DUI Ring Gloves

[tstormdiver]

Hey all, just wanted to see if many had any experience with DUI's ring glove system (seems to snap together then has a screw- on part that secures the ring). My instructor used them last weekend during my Adv. Nitrox course for the first time & seemed pleased. He said that they are kind of bulky & hard to handle out of the water, but once in & a little squeeze sets in, they are very dexterous. Can anyone else confirm this? It looks like it is definitely a 2 man job to put them on. What are the other pro's & con's of the gloves. I used regular wet gloves & my hands basically froze & cramped up from the cold. Also any ideas as to what size I need to look at. I'm female, but have very wide hands fro the size of my fingers which are very short. My hands are not huge by any means (actually rather small), but they are short & wide. Normally to have a glove that's wide enough for my hands, I have to have fingers that extend a ways beyond my finger tips. any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[HiDefPics]

I think you're referring to DUI's Zip Seal system. I have these on my suit and I think they're are fantastic. To use them your suit has to be altered to have one half the Zip Seal system on the cuff. Then you have the option of using regular latex seals or a variety of gloves. The nice thing is the two parts (wrist and seal/glove) fit together like a heavy duty zip loc bag. They are very easy to change by yourself. You can put the gloves on your suit before you get into the suit, then just slide your hands in.

Not sure how to advise you on size ... DUI - ZipSeals - replacement seals for your dry suit

 

[tstormdiver]

No, these are not zip seals. My instructor refuses to use zip seals,.. he feels there are too many potential failure points with them. They are definately a ring system. It has an inner ring that goes under the latex sea inside the sleeve of the drysuitl, a glove liner, glove (smurf blue) & an outer ring that snaps over the inner ring then a tightening nut (? for lack of a better term) that screws on on the outside to secure the ring that holds the glove.

From their web site it looks like it is called the SI 5 Glove system.

 

[Underwater Ogre]

I haven't used that system and was also wondering if it is worth the money? Most of my buddies and myself us either poor mans cuffs or Viking cuffs and marigolds which seems to do the job. I have only seen a few gloves blow off during entry...closed exhaust valve and a bit too much air in the suit.

Good luck,
O

 

[dave4868]

Hey all, just wanted to see if many had any experience with DUI's ring glove system (seems to snap together then has a screw- on part that secures the ring). My instructor used them last weekend during my Adv. Nitrox course for the first time & seemed pleased. He said that they are kind of bulky & hard to handle out of the water, but once in & a little squeeze sets in, they are very dexterous. Can anyone else confirm this? It looks like it is definitely a 2 man job to put them on. What are the other pro's & con's of the gloves. I used regular wet gloves & my hands basically froze & cramped up from the cold. Also any ideas as to what size I need to look at. I'm female, but have very wide hands fro the size of my fingers which are very short. My hands are not huge by any means (actually rather small), but they are short & wide. Normally to have a glove that's wide enough for my hands, I have to have fingers that extend a ways beyond my finger tips. any suggestions would be welcome.

Did they look like the SI TECH ring system in the image below? I use them and love 'em! I have different sized gloves to accomodate a range of temps and liner combinations. Replacement gloves can be obtained quite cheaply.

Self-donning. Some people complain of leaks, but it's because of operator error (usually messing up the o-ring when donning). I've used them for years and only messed up the o-ring two or three times.

The moveable threaded ring is not a lock ring, but a mechanism to un-dock the rings.

The pvc-dipped gloves are wide with fat fingers (Atlas 495's is what they use). Medium would probably work fine from your description. Compression reduces the negative effect of any excess you might have on the tips or elsewhere. If you want, I can provide measurements of the gloves.

Better dexterity than with 5mm neoprene, in my estimation. Go with lighter liners for warmer water and they'll feel like 3mm. Other pvc gloves can easily be substituted on those rings. I'm able to work all my camera buttons fine. I even pick up my quarters and stick them in the meter with these gloves on!

Dave C

 

[tstormdiver]

That's exactly what they are & yes, Medium is the correct sizing. My instructor helped me to find out what they were & what size to order, Hopefully in a couple more weeks,.... Thanks for all your help. Hopefully I'll keep warmer hands down at the bottom of that quarry. I'm tired of my hands cramping up & being virtually useless from the cold after 20- 25 min.

 

[b1gcountry]

DUI offers the Si-TECH rings.
Diving Concepts offers another kind, and
Viking has a very nice bayonet style ring that I use.

I've only ever used the Viking gloves, and I like them because they have a very positive locking system, but I also know several people who like the DC Rings. Don't know anyone with the SI-Tech rings.

Whatever you go with, check out Seattle marine online for replacement gloves. They sell double dipped gloves (Orange gloves) and triple dipped gloves (Blue Gloves), and they make them both for use with liners (the 460 / 495 series). These have fatter fingers and work for people with wide fingers. They also sell the same style gloves meant for use without liners (the 620 / 660 series). These work better for people with skinny fingers.

I have large, long hands, and I take a 620 glove (skinny orange one) in size XXL. If I were to wear a 495 glove instead, I would need a size large.

Tom

 

[b1gcountry]

FYI:
Atlas Fit Gloves

 

[dave4868]

That's exactly what they are & yes, Medium is the correct sizing. My instructor helped me to find out what they were & what size to order, Hopefully in a couple more weeks,.... Thanks for all your help. Hopefully I'll keep warmer hands down at the bottom of that quarry. I'm tired of my hands cramping up & being virtually useless from the cold after 20- 25 min.

Good advice from b1gcountry.

Tammy, here are a couple more tips that might be helpful.

When you get the SI TECH (or similar DUI) dryglove system, you'll notice the liners have quite a bit of excess material in the wrist area and it can sometimes get jammed near the o-ring, causing a leak.

You can avoid that just by being careful and by folding the excess under itself far enough to keep it out of trouble. You can go one step further and secure the excess with a section of nylon stocking or something similar. That keeps stray threads from getting drawn up near the o-ring area.

If you're a tinkering fool like me, and you have access to a serger sewing machine, the wrist areas of the liners can be cut more narrow. The serger overlocks the seam to prevent unravelling of the knit.

With such a machine, the somewhat cumbersome vinyl hem can be also be removed and replaced with a more comfortable flexible seam. I shortened my liners a little when I did so, but I purposely left enough to fold over, just for the sake of having extra insulation over the arteries of the wrist. Nice and warm, but no excess to get into trouble!

Also, using scissors, I removed the hem from the pvc glove because it tends to get in the way when you're putting your hand into the glove.

See the link and pics below to see the original Atlas 495's and my trimmed and serged yellow liner.

The white liner is just a lighter weight polypropylene glove liner that I obtained for $2.12 a pair from a fisherman's supply house!

I sometimes wear them alone or in combination with the heavier liners.

You'll enjoy the versatility of your DUI (SI TECH) rings!

HTH.

Dave C

495 GLOVE PVC BL REMOV LIN - Seattle Marine

 

[b1gcountry]

Dang, you must have spent 30 minutes modifying your gloves. I went the easy route, and just found some generic work gloves from Wal Mart and I use those instead. The have fitted cuffs that stay out of the way pretty well.

Tom