Problem with Diving Concepts Dry Gloves

[doctormike]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any ideas about this...

I have had a Diving Concepts Ultraflex Pro dry suit for a number of years, and it has been terrific! I had the snap on seals installed in the wrists so that I could easily swap out a torn seal, although that has yet to happen. Recently, I got the Explorer fleece lined snap on dry gloves, which are great to dive in. Very comfortable, and since they are true dry gloves, you don't need to do any workaround of putting a straw under the wrist seal or deal with squeeze on your hands. However, once I don the suit, I loose a lot of the bare hand dexterity which is very helpful when finishing the suiting up process.

So the logical thing to do is to disconnect the gloves, get your gear all set to go, and then just snap them on before you dive, which is what the company claims they are designed to do. I just can't figure out how this is possible.

The only way that I can disconnect the gloves from the suit is by inserting a screwdriver in the interface and popping them off. This is fairly easy to do, but I doubt that this is what the manufacturer intended, and since both surfaces are plastic, I worry that I will eventually compromise the seal. I already see small scratches where I have done this. There doesn't really seem to be an o-ring at the interface between the glove and the suit, just a plastic ring (see photo).

I have called the company and they assure me that this can be done by hand with an angled rocking motion, with my hand across my chest, and the advised me to try some silicone grease on the interface - I tried all this and still no luck. I can't imagine anyone being able to grip this ring and break this seal.

Anyone have any experience with this system or other ideas?

Thanks!

Mike

 

[craracer]

I've got the same gloves, but don't have an issue with donning/doffing. I agree that using a screwdriver is not a good option. I'm assuming that you are diving solo, otherwise a partner could help you.

How easily can you remove the gloves from the arms when not wearing the suit (on dry land)? Are the gloves or ring system new? I'm just thinking that they might need a little time to break-in if new.

What I do: if removing the left glove, I place my left hand (palm towards chest) on my chest. With the finger tips of my right hand, I get a hold of the gap between the ring system and ring on the glove (backside of my left hand) and pull hard. I'll agree, it's not easy.Better to be somewhat difficult than to have a leaky glove. Sometimes a quick forceful yank does the trick.

You could try swapping out the inner o-rings of the gloves, especially if one glove seems to be more difficult to remove than the other. I might also try installing the gloves on your suit, and leave them on for several days or longer. This might help to compress the o-rings a bit. If you can leave the gloves out in the sun, or somewhere warm, this might make the o-rings more pliable.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

 

[doctormike]

I've got the same gloves, but don't have an issue with donning/doffing. I agree that using a screwdriver is not a good option. I'm assuming that you are diving solo, otherwise a partner could help you.

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, the people at DC also thought that this shouldn't be difficult, so I was wondering what the problem was.

I don't dive solo, but I really prefer to be able to deal with all of my gear myself as much as possible. But that isn't the issue here, I can't even remove the gloves from the suit when I'm not wearing it without using a screwdriver.

How easily can you remove the gloves from the arms when not wearing the suit (on dry land)?

Can't do it without a screwdriver, no matter how hard I try.

Are the gloves or ring system new? I'm just thinking that they might need a little time to break-in if new.

Yup, maybe... but it doesn't seem like they are sticky or anything (the silicone grease doesn't do anything). It just seems like they are tight by design.

What I do: if removing the left glove, I place my left hand (palm towards chest) on my chest. With the finger tips of my right hand, I get a hold of the gap between the ring system and ring on the glove (backside of my left hand) and pull hard. I'll agree, it's not easy.Better to be somewhat difficult than to have a leaky glove. Sometimes a quick forceful yank does the trick.

You could try swapping out the inner o-rings of the gloves, especially if one glove seems to be more difficult to remove than the other. I might also try installing the gloves on your suit, and leave them on for several days or longer. This might help to compress the o-rings a bit. If you can leave the gloves out in the sun, or somewhere warm, this might make the o-rings more pliable.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Yes, I got that advice from the company as well, I just don't get it. Hopefully it will ease up with time. I really do like the gloves!

I would go to my dealer, but the LDS where I bought the suit is no longer a Diving Concepts dealer, and while the owner is a great guy, he doesn't really know this product line.

Oh, well... Thanks again!

Mike

 

[Camerone]

Shouldn't be hard to pop them off, at least deliberately. They're tough to pop, occasionally hurting my fingertips if it's really cold, but always possible to remove without tools.

Make sure the o-rings are the correct size - not swollen from either being too thick (right diameter, wrong thickness) or swollen from using inappropriate lube on them (silicone can cause them to swell.) I use tribolube or christolube on mine about every fifth or sixth dive. You don't need o2 compatible lube; that's just what's always handy in my kit. You do need to use o-ring compatible lube though or they will tighten up.

 

[doctormike]

Shouldn't be hard to pop them off, at least deliberately. They're tough to pop, occasionally hurting my fingertips if it's really cold, but always possible to remove without tools.

Make sure the o-rings are the correct size - not swollen from either being too thick (right diameter, wrong thickness) or swollen from using inappropriate lube on them (silicone can cause them to swell.) I use tribolube or christolube on mine about every fifth or sixth dive. You don't need o2 compatible lube; that's just what's always handy in my kit. You do need to use o-ring compatible lube though or they will tighten up.

OK, maybe I just need to work at it more... the DC rep just told me to use regular silicone grease, but I could try something different. Will keep at it! Maybe I just need to hit the gym more often...



Mike

 

[sambolino44]

So it's not just me! I have the same gloves (I think they are one of the few pieces of kit that has had the greatest influence on my diving enjoyment, by far, by the way), and in recent months, the right glove has gotten harder to remove. I just pull them off with no tools, but lately I can't get the right one off without everyone within earshot thinking I'm having a baby or something! I started lubricating them with spit before the dive, thinking that silicone grease was not recommended for some reason. Maybe I'll try that today.

One thing I've started doing is pulling my hand back into my sleeve first, so that as I'm trying to pull the seal apart, it's about even with my knuckles. You may not be able to do this in your suit, though.

If you never get to the point where you can do it without tools, I suggest you make a tool just for this job. I'd try to make a lever out of a material that won't ding up the plastic ring (it will probably be hard to find just the right material). You might be able to make a piece shaped like a coin, maybe 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, with a flat spot on the edge for the working area. Put a hole in it, a lanyard, and hang it off your gear so it's handy when you need it. I'd make several so when they wear out, just grab another one. If mine don't get any easier, this is where I'm heading.

Good luck!

 

[Camerone]

If you never get to the point where you can do it without tools, I suggest you make a tool just for this job.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just chuck the suit-side (inner) rings on a lathe and remove a couple thou from the outer diameter? It'd take all of five minutes - probably longer to clean up the mess from the chips. I'm willing to bet that most machinists who aren't too busy might do it for a six-pack of their favorite microbrew...

 

[TSandM]

I've had a number of buddies who use the DC dry gloves, and they all seem to have periodic trouble getting them off.

 

[Lobzilla]

After seeing people struggle with the DC rings on boats and hearing what a pain it is to replace the glove on these, I got the Viking bayonet system distributed by Sitech. Easy to get on and off, absolutely bombproof when locked, and very easy to replace the gloves or to add a backup wrist seal.

 

[sambolino44]

I just got back from my first dive trying silicone grease on the O-rings, and it worked for me. Sorry that approach didn't work out for the OP, though. I'd considered chucking them up in the lathe and reducing the OD, but I'm glad I didn't have to do that, since you can't go back once you remove material.

Maybe, instead of reducing the OD, the thing to do is chamfer the (glove-end) edge of the O-ring groove on the suit rings. Not much, just touch it with a file and take no more than a few thousandths of an inch.

How about returning them to DC? They may be out of spec. I know I wouldn't want to go that long with no diving, but you may have a dry spell for other reasons coming up. Hard to imagine they'd return them to you still being hard to use.