I also dived the 3416s for the first time today. I have size 11, which are roomy. Pushing buttons on my camera was a little different but not difficult. I think I'll keep these gloves on my rings for awhile.
Ultima Dry Glove System question
- Thread starter Basking Ridge Diver
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Deep South Divers
Contributor
Wow... They look big on your hand. Did you wear an underglove? Were you able to feel your camera buttons?
I'm thrilled that you're testing them too... And giving them a good run. That way we'll have two different perspectives.
I'm startled that you and I have never met... That we're diving opposite coasts... And have never trained together... Yet, if we stood side-by-side on the deck of a boat, about to get in the water, we'd look like twins. Our goals while diving are different, and the brands of equipment we picked is different... Yet I'm not sure that anyone could tell us apart geared up. Hilarious!
Of course I'm wearing the 720s in this pic, but not today.
I'm thrilled that you're testing them too... And giving them a good run. That way we'll have two different perspectives.
I'm startled that you and I have never met... That we're diving opposite coasts... And have never trained together... Yet, if we stood side-by-side on the deck of a boat, about to get in the water, we'd look like twins. Our goals while diving are different, and the brands of equipment we picked is different... Yet I'm not sure that anyone could tell us apart geared up. Hilarious!
Of course I'm wearing the 720s in this pic, but not today.
I also wore my Fourth Element Xerotherm glove liners. We really were twins.
I didn't notice the water temp, although it was a balmy 59°, which was several degrees warmer than last week. We're usually in the low 50s this time of year. I'll be in the high 40s next month so I'm hoping these gloves will help with that. I don't move around much underwater so I tend to get pretty cold.
I didn't notice the water temp, although it was a balmy 59°, which was several degrees warmer than last week. We're usually in the low 50s this time of year. I'll be in the high 40s next month so I'm hoping these gloves will help with that. I don't move around much underwater so I tend to get pretty cold.
Deep South Divers
Contributor
Wow, almost eerie.
I guess once divers start really getting into it and testing things, the right gear starts to rise to the top... Hence, they start looking alike even though there's been no specific coordination.
For years the DIR community was criticized for everyone having pretty much the same gear in the same color: black. It was an ongoing joke, and yeah, there may have been some inclination for DIR-guys to coordinate due to some brand loyalty between DIR/GUE and Halcyon (same owner). Still... It seems that there may be a simpler explanation: Everyone was diving what worked best for them - so you'd see a lot of the same GEAR that worked best.
I guess once divers start really getting into it and testing things, the right gear starts to rise to the top... Hence, they start looking alike even though there's been no specific coordination.
For years the DIR community was criticized for everyone having pretty much the same gear in the same color: black. It was an ongoing joke, and yeah, there may have been some inclination for DIR-guys to coordinate due to some brand loyalty between DIR/GUE and Halcyon (same owner). Still... It seems that there may be a simpler explanation: Everyone was diving what worked best for them - so you'd see a lot of the same GEAR that worked best.
Deep South Divers
Contributor
I may have fallen in love with my new SHOWA 3416s.
As promised, Friday I decided to try them without using undergloves... So both the Fourth Element Xerotherms and the Burton Powerstretch Glove Liners stayed in the truck... And I dove bare-handed under my 3416s.
Holy smokes, all of my tactile feel was back!
I spent the day cleaning a particularly nasty boat that was full of oysters and barnacles. Not a mark on the gloves anywhere, and I was able to feel my tools just fine... Easily as well as with the SHOWA 720s with the glove liner in... And almost as well as the 720s without the glove liner in.
Make no mistake - the 3416s are definitely thicker and you can feel less than you can in the 720s... But that thickness makes for a practically bulletproof glove and I'd even go so far as to say it's warmer. Make no mistake - the interior of the glove felt cool and kinda clammy as compared to a 720 with an underglove on, but the warmth was adequate and the protection outstanding. The water was 56 degrees and they felt fine... And very dry!
Yesterday I spent the day in a retention pond for the State of South Carolina. Water was 58, and the gloves felt great with bare hands. At some point or another I was feeling my way through the mud, jetting sand out of a culvert pipe and getting things all clean and clear when I came across an unfamiliar shape. With not even a single inch of visibility, I was left to feel the item - half-buried in sediment - to try to identify it.
It took me maybe a minute or more of fondling to figure out what it was... A broken bowl! I had been fondling a broken, sharp, glass bowl for the past minute! Not a mark on the gloves. The 720s would have been shredded. Latex or butyl rubber gloves would have popped like a balloon the moment I touched the glass.
I'm impressed... Like seriously impressed.
At some point or another I must have touched the jagged, broken glass with my thigh and put a slice in my drysuit. It didn't penetrate, and I don't have a leak... Thanks to the super tough fabric of my BARE Sentry hypercompressed neoprene drysuit... But yeah, it left a mark, which is disappointing. Incidentally, the Sentry and the SHOWA 3416 gloves are made of the same material - neoprene. This is truly tough stuff when it's been crushed (drysuit) or never blown ("foamed") at all (the gloves).
Yeah, these 3416s are definitely keepers. The 720 is still my favorite glove for sport diving, but when it comes to working dives, the 3416 is tougher, stretchier, and less prone to damage. They may be a little warmer, too.
The thicker fabric of the 3416s make tactile feel pretty much disappear when used with an underglove... Unlike the 720s, which will still give some feel through the glove... But they're so much tougher than anything I've ever had on my hands that I'm a total convert.
