help thaw my frozen fingers

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Other than drygloves i've found 3 finger mitts to be fantastic in the winter in water down to about 35f. I actually found them warmer than drygloves.

Maybe worth considering.

 

[dave4868]

I'm with Pete -- I LOVE my Viking rings. Easy to install, easy to change gloves (three minutes in the parking lot, no tools). I use the Atlas gloves which I can buy at my local hardware store for about $5 a pair, and could get even cheaper if I bought in bulk. Under them, I use a cheap pair of polarfleece gloves, bought at Safeway.

The only caveat on the Viking rings is that they are somewhat hard on wrist seals, and they are big rings. If you're a man, it shouldn't be a problem. For me, getting the suit side ring into my Diving Concepts suit seals is tricky, and stresses the seal. Next time I replace them, I'm going to use the Viking seals which are designed for the rings and somewhat heavier.

I'd like to hear more about those Viking bayonet rings, TSandM, if you've got time between diving for a couple questions.

Even though I love my SI TECH rings and have had no problems, I've thought about getting the Viking bayonet rings because the bayonet mount sounds a little more secure than the press-together mating of the SI TECH rings. Looks like they might be easier to disengage, too.

1. Are the Viking bayonet rings also made by SI TECH and are they essentially the same o-ring seal design with the addition of bayonet mounting?

2. The stress on my DUI seals from my SI TECH suit ring seems minimal, perhaps because the inner blue ring used to secure the suit ring isn't excessively tight on the latex. I also remove the my rings from the suit right after each day of diving.

Also, I find the SI TECH suit ring installs on the DUI seal without difficulty in only a few seconds.

Do your Diving Concepts seals have a faster taper that makes it troublesome to install the suit ring? What makes it "tricky" when you install them?

Is there something different about the way the Viking suit ring installs on the seal that stresses the seal particularly?

TIA.

Dave C

 

[Rick2]

I want to thank all who have responded thus far and those who may be yet. This kind of sharing and support is one of the things that makes this site and our sport one of the best !!
No doubt I'll be trying out some of these suggestions soon and I'm sure my fingers are going to be a lot happier for them. Thanks again, Rick

 

[dannobee]

Get some of these.

Deep See: Part of the Aqua Lung Family of Brands

put your drysuit seals over them if you want them totally dry. Wear them like wet gloves if you don't mind them a tiny bit wet. Either way, they're way warmer than traditional wet gloves, and nowhere near as big a hassle as my DC rings with Atlas blue gloves.

And they're about $35-40 per pair.

 

[dave4868]

Other than drygloves i've found 3 finger mitts to be fantastic in the winter in water down to about 35f. I actually found them warmer than drygloves.

Maybe worth considering.

In the past, with some tweaking, my 7mm neoprene mitts were pretty good, but I'm a confirmed dryglove user now.

Drygloves that are too tight or that have insufficient liners can be colder than some mitts, so I can see how it can happen.

For me, one key with drygloves is to avoid constriction of the circulation of the hands and fingers.

If I use a dryglove that's roomy enough to accomodate a couple of loose-fitting liners without constriction, I've found they will provide good warmth for about twice the length of time as 7mm neoprene mitts. With better dexterity, I might add!

I consider good warmth to be when my hands remain comfortable and adequately functional to perform necessary tasks.

When I've done low-activity dives in 35F water with mitts, I'd have good warmth for about 40-50 minutes, but with drygloves it would be about 90 minutes. Even longer if I was careful not to constantly grip something too tightly with my hands or let my hands be immobile too long.

When I wore mitts, to get the most out of them, I used roomy gauntlet-style 7mm mitts with wrist cinch straps and homemade 7mm neoprene wrist bands.

Filled with warm water prior to donning, and cinched just snugly enough to reduce water exchange, my mitts would provide good thermal protection for about 40-50 minutes in 35F water. After that, numbness would prevent me from being able to operate camera buttons, drysuit inflator button, or disconnect an inflator hose.

The wrist bands made a big difference, as they added insulation to an area where the arteries are close to the surface and they spread out the force of the cinch straps, thereby reducing constriction, a major factor contributing to extremities getting cold.

However, the biggest difference in my hand warmth came when I switched to drygloves.... and what a nice difference!

Dave C

 

[hollywood703]

Yes if you dont use an insulation glove you need a vent tube...I recently dove without and at about 65 ft my hands started to almost hurt from the abrasive glove inside rubbing as they were so tight. I wont make that mistake again.

 

[pink_fins]

I know what frozen fingers are like. It is horrible pain.
Being, I used to dive in a 7mm under the ice, I know what a whole body freeze feels like.
Will NEVER do that again.

Bought a Dui tri-lam suit and have never regretted it. For gloves well I thought about the zip seals but if regular zip bags don't seal too good I was thinking they could leak too.

Then I took a hard look at the si-teck and Viking gloves all over the net.

I had met Bob3 years ago and knew him. Great long time diver and knew he would help us by e-mail with any questions on how to self install them. He walked us thru the process. Great customer service

A question asked was is there any pull on the seal. I don't feel any

And for those who say they can't get their gloves on. Remember you have a buddy. Use him/her. We all learned that in OW. LOL

Take a look at all the information you see and then go with your gutt feeling. After all most of our gear has been changed thru our diving life RIGHT?

These are my opinions.

be safe

gail

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Atlas Work Gloves

I use the orange 620s. They seem to be a little more flexible than the blue ones, and adequately durable. I tried the green ones, which are VERY flexible, but I got pinhole leaks in them constantly.

Thanks for the link. I have the other kind of rings that use the glove streched over the ring not the bayonet style where there is a ring mounted to the glove.

 

[pipedope]

Remember to check your thermal protection for your head also.
Especially if your feet get cold too.

Your body will keep your brain warm at the cost of hands and feet.

Just a reminder to check all the details.

 

[Benny-c]

What Temp. will the water be that you expect to dive in this winter??