5-finger gloves: not recommended for winter diving

[Storker]

Today I couldn't resist the urge anymore. After some pretty cold winter months, the outside temps here have risen to the melting point of water, and I've been pacing the floor wanting to get into the water again. Sure, diving in seriously sub-zero temps ain't that bad, cause the water is bearable with enough padding under the drysuit. Doffing the gear, however... Don't you just hate it when the laces on your rockboots have frozen solid, and you can't for your life manage to untie them? Well, I do. After one of those experiences, I decided that I prefer to dive when the air temp ain't too far below zero.

Now, since it was almost spring and quite mild and nice, I decided to try my new wet gloves. You see, I try to take pictures down there, and operating a small compact camera housing with buttons clearly made for tropical water temperatures and non-gloved, nimble and narrow ladies' fingers while you're wearing 6mm three-finger mittens is... challenging. So, I went and bought myself a pair of five-finger gloves. No, not wet gloves. Semi-dry. As if that made a difference. Hah. Yes, I can hear you. Dry gloves, you say. Sure, 'cept my suit has neoprene cuffs. If you know of any dry gloves that work with neoprene cuffs, please let me know.

But I digress. Back to this morning. The weather is nice. Remarkably nice, since yesterday we had the mother of all winter storms. Or maybe the grandmother. Ferries harbored, mountain roads closed, the works. But today, only a light breeze and even a small patch of blue sky. So, we pack up, me and Jr. And wifey (yes, dear, I love you!), gently shanghaied to count bubbles and wait patiently in the nice zero degree snowfall until we surface and give the "we're OK, don't call 112*)" sign. So, we drive down and dress up. Me, I put on my new, very smooth, very elastic, nice 5-finger gloves. Semi-dry, remember? And it's really nice to not try to operate stuff with mittens. Until we get in the water. Sure, it's cold at the surface. And those gloves are... not-even-semi dry. But let's just get beneath the thermocline, and it's gonna be real toasty, right? Wrong. Did I mention we had a storm yesterday? Well, there was no friggin' thermocline. At 18m, it's one. frickin'. degree. warmer. than on the surface. And my semi-dry gloves are definitely more semi than dry.

After half an hour, I can't feel my fingers any more. I know they're supposed to be there, I can even see them. I assume it's some kind of hallucination. We ascend to the safety stop, where I decide to practice shooting my DSMB, which I bought last fall and have shot only once before. With... not very convincing results. I manage to unpack it from the small pouch, but I just can't clip the d*mned pouch to my BCD. My fingers sort of won't listen to me. D*mned fingers. I give the pouch to Jr. and manage to shoot the DSMB in a slightly less unconvincing manner than the first time. Yay! Good work! We surface, inflate our BCDs, give the OK sign to wifey who's sitting patiently on the quay (yes, dear, I really love you!) and paddle to the shore. As we stagger up, I tell Jr. to get into the water again. I'm sure I've left my fingers somewhere out there, would you do your old dad a service and go look for them?

He won't. I wonder - again - what's the matter with today's youth. But, after taking off my nice, new semi-dry (hah!) gloves, I see to my surprise that my fingers are still there. Wow. I dry them off and get a cup of hot tea from my wife (yes dear, I love you very, very much!). I start thawing my fingers on the cup while sipping slowly and thinking that two tablespoons of sugar would have been nice in the cup (but I still love you, dear!) As my fingers slowly thaw I start to feel them. And boy, do I feel them! Have you ever been really, really, really(!) cold? Not? Well, if you get really, really, really(!) cold fingers (or toes), you'll probably prefer having those fingers (or toes) slowly ground in a red-hot meat grinder rather than feeling them thaw up. Man, I can't remember having frozen nails like that since I was a kid. Any Canadians, Alaskans or fellow Scandinavians reading this probably know what I'm talking about. If your idea of "cold" is "I think I might better put on long pants and a sweatshirt", you don't know what you've been missing. And good on you. It took about half an hour and sixteen dozen of loud swear words, but my fingers finally thawed up.


Next time, I'm gonna wear my mittens. 6 mils, three fingers. Them gloves ain't comin' with me until we've got water temps in the double digits. Just sayin'.



