Neoprene gloves under dry gloves?

[buddhasummer]

I have some dry gloves but even wearing merino wool liners my hands still got cold. I saw some thin neoprene surfing gloves and was thinking they would provide more warmth than my merino liners. Assuming I can get them under my dry gloves is there any reason this would not work? Cheers.

 

[TravisD]

I don't see why they wouldn't 'work', but probably aren't the best solution. Neoprene is going to trap moisture (from sweat) which isn't good for comfort. Depending on the fit, they may also mildly affect circulation, which is bad for warmth. I haven't had reason to try it, but I have heard of folks using the little chemical-reaction heat packets under their gloves.

Airspace is warmth, so thicker wool (or synthetic) would be where'd I'd be looking. Also, speaking of circulation - do your dry gloves keep the wrist seal intact? If yes, how tight are the seals? If they're on the tight side, they may be restricting circulation which again means cold hands.

 

[sunnyboy]

Trust me, they don't work. At least, not very well. I dive in colder waters (Vancouver Island Canada) and my hands get cold pretty quickly. My drygloves have no built-in liner, so I'm always trying various liners. I bought a pair of 2mm kayak neoprene gloves a couple of years ago and tried them. They were ... OK... in the summer, but as soon as the weather got cold they were not good at all.

Part of the problem is the neoprene will crush at depths over 60fsw and by 100fsw you lose most of the insulation they might have had.

I've since gone back to some lovely yellow "work liners" I found at Work Wearhouse locally. I have buckets of liners and these yellow ones seem about the best so far.

One other liner tip - wool works great until the glove leaks. Then the salt water will shrink and 'set' the shrink permanaently, even if you rinse the liner in cold water. After a leak, wool liners are pretty much garbage. Synthetics are the way to go or so I've found.

 

[greatlakeswreckdiver]

I have been experimenting quite a bit because I have Raynaud's and my hands go numb rather quickly. So far I have found that a thinner polyester liner and then a liner from something like snowmobile or ski gloves works pretty well. Added bonus is I put on the thin liners before donning the suit so they are under my wrist seal and allow the air to bleed into the dry gloves. The other liner allows the dry glove to slide off really easy. Just have to make sure I don't catch any material in the o-ring seal.

I had a pinhole leak in one dry glove on my last dive and I did feel some wetness during the dive but my hands were still pretty good even after a 50 minute dive in 45 degree water in Puget Sound.

 

[Hawkwood]

A silk liner, then a nice fleece glove, and two layers of Marigold rubber gloves. Works okay for me.

 

[oneshotshooter]

Hot pack in dui dry zip gloves. Dive nitrox and they really warm up. I also tape 2 to my kidney area and 1 in each foot pocket. I did a 90 min dive in 36 degree water using this method.

 

[Diver0001]

I have some dry gloves but even wearing merino wool liners my hands still got cold. I saw some thin neoprene surfing gloves and was thinking they would provide more warmth than my merino liners. Assuming I can get them under my dry gloves is there any reason this would not work? Cheers.

I've tried it in the past and what I discovered is that a Thinsulate glove of about the same thickness is warmer. YYMV.

R..

 

[tracydr]

Trust me, they don't work. At least, not very well. I dive in colder waters (Vancouver Island Canada) and my hands get cold pretty quickly. My drygloves have no built-in liner, so I'm always trying various liners. I bought a pair of 2mm kayak neoprene gloves a couple of years ago and tried them. They were ... OK... in the summer, but as soon as the weather got cold they were not good at all.

Part of the problem is the neoprene will crush at depths over 60fsw and by 100fsw you lose most of the insulation they might have had.

I've since gone back to some lovely yellow "work liners" I found at Work Wearhouse locally. I have buckets of liners and these yellow ones seem about the best so far.

One other liner tip - wool works great until the glove leaks. Then the salt water will shrink and 'set' the shrink permanaently, even if you rinse the liner in cold water. After a leak, wool liners are pretty much garbage. Synthetics are the way to go or so I've found.

I've never had good wool shrink like that. I wash my merino undies in the regular wash and they are perfect.
I agree, thicker is better. Also, try thinsulate and silk liners. Great for skiing.
Make sure you're getting enough air in the gloves.

 

[al248005]

Cabela's Power Stretch® Liner Gloves : Cabela's

I use these. They are pretty warm. My hands usually end up sweating with them.

 

[buddhasummer]

Cool, thank you ladies and gentlemen for your replies. I'll shelve the neoprene idea and look for some polar-tec gloves or thinsulate type gloves. Cheers.