Wet Gloves?

[Sounder]

It seems everytime I turn around someone is having trouble with their dry-gloves. Having tried them, I have found I personally much prefer wet gloves. I currently am running a fairly inexpensive pair of wetgloves and am about to upgrade.

I've heard good things about the Northern Diver wet gloves, but what else are people using and liking/disliking out there?

:hello2:

[Penopolypants]

It seems everytime I turn around someone is having trouble with their dry-gloves. Having tried them, I have found I personally much prefer wet gloves. I currently am running a fairly inexpensive pair of wetgloves and am about to upgrade.

I've heard good things about the Northern Diver wet gloves, but what else are people using and liking/disliking out there?

:hello2:

I hate dry gloves but consider them a necessary evil when the water temps are this cold. I use the northern diver gloves when my dry gloves won't cooperate and they simply aren't warm enough for me. Henderson Hyperstretch 7mm gloves are somewhat warmer but they are either too big or too small with no in between for me.

Diver_C has the norther diver dry gloves that are like their wet gloves but with a latex seal at the wrist - no rings. It sounds like they function fine as wet gloves if they leak. Perhaps he will chime in about those.

[Zen Diver]

I've found the High Tide gloves to be very comfy and pretty warm. I wear the 5mm year round and in summer my hands never get cold, in winter only toward the end of the dive (~ an hour).

-Valerie

[jackieg]

High tide 5 mm are amazing. I have tried several "wet" gloves over the years and I really am thrilled with the high tide.

Of course...how simple am I that I get thrilled with wet gloves???? (rhetorical question)

jackie

[Tom Nic]

I use the High Tide wets as well when I want to be a bit warmer than my Northern Diver wet gloves, or when I just want a dry pair instead of the wet cold ones.

The Northern Diver ones have WAY more dexterity, The High Tide ones have a bit more warmth.

[Sounder]

This is very helpful for me, thank you.

[Seaslave]

Hey Doug,
I've always been fond of Scubapro gloves. Normally I dive the SureGrip 3mm. They've been great and last quite a while. They have great dexterity for camera work and stuff. I recently tried there Everflex 3mm gloves and they were nice also, but lack the reinforced fingers and palms so I don't think they'll last as long. I also tried some 5mm SureGrips on my recent ice diving trip, too thick for my tastes and I struggles with my camera buttons but my hands did stay very warm.


Mathue

[nice-diver]

pinnacle makes a very warm soft flexable glove, but its not for climbing over barnacle covered jetties...no protection.

[Diver_C]

Diver_C has the norther diver dry gloves that are like their wet gloves but with a latex seal at the wrist - no rings. It sounds like they function fine as wet gloves if they leak. Perhaps he will chime in about those.

I really do like my Northern Diver neoprene dry gloves. They definitely have the feel of their wet glove, and very nearly as much dexterity. The latex seal allows for quick and easy install on my OS Systems rings (you don't have to put them on rings if you don't want to). Unfortunately, my right glove did have a very slow leak somewhere (it'd take about 20 minutes or so before I started to notice my hand getting damp). It was so slow, never bothered to take out the equalization tube. Meh, no big deal. Penelope is right, if wet, they act just like their wet gloves - your hand is wet, but still warm. Northern Diver is sending me a new pair. The only downside with these gloves, is you can't get them in U.S.. I bought mine on the net from a shop in the UK. Great price though, plus, I bought another pair of their wet gloves while I was ordering, since they were cheap too. Now with two sets of different dry gloves I really like, the NDs and a correct fitting set of blue gloves, I may not switch back to wet gloves for the summer; have great dexterity with both gloves, so why dive wet?

By the way, I started out using the High Tides wet gloves, but they chafed my wrists, and were too thick. I do carry them around as an emergency pair. You may try them if you want. Ryan and Delaina liked their Northern Diver wet gloves even in Iceland's 39F waters.

Good luck Doug!

[Sergeant Pepper]

I had a pair of Norther Diver wet gloves and I did not like them for two reasons. 1.) They were not the warmest gloves I ever wore especially during the winter months. 2.)Not durable at all. I wore them out in a few months. The issue being that when those gloves touch velcro, they just get destroyed. You could probably just be really careful, but I'm not one for careful when gearing up. I like to use my gear, not pamper my gear and I need something that will hold up. But the bottom line.... see problem #1.

[Tom Nic]

Agreed on the Northern Diver gloves.... they are not durable, and not as warm.

However.... they have GREAT dexterity, and are warm enough... and so I love them!

