Still don't get why everyone swears by dry gloves after I flooded a pair in Puget Sound last November.

Had a brand new pair of Viking dry gloves lock up on me at 90 feet during a pile inspection, water came in through the wrist seal and I spent 20 minutes trying to get them off, so now I just stick with my wet gloves and hand warmers even when the water hits 45 degrees - has anyone else had dry gloves fail like that or was it just my bad luck with that brand?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_murphy152d ago

My first dive with a pair of Mares dry gloves at 60 feet in a quarry last spring, and the left one just started filling up out of nowhere... felt like a water balloon strapped to my wrist. Had to abort the whole inspection and spend the next 10 minutes fighting to get them off on the surface while my hand went numb. Switched back to my old wet gloves after that and haven't looked back since.

faith_torres831d ago

That exact thing happened to me with a pair of Mares dry gloves at 50 feet in a lake. The left one ripped right at the cuff seal. It's almost always the ring or the seal itself that goes bad, not the glove. Those plastic rings can crack if you overtighten them or if there's a tiny bit of sand trapped under there. I switched to the Si-Tech system after that and haven't had a leak since. Also, check if your drysuit's wrist seals are tight enough - if they're loose, the glove system can pull off easier. You might be able to fix them with a new set of latex rings, but honestly, that bad experience made me dump Mares gloves for good.