Dry gloves - rings vs latex seals

[dagrath]

So I am kicking around what route I plan to go with gloves on my new dry suit. I know the ring systems like the sitech ones are very popular, but I am kind of worried about wearing out the wrist seals prematurely. I have no idea how valid that fear is though.

Another option that seems tempting is going with the Nordic Blue latex wrist seal sort of gloves, such as the ones on this blog The shadowdweller - Easy donning of dry gloves with a latex seal ...

The benefit of those would be that they are cheaper ($68 vs the $165 that ST sells the Dive Rite dry gloves for), and they shouldn't wear out my wrist seals.

It seems a key downside would be that any real damage to the glove costs me $68 to repair as opposed to the $3.50 to buy new atlas gloves for the ring systems.

Anyone who has actually used both, or familiar with both systems want to weigh in? Thanks!

[CompuDude]

How deep will you be going?

Squeeze can be an issue with deeper dives and the Nordic drygloves.

Personally, I do way too much diving in surf, surge and urchin barrens to risk gloves that expensive.

Rings such as the Diving Concepts (which are far superior to the Si Tech rings) are pretty incredible. I spent a lot of time going back and forth between the Viking Bayonets and the Diving Concepts rings. Ended up with the DC rings and have been happy as can be.

A couple of glove changes and the cost difference between the Nordics and the glove rings will even out.

[dagrath]

I doubt I will be going really deep regularly. We have a lot of great shore diving, so I bet it will be rare to go deeper than 100 feet. I haven't done AOW yet, so most of my diving is happening between 40 and 60 feet. Since I do primarily shore diving, this is what most of my dives will be even after AOW I think.

Right after I posted, I found a few places that sell the SI Tech rings only (no gloves) for $95, which would allow me to put on the Atlas gloves for cheap and knock a lot of cost off of the ring system.

What about wearing out seals though, is that a real concern?

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by dagrath

I doubt I will be going really deep regularly. We have a lot of great shore diving, so I bet it will be rare to go deeper than 100 feet. I haven't done AOW yet, so most of my diving is happening between 40 and 60 feet. Since I do primarily shore diving, this is what most of my dives will be even after AOW I think.

Right after I posted, I found a few places that sell the SI Tech rings only (no gloves) for $95, which would allow me to put on the Atlas gloves for cheap and knock a lot of cost off of the ring system.

What about wearing out seals though, is that a real concern?

I can only attest for certain regarding the Diving Concepts rings, not the Si Techs. I think the DC rings (suitside) are a twinge smaller than the Si Techs (smaller = less stretching of the seals), and are definitely smaller than the Viking Bayonet rings.

Rings do put extra wear on the seals. Frankly, though, my seals have lasted just as long as you would expect them to last being used normally, as plain seals. I do NOT, however, switch back and forth. Since I installed my DC rings, I have only used drygloves.

Note, however, that, depending on how you install the DC rings, the wrist seal remains functional, just shortened. For me, the way it happened to fit in the sleeve and seal of my DS (DUI CLX450), the seals are pretty short, to the point that I can be pretty much guaranteed damp forearms if I do not attach the gloves. They are, however, sufficient to keep my arms dry "enough" in the event of a total glove failure at depth. Due to an improperly attached, hasty glove change just before a dive last weekend, one glove lost integrity entirely. Because of the inner seal, however, I ended up with one dry arm, and one arm that was just a little damp, not even really enough to squeeze out actual liquid. On some suits with some longer seals, it's quite possible you'll be able to have fully-functional inner seals which you can dive without the gloves, totally normally, you just have the suit side rings still on, which are a tad bulky (but obviously manageable).

For me, drygloves (rings) were a godsend. I have slim wrists and prominent tendons... seals simply don't work well on me. Every dive was somewhat wet for me. Snap on the drygloves, and my sleeves are DRY.

[Gombessa]

I'm using the Viking rings - $85 for the rings + $3 for the gloves from Seattle Marine. It's the only dry system I've used so I can't compare it to anything else, but the difference between using drygloves and wet gloves is amazing. If you dive in cold water and either 1) use thick 5-7mm gloves and have no dexterity, or 2) use 3mm gloves and your hands freeze, the drygloves are the best of both worlds - warmer than the 7mms, as much dexterity as the 3mm. Plus, I have the same problem as Compudude - skinny wrists (I did not cut my neck or wrist seals at all and the all still leak a bit) and prominent tendons. Drygloves finally let my arms be 100% dry.

I installed the rings so I have the full wrist seal system intact - no shortening, no reduction in sealing. I don't use any rope or cord to equalize the glove space with the suit either, as most of my dives have a max depth above 80ft, at which point I don't feel any squeeze. Plus, with the prominent tendons, all I really have to do is flex/tweak my wrist a bit to break the wrist seal a bit and suck in some air.

[RoyN]

Compudude, Gombessa, where did you bought the viking rings for $85 dollars? The cheapest one I saw was $135 from a website and that doesn't include the gloves.

[in_cavediver]

I have both nordic gloves and si-tech rings. I started with the nordic gloves and my wrists got cold where the latex seals overlapped. I switched to rings last year and they are a LOT easier to put on. I also lost that 'cold' spot. I had a total glove failure (user induced) and the seal held on the suit.

I say go with the rings.

[Charles R]

I prefer my ring gloves I have not see any additional where on my wrist seals from the rings. I also don't take the rings off my dry suit when I am diving with out gloves.

[Gombessa]

Originally Posted by RoyN

Compudude, Gombessa, where did you bought the viking rings for $85 dollars? The cheapest one I saw was $135 from a website and that doesn't include the gloves.

Roy,

PM Bob3 on scubaboard. He's an authorized Viking dealer and sells the ring kit without the gloves for that price. You'll have to get your own gloves of course.

[dagrath]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

I can only attest for certain regarding the Diving Concepts rings, not the Si Techs. I think the DC rings (suitside) are a twinge smaller than the Si Techs (smaller = less stretching of the seals), and are definitely smaller than the Viking Bayonet rings.

Rings do put extra wear on the seals. Frankly, though, my seals have lasted just as long as you would expect them to last being used normally, as plain seals. I do NOT, however, switch back and forth. Since I installed my DC rings, I have only used drygloves.

Note, however, that, depending on how you install the DC rings, the wrist seal remains functional, just shortened. For me, the way it happened to fit in the sleeve and seal of my DS (DUI CLX450), the seals are pretty short, to the point that I can be pretty much guaranteed damp forearms if I do not attach the gloves. They are, however, sufficient to keep my arms dry "enough" in the event of a total glove failure at depth. Due to an improperly attached, hasty glove change just before a dive last weekend, one glove lost integrity entirely. Because of the inner seal, however, I ended up with one dry arm, and one arm that was just a little damp, not even really enough to squeeze out actual liquid. On some suits with some longer seals, it's quite possible you'll be able to have fully-functional inner seals which you can dive without the gloves, totally normally, you just have the suit side rings still on, which are a tad bulky (but obviously manageable).

For me, drygloves (rings) were a godsend. I have slim wrists and prominent tendons... seals simply don't work well on me. Every dive was somewhat wet for me. Snap on the drygloves, and my sleeves are DRY.

Awesome, thanks for the info. I have very slim wrists and fairly prominent tendons as well, which is one of the things that had me thinking dry gloves in the first place.

I don't suppose you know a place to get the DC rings for a reasonable price? I couldn't find anywhere online, and my LDS wants to sell me the set for $180ish.