Glove promo is over/post reviews here

[SgtSlaughter]

Hey Roy, after a quick photoshop I brought Slonda's lighter background behind the fingers idea to light.

Here's a white back ground.

And a yellow one...

Hopefully this gives you some ideas

 

[Roy McKinney]

Great Ideas!

Sgt Slaughter...wow! a picture is worth a thousand words. That is awesome. The problem with that is so much of the process would have to be changed to make the web a different color. The easy fix would be to color the finger itself about one or two inches starting at the tip. When I get back from FL in a couple of weeks I'll do some experimenting.

 

[Roy McKinney]

Besides what everyone stated already it could use some holes to help vent trapped air or water. I took some scissors and cut small holes between the fingers to help vent trapped water & air which helped alot. The cuff could use some improvement maybe folded in 1/4" and glued or stitched. For the logo it could also be improved to be able to last the life of the gloves. So far I'm happy with the gloves and performs well.

YiNYaNg,

Your gloves don't fit correctly if you are having a lot of trapped air and water. Even with eight sizes we can't fit everyone perfectly. The hands are like feet, everyone is a little different. Imagine going in to a shoe store and having only 8 sizes to choose from.
We plan to add several sizes over time in order to give everyone the best fit we can.

As for a strap, I try and do everything using the K.I.S.S. method (Keep It Simple Stupid). Also, If the glove is the right size the cuff should seal pretty well around your arm without the need for a strap.

The logo is printed on the glove with an ink that is made for rubber but I agree it hasn't held up very well. We've been in touch with the ink makers and are trying to remedy that.

Other than that, I'm glad you like them.

 

[carrielsal]

Roy,
I would like to try them. I sent you an email.
Carrie

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Great Ideas!

Sgt Slaughter...wow! a picture is worth a thousand words. That is awesome. The problem with that is so much of the process would have to be changed to make the web a different color. The easy fix would be to color the finger itself about one or two inches starting at the tip. When I get back from FL in a couple of weeks I'll do some experimenting.

How about that whole back flap be made with a different color?

 

[TheScubaBOB]

Yesterday I accompanied my daughter (17 yrs old) to complete her AOW & PPB Specialty Certs.

Roy has been so kind as to provide both of us a demo pair. She decided to stick with the neoprene gloves as this was training for her.

My first impression was how weird they feel on the hands. It's more like dish washing gloves than scuba gloves. The webbing is wide enough that you can spread your fingers fully.

Usually I attach my gloves to the upper d-ring on my BC and put them on last (after mask & fins are adjusted etc). For this test I decided to put the gloves on before donning my BCD, Fins or Mask!

I found there was no loss of dexterity and I was able to get my BC on & properly adjusted. In the water my fins slipped right into place and defogging & donning my mask was a breeze!

At the surface I used the gloves to spin from side to side rather quickly and on our surface swim out to the buoy I assisted with my hands. I still hate surface swims but it was quicker.

So then we descended...

When I tilted forward into the parachute descent position I discovered that the webbing can act as a sort of brake! If I balled my hands into fists I dropped slightly faster than if I had the webbing extended.

I was able to manage my inflater (i3) and find my shoulder dump pull easier using the thinner gloves.

Sculling in & out of the wreck required less effort (as I expected) and during our "swim around" I was sure to alternate between kicking and sculling with my hands.

For hand signals I did have to be more careful of my angle to my daughter even for the okay sign and numbers were difficult for her to understand at all.

My wrists seemed somewhat fatigued by the end of the two dives (total dive time 50 minutes) but I attribute that to using the hands more than usual with more resistance (thus requiring more effort).

I can't attest to the thermal properties of the gloves as the water was only 59 degrees at 40ft for these dives and I could do that in my 3mm shorty.

They definitely didn't interfere with my usual methods and were beneficial on the surface swim. I don't mind using hands to scull for tight maneuvers and on-a-dime-turns so these will get more use for sure.

 

[TheScubaBOB]

Posted my review here.

 

[Roy McKinney]

Hey you bunch of sea monkeys,

If you'll post some pics of you wearing Darkfins while doing your thing, on scuba board pic gallery and let me know about it, AND if we use your pic on our website I'll send you a free Darkfin "The Devolution Begins" t-shirt.

 

[Roy McKinney]

Thanks ScubaBoB,

For a clear and well thought out review of Darkfins.

The Devolution Continues!

 

[TheScubaBOB]

My Daughter & I will be at Haigh Quarry tomorrow, going to take her to the bottom of the Deep Hole (about 80ft) so hopefully I get a better idea of the thermal characteristics of the gloves.

She will be wearing her pair also so there is more review to come.

Oh yeah, we'll get some pics of them in action for you!