Recommend me Gloves & Hood for Ice Diving.

[RayJayJr]

I'm going to be going taking my Ice Diving Cert. in febuary of 2007, and hopefully will continue to ice dive afterwards. Our local dive shops are pretty limited in terms of in-store selection being that were a land-locked province, and therefore is not economical. Having items brought in can be costly.

I'll be using a NexGen Bare drysuit, and I want to find out what my options are for exposure protection for my head and hands. I know some drysuits have the gloves built right in, but is there a way to have dry-gloves while using a drysuit like the one I plan on using?

So the questions are:

- Can I get drygloves?
- If yes, what?
- What hood do you recommend for Ice Diving?

- What kind of Neoprene Gloves would you recommend for Ice Diving?


Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

There are several dryglove systems that can be attached to your drysuit cuff. I use Si Tech ones, others like their Diving Concepts (DC) gloves. Doing a search will locate several threads on these dry gloves.

A ring goes inside your drysuit sleeve, locking a large plastic ring on the outside of the cuff into place. A dryglove then slots into this ring.

I find plain rubber gloves that are sold to fishermen, and some small inner gloves, work just as well as the gloves and liners sold with the various ring systems.

If you still want to use wet gloves then three-finger mitts are the way to go - they are a lot warmer than five fingers and you don't loose that much dexterity. Pour some warm water into them at the start of the dive.

Oh - are your wrist seals latex or neo?

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[RayJayJr]

Wrist seals are latex - just like the neck seal.

 

[JeffG]

So the questions are:

- Can I get drygloves?
- If yes, what?
- What hood do you recommend for Ice Diving?

- What kind of Neoprene Gloves would you recommend for Ice Diving?


Thanks for the advice!

Go to Aquasports. Talk to Charlene. Buy some Skanna Drygloves. Any normal cold water hood is good.

Make sure you have good drysuit undies. (I use Weezle Extreme + or DUI 400gm undies...plus electrical heat).

 

[Double_D]

Have to second the super advice from Jeff - the core undies are the key to being warm.

Henderson Gold Core 7/5 hood does the trick for me. I'd suggest you look around a bit for the slightly older model that had a bit of a flare at the neck versus the tight band on the current drysuit model that may conflict with your neck seal. The older model can be "cooler" at the neck but you don't have to worry about a tight fit from both the hood seal and the suit seal preventing finger access in an emergency (especially in those three fingered mittens). In my DUI 50/50 it tucks into the space between the suit and the seal (a-la the issue warm neck seal) but I can pop the seal in 2-4 seconds using my thumb. Flooded suit will ruin your dive for sure, but you have to be able to get in there if you need to, especially if it's a shoulder access suit. Just my experience - your mileage may vary. Lots of good hoods out there.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

I've seen one to two guys with small neoprene beanies that go under their hood for some additional warmth. I think scubatoys have some for sale.

Ditto invest in a good undersuit plus thermal undies: its the best investment you will make in diving. I use a northern diver flectalon undersuit. Other have their own favourites.

Cheers,
Rohan.