Gloves and limited dexterity

[Litefoot]

I have yet to wear gloves diving. I have stiff fingers from old age, I guess. So doing regular things like opening bolt snaps, operating the inflator hose, and feeling for and pulling a dump valve string are probably a little harder for me than others.

As I face the reality that I will have to start diving dry, I worry if I will be able to do all the above wearing dry gloves. Do you overcome the loss of sensory inputs and dexterity loss with practice and muscle memory? Are some gloves better than others? Thoughts?

 

[Boarderguy]

Thin liners with properly fitting gloves will help you in this regard. Some of the larger/oversized gloves help to fit thicker liners but at the loss of feeling and occasionally floppy finger material in my case.

To get used to the lack of feeling you could try putting on dipped gloves and manipulating items while sitting on the couch. Get used to pressure vs "feeling" it. Learn the different amount of force required to hold something without dropping it. I have a bit of nerve damage in my arms and have trouble with feeling things and often drop items. The loss of feeling in gloves for me is nothing because I'm used to a full sensation anyways.

 

[Jcp2]

Bigger bolt snaps for dry gloves make everything easier. Just imagine what divers with lobster mitts have to do.

Also, some people prefer thin latex gloves rather than thick dipped gloves.

 

[stiebs]

I have yet to wear gloves diving. I have stiff fingers from old age, I guess. So doing regular things like opening bolt snaps, operating the inflator hose, and feeling for and pulling a dump valve string are probably a little harder for me than others.

As I face the reality that I will have to start diving dry, I worry if I will be able to do all the above wearing dry gloves. Do you overcome the loss of sensory inputs and dexterity loss with practice and muscle memory? Are some gloves better than others? Thoughts?

How cold is the water that will force you to face the reality of diving dry?

Through winter local diving here is about 12ºC (55ºF). I dive with dry without dry gloves. Just 2mm wetsuit gloves with the finger tips cut off.

 

[OTF]

Practice practice practice. You would be amazed how much one can get used to thick gloves and improve dexterity by repeatedly practicing skills and drills in them.

Assuming you're talking wet gloves - in my experience a thinner glove with a good seal to prevent flushing ("semi dry" models or even adding a few wraps of tape) will be as warm or warmer than a very thick glove that limits dexterity but seals with a crappy velcro strap.

 

[grantmac]

Dive with 5mm neoprene gloves for a while, after that dry gloves with thin liners will feel like nothing.

 

[jeffmg]

Its mostly practice and making sure you have the right size gloves

you see alot of pictures of people at depth in dry gloves and you can tell their fingers are like a quarter inch from the fingertip of the glove
either use a thick enough glove liner to really fill it out or move down a size, don't be too much of a man to wear a size m glove

then it just comes down to practice and repetition, you can use the smallest size boltsnap with thick liners and drygloves, it just takes some time

 

[Litefoot]

How cold is the water that will force you to face the reality of diving dry?

Through winter local diving here is about 12ºC (55ºF). I dive with dry without dry gloves. Just 2mm wetsuit gloves with the finger tips cut off.

I suppose I thought that when you dive dry, you should also transition to dry gloves. I have done dives in 58°F degree water without any gloves and did not remember having cold hands. If I can extend my diving season to early Spring and late Fall, I would probably dive with water temps in the 40-45°F range. Maybe I could try some 3mm neoprene gloves first.

 

[stuartv]

I don't even own any gloves thicker than 3mm. If the water is not too cold, I will dive dry with 3mm wet gloves sometimes.

But, the reason I got dry gloves in the first place is that they offer better dexterity than even 3mm wet gloves.

The key for that is to have the right actual gloves on your dry glove rings, along with the right glove liners.

Many people use actual dry gloves that are WAY bigger than they need. Combine that with using gloves that are really thick and heavy duty and dexterity is substantially impaired.

I use Ansell G17 rubber gloves. They are the same glove that came with my original Kubi rings.

Ansell 13" Chemical Resistant Gloves, Natural Rubber Latex, 10-1/2, 1 PR 87-118 | Zoro

Order Ansell AlphaTec 13" Chemical Resistant Gloves, Natural Rubber Latex, 10-1/2, 1 PR, 87-118 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

They come in different sizes. I use a size that fits snugly (but not tight) over my medium weight wool glove lines, which also fit snugly on my hand.

They are only 30 mil thick, so they are not as tough as what some other people use. But, they last me a really long time. I generally try to make a point of not touching anything, whether I'm wearing gloves or not. If I were molesting lobsters or wrecks, maybe they would tear up quickly. But in that case, I would probably just get some thin cut-resistant gloves to wear over them.

Side note: People talk about using equalizing tubes to let gas move between their suit/sleeve and their dry glove, to prevent uncomfortable "squeeze" on their hands. I don't use anything like that. I've been to over 300' with my dry gloves and fully intact wrist seals with no equalizing tubes, and no problems at all. I attribute that to using right-sized dry gloves that don't have a bunch of extra air in them.


TL;DR: the right dry gloves, in the right size, have pretty minimal impact on your dexterity.

 

[steinbil]

I don't even own any gloves thicker than 3mm. If the water is not too cold, I will dive dry with 3mm wet gloves sometimes.

But, the reason I got dry gloves in the first place is that they offer better dexterity than even 3mm wet gloves.

The key for that is to have the right actual gloves on your dry glove rings, along with the right glove liners.

Many people use actual dry gloves that are WAY bigger than they need. Combine that with using gloves that are really thick and heavy duty and dexterity is substantially impaired.

I use Ansell G17 rubber gloves. They are the same glove that came with my original Kubi rings.

Ansell 13" Chemical Resistant Gloves, Natural Rubber Latex, 10-1/2, 1 PR 87-118 | Zoro

Order Ansell AlphaTec 13" Chemical Resistant Gloves, Natural Rubber Latex, 10-1/2, 1 PR, 87-118 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

They come in different sizes. I use a size that fits snugly (but not tight) over my medium weight wool glove lines, which also fit snugly on my hand.

They are only 30 mil thick, so they are not as tough as what some other people use. But, they last me a really long time. I generally try to make a point of not touching anything, whether I'm wearing gloves or not. If I were molesting lobsters or wrecks, maybe they would tear up quickly. But in that case, I would probably just get some thin cut-resistant gloves to wear over them.

Side note: People talk about using equalizing tubes to let gas move between their suit/sleeve and their dry glove, to prevent uncomfortable "squeeze" on their hands. I don't use anything like that. I've been to over 300' with my dry gloves and fully intact wrist seals with no equalizing tubes, and no problems at all. I attribute that to using right-sized dry gloves that don't have a bunch of extra air in them.


TL;DR: the right dry gloves, in the right size, have pretty minimal impact on your dexterity.

I used the same gloves for a long time since I started out diving dry (Norway gets cold ). I used them with Santi Smart Seals and cut the wrist seals off to have easy gas flow. It means I can't use wet gloves, but that is not really appealing to me anyways. They're very nimble and easy to use, but I had two minor issues with them. I couldn't get them large enough for my hands, so they were a bit tight/cold. And if you touch anything they tear easily. I switched to thicker Santi dry gloves and then to the standard blue gloves to do clean up dives etc, and I've stuck with them, as once you get used to manipulating double enders dexterity is not a big issue.