[Sounder]

I had a pair of Norther Diver wet gloves and I did not like them for two reasons. 1.) They were not the warmest gloves I ever wore especially during the winter months. 2.)Not durable at all. I wore them out in a few months. The issue being that when those gloves touch velcro, they just get destroyed. You could probably just be really careful, but I'm not one for careful when gearing up. I like to use my gear, not pamper my gear and I need something that will hold up. But the bottom line.... see problem #1.

Thanks for the heads up - we've got similar styles so it's interesting to hear that.

[John Rawlings]

Wet gloves, smet gloves! Pull your head out of wherever it's at and start the quest for a set of dry gloves that will suit YOU!

Wet gloves are perfectly fine for recreational divers or tech divers that have no intention of ever going into long periods of decompression. However, from talking to you I know that your intention is to train for and start doing deeper dives with extended decompression. Wet gloves will NOT suffice when you are hanging in 45 degree water for over an hour or more. Frozen hands that will not function properly are not something you can safely disregard when making such dives. Hands that are so cold they are like dead clubs will render you incapable of self-rescue and unable to assist your buddy or team.

I know wherof I speak. I used to pride myself on using wet gloves....all of the dry glove guys were wimps....UNTIL I got uncontrollable shakes from the cold and literally had to be hauled up a ladder by our surface support team because my hands were not capable any longer of grasping the boat ladder.

If one type of dry glove doesn't work well for you, get rid of them and try another...then another....and another until you find a type that DOES work. it's not just a matter of comfort, it's a matter of both safety and efficiency.

- John

[Pez7378]

My dry gloves got wet once...................I won't ever go back to wet gloves.

[H20doctor]

I dive with wet hands since 2003... Love it, never cold in my Bare gloves... Real Divers go wet.. Unless your in alaska Then I would get dry gloves for that cold place up north.. HA HA :rr:

[mattwave]

haven't found better wet gloves than the High Tide - the 3.5mm out perform most 5mm, and the 5mm gloves get me through the coldest of Lake deco dives. They really last too.

[Kirby]

Hi all,

Pinacle has a very nice line of cold weather gloves with Merino wool woven into the glove. I have 3mm for summer that work well with water temps around 50 and for below that the new 5 mm are great. All in one Dive in Tacoma carry the full line and they are also available on line. Even the 3 mm keep you much warmer than the high tide 5's, have a pair of those also.

Kirby

[Tom Nic]

Wet gloves are perfectly fine for recreational divers or tech divers that have no intention of ever going into long periods of decompression. However, from talking to you I know that your intention is to train for and start doing deeper dives with extended decompression. Wet gloves will NOT suffice when you are hanging in 45 degree water for over an hour or more. Frozen hands that will not function properly are not something you can safely disregard when making such dives. Hands that are so cold they are like dead clubs will render you incapable of self-rescue and unable to assist your buddy or team.

- John

Excellent point, John... once again underlining that much of equipment choice depends on the kind of diving that you will be doing.

[John Rawlings]

Wet gloves are perfectly fine for recreational divers or tech divers that have no intention of ever going into long periods of decompression. However, from talking to you I know that your intention is to train for and start doing deeper dives with extended decompression. Wet gloves will NOT suffice when you are hanging in 45 degree water for over an hour or more. Frozen hands that will not function properly are not something you can safely disregard when making such dives. Hands that are so cold they are like dead clubs will render you incapable of self-rescue and unable to assist your buddy or team.

- John

Excellent point, John... once again underlining that much of equipment choice depends on the kind of diving that you will be doing.

Thanks, Tom!

I was a bit harsh in my opening remarks and was wondering if my actual point would be lost because of them. I tugged on Sounder's chain a bit because he and I have discussed his ultimate goals in terms of deep decompression diving, but I should have found a more "polished" way of expressing myself.

Wet gloves are absolutely fine for the majority of dive applications, and I second the recommendations for the High Tide wet gloves that people have posted, (I have a pair), but there are many situations for which they are not appropriate. Since those "situations" are what Soubder has set his sights on, I feel that it would behoove him to continue to seek out a dry glove system that works for him.

- John

[Joshua Smith]

I'd agree with you, John, except for one thing: Mattwave does tons of deep deco dives around here with wet gloves. Personally, I'm fine with wetglovesfor dives that are shorter than an hour.....after an hour, they're not OK any more.......

[John Rawlings]

I'd agree with you, John, except for one thing: Mattwave does tons of deep deco dives around here with wet gloves. Personally, I'm fine with wetglovesfor dives that are shorter than an hour.....after an hour, they're not OK any more.......

