Gloves for chilly water suggestions?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

until I went to dry, I was using the Waterproof 7mm gloves. Good balance between warmth, dexterity, and being able to actually get them on. I used to use the 4th Element "Spiderman" gloves, but they were an enormous PITA to get on and off.
 
I dive in cold water often.

I have some of the dry five gloves suggested upthread. I dive with a wetsuit. The gloves work OK but are a hassle to don and doff, for me at least. They fit tightly and it is difficult for me to get them over the widest part of my palm. There's nothing wrong with them for diving wet. I just layer the wetsuit sleeve between the inner and outer seal of the glove. Some water works its way into the glove during the dive. They're comfortable once on.

I also have some more conventional Aqua-lung gloves with a kevlar palm, and find that I like them better. They have a strap that you tighten over the wrist, and a loose gauntlet. I find them equally warm and easier to get on and off. The only problem is that the velcro for the strap sometimes comes loose during a dive.
 
I know several people who swear by the XS Scuba 5mm semi dry gloves. They can do down to about 45F with them. They are, however, a pain to get on. I tried them, but they hurt to get on, as they just crushed my hand no matter what size.

I have the Waterproof 5mm gloves but I've only worn them once. Too bulky and I have very little dexterity with them. I'll wear 3mm gloves if I'm diving wet. Otherwise, I'm diving dry.
 
the more i think about it the less sure i am of how well dry gloves would work with a wetsuit. I'm not sure how you could equalize your hands effectively - you'd probably end up with a bad squeeze once you're at depth. Maybe someone had an answer to that question?

I have used these, which I guess are similar to what Maxbottomtime posted: Drygloves with Seal MD Large - Dive Right in Scuba

I used them with a drysuit, but they would work the same way with a wetsuit, since there is no air pathway between the gloves and the suit as there is with ring-based drygloves. To answer the question, yes, the squeeze increases with depth, but I have used them as deep as 120 feet and found the squeeze to be bearable at that depth. At 80 feet or so, the squeeze was not uncomfortable at all.
 
I'm in 45-48 Deg water (Pacific North West ) and if I'm not wearing my dry gloves then I use Heat gloves by Whites (now AquaLung). They come in 3mm and 5mm, I use the 3mm as its really good warmth and excellent dexterity.
 
+1 for the Aqua Lung heat gloves in 5mm. I dive NE and wear a 7mm wetsuit down to low 40s and have not once thought about my hands. Most at my LDS use these and swear by them.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom