Northwest Dive Club

Ive finally made the move into dry goves. My Whites dry suite has the latest oval ring system so the Antares oval dry gloves were the most appropriate fit. So far everything locked into place and the connection seems secure. Unfortunitly, there hasnt been an opportunity yet to try it out in the Sound.

The gloves came with the yellow fleece/felt liners. Seems a bit bulky under the gloves. I also tried Head gloves from Costco. They are great for running/walking and most outdoor activities. The $10 price is awesome too. Anyhow, i did a little test in the kitchen sink ( w cold water and ice cubes) comparing both gloves and liners. Surprisingly, the costco liners were much warmer and snug fitting ( better dexterity).

Im curious to know what you have found to be the best glove liners and why?

For me, dry gloves are a necessity, not a luxury. I have very very very bad hands (Raynaud Disease). I have bought and tried many liners over the years. For me, these have ended up being the best, by far.
Outdoor Research PL 400

I've used those head gloves from costco with the same thoughts, and though the dexterity was great, the insulation was not. Used them once, then they went back in the truck for post dive hand warming... i've also used whites fleece gloves, and some standard military surplus woolies, but i think the best ones i've used so far are the basic grey woolies that are a bit thinner. I think thinsulate makes some, but you can probably find some generic brands as well. To me, wool has been the best for sure, since even on the days when you get a slight leak, they offer a bit of warmth still. When those Head gloves got a little damp, my hands froze.

Basic wool gloves have been the best compromise between warmth and dexterity. I've even tried to go up a dryglove size to fit thicker insulating gloves underneath, but that was even more cumbersome.

I'm a big fan of the basic blue liners that you can pick up at Seattle Marine (along with Atlas dry gloves). They are cheep at about $2 a pair, they fit either hand and they are snug all the way down to your wrist (no floppy material to get caught in your dry glove seal).

I've used gloves like the Costco ones and the ones in the Amazon link. I didn't think the insulation was that much better, and I found the friction inserts to be annoying when trying to get the gloves inside of the dry gloves themselves.

I've tried wool, but my skin doesn't like it. I've settled on the polarfleece gloves you can buy at the grocery store in the wintertime for about $7. The stretchy, fuzzy ones seem to be the best. They aren't durable, but at that price, I don't mind replacing them, and I can have several pairs in my dry bag in case a glove leaks.

At the marine place in Magnolia they have Thinsulate gloves for $12 a pair. That's what I use and they're awesome. Nice and warm even if they get wet!

I'm with Lynn on the OR gloves- they're really too thin because what we need is loft. I've also used fluffy gloves I've got at the dollar store, but what I'm using right now are Columbia Omniheat gloves- there's enough fleece for loft, and the metallic lining seems to help them keep enough structure so they don't compress too much.

I've had really good luck with a set of wool gloves with Thinsulate liners I found at REI. They are certainly warmer than my previous pair of polartech gloves I used earlier and seem to keep warm even when a bit wet and don't seem too bulky under my rubber gauntlet gloves I wear over the SiTech rings on my Whites.

Wow, I have used the OR gloves for several years now, they seem to work good for me. You guys have me wondering what Im missing out on!

I bought a pair of thinsulate glove liners from REI and they work amazingly. It was hard to find liners that were thinsulate and not some other material, but in the end I found a thick set and they were about $16. Warm, dexterous, love them.

I use some simple polar fleece liners, but find it's the warm air from inside my suit that makes the biggest difference. In the summer I just use a wrist warmer with bare fingers under the rubber gloves. I pull the latex seals on over the fabric.

Gdog wrote:Wow, I have used the OR gloves for several years now, they seem to work good for me. You guys have me wondering what Im missing out on!

Nothing

How much better are any of these liners,over the smurf gloves with the built in liners?

Jeff Pack wrote:How much better are any of these liners,over the smurf gloves with the built in liners?

You get a bit more dexterity with non attached liners, they can also be a bit warmer. Plus, after about 10 dives, the built in liners start smelling like dirty ass.

Use a glove drier, but I like the dirty ass comment