When cold water diving, safety is always the primary concern. That’s why having warm hands during a cold dive makes for a much safer dive. Knowing you can help yourself in case of emergency, and knowing you can help your buddy if there is a need. None of that is possible if your hands are frozen numb, and you can’t feel them from the cold dive.
Let alone how much more enjoyable a dive is when you know you’re well prepared for the conditions.
Coldwater dive gloves can come in many variations. If your Coldwater diving, it’s essential to keep your hands comfortable;
5mm gloves are suitable for temps down to 5-10 degrees
8mm with fingers at 5 mm will keep your hand warmer while maintaining some finger dexterity.
If dexterity isn’t a priority and you are diving extreme cold, having an 8mm neoprene three-finger mitts may be an option.
These are three quick practical solutions for someone who isn’t diving cold water regularly. However, for those who know they are cold water diving, and plan on diving regularly, these remain as some very best options to keep warm, but there are also some more options if you want to be comfortable and safe. That’s Why I have included a dry gloves system and even electrically heated dry gloves. Let’s take a look at your options from the novice’s wetsuit rental diver to the experienced dry suit diver planning on extended bottom times.
Neoprene wet gloves
Neoprene wet gloves are the most practical and affordable option for a diver if you’re planning on keeping warm on your dive. If you’re renting equipment, your dive operator will typically rent you the appropriate thickness of neoprene glove. For a short dive where the water temperature doesn’t drop below 5 degrees, provided you are not overly sensitive to cold temperatures, a 5 mm neoprene glove should keep you warm for 20-35 mins.
If you think you’re more sensitive to the cold like I am, going with a thinker glove will help you be more comfortable on your dive. The main drawback to having a thicker glove is the loss of dexterity to your fingers. Because of that, I recommend a brand that makes a great warm neoprene glove where the fingers are made of thinner neoprene, so there isn’t as much of a loss of dexterity but still provides good thermal protection. For products, recommendations skip to the bottom.
Finally, if you are looking for the best cold-water options for neoprene gloves, and don’t need the use of all your fingers. There are three fingers 8mm thick dive mitts. Commercial divers usually use these with extended bottom times and underwater photographers because they only need their index fingers to shoot. The mits work well to keep the photographer warm when they are hovering in the same position for long, waiting for the perfect shot.
Some of the best things about neoprene gloves are that they are normally more affordable than the other options, and they will work whether you’re diving in a dry suit or a wetsuit. I always have a spare pair of neoprene gloves in my dive bag just in case my dry gloves have a failure. I can still continue diving that day using my trusty neoprene gloves. The dive may be shorter but I am still getting wet.
Let’s take a looks at some of the other options which may be a little more expensive because both will only work if you have a dry suit, but if you plan on diving cold water on a regular basis you will not regret getting a dry glove system for practicality and for comfort let’s take a looks at the options;
Dry glove systems
When it comes to dry gloves they normally differ from brand to brand by the way
Each system attaches the dry glove to your drysuit. The actual glove can vary in the thickness of rubber which is something to keep in mind for loss of dexterity. The thermal protection comes from how thick of a glove you choose to wear inside the dry glove. You can pick anything from a thin liner to a thick winter glove. It will be up to you because your hands are now dry so you won’t really need liner gloves that are too much warmer than you would at a similar temperature outside.
One tip I’ll add here is if diving dry glove with dry wrist seal use a little piece of surgical hose or tubing to let air from you dry suit to enter the dry glove area, this helps prevent uncomfortable squeeze that can happen and more importantly will let some warmer air from the drysuit that’s warmed by your torso to warm your hands.
Some of the different dry glove sealing systems are.
Easy to install, affordable, decent dexterity, difficult to put on solo.
Dui zip-seal dry gloves- comfortable, easy to put on because they are attached to the suit zip-seal if the gloves leak you have a primary leak in your drysuit.
Kubi glove rings are durable, easier to take on and off and have a few liners to pick from if you don’t want to use your own.
Electrical heated dry gloves
For the ultimate comfort and functionality, you need to look no further than electrically warm dry gloves. These systems can be a little pricey as they have separate battery packs and safety shut-off systems in case of flooding so it doesn’t burn or cause an electric shock. For the electrical system to work you have to add a small bulkhead to your drysuit inflation port to allow the electronic connection.
I personally am not using any electric heating system yet but I am strongly considering it for the future to add comfort and duration to my dives as I find, not being a big guy with somewhat low body fat, I am getting cooler faster than the rest of my buddies.
There are currently two brand offerings: heated gloves systems; both are quality brand main differences that I personally would keep in mind is service; one brand is located in the USA and the other in Europe. Having to send a heating system to Poland from Canada will add cost compared to sending it to California. This will really be up to your preferences.
In closing, safety comes first; never let yourself get so cold that you can’t feel your hands and you have lost function in them because they are so cold. That was okay when you were a little kid playing in the snow but when you have a dive buddy that is counting on you to be able to grab them and get them out of the water if need be and vice versa, letting yourself lose the function of your hand isn’t in anyone’s interest. Outside of that, keeping your hands warm and comfortable will only add to the enjoyment of this amazing sport and get you to dive to escape more often.