*) You 'murricans call 911, we Euros call 112. Same thing, but different numbers

 

[DaleC]

Your post made me smile.

Most divers I know wear dry gloves in the winter though a few pretend they prefer 5 finger wetsuit ones. I also have a pair of lobster gloves.
They make for great moose imitations:



I bought a pair of 5 finger semi dry Bare gloves (well, it has a tight neoprene cuff anyway) for the summer, which work well enough (the stitching quality sucks though). I would not wear them in the winter; except perhaps, under my dry gloves



I generally gauge water temps by how much it hurts my cheeks. Passing through a nice lake thermocline Below 37F it starts biting.

 

[Ken T]

I've read that some people install (glue?) latex seals over the neoprene ones, or perhaps just a ring of latex and then use regular dry suit glove systems in that manner.

 

[Glenn08]

A hot cup of comsomme soup is also nice after a dive.

 

[jIM STEELE]

skin in 2or3 finger mitts are warmer less surface area

 

[TSandM]

I have a vague memory that Diving Concepts has a dry glove system that works with neoprene seals.

My hat is off to you. I dove wet gloves through my certification summer, and into the fall . . . but when the water temp fell to about 8C, I did a dive where I got out of the water and ran to the bathroom, crying, to put my hands under the "warm" (meaning not 46 degree) water, to thaw them out. I swore right there that if I couldn't get my hands warmer than that, I wasn't diving in the wintertime!

 

[covediver]

not sure if this would work with a five finger glove, but up here many of us use the handwarmer packets in our rubber gloves for a little added warmth. I also place one down in the neprene sock. for me, it has made a difference in 36degree water with air temps in the single digit.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

After a year and a half of enduring wet gloves and claiming that they weren't that bad during the winter season, last month I tried dry gloves for the first time. Try them. You won't regret it. Sometimes they're almost as cold as wet gloves, but it's a dry, tolerable cold and it goes away after you surface. Usually, it's much better. Plus I hate calling a dive because my fingers are cold.

With wet gloves, just bring a thermos or cooler of hot water for between dives.

 

[Storker]

Your post made me smile.

Well, when you make a bad judgment call, you can either frown, or you can laugh. In retrospect, the idea of trying out the 5-fingers in 4-5C water was pretty darned stoopid, so why not look at the bright side?

Most divers I know wear dry gloves in the winter though a few pretend they prefer 5 finger wetsuit ones.

They. prefer. 5-finger. wet??? Are they into BDSM as well?

I also have a pair of lobster gloves.
They make for great moose imitations:

View attachment 149195

I didn't think of using them for that. Good idea, 'cept if I'm diving an inland lake in September/October. That time of the year, I don't want to even remotely resemble a moose.

skin in 2or3 finger mitts are warmer less surface area

Boy, do I know. Now, at least. My other gloves are 3-finger Mares 6.5mm, and they kept me nice and toasty in December, with 4C on the surface, 8C below the thermocline and -7C in the air. That's the ones I'll be using until the water temp is up into double digit degrees C.

After a year and a half of enduring wet gloves and claiming that they weren't that bad during the winter season, last month I tried dry gloves for the first time. Try them. You won't regret it. Sometimes they're almost as cold as wet gloves, but it's a dry, tolerable cold and it goes away after you surface.

I've heard stories of leaking dry gloves. Those who experience that, claim that they'd rather prefer good, thick wet gloves over leaking dry gloves. Anyway, I can't afford installing a ring system or changing the cuffs on my suit right now, so, I'm putting dry gloves on my long-term wishlist and going back to the 3-finger mitts for now.

With wet gloves, just bring a thermos or cooler of hot water for between dives.

I do. And a towel

 

[Imla]

Sorry Storker... I really do not share your sentiment
I have tried the dry-gloves several times, and ALWAYS end up with those "meat-grinder" fingers.
Yup.. sure... It ain't completely pain-free to dive 5-finger "semi"-dry gloves (Yup... HAHA...) but I still prefer it over dry-gloves.

(And I DO dive all year round in our wonderful Oslofjord... 28F for 45mins... Sure... )