£1.29 dry gloves- they worked a treat

[Woz]

So. On with thin Decathlon undergloves (had them from skiing. £4 IIRC). £1.29 Sainsbury's tough rubber gloves on top (they are blue and green and have a nice tight wrist). Put drysuit on as normal with the wrist seal on top of the rubber glove. Then finished the whole lot off with a thin neoprene glove to offer some protection to the rubber.

I had the above setup on my left hand and a Poseidon 5mm cold water glove on the other so I could compare.

Guess which hand was warm and dry and toasty? The best £1.29 ever spent on dive kit.

So- questions I know I am going to be asked:

1. Equalising. The underglove comes back on my wrist past the seal so they equalised with air percolating through the fleecy fabric
2. Dexterity. About the same as 5mm glove
3. Donning. Need talc as you have rubber on rubber sliding (steady on, Finless)
4. Kitting up. Well imagine kitting up in 5mm dry gloves and they are about the same. You can leave the neoprene gloves off until afterwards if you like to add some dexterity. I needed help with my neck seal although a bit of practice might nail that
5. Doffing. A bit of a pain but no worse than other dry gloves

All in all, an astounding success. For £1.29 I had warm, dry hands. See you all in Sainsburys tomorrow. The keys to choosing the right rubber gloves are:

• Tight wrist. Ones with a baggy wrist will cause creases and channelling.
• Smooth rubber outer. Obvious really. A textured palm is ok but the wrist has to be smooth.
• Some sort of "toughness". Marigolds would work fine but the Sainsbury's tough ones (blue with a green wrist) were about spot-on. You may want to trim off the green bit, actually, as the seal is made on the blue bit (but this may vary with your suit)

[Odin]

Got a few thin rubber gloves around at work...

[purple vonny]

Goood news! I was wondering yesterday if you had tried them out. Nice one Woz!

[Jim Shaw]

Originally Posted by Woz

Some sort of "toughness". Marigolds would work fine

I tried the Marigolds a few weeks ago in Stoney, put on the marigolds, then put on my drysuit, so the latex seal was over the top of the marigolds, then put on my normal 3mm gloves,

Jumped in and after 2 - 3 metres, I got wet, but carried on the dive anyway, after the dive was finished ( 45 mins to 36 metres ) I got out and was soaked, undersuit was sodden, and my dive buddy peeing herself laughing.

I for one, won't be trying the Marigolds again

[Woz]

Sorry to hear that, Jim. Worked a treat for me. The trick is to make sure the two rubber surfaces are perfectly smooth against each other.

[Lou]

Originally Posted by Woz

Sorry to hear that, Jim. Worked a treat for me. The trick is to make sure the two rubber surfaces are perfectly smooth against each other.

Sounds like you need fat wrists Marigolds are HUGE!

[Woz]

I tried several gloves before settling on the Sainsbury's ones. Tescos black rubber gloves are too baggy, unlined washing up gloves are too baggy too. The Sainsbury's ones are just right, in a Goldilocks stylee- no creases when on over the undergloves.

Admittedly it does help if you are partial to the occasional pie or two.

[Jim Shaw]

Originally Posted by Woz

Sorry to hear that, Jim.

No probs, it was one of those things which sounded like a great idea at the time, I'd read a thread of yours which mentioned it, and thought brilliant idea, there's no reason that won't work

I'm going to stoney on tuesday, and really must try out my drygloves, which I've had for over a year now, and still never tried them, they seem so bulky on land, and although the should " shrink " a bit underwater with the pressure, I still don't think they are going to be an ideal solution.

Drygloves question , drygloves latex seal, under the drysuit seal or over the top????

[Dan Wilko]

I think over, not sure though

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Jim Shaw

Drygloves question , drygloves latex seal, under the drysuit seal or over the top????

Not sure. My expertise lies with washing up gloves. I would guess over.