Dry Gloves

[LKunze]

I usually never put tubing under the seals to equalize them.  Even past 100 feet it usually isn't too bad a squeeze for me anyway.  If the water is real cold though like 36F in Superior with no thermocline then I like to use the tubes because it allows you to get air in the gloves and loft the liners a little when you raise your hands.

[Swimjim]

I went with the Scitec 5 system.  I have large hands and they are a bugger to get on and off because the rings are too small and inflexible.  Once they are on, they work fine.  I will probably sell the things before the season is out.  I think I'll find somebody who sells the viking system.  I have heard they work better with man size hands.

Jim

[pink_fins]

Swimjim- I have the viking glove system. After hubby and I got over the idea of do it your self installation, we realy had no problem installing them.

pm me, I will put you on to a good cost dealer in California. 

gail 

[divbum]

Gail, Please post a picture of your Viking system.  I believe it is a new sytem like that of the si tech, vs the older system.  This created confusion while I was talking to you husband during the install.  Thanks

[WIdiver_Paul]

Wow, we've really got a good variety of opinions on this one!

The main thing is to find what works for you.

My vote is Viking rings, cheap gloves (actually I do prefer the thicker OEM Viking rubber because it's slightly more insulating and you can just throw a bicycle innertube patch on holes, I just can't find a new pair!) and for liners I use the Michael jackson thin liners with  wool fingerless overgloves with the thinsulate lining. That way the palm warms your fingertips and you don't sacrifice any tactile sensation. The fingerless also tend to be long at the wrist and allow air to migrate in and out of the glove past your wrist seal (which remain intact on the Vikings system).

[Chris H]

I had an issue with a glove(si-tech rings) yesterday and replaced it with a pull-over rubber glove because that was easiest while I was in the water.  Although my hand stayed dry, the glove was tight enough to not allow sufficient circulation and my hand was really cold.  This has been an issue in the past trying to find an happy medium between too much and too little insulation and is also a big concern when I'm trying other gloves.  The blue ones (Atlas 695 IIRC) still seem to work the best for me when I get the rings to seal properly.  I think it was a bit of wrist seal pinched that was causing my glove issues yesterday.  I have another pair of neoprene rubber(not wetsuit style material) to try, but they will have to go into the rings system as well because the gauntlet is too large to seal on the rings.    One nice thing about the blue gloves is that they have a fabric liner.  if you puncture a glove on a dive it doesn't cause the catastrophic glove failure like I have had on occasion with a rubber glove.  However, it is more difficult to repair the blue gloves between dives if a failure does occur, and they take longer to dry because of the fabric liner.  I'm talking about just the glove, not the yellow insulation that goes with them.  Just a few more things to consider in the search for the perfect dry glove.

[LKunze]

Honestly I've sort of had a change of heart with gloves recently.  I've been using a cheap pair of thin rubber/neoprene gloves from Home Depot since last fall on my rings because I haven't been able to get my new blue gloves I bought a month ago installed.  It's funny, I figured these Home Depot gloves (not much thicker than a dish washing glove) would hole in no time.  Turns out they've been real durable and the dexterity is much better than the blue gloves as well.  The blue gloves are a PITA to get onto the DC ring system.  They are too thick and are a bitch to stretch over the rings.  The cool thing with using rubber gloves is that you do not have to fold the glove gauntlet over the o-ring so that the smooth outside surface seals to the glove ring.  You can just pull the glove over the glove ring and then put the o-ring right over the top of the glove.  The glove being smooth rubber on both sides allows you to use the inside surface to seal against the ring.  This is way easier to install the gloves on the rings.  Again I'm speaking for the Diving Concepts ring system here.  I am not sure how it compares to the Si-Tech or Viking Bayonet glove rings.

[Chris H]

There was some confusion in this thread about Viking rings.  There is apparently a new style, like Gail has, and the old style that are still very popular.  Here is a web page that clearly show the differences and have installation instructions for both types.