Dry glove wrist rings

[Andrew Elliott]

Has anyone tried the "wrist ring" system for dry gloves? whilst they look a good idea there is bound to be catch? Anyone able to throw some advice my way would be appreciated.

[Ben Panter]

Hi Andrew,

I have a pair of the SI-Tech ring system drygloves. I think they would be excellent for anyone with hands that are smaller than dinner plates - unfortunately my hands are so big that I have trouble getting them through the rings. The wrist seal on your suit is left intact, and sealed - even if the dry gloves leak your suit will not let in water. They're pretty easy to fit once you get the hang of them - I think my suit suffers from being slightly short in the arm.

If you'd like a pair you could make me an offer on mine, inc. postage. Some photos on Dry Gloves for Sale (http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5834) thread. Worn, er, three times. No fault except that they aren't quite big enough for me (no gloves ever are really)

Ben

[David Walker]

I've used them for years. While yes, they can stop you sticking your arm in small holes, but i've never really found it a problem. The advantages of warm, dry, easy to put on and off gloves far outweighs the slightly chunky arm for me.

One thing to bear in mind though, depending on the type of seals on your suit, the rings can be very close to your wrist, or further up your arm. When I first put the rings on my suit it had "manchette" seals (very long ones that fold back on themself), and the seal actually starts pretty much at the wrist. With the ring on, the ring was almost at my knuckles, and very uncomfortable to wear. Was however easy to get the seals changed, and they just chopped a bit off the end of the arm when they did it - been perfect since.

David

[Craig]

A few people in our club have used them with great success.

The only downside was that despite the manufacturers saying they don't permanently stretch the wrist seal they did. However, people have got around this by simply exchanging the glove for a normal wrist seal on the ring.

I don't use them myself as I feel I'm probably too clumsy and would end up putting a hold in them and getting wet arms.

[Woz]

You don't need them. Just buy some Sainsbury's rubber gloves, thin undergloves and use summer neoprene gloves.

Put the undergloves on first, then the rubber gloves (they must have a tight wrist so no creases). Don your drysuit as normal (with plenty of talc). Put the normal drysuit seals over the rubber gloves. Finish off with your neo gloves to offer mechanical protection.

Hey presto. Dry gloves for less than £2. Tried these in Stoney last week and they were dry as a bone and toasty warm (( had a 5mm neo glove on the other hand and it was way warmer than that). As long as the underglove comes back past the wrist seal, it will equalise. The key is picking some gloves that are nice and tight on the wrist. Here is my "test fitting" with some yellow washing up gloves. Ended up using Sainsburys tough gloves- they are blue with a green wrist and just the right size so they are not too baggy on the wrist.

http://www.kitfondle.co.uk/images/rings/marigold.jpg

[David Walker]

You don't need them. Just buy some Sainsbury's rubber gloves, thin undergloves and use summer neoprene gloves.

Depends why you use them. If it's purely a warmth thing, then yep, great. However one of the big advantages of dry gloves is they are very quick and easy to get on and off - just a second or to to click the glove on. Obviously that aspect is missing.

David

[Woz]

Depends why you use them. If it's purely a warmth thing, then yep, great. However one of the big advantages of dry gloves is they are very quick and easy to get on and off - just a second or to to click the glove on. Obviously that aspect is missing.

DavidI should coco. It's a bit of a faff.

[Andrew Elliott]

thanks to all for the advice i now have a set on the way



Andy
nothing ventured nothing gained

[Richard Whitcombe]

Do these SI-Tech rings allow you to dive the suit with wet gloves if you want or once fitted do you need to always use the dry gloves to keep the seal?

(im thinking of diving in the summer where im happy in 3mm wet gloves but still drysuit).

How easy are they to don/doff yourself? Can they be done entirely without help?

[David Walker]

Do these SI-Tech rings allow you to dive the suit with wet gloves if you want or once fitted do you need to always use the dry gloves to keep the seal?

