DUI Zip Glove questions

[M_Bipartitus]

Any one have experience with the various DUI ZIP gloves? I have Zip Seals, and I was thinking of upgrading to gloves. I was hoping someone could comment on warmth and flexibility of the material options (Blue, Orange, and Compressed Neoprene). I'm most interested in warmth as I dive most in 40F and lower bottom temps.

 

[PinkPADIgal]

I would suggest the blue, and get 100% thin wool glove to wear with them. It worked perfect for me. Just so you know...your gloves will be attached to your suit and they will not come off, unlike a ring system dryglove will.

Buyer beware...I would NEVER buy another DUI zipseal. My sister's Flex 50/50 had its 2nd neckseal break with less than 50 dives...it split exactly like the first one did...straight down the middle of the neck. $115-138 to replace the zipseal neckseal. I removed the zip and now the drysuit has a much cheaper, and much more durable neckseal. The zipseals feel different than regular latex seals and I am convinced DUI uses a cheaper grade of rubber.

 

[bane51031]

Not to mention if the zip seal comes loose you have a nice flooded suit.Yes it does happen- we use the DUI zip seals on our dive teams TLS-350's. I personally use the quick ring system and use the blue gloves with thinsulate gloves in cold water and the nice thing is if I spring a leak I still have my wrist seal so all I get is a cold wet hand versus a flooded suit....

 

[spt29970]

You timing is good. I just got a pair of crushed neoprene Zipgloves. It has been a rocky road getting them to work properly. When I first got them, I removed my latex seals and installed the ZipGloves. It was pretty easy and I was absolutely positive that I had the ZipSeals installed properly. Both gloves leaked and I ended up wet to the elbow. The interesting thing is that I have never had so much as a drop from my latex seals. Thinking that I must have installed them improperly, I tried them again on another boat trip, with exactly the same result. However after the second dive, I uninstalled them and put the latex seals back on and was dry as a bone.

I sent the gloves back to DUI for pressure testing, and they simply replaced them. This last Saturday, I tried out the replacements. They worked and I was warm and dry, which was very nice. I am going on a trip to dive in Alaska this summer and wanted to get them working before I go. I can also use my existing latex seals/wet glove as backups.

As far as which version to get, I would recommend the crushed neoprene instead of the thinner gloves. You don't lose much dexterity compared to the other materials, but the crushed neo should be MUCH more durable. Considering how outrageously expensive they are, you want them to last.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

Buyer beware...I would NEVER buy another DUI zipseal. My sister's Flex 50/50 had its 2nd neckseal break with less than 50 dives...

I too would not get Zipseals for the neck again (suit was used at a good price...) I have not had any trouble with the seals breaking (wrist or neck), but the neck seal is almost too small for me. That is my head is close to the 24" limit to get one's head through the zip seal part.

Not to mention if the zip seal comes loose you have a nice flooded suit....

It's the same for any glove without a separate wrist seal, if it isn't on correctly it leaks. Since I'm not a tech diver, nor do I dive ice, I'm not too worried about it, though I will take this concern into account.

You timing is good. I just got a pair of crushed neoprene Zipgloves. It has been a rocky road getting them to work properly...

I sent the gloves back to DUI for pressure testing, and they simply replaced them. This last Saturday, I tried out the replacements. They worked and I was warm and dry, which was very nice. I am going on a trip to dive in Alaska this summer and wanted to get them working before I go. I can also use my existing latex seals/wet glove as backups.

As far as which version to get, I would recommend the crushed neoprene instead of the thinner gloves. You don't lose much dexterity compared to the other materials, but the crushed neo should be MUCH more durable. Considering how outrageously expensive they are, you want them to last.

I was leaning towards the crushed as I intend to be using these mostly for wrecks in 35-40 deg F waters, so I wanted durability and warmth. It's unfortunate that there may be some quality control issues. I was also thinking the crushed neoprene would be less likely to spring a leak. I can always put the normal seals and a thinner pair of wet gloves on if I need more dexterity than warmth.

Thank you all who have responded so far.


Asisde: Nice camera setup and photos, spt29970. I've been stuck with a P&S for UW and Rebel XT topside.

