Just did my drysuit speciality but my hands got cold

[dspeed]

If you wind up buying a dry suit, look into getting zip seals that you can change out wrist seals and dry gloves before you complete the purchase. They can prove expensive to add later and you will probably need to send the suit off to have them added. If you are just looking at thicker neoprene gloves, I strongly recommend that you get a good fit and make sure you don't lose too much dexterity. Also, keep in mind how the gloves will mate up with the wrist seal on the dry suit, some gloves come too far up the arm to work well with dry suits.

 

[nimoh]

the great thing about dry gloves is that even if your hands do get cold, you only need to raise them up to allow gas from your core to flow up the sleeves and warm up your hands.

 

[Imla]

I must be the only one who has sworn off drygloves. I've tried them, but the waterpressure on the outside of the gloves pinch my fingers so they get cold. The only gloves I can wear are a special brand of 5mm Semidry 5 finger gloves. They are comfortable ofr about 45min i 4C water.

 

[Peter_C]

If you wind up buying a dry suit, look into getting zip seals that you can change out wrist seals and dry gloves before you complete the purchase.

Zips work if you buy a DUI, but there are lots of other brands available for less money that work just as well. Si_Tech makes systems that can be used to change seals in the field for reasonable cheap, and the replacement seals are super cheap. They are what I put onto my suit.

I must be the only one who has sworn off drygloves. I've tried them, but the waterpressure on the outside of the gloves pinch my fingers so they get cold.

Did you put something in the drysuit seals to equalize them? I use my thumbloops, which allows me to pull them back in case of a leak. Others use straw or cave line. If you don't equalize them while diving deeper then yes you will experience squeeze.

 

[Imla]

Yes i Did Peter. I had thick gloves under the seals. They were not too tight on land... and very comfortable in the snow
However... I am usually pretty horizontal... which means my hands are usually always below backlevel. This again means that I need to lift my arms above head level to get air into them.
And it does look slightly silly looking like you're encountering a bankrobber just because you're wearing dry gloves.

(If it makes any sense... I normally never wear gloves on the surface, for just the same reason. I wear mittens. I get cold with gloves. My semidry gloves though, are so soft, that there is virtually no pressure on my hands.)

 

[Peter_C]

Hey I resemble that being robbed remark Letting the warm air in, sure feels good.

I will do what ever it takes to stay warm:cheerleader:

We use this right after the shark sign, so the dive buddies don't freak out thinking Great White when it is only a Leopard shark.

Always a good time under water :yelclap:

Oh yeah, start get cold shake, it baby!

Imla, your water is probably much colder than ours.

 

[spectrum]

I rented. Well I'm doing my training at cost rate with a instructor friend, so he lent me his. It was too big, but it didn't leak...will be doing my AOW and rescue in a wet suit...but may chicken out and rent a dry...!!!
Need to buy warm gloves, the ones I used were thin ones, so maybe that's why...will look into dry gloves

You definitely need to upgrade your gloves.

You can of course go dry, that's probably the ultimate solution if you want to spend the $$ and deal with it just yet.

Most general cold water diving can be enjoyed in good wet gloves. We do fine in our water using 5mm gauntlet gloves or the Scubapro drysuit gloves that have a skin seal that lays over the drysuit wrist seals. You must have good well glued gloves, one bad spot can feel like pins and needles. The 3 finger mits are an option some use but i have not had the need and have preferred to retain 5 finger dexterity. I'll admit I don't get out in the cold water like I used to but I've been there and done that.

Pete

 

[Imla]

Imla, your water is probably much colder than ours.

I wouldn't know about your water... but "mine" is somewhere between Slush in the surface and 8C at 30... Ends up beeing lots of deep dives during winter...

 

[mikecotrone]

Hey Hey!
After 4 years since my open water cert, I did my drysuit orientation in a quarry! So fun! Must admit, I was scared, it was very green .
Just thought I'd share . Doing my advanced at the end of the month.
It was well cold...! Especially for my hands, any ideas on how to keep them warmer in cold water diving?

Cheers
K

Kellykins,

My dive parter and I dive in our local quarry during our wintertime and it gets to 37F in which I dive dry with Si-Tech dry gloves. I can run reels, shoot a bag, take on/off my 40, etc. My dive partner dives 8mm with a heated vest and loves that fine. He also uses the lobster claw wet mits which he loves and it does keep him warm. He does seem much colder than I during our SIT and I noticed he can't do much at depth with those type of gloves.

It depends on what type of diving and dexterity you are looking to have at depth when selecting your glove types. Personally when I try wet gloves with my dry suit it is a huge difference in the negative for me. My hands get cold very quickly wet vs. dry gloves. I also wear a very thick REI wool socks which makes a huge difference for my toes

Good luck and dry diving is a blast! Also in my recent experiences my dry suit hose had popped off my chest inflator valve during my entry. If I had the wet gloves on or lobster claw mits I am sure it would have been much more challenging to put the host back on.

Good luck and there are a ton of great divers here on SB that have all kinds of varying experiences.

 

[Rhino2]

Whatever gloves you decide to try for your AOW, my advice is to get them or something similar as soon as you can or at least a week in advance. To develop dexterity and familiarity with them, just wear the gloves while you perform everyday tasks -- brushing teeth, combing hair, making a sandwich, whatever. First, it's fun to realize all the separate steps it takes to complete a simple task. Second, your fingers and your mind will get used to the gloves. And, finally, you will become confident that you can do just about anything with gloves on, and definitely everything you have, need, or want to on a dive. Safe diving.