Switched from dry gloves to wet gloves for winter work, at least for now

I was always a dry glove guy, spent over $500 on a good pair of DUI shells and liners. Thought anyone running wet gloves in January was crazy. Then last month on a job in Lake Erie, 38 degree water, my dry glove valve seized up 20 minutes into the dive. Had to abort and lose half the day. The other diver on the boat uses wet gloves with a thicker neoprene mitt and he was fine, ran a full 4 hour shift. His hands were cold but he said the trick is keeping them moving and having a second pair ready on deck. I borrowed his setup for the next day and honestly it was way less hassle. No more fussing with rings and valves, plus changing out a wet glove takes 30 seconds instead of fighting with a stuck dry ring. I still think dry is better for deep or long saturation work, but for short harbor jobs I'm sold on wet now. Anyone else made the flip for certain gigs?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_reed2621d ago

Wet gloves definitely have their place, but that Lake Erie day sounds like a fluke with the valve. A stuck ring usually means you didn't get it seated right or there was a bit of grit in there. I've had that happen once in 40 degree water and it's brutal, but it's not a normal thing. You can't really compare a broken setup to a working one. Still, your point about quick changes is solid for harbor work. Just keep an eye on those neoprene mitts, they wear out fast on sharp metal and that's a whole other problem.

dixon.willow21d ago

Yeah, you're right. I used to swear by them, but this changed my thinking.