just small & XXL) What ever you choose DON'T get the 9010 glossy-shiny thick coating gloves. It's so slippery and stiff and almost impossible to bug hunt or tiny photo button push with.