drysuit gloves: opinions anyone?

Biodiversity_Guy · Post by **Biodiversity_Guy** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:28 pm

I keep thinking it is time to migrate over to drysuit gloves. I have been using 3mm wet gloves for good dexterity since I use a camera, but as my dives get longer I can see the advantage of drysuit gloves. It seems like there are a fair number of options and different makes and models.

I would love to learn your opinion about which choice you would make if you were getting into a new set of drysuit gloves with what you know now.

Ease of donning (I often solo dive), resulting dexterity, durability, frequency of leaks--those seem to me to be some of the more relevant criteria for making a decision.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help and insights.

trevorrowe · Post by **trevorrowe** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:49 pm

Viking Bayonet Rings. I recommend just the stripped ring kit, no gloves or liners. Go to Seattle marine and fishing supply company and pick up some of their blue or orange pvc gloves for $3. Then pick up a good thick pair of ragwool gloves as liners. They are easy to install and easy to don/doff.

http://comdive.com/ringkits.html

Penopolypants · Post by **Penopolypants** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:08 pm

trevorrowe wrote:Viking Bayonet Rings. I recommend just the stripped ring kit, no gloves or liners. Go to Seattle marine and fishing supply company and pick up some of their blue or orange pvc gloves for $3. Then pick up a good thick pair of ragwool gloves as liners. They are easy to install and easy to don/doff.

http://comdive.com/ringkits.html

+1 for the viking bayonets, for all the reasons above, with all the recommendations above.

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:20 pm

OOP's Revision... original rings were Si Tech not viking
Bare supplied the viking rings with my first dry suit and I never could get them to seal right.
Diving concepts is my choice. I installed them with the wrist seals inside and have never looked back. They are sometimes a pita to get off after a dive but they seal good and don't leak.

I agree with the Atlas gloves that seattle marine sells. You can get them at the marine supply store in Port Townsend or just about any marine or fishing supply place. They are pretty much the glove of choice for most divers. They are cheap and tough as hell. I keep some regular size ones at home and in my RV for all those dirty little jobs that tend to come up. Like emptying my holding tanks, changing my oil, working in the garden. Rag wool or 100% synthetic liners completes my setup.

Nwbrewer · Post by **Nwbrewer** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:50 am

I made my own rings, but I've heard good things about the vikings.

I'm not a fan of the blue gloves, they always felt too stiff to me. I prefer these - http://www.harborfreight.com/rubber-bla ... -4468.html They seem to last forever, I replace mine about once a year when I get a small hole in them, but for $8 it's not a big deal.

Good luck, dry hands are the best!

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:01 am

I use the Viking rings. I like them because they are very easy to mount on the suit, and to remove. In addition, you can swap out a glove in the field in about three minutes, with no tools. I use the orange Atlas gloves, because they fit me better than the blue ones. I probably change my right glove three times a year (never put a hole in the left one, somehow -- anybody need some medium left gloves?) The Viking system is a hazmat system, so once you get the rings locked, they CANNOT pop off, and if you keep the o-ring clean, they almost never leak.

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 8:58 am

i use the si-tech quick glove system and it's been great for me.

http://www.sitech.se/pages/default_uk.a ... ionID=3363

diverden · Post by **diverden** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:32 am

I've used the Viking bayonet system and found them to be pretty difficult to turn to lock in place and to remove. Perhaps lube might have helped that, they were on a suit I was borrowing. The plus side is that they are VERY secure and don't leak until you put a hole in your glove.

On my old suit I had the Viking classic cuffs -- very simple design: 2 parts and it's just a cuff that pinches onto your latex wrist seal. To don the gloves, you just stretch some of the rubber type gloves over the cuff. I found these to be difficult to self don/doff as well but the plus is their simplicity. If you have smaller hands, you might have to go with a glove that's a bit too big for comfort because the smaller gloves make it much harder to stretch over the cuff and more likely to tear during donning. They'll work with a wide variety of gloves as long as the materiel is stretchy.

