April 2002
By John Brumm

"It's the tropics. The ocean is bathwater warm. I don't need gloves!" Oh yeah? You may not need the thermal insulation, but you certainly need the protection. After all, while no responsible diver purposely sets out to play touchy-feely with cherished reef or wreck structures, sometimes it happens, and that's when all kinds of sharp stuff seems to leap up to wreak havoc on bare skin. Not to mention all those nonecologically sensitive bogies like barnacle-covered mooring lines and rusty dive ladders. Ouch!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Materials. Because the issue is protection rather than insulation, the back sides of tropical gloves can be made of thin, high-stretch neoprene or polyester mesh. The palm, on the other hand, must be able to resist punctures and scrapes but still provide enough finger dexterity to finesse mask straps and camera controls. Synthetic leather, particularly "Amara," is the most popular palm material because it's tough yet very supple. Textured poly vinyls are also tough, but they tend to be less flexible.

Styles: Split vs. solid. The tropical gloves reviewed here fall into two categories: what we'll call "split-wrist" and "solid-wrist."

Split-wrist gloves are easiest to don and secure with a short Velcro flap. Solid-wrist gloves tend to be longer in the cuff and come with an elastic strap that encircles the wrist. While some divers feel this strap is unnecessary, others feel it contributes to a more secure fit.

About half the gloves reviewed have the Velcro attachment pads for their wrist straps or flaps on the top of the wrist, about where you'd wear your watch; the other half secure to the underside of the wrist. Although we could discern no inherent advantage or disadvantage to either position, we found we preferred the pad placement on top.

Rating System

Excellent *****
Very Good ****
Good ***
Fair **
Poor *

Bare's 1.5mm Glove: Roomy Finger Pockets

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| Bare 1.5mm Glove|
Rating:** ******

The back of this flexible glove is constructed of 1.5mm neoprene. Its Amara palm has a reinforcing layer in the grip zone as well as in the curve between thumb and index finger. The finger pockets are boxed to eliminate finger squeeze, but the cross-stitched seams on the fingertips affect dexterity a bit. In spite of this, with the help of a tapered thumb pocket we were able to pick up a quarter from a flat surface without much trouble. The cinch strap secures to a Velcro pad on the underside of the wrist.

Price: $24.95.
Style: Solid-wrist.
Material: Neoprene/Amara.
Sizes: 5.
Color: Black.
Contact: Bare Sportswear, (604) 533-7848.
Web:www.bare-wetsuits.com

Dacor's Caribbean: Rugged Comfort

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| Dacor's Caribbean|
Rating:** *******

With textured reinforcement strips overlying the synthetic leather palm and both sides of finger and thumb tips, you'd think this glove would be stiff and unwieldy. Quite the contrary. The glove is quite comfortable, and while the boxed fingers do have a cross-stitched seam at their tips, the somewhat sticky overlay material actually makes it possible to pick up a penny while wearing this glove. The 2mm neoprene backing material is high-stretch. The expandable strap secures on the underside of the wrist.

Price: $39.
Style: Solid-wrist.
Material: Neoprene/synthetic leather.
Sizes: 6.
Color: Black.
Contact: Dacor, (800) 323-0463.
Web:www.divedacor.com

H2Odyssey Tropic 2mm: Gets the Job Done

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| H2Odyssey Tropic|
Rating:** *****

The split-wrist style makes it easy to don and doff this glove. The wrist flap secures on the underside of the wrist. Like the Caribbean, this 2mm neoprene-backed glove also uses strips of textured reinforcing material over an Amara palm to increase durability. Fingers are boxed with cross-stitched seams and textured pads at the tips. The thumb is tapered. Providing good stretch and adequate dexterity, the glove could pick up a quarter with little problem.

Price: $24.
Style: Split-wrist.
Material: Neoprene/Amara.
Sizes: 5.
Color: Black.
Contact: H2Odyssey, (760) 599-4097.
Web:www.h2odyssey.com

Parkway Reef Shark: Nicest Finish

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| Parkway Reef Shark|
Rating:** ******

A good-looking, flexible warm-water glove, the Reef Shark has a 2mm neoprene back with black Amara palms and extra material sewn into the high-stress areas. The expandable wrist strap secures on top of the wrist, which we tend to prefer. The four fingers are boxed, and cross-stitched seams do affect fingertip sensitivity. But in spite of this, we were able to effortlessly snatch up a quarter from a flat surface.

Price: $31.
Style: Solid-wrist.
Material: Neoprene/ Amara.
Sizes: 6.
Color: Black.
Contact: Parkway, (800) 587-2822.
Web:www.parkwayscuba.com

Scubapro Tropic Amara Sport: Soft and Supple

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| Scubapro Tropic Amara Sport|
Rating:** *******

With its 1.5mm neoprene back and Amara palm, the Tropic Amara Sport is the lightest, the most flexible, and the most comfortable of all gloves reviewed. It also offers the best fingertip sensitivity. Only the second and third fingers are fully boxed, and none of the fingertips are cross-stitched. This enabled us to retrieve a penny from a flat surface with little effort. The elastic stitching in the wrist area works with the wrist-top Velcro flap to provide a secure fit.

Price: $31.
Style: Split-wrist.
Material: Neoprene/Amara.
Sizes: 6.
Color: Black.
Contact: Scubapro, (619) 402-1023.
Web:www.scubapro.com

TUSA DG-3800 Warm Water Gloves: A Choice of Colors

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| TUSA DG-3800 Warm Water|
Rating:** *****

Unique among the gloves reviewed, TUSA's DG-3800 has a lightweight, high-stretch polyester mesh back and a somewhat stiff nonslip polyvinyl palm. Fingers and thumb are tapered and come with an extra layer of polyvinyl on the tips. Due to its palm construction, the glove is stiffer than most, but we were still able to pick up a quarter without much hassle. The Velcro flap secures on top of the wrist. A miniature clip is provided to hook the gloves together when you're not using them, a handy feature. Available in black, cobalt blue, flash yellow and flash pink.

Price: $23.
Style: Split-wrist.
Material: Polyester mesh/polyvinyl.
Sizes: 5.
Colors:4.
Contact: TUSA, (562) 498-3708.
Web: www.TUSA.com