Ultima Dry Glove System question

[Deep South Divers]

Oh... And call SHOWA at 800-241-0323 and ask them to send you a couple of samples of the 720. The first few are free, which is a great opportunity to figure out what size fits you best.

They don't even charge for shipping.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I'm in Port Hardy, British Columbia for a dive holiday. There is a fishing/boating supply store next to the hotel where I have bought gloves before. I walked in a few minutes ago and they had boxes full of 720s. I stocked up with a few extra pair.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Nice!! :-D

 

[h53driver]

So, I received both the WP Ultima system and some Showa 720 gloves. Since I do not have a tool built yet, I tried putting the gloves on two ways: 1) with the help of my dive buddy - this took several minutes per glove and was frustrating, as our fingers were fighting each other at times (lots of swearing), and 2) using MaxBottomtime's suggestion of the hand clamp - got a cheapo one from Harbor Freight for $1.49 - took less than a minute per glove by myself (no swearing).

The 720s look and feel great. I like the texture of the glove part, and am thinking, as Seajay says, that I will be able to use them in 50 deg. water without liners. I want to try this out and see - they have exceptional dexterity without a liner.

BTW - what a neat system this seems to be. I won't know until I dive it, but it sure seems like it will work well. Thanks to all the comments above for helping me make the decision, and especially to Sea jay for keeping me from making a big purchase mistake!

Cheers!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I made it through the week with only one leak on the 720s. I closed the rings over a few threads of my inner gloves. The water is 46° so I got a little cold but my arms remained dry. They were fine after that. We even signed up for a second week so we'll be testing them for another five days. I haven't tried them without the liners but my hands were cold on the boat. We're expecting sunshine and warmer temps topside this week, but it's still great not having to worry about the gloves popping off when I reach for the ladder.

 

[a878bob]

The weather here has not been cooperative, so back in the water today after 2 weeks, with my mismatched gloves, I got some nice comments. 84 minutes at 45 F.

So the 282 on the left with a thin liner was appreciably warmer than the 620 on the right with a heavy liner. No leaks so thats a bonus. dexterity was comparable. So i'll have to think about what to replace the 620 with for next time. Either the 720 or retry the 282.

I'll post up after the next dive.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Awesome stuff... I'm thrilled to have the variety of us all able to share what works and what doesn't.

You're welcome, h53driver! Yeah, I think you'll find the 720 so much warmer than latex gloves - or the PVC 660 gloves - that you won't really need a liner at all. But if you do decide to go with a liner, I wholeheartedly recommend the new Fourth Element Xerotherm glove liners. I find them thinner and more dexterous than the standard-in-the-industry Fourth Element G2 liners, and wonderfully soft and fleecy to boot. Machine washable, too, so they're easy to keep clean.

MaxBottomTime, what liners are you using now? I can see wanting liners at 46 degrees... Especially if you're gonna have a longer dive. But anything shorter or warmer, and I think you'll dig the inherent warmth of nitrile without the liner.

a878bob, I can't wait to see what you choose next. I'd love to compare the 282 (or 281, depending on liner type) and the 720... Then add a Xerotherm glove liner and repeat the test. What liners were you using with your 282? 620?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I'm using the generic DUI liners that came with a pair of ZipGloves I had once. We're in our second week here so I'll stop in the fishing store next Saturday and check out liners.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Bummer. It's a shame that you can't get a set of Xerotherm liners. Brand new. Pretty badass, IMHO.

 

[a878bob]

I had my heated liners as the base layer, but not turned on, my right glove has a hot spot, that I’m trying to avoid, they are thin and form fitting. Mostly spandex. Then on the right I had an added thin layer, that are actually diving concepts that I got years ago. Thin also.

But since I have been at work way to much lately, $$$, I ordered up a set of Santi 2.0 gloves, $$$, I’ll get them set up, and post up. Depending on how thick they are, will determine what I put on for gloves next.