I bought a new Santi drysuit about 9 months ago and had them install the si-tech quick cuff system that spatman has provided a link for. (The link also shows the Viking classic system: the rubber cuff.) These are my favorite of the three but it did take me a while to get the hang of it because I improperly lubed the system and when donning, would extrude the o-ring. I cleaned that up and installed the thick black gloves with the built in liner and have only had a couple leaks in 100 dives or so. I noticed the leaks right away and just reseated the glove before descending.

They are all very popular and as with all gear, you'll probably get a lot of differing opinions. As far as liners go, I definitely prefer the built in lining -- one less thing to worry about. I've also used separate liners and personally found wool to less comfortable than some poly liners I got at REI. I switched for the same reason you did: longer dives. Before I went dry, my hands got so cold they stopped functioning to the point where I didn't feel safe.

-Dennis

raptor · Post by **raptor** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:29 pm

Si teck just got them a few weeks ago. They are great no tools required go on in ten min and I had never installed any dry glove before. Plus you can use any glove you want. I got the $3 special.

scottsax · Post by **scottsax** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:50 pm

I have the DC rings with the wrist seals intact, and use Deep See neo gloves. Good mobility and they're nice and warm. In the summertime I've forgotten to wear liners and my hands were just fine!

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 3:14 pm

scottsax wrote:I have the DC rings with the wrist seals intact, and use Deep Sea neo gloves. Good mobility and they're nice and warm. In the summertime I've forgotten to wear liners and my hands were just fine!

I use the DC rings and the deep sea gloves as well. The gloves are tough enough that I don't bother with wrist seals. Dexterity and mobility are excellent, IMO. Better than wet gloves, at any rate. And without wrist seals, there's no problem getting air into the gloves, which helps keep your hands warm. And the DC gloves pop on and off very easilly, no problem putting them on or taking them off myself.

Dashrynn · Post by **Dashrynn** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:13 pm

Joshua Smith wrote:
scottsax wrote:I have the DC rings with the wrist seals intact, and use Deep See neo gloves. Good mobility and they're nice and warm. In the summertime I've forgotten to wear liners and my hands were just fine!

I use the DC rings and the deep sea gloves as well. The gloves are tough enough that I don't bother with wrist seals. Dexterity and mobility are excellent, IMO. Better than wet gloves, at any rate. And without wrist seals, there's no problem getting air into the gloves, which helps keep your hands warm. And the DC gloves POP on and off very easilly, no problem putting them on or taking them off myself.

+10000 for easy on and off for dc rings. I've used only 3 types and dc was the best IMOO

trevorrowe · Post by **trevorrowe** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:13 pm

diverden wrote:I've used the Viking bayonet system and found them to be pretty difficult to turn to lock in place and to remove.

When you purchase the viking bayonet ring system you can get them with two different o-rings. I prefer the smaller oring, the larger (thicker?) o-rig is for hazmat work and is a bit stiff. If you order from the comdive guy he gives you the option on which oring to include.

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:44 pm

Joshua Smith wrote:
scottsax wrote:I have the DC rings with the wrist seals intact, and use Deep See neo gloves. Good mobility and they're nice and warm. In the summertime I've forgotten to wear liners and my hands were just fine!

I use the DC rings and the deep sea gloves as well. The gloves are tough enough that I don't bother with wrist seals. Dexterity and mobility are excellent, IMO. Better than wet gloves, at any rate. And without wrist seals, there's no problem getting air into the gloves, which helps keep your hands warm. And the DC gloves POP on and off very easilly, no problem putting them on or taking them off myself.

No problem gettin them on but for some reason my right one has become a pita to break loose. I use the orange atlas gloves and light polar fleece liners (read cheapo store gloves)

airsix · Post by **airsix** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:01 am

I moved from Viking classic to SiTec a while back simply for ease of self donning. The classics where great, but I was always holding up the show. I have the SiTecs installed with their permanent rings which makes them quite compact and seal changes are a 2 minute snap-off/on affair. I love them other than the price but I only cried once. Glad I have them.