I never really finished my testing of the Ansell 58-735s. I find the size 10's too large and bulky, and the size 9's too snug and feeling like they're coming off. I think the problem with them is the general shape - I've just been spoiled by SHOWA.
In the next few days I'll switch one of my ring sets over to the size 9 and try those undergloveless and compare them to the SHOWA 3416s. That might work.
As promised, Friday I decided to try them without using undergloves... So both the Fourth Element Xerotherms and the Burton Powerstretch Glove Liners stayed in the truck... And I dove bare-handed under my 3416s.
Holy smokes, all of my tactile feel was back!
I spent the day cleaning a particularly nasty boat that was full of oysters and barnacles. Not a mark on the gloves anywhere, and I was able to feel my tools just fine... Easily as well as with the SHOWA 720s with the glove liner in... And almost as well as the 720s without the glove liner in.
Make no mistake - the 3416s are definitely thicker and you can feel less than you can in the 720s... But that thickness makes for a practically bulletproof glove and I'd even go so far as to say it's warmer. Make no mistake - the interior of the glove felt cool and kinda clammy as compared to a 720 with an underglove on, but the warmth was adequate and the protection outstanding. The water was 56 degrees and they felt fine... And very dry!
Yesterday I spent the day in a retention pond for the State of South Carolina. Water was 58, and the gloves felt great with bare hands. At some point or another I was feeling my way through the mud, jetting sand out of a culvert pipe and getting things all clean and clear when I came across an unfamiliar shape. With not even a single inch of visibility, I was left to feel the item - half-buried in sediment - to try to identify it.
It took me maybe a minute or more of fondling to figure out what it was... A broken bowl! I had been fondling a broken, sharp, glass bowl for the past minute! Not a mark on the gloves. The 720s would have been shredded. Latex or butyl rubber gloves would have popped like a balloon the moment I touched the glass.
I'm impressed... Like seriously impressed.
At some point or another I must have touched the jagged, broken glass with my thigh and put a slice in my drysuit. It didn't penetrate, and I don't have a leak... Thanks to the super tough fabric of my BARE Sentry hypercompressed neoprene drysuit... But yeah, it left a mark, which is disappointing. Incidentally, the Sentry and the SHOWA 3416 gloves are made of the same material - neoprene. This is truly tough stuff when it's been crushed (drysuit) or never blown ("foamed") at all (the gloves).
Yeah, these 3416s are definitely keepers. The 720 is still my favorite glove for sport diving, but when it comes to working dives, the 3416 is tougher, stretchier, and less prone to damage. They may be a little warmer, too.
The thicker fabric of the 3416s make tactile feel pretty much disappear when used with an underglove... Unlike the 720s, which will still give some feel through the glove... But they're so much tougher than anything I've ever had on my hands that I'm a total convert.
I never really finished my testing of the Ansell 58-735s. I find the size 10's too large and bulky, and the size 9's too snug and feeling like they're coming off. I think the problem with them is the general shape - I've just been spoiled by SHOWA.
In the next few days I'll switch one of my ring sets over to the size 9 and try those undergloveless and compare them to the SHOWA 3416s. That might work.
Appreciate you taking the time to write all that up. You guys have done a ton of research so us little divers don't have to.
Was wearing my 720's last night in the basement with a liner just to get used to the dexterity (still waiting on PU rings). They fit like a glove
Deep South Divers
Contributor
I've updated the chart to reflect my experience with the 3416s. Note in the "NOTES" section that I now have red dots at each of the top recommendations on the chart, with a short explanation.
To be clear, this chart is a product of the testing that I have done. ALL of the gloves on it are my recommendations... But now I've got a red dot next to the top recommendations based on my limited experience with them over the past few thousand dives in a working dive environment.
Downloads of the chart are available here in three different formats:
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.jpg
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.pdf
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.xlsx
To be clear, this chart is a product of the testing that I have done. ALL of the gloves on it are my recommendations... But now I've got a red dot next to the top recommendations based on my limited experience with them over the past few thousand dives in a working dive environment.
Downloads of the chart are available here in three different formats:
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.jpg
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.pdf
www.deepsouthdivers.org/gloves.xlsx
Deep South Divers
Contributor
Thanks divad!
My company can take PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo payments. The information at each is the same: Use pay@deepsouthdivers.org as the contact. It'll come up either as "Howard Bayne" (what the banks call me), or "SeaJay Bayne," which is what everyone else calls me.
Any donation is muchly appreciated! I'll spend it on more research, of course.
On the other hand, I started doing this out of personal need and never thought it'd result in some sort of donation. You're not obligated in any way to donate to use the information we've shared here... But if you feel it's been helpful and you'd like to donate, we'll put the funds to good use.
Thanks in advance!
My company can take PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo payments. The information at each is the same: Use pay@deepsouthdivers.org as the contact. It'll come up either as "Howard Bayne" (what the banks call me), or "SeaJay Bayne," which is what everyone else calls me.
Any donation is muchly appreciated! I'll spend it on more research, of course.
On the other hand, I started doing this out of personal need and never thought it'd result in some sort of donation. You're not obligated in any way to donate to use the information we've shared here... But if you feel it's been helpful and you'd like to donate, we'll put the funds to good use.
Thanks in advance!
Similar threads