(im thinking of diving in the summer where im happy in 3mm wet gloves but still drysuit).

How easy are they to don/doff yourself? Can they be done entirely without help?

You can set most dry gloves up to either keep the inner seal, or get rid of it - the ring just goes inside the normal wrist seal. So if you keep the inner seal, you will still be watertight without the dryglove on - but will want a bit of silicone tubing or something similar under the seal to keep the glove pressure equalised with your suit.

Personally I wear my dry gloves all year - not because I need the warmth, but because I couldn't see a reason to change back. They're easier to put on (and take off) then wet gloves, and you can wear whatever you like underneath to be as warm or cold as you like. I don't have any less dexterity in dry gloves than wet gloves - and generally can do more with my hands in dry gloves than wet.

And yes, you should be able to put them on and take them off very easily yourself - although there is a bit of a knack to it with some brands of dryglove and might take you a couple of tries to work out the easiest way of doing it.

David

[seadeuce]

Does anyone use these drygloves with a neoprene drysuit and neoprene cuff seals?


Seadeuce

[Andrew Elliott]

Do these SI-Tech rings allow you to dive the suit with wet gloves if you want or once fitted do you need to always use the dry gloves to keep the seal?

(im thinking of diving in the summer where im happy in 3mm wet gloves but still drysuit).

How easy are they to don/doff yourself? Can they be done entirely without help?

Just got a set friday so new to using them, however so far i found them very easy to use a little fiddly getting them on to the suit but once on no problems. Since they fit over the seals on your suit, you can wear whatever gloves you want dry, thin or none. They do feel a little strange around the wrist but my are hands warm and dry, shame about the suit thought. it leaked baddly
As for on and off, no problems simply twist the ring on off they come. The inner glove on mine is a little big but i can change that out for a smaller one. so far i am impressed

[Ben Panter]

Glad to hear it ;)

Ben

[Richard Whitcombe]

Im seriously tempted to try then. I gave up on latex cuff dry gloves as the 2nd glove proved impossible to put on yourself.

Its that nasty time of year.

And yes with my dry suit my hands maybe dry but the rest of me will be absolutely soaked through as usual.

[Richard Holden]

Am with Richard here - though slightly off topic - tried dry gloves years ago but didn't get on with them, as they took too long to get on and didn't stay dry. I have box-section wrists, slightly concave on the upper face, and a long trough running up the underside of my forearms, so I am always wet up to the elbows. I generally dive without gloves as I have big hands and find them difficult to get on. Also I take photos and pressing those little buttons very difficult with gloves. When I'm diving a wreck I know to be all rusty sharp edges, or in moving water, I wear fingerless gloves to protect the rest of my hand. Would be interested to hear others solutions to wet arms.

[Paul]

Would be interested to hear others solutions to wet arms.

Richard, the GF uses this - http://www.bluesports.co.uk/acatalog/Blue_Sports_Limited_Bio_Seals_73.html to prevent 'hacksaw neck'. A side effect of using it is a really good seal.

They might solve your wrist problem?

Paul

[Ed Howarth]

Quote:
"The new concept of the Apollo Bio-Seal is to provide the diver (Dry Suit Wearer) to achieve a continual leak free atmosphere whilst in a submereged exposure."

They may make good seals but they can sure as hell murder the Queen's English.

Looks a good idea though. May actually be better than a cable tie around the neck. :eek: Reminds me also of when we put a load of gaffer tape around a split neck seal. He kept dry but he wasn't half sore when we ripped it off again.

Ed

[Richard Whitcombe]

I use the bioseal on my neck of the one drysuit. It works well but is sometimes a pain to unroll and get to sit flat.

[Mark Papp]

The "damage the wrist seal" problem with dry gloves is overcome by adding shorter wrist seals over the originals and mounting the rings on them.

That way the inner seal never has to expand dramatically to fit the ring, so it doesn't get damaged.

Regards,

Mark