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:06 am

airsix wrote:I have the SiTecs installed with their permanent rings which makes them quite compact and seal changes are a 2 minute snap-off/on affair.

permanent rings? is that this system?

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:32 am

I wonder if some of the trouble people have with the Viking system is that they try to close the rings too much -- I was told, when I bought mine, that you only have to rotate the rings about a quarter of an inch to get them to seal, and that's true. If you close them too much, I'll agree that they become very interesting to remove! (That's what teeth are for.)

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:09 am

Joshua Smith wrote:
scottsax wrote:I have the DC rings with the wrist seals intact, and use Deep Sea neo gloves. Good mobility and they're nice and warm. In the summertime I've forgotten to wear liners and my hands were just fine!

I use the DC rings and the deep sea gloves as well.

Triple ditto for DC rings and Deep Sea neoprene gloves! I used to have SI-Tech rings and smurf gloves but I am much happier with the DC system. They can be hard to pop off but they go ON super fast and that is much more important to me. And, I have never had a leak.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:29 am

Don't know if this has been mentioned....

Plus a bunch for the Viking rings.

I use sandblasting gloves that they sell at Harbor Frieght. They are easy to pull on as they have a long sleeve, and I've never had a leak problem. Plus they are a bit beefy and it would take more than a casual scrape to puncture them, yet they work fine for the small work of using my camera. Oh, and they cost Six bucks. And last forever.

inflex · Post by **inflex** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:11 am

This is personal observation, but it seems on just about every trip, someone’s locking ring system floods. Doesn’t matter which brand, the locking systems just seem prone to flooding.

I made my own pullover system. $6 rubber plumbing coupling cut in half, put each half inside a latex wrist seal, and viola, pull-over dry glove system. You can add some vacuum bands for additional security (find the right size that sits perfectly in the groove of the coupling).

Very easy to don/take off, never had a leak, and no impacts to dexterity (really dependent on how much liner you wear underneath). Wrist seal still seals against your wrist in case the system fails.

airsix · Post by **airsix** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:15 pm

spatman wrote:
airsix wrote:I have the SiTecs installed with their permanent rings which makes them quite compact and seal changes are a 2 minute snap-off/on affair.
permanent rings? is that this system?

Yes, the "Quick Cuff" is glued permanently into the cuff of the drysuit sleeve. You can snap seals on and off like a "zip seal", but it doesn't require a proprietary seal. Any old seal will work. If you have the glove-lock system it snaps right onto the quick cuff.

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:19 pm

airsix wrote:Yes, the "Quick Cuff" is glued permanently into the cuff of the drysuit sleeve. You can snap seals on and off like a "zip seal", but it doesn't require a proprietary seal. Any old seal will work. If you have the glove-lock system it snaps right onto the quick cuff.

that looks pretty cool. i'll look into that when i'm ready to upgrade.

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:01 pm

I have the Quick Cuff system on one of my suits and the things always leaked. However, the suit was bought used and for all I know they weren't installed properly.

Has anyone used the UTD dry gloves?

http://utdequipment.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=150

They say that the rings are smaller diameter than other systems which actually sounds really appealing. I wonder who the OEM is?

ktb · Post by **ktb** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:48 pm

inflex wrote:This is personal observation, but it seems on just about every trip, someone’s locking ring system floods. Doesn’t matter which brand, the locking systems just seem prone to flooding.

I made my own pullover system. $6 rubber plumbing coupling cut in half, put each half inside a latex wrist seal, and viola, pull-over dry glove system. You can add some vacuum bands for additional security (find the right size that sits perfectly in the groove of the coupling).

Very easy to don/take off, never had a leak, and no impacts to dexterity (really dependent on how much liner you wear underneath). Wrist seal still seals against your wrist in case the system fails.

That why I've stuck with wet gloves--I always hear about someone's dryglove system leaking. I'm curious about what you've done, but I can't picture it. Can you snap a photo to share?

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:03 pm

i always hear about people always hearing about leaking drygloves.

Northwest Dive Club