 

[AUTiger]

It's the same for any glove without a separate wrist seal, if it isn't on correctly it leaks. Since I'm not a tech diver, nor do I dive ice, I'm not too worried about it, though I will take this concern into account.

I think that the poster (Bane51031) was refering to the zip itself (whether you have a glove or not attached to it). If it isn't properly attached, then its going to leak a lot. Just like your zipper will leak a lot if you don't properly close it. Its all about inspection and maintenance.

Nobody has mentioned that some of the DUI zipseal dry gloves also come with secondary water dam wrist seals which are supposed to keep you dry if the glove itself gets punctured. I think that they have a "WD" designation.

I personally use OS gloves with the ring attachements, attached to my standard latex wrist zip seals. I have configured it so that I still have the wrist seal, in addition to having the removable glove.

I considered the DUI gloves but felt that they were too expensive for what you get. The real kicker was that you can't take them off without dropping your drysuit. I want to be able to take my dry gloves off between dives without the hassle of removing the top half of my suit. This is particularly appreciated on rainy days when I want to stay all dry and warm inside my suit but need my hands.

Similarly, I don't put the gloves on until after I have geared up. I want to have the dexterity of my free hands during that process. I then snap my dry gloves onto the rings.

David

 

[theskull]

The compressed neoprene gloves are substantially warmer than the others. They're quite a bit tougher as well, though I've not had any punctures with my blue set, either. The trade-off is that you have less dexterity with the CN than with the blue smurfs. The orange gloves are another notch less durable and another notch better dexterity.

I dive the CN gloves for my winter and COLD water dives and the blue gloves for my summer and cold water dives. It is a small negative that you have to dress with the gloves on with ZIP gloves, but also a bit of a feature in that you get a lot of practice at doing things and operating all your buckles and hoses while gloved.

DUI developed the wrist dam gloves in response to the voiced concern about suit floods if a glove is compromised, but have sold very few pairs of them, so it appears to be just a spurious complaint from folks who don't like DUI anyway. On a couple of occasions I have failed to seal one of the gloves completely and while it did leak, it did so very slowly, so I was still able to make a 30 minute dive and end up with just a wet arm. I have never failed to seal a ZIP completely when using soapy water as a lube as the instructions detail, only when I tried to shortcut and do it dry or with a bit of spit.

theskull

 

[LG Diver]

The CN gloves are notorious leakers, compared to the smurf gloves. You're better off with a thicker liner if it's warmth you're after. I don't have zips on my DUI suit, but even if I did I wouldn't put zip gloves on there. When (not if, when) you puncture the glove you'll be dropping a ton of money on replacements, whereas with a ring system replacement gloves will run you about $4 for a pair of Atlas 490's or 660's from Seattle Marine or any number of other places. Also, you can't remove zip gloves on the surface, so gearing up is a real pain. With a ring system the gloves are the last thing to go on. Just my $0.02.

-John

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

well I do have the zip cloves and love them, they are warm and been dry for me ,to be honest the key is the zip if you get it right great, if you don't you get wet , I also bought the zip seal with the latex seals so in summer or some moderate temp water I don't have to use the complete dry and can use regular glove. I haven’t had any trouble with tearing but there again I am over cautious.

 

[BubblesUp]

I have used the blue zip gloves quite successfully for several years. I vary the liners depending on water temp and/or planned length of the dive. I typically use Under Armour cold gear liners layered under a pair of microfleece gloves for tech dives in excess of an hour with 35 degree temps at depth. Granted, I'm awfully happy to hit the thermocline on the way up, but I've not had to cut a dive short due to cold hands. Even with the double gloves, I've still got enough dexterity to do valve drills and handle clips - something I couldn't do with the crushed neoprene.

I've had pinhole leaks a couple of times and ended the dives damp up to my elbow; however, the leaks were easy to fix. To find them, I turn the glove inside out and fill it with water. The location of the leak is obvious from the darkening of the wet spot on the fabric. I mark the spot with a Sharpie, let the glove dry (still inside out) and then dab the area with a bit of Aquaseal. In my exerience, works like a charm!