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In a message dated 3/27/99 10:44:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, mmowens@pa*.co* writes: > Pardon me, please, for asking what may be a really stupid question... > > Is it ever okay (DIR, that is) to wear gloves in a cave? For example, if > the water is cold, say 40 degrees (Fahrenheit), is it okay to wear gloves? I can't even pretend to be a spokesperson for DIR. I'll just share my opinion. Warm water cavers choose not to wear gloves in order to have increased tactile sensation in case it becomes necessary to make contact with the line. For example, in case of a silt out. Most of the time, nothing occurs during a dive which would require contact with the line. In cold water, numb hands reduce tactile sensation and dexterity. It would be important to keep hands warm for routine tasks during the dive, such as clipping and unclipping stage bottles, adjusting bouyancy, etc. and also for non-routine tasks such as valve shutdowns. In case there is some reason to contact the line, the glove can be removed at that time. Further, my interpretation of the DIR philosophy is to use the right equipment for the dive, use only necessary equipment, configure it in a routine manner that works no matter what auxilliary equipment is added for the dive (e.g. scooters, lights, stage bottles, argon bottles), and in general have a reason for any equipment being used. I may have missed a basic pretext in there, but I think I hit the highlights. My opinion is that cold water diving has different requirements than warm water diving. Proper exposure protection is required in any environment. For cold water, gloves are part of that. Another example of a different requirement has to do with the size of clips used on lights, stage bottles, etc. In cold water, because of those gloves, large clips should be used. It's easier to manipulate them while wearing thick gloves than the smaller clips. Certainly these larger clips can also be used in warm water, but warm water divers don't require them, and thus may not routinely use them. They are more expensive than similar smaller clips, after all. In keeping with the DIR philosophy of being able to use the same gear configuration in any environment, I'd have to say that warm water divers who might someday dive in cold water should move to using the larger clips. Is it DIR to use gloves in a cave? Is it DIR to use small clips on equipment? It's DIR to use the equipment that is necessary, proper, required for the dives you do or might do. I think this means that gloves and large clips in cold water are ok and no gloves and small clips in warm water are also ok. -JS
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