There are always exceptions based on individual physiology. I think that we can all agree that Mattwave doesn't fit into the category of "ordinary". Couple that with the fact that he does most of those dives with a CCR and is breathing warm, moist gas rather than cold, dry open-circuit gas. Sounder dives exclusively on Open-Circuit and will be impacted by the cold far more than a CCR diver would.

Please re-read what I said:

Wet gloves will NOT suffice when you are hanging in 45 degree water for over an hour or more.

Since that is the type of diving that he has told me he wants to do, I figured why not start preparing for it now by getting his equipment lined up the way he will need it?

If anyone wants to advise Sounder to start making dives here in the PNW with 1 hour + decompression without dry gloves, feel free to do so. It just won't be me.

- John (repeating to self: I will not give any more unasked-for advice....I will not give any more unasked-for advice....)

[Sounder]

This is all great information and I appreciate everyone's responses. I definitely will be looking into both, and want to try them both. From my experience, it just seems like dry glove wearers always seem to be having trouble in one way or another with their gloves. Perhaps it's just the complaining that I pick up on and not the other countless dives where nothing happened - that's a real possibility too.

I really do appreciate all the opinions though, and believe me, I've been taking notes and will be following up with at least a few of you on your thoughts.

Yes, I'm interested in getting into deep deco diving someday... definitely. Whether that's on OC or CCR is still to be determined but for now OC is definitely the route I'm choosing. Both the jump to CCR and into deep deco diving will come once little ones are born and past the infant stage.

Something else I'm noticing when I have the opportunity to borrow a scooter is that my driving hand (right hand) gets cooler than my light hand because it's tighter on the neoprene and is pushing through the cold harder than the light hand. That's another consideration I'm looking at when weighing the merits of glove options right now as ordering my own x-scooter is nearing reality.

Thank you again everyone! Please keep any and all opinions coming!!

[Pez7378]

John,

That "unsolicited" advice may go unheeded by the OP, or argued by others, but some of us CAN benefit from it. Sounder asked what people like, and dislike about their wet glove choices. Some of us are stating that they dislike the fact that wet gloves don't keep them warm.

And for the record, I've never had a problem with my Dry glove system that I didn't create, and I've never called a dive because of a leaking glove system..............yet. And from what I'm seeing, and hearing, the Viking Bayonets are the best design out there. For a guy who buys a new Salvo every year, you'd think he could cycle through a few dry glove systems until he found the right fit......

[CaptnJack]

Yes, I'm interested in getting into deep deco diving someday... definitely. Whether that's on OC or CCR is still to be determined but for now OC is definitely the route I'm choosing. Both the jump to CCR and into deep deco diving will come once little ones are born and past the infant stage.

>1hr deco is a ways off. Typical entry level deco dives end up with run times similar to recreational dives (50-70mins). I think you should still try and find a dry glove that works for you, but I think you have a few years to experiment (and finally get sick of wet gloves )

[Sounder]

John,

That "unsolicited" advice may go unheeded by the OP, or argued by others, but some of us CAN benefit from it. Sounder asked what people like, and dislike about their wet glove choices. Some of us are stating that they dislike the fact that wet gloves don't keep them warm.

And for the record, I've never had a problem with my Dry glove system that I didn't create, and I've never called a dive because of a leaking glove system..............yet. And from what I'm seeing, and hearing, the Viking Bayonets are the best design out there. For a guy who buys a new Salvo every year, you'd think he could cycle through a few dry glove systems until he found the right fit......

Fair ball.

I did, in fact, ask about wet glove options... but it only makes sense that some people's favorite wet gloves are "D) None of the above." I hadn't really considered dry gloves until today as I'd only heard stories of how they were problematic. I do highly respect the opinions which have been shared though so who am I to say that it's not a better option for me without at least trying them?!

You WOULD think that I would have had several tries at different glove systems by now... perhaps I'm just a late glove-bloomer. I've just been skiddish in trying them. I'm also absolutely in LOVE with my drysuit but it's a bit different in the "cuff" than traditional drysuits so finding a dry-glove system that works may pose a challenge too... but I've never been one to be discouraged by a little challenge!!

(sigh) So much yet to buy... dry gloves, more tank bands and manifolds (more twins!!), an x-scooter or two, more training, a CCR (down the road), and LOTS and LOTS of baby sh*t (talk about expensive!!).

...and Richard is absolutely correct - I'll be doing Tech 1 level deco for QUITE a while. Between life, school, and babies, tech 1 will definitely suffice for a long time. AND, Richard's yet another opinion I highly value and respect voting for dry gloves.