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I do not were gloves in water as cold as 47 F any colder than that I would think gloves are necessary. Of coarse this is up to the diver and there ability to deal with cold water. If I do wear gloves it is of the thinner models. I like the titanium gloves that are 3 mm if I do wear gloves. Cutting out the fingers is also a good choose for people who like to where gloves. I am one of the few who tolerate the cold and deal with it until it is to cold for me. Jsuw@ao*.co* wrote: > 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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