Ok, time for the full-disclosure disclaimer: I’m not a fan of DUI. I think the quality of their products has declined over the years, while their prices have climbed and their customer service sunk to new lows. Not a good combination.

The results were not great – mixed at best. On all of the
dives that I wore the two different gloves, the the crushed neoprene glove was warmer
for the first 30 minutes or so. Over the
last 30 minutes of the dives, however, the difference between them was
negligible. Both hands were pretty cold.
As for durability, there's no doubt that the crushed
neoprene is a tough glove. At the same
time, though, it takes away an awful lot of dexterity and tactile sense.
Initially, part of the problem was sizing. The first pair that I tried were
size large -- I always wear large gloves. When they arrived and I tried them
on, they seemed to fit. It was only at the dive site that I noticed a problem.
Normally simple tasks, such as putting on my wrist computer and compass, or
attaching my drysuit inflator hose, were no longer simple. And the problems
continued underwater.
It turned out that the glove fingers were all about a
half-inch longer than my fingers. Because of this, and the stiffness of the
material, I had a hard time grabbing anything. DUI has apparently made the
fingers of the large-size glove intentionally longer than usual after getting
feedback from test divers. That wasn’t the case with me. After a couple of
dives, I switched to a pair of mediums. I found those to be a little tight and
my dexterity and tactile sense was still terrible.
Would I recommend these gloves for cold-water diving? Nope. You just lose too much sense of feeling
without the benefit of being significantly warmer. There are better options out there.
These gloves sell for approximately $200.
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