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Tips and Advice That Will Help All Divers – 18.5 min
In this video lesson we discuss many things that will help a lot of divers. They include compass teaching techniques, why divers kneels down, why do instructors cut corners when teaching, overweighting and underweighting problems, when you should make check dives and why you should never be afraid to make changes to your equipment.
14 Comments on “Outer Dry Glove Options For Cold Water Divers – 11 min”
Hi Steve!
Thank you very much for this new video! I dive exactly the same thick rubber gloves and dexterity is a real pain with them indeed. Could you please state the types of Showa gloves you recommend and where to buy them?
Thanks 🙂
I’ve been using Ansell green nitrile unflocked gloves for years. Inexpensive at Grainger.com (<4USD/pair) and very sturdy. They also have Showa gloves.
https://www.grainger.com/category/safety/hand-arm-protection/safety-gloves/chemical-resistant-gloves/general-purpose-chemical-resistant-gloves?tv_optin=true&searchQuery=chemical+resistant+glove&searchBar=true&suggestConfigId=6&tier=Not+Applicable
I use the Ansell Alpha-Tec 37-646 (11mil raised diamond grip pattern) and go years without changing the gloves (50-80 dives/year). I use 3mm neoprene gloves under the Ansell gloves and dive almost exclusively in 11-12C water. I have enough dexterity with them to work my cameras without issues.
Correction: I use the 15mil High Tactility Ansell glove. There is an equivalent Showa glove also.
I must’ve missed the comment saying what exactly they are. Showa? 730-10?
I use the Showa 720R. It is rather dexterous even with fourth element G2’s
Hi, is it Showa 730? Which size did you use? 10 or 11?
Hi Jakub, please check comments again. I have added a comment with all details. Cheers, Steve
Hi Steve, in the video you said you’d share the Showa model you were happy with in the comments. Could you please let us know? With winter season starting I could use some.
Please check comments again now Martijn, all details I have added. Cheers, Steve
I gotta say I much prefer the lighter colored gloves in the darker waters here in The Netherlands. Aside from the dexterity issues with the Santi gloves, they’re just so hard to see. I even wear my Marigolds inside out so the white side is out. My buddies seem to appreciate it (plus it looks good combined with my white fins 😉 )
Hi Steve. Which type of Showa gloves has been proven as optimal for your purpose? Thanks, Oskar
Hi Oskar, I just checked my gloves as I arrived back in UK and the green ones shown in video are a Showa 727-11. The 11 I believe is the size and they fit over a Santi heated glove size Large. This is the manufacturers website link https://www.showagroup.com/eu-en/shop/727. Regards, Steve
UPDATE: There was actually 3 gloves we tested that fitted over a Santi heated glove size large.
Green Glove – Written on my gloves was Showa 727-11. The 11 I believe is the size, this is the manufacturers website link https://www.showagroup.com/eu-en/shop/727. This one I am testing and think was the strongest material out of the 3, similar to the orange glove.
Orange glove – Showa 707HVO-11 This one Vas is currently testing https://www.showagroup.com/eu-en/shop/707hvo
Blue glove – Showa 707D-11 https://www.showagroup.com/eu-en/shop/707d and https://coolsafety.nl/p/showa-707d-12-stuks-handschoenen/ This one Lex from 4Divers has and tested. He says it fits great but thinks the material is quite fragile, maybe the other 2 I suggest are better.
Thank you for testing out gloves. Super helpful! I’ve been doing a lot of glove testing, but have yet to try the Showa 727 gloves. I’ve been using the Showa CHM gloves for around two years now and really like them. They are a flock lined, neoprene over natural rubber glove. A bit thin in the cuff area so I double over the cuff to give the ring system (Roloc 90) something to bite into. They allow a lot of dexterity, and the neoprene coating is fairly durable.