Webbed Gloves

[pasley]

Notice OFF TOPIC for a bit.

... I thought of another use for the darkfins this weekend. I was diving in a current and when we came up we were 1/2 a mile from my boat..... But if I didn't have a pickup man....

For several reasons including:
1. Serious navigational error of the diver
2. strong currents pushing the divers far away from the boat beyond the limits of the current line they have out. You always put out a current lie, especially if leaving he boat unattended don't you?
3. Diver suffers a hit upon surfacing away from the boat creating an emergency.
4. Strong winds or currents causing the anchor to drag, potentially off the ridge it was on an into deep water where the boat then just drifts away.
It is always recommend and much safer and easier to always have someone on the boat at all times who is keeping an eye on the bubbles and tracking the divers and who is able to raise the anchor, use the marine radio to correctly call for help and provide your location (and determine it if your drifting) and operate the boat in an emergency. Taking two teams of divers allows you to take turns diving while leaving a team on the boat to watch your bubbles or a qualified non-diver. Great gloves or not, there are physical limits to how much current you can swim against and how far you can swim before becoming tired. I will grant that for a shorter swim it is nice to have the gloves and leave the boat where it is.

Now back to the topic.

 

[GravyBoat]

Notice OFF TOPIC for a bit.
For several reasons including:
1. Serious navigational error of the diver
2. strong currents pushing the divers far away from the boat beyond the limits of the current line they have out. You always put out a current lie, especially if leaving he boat unattended don't you?
3. Diver suffers a hit upon surfacing away from the boat creating an emergency.
4. Strong winds or currents causing the anchor to drag, potentially off the ridge it was on an into deep water where the boat then just drifts away.
It is always recommend and much safer and easier to always have someone on the boat at all times who is keeping an eye on the bubbles and tracking the divers and who is able to raise the anchor, use the marine radio to correctly call for help and provide your location (and determine it if your drifting) and operate the boat in an emergency. Taking two teams of divers allows you to take turns diving while leaving a team on the boat to watch your bubbles or a qualified non-diver. Great gloves or not, there are physical limits to how much current you can swim against and how far you can swim before becoming tired. I will grant that for a shorter swim it is nice to have the gloves and leave the boat where it is.

Now back to the topic.

Yes, thank you for making sure to point out everything that I didn't do, and by that I mean, we didn't leave the boat unattended, we didn't anchor in strong current or heavy conditions and we didn't have a navigational error. What was the point of this post? I simply said, if I had to make a long surface swim I would rather have them then not have them. I could have made the swim with my BC and Tank on in 30 minutes, or I could have let my buddy hold them and made it in 5 minutes. Please make sure to warn me about holding the hand rail when I go down stairs.

 

[Jason3213]

Darkfin gloves are well made and very user friendly, but very little thermal protection. She used them in 63 degree water saturday and had no complaints.