Ice diving gloves?

[redseaalien]

I was doing the open water part of a drysuit course today in water that couldn't have been more than 40 degrees, snow on the shore but no ice yet (though a pond or mostly separated part of the lake right nearby had some snow floating on what must have been a bit of frozen stuff on top of the water), was using 5 or 7mm gloves and my hands were freezing the second they got wet! That, combined with cold feet, frozen face, starting out overweight, ditching too much on shore to be able to get down past 5 or 6 feet no matter what (even getting that deep took a lot of kicking), and a freeflowing regulator, made me thumb it on my second swim back to shore to deal with weights, so I didn't pass that part of it - only thing I could do underwater was get feet-up and then right myself. So I'll need to try that again, and that means either waiting for warm weather, or ice diving.

The rental drysuits don't have dry gloves or rings for them, just latex wrist seals. What would be the warmest alternative to the standard neoprene wet gloves that isn't extremely expensive that I could also use with a wetsuit, and wouldn't require modifying the drysuit? The wrist seals on the suit restrict circulation a bit to start with, dry gloves with latex seals would just make this worse, no? Any other kinds of dry gloves exist that you could wear with wetsuits and rental drysuits, or ways to help with seal circulation (could modify the seals on the gloves, if I bought them, I suppose)? Neoprene dry gloves any good? Or is my best bet to just hunt down the biggest, baddest pair of 3 fingered wet mitts I can find? I want to stay warm!

 

[nazgul810]

Well, some people may disagree with me but I've found that wet glove work alot better than dry gloves for me. As far as I can tell my hands stay warmer with wet gloves than they do with dry gloves.

Another advantage of the wet gloves compared to the drygloves is that they can't really fail, whereas the dry gloves can be punctured or have a bad seal and basicly become useless as they get wet.

If you do want to get dry gloves they make cuff rings that you can put on that are held in with plastic rings and can be removed as wanted.

I bought my drysuit with dryglove cuffs installed and made about 75 dives with the drygloves to form these opinions before I decided to have the cuffs removed. Thats just my 2psi though.

 

[texdiveguy]

This is a problem for all that dive colder waters. Outside dry suit gloves with sealing rings or latex seals the only other option is what you are using. I would try to barrow/beg/rent a pair of dry suit gloves for sure before trying to complete.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have used both and in my experience both are about equally warm but the dry gloves will leak if punctured or torn at which point they provide almost no insulation.

A 5mm or 7mm wetsuit glove will do the job fine if:

1. It is in good condition with seams that do not leak and,

2. Provided fits well with no excess space inside to pump water in an out of the glove and,

3. At the other extreme is not so snug as to restrict blood circulation in your hand.

4. A strap around the cuff to keep things snug there and restrict water circulation also helps a lot.

You can get 3 finger mitts as well that have the theoretical advantage of keeping your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers together for mutual warmth, but I have never found them to be any warmer than a good glove as they tend to have more space in them to move water in an out.

But regardless of which type of glove you use, none of them will keep you warm once your core temperature drops as your body naturally restricts blood flow to your extremeties to conserve your core temperature and fend of hypothermia. So adequate insulation of your core is key to keeping your hands warm and improved insulation of your core is often the solution to cold hands.

 

[pennypue]

But regardless of which type of glove you use, none of them will keep you warm once your core temperature drops as your body naturally restricts blood flow to your extremeties to conserve your core temperature and fend of hypothermia. So adequate insulation of your core is key to keeping your hands warm and improved insulation of your core is often the solution to cold hands.

YEP!! I recently bought a nice set of 400g thinsulate undies for my drysuit. HUGE difference in the warmth of my HANDS. I am one of those women whose hands are always cold. (They are right now, and I"m dry. ) I have three pairs of gloves, one three finger mitt, one 5mil and one 7mil. I was never really warm in ANY of them until I got the undies! I have just bought drygloves and now look forward to trying them out.

Side note: I also take extra care before my dives to be sure that I am warm while prepping and suiting up. I wear a fleece or knit cap, not terribly princess-like in appearance, but helps to keep my core temp up. Makes a world of difference on a dive! I'm shivering now in a 71 degree house, but on an hour dive yesterday with surface temp about 50, I was toasty and can't even tell you where the thermacline was.....I simply never felt it. SUCH a cozy dive.

My vote is to pay extra attention to your core temp to help your hands.

 

[lotsofgadgets]

You could buy a pair of dry gloves that don't require rings such as the nordic blues. If you are handy you can make your own with a pair of showa gloves from SeaMar and a wrist seal from your lds. Add some aquaseal and you are good to go.

http://www.nordic-blue.com/uimages/30.jpg

I used these until I installed rings on my drysuit and they were quite comfy.

 

[Hoosier]

YEP!! I recently bought a nice set of 400g thinsulate undies for my drysuit. HUGE difference in the warmth of my HANDS. I am one of those women whose hands are always cold. (They are right now, and I"m dry. ) I have three pairs of gloves, one three finger mitt, one 5mil and one 7mil. I was never really warm in ANY of them until I got the undies! I have just bought drygloves and now look forward to trying them out.

Side note: I also take extra care before my dives to be sure that I am warm while prepping and suiting up. I wear a fleece or knit cap, not terribly princess-like in appearance, but helps to keep my core temp up. Makes a world of difference on a dive! I'm shivering now in a 71 degree house, but on an hour dive yesterday with surface temp about 50, I was toasty and can't even tell you where the thermacline was.....I simply never felt it. SUCH a cozy dive.

My vote is to pay extra attention to your core temp to help your hands.

In my case, I had to end up the dive due to a darn cold hand in 5mm snug Gold Core glove at 39 degree. I also wore 400g thinsulate and it was a really toast though.

 

[pennypue]

In my case, I had to end up the dive due to a darn cold hand in 5mm snug Gold Core glove at 39 degree. I also wore 400g thinsulate and it was a really toast though.

Did you have your arm in the cast still??? :lol2:
I wonder if you could just make a neoprene cover for it......

 

[Hoosier]

Did you have your arm in the cast still??? :lol2:
I wonder if you could just make a neoprene cover for it......

Hahaha~~~~
I took off the cast yesterday and only need to put the splint during the evening. I just hope I can dive this New Year's day. :05:

 

[String]

i get extremely cold hands with 5mm semi dry gloves. LAst year i bought a pair of dry gloves with latex seals. The things are a total PITA to put on yourself and the wrist seals are so tight that my hands swell after removing the gloves. I cant adjust the wrist either. The result of all this is painfully cold,numb hands with my 5mm semi dry gloves again this winter.

I was thinking about ring fit dry gloves (keeping internal wrist seal on suit intact) but have heard nightmares about the things being very hard to self-don (vital for me) or very fiddly to get them to seal properly. About the only ring system people have said works fairly well for the above was the viking system which is a bayonet fitting to the glove. Unfortunately these dont appear to be available at all in the UK so im stuck