The C-Bear tri-glove system, as the name suggests, is three individual gloves designed specifically to be worn in various combinations, to suit the diver's needs and requirements.

As you would expect, a lot of thought and care has gone into the construction of the Thinsulate glove. The glove liner, which is donned first, has several layers. A cotton lining (for comfort), then a flexi-Thinsulate layer (for warmth), which is then protected by a breathable waterproof membrane. The outside of the glove is then finished in a durable silky black polyester material. Over this a robust latex glove is worn with a long wrist seal, the fingers of which have been dipped to provide extra strength.

To provide the ultimate in protection, C-Bear recommend a set of chain mail gloves which form the third layer. These gloves are manufactured by plasma welding, so no weak links, and with stainless steel elastication at the wrist; the gloves stay on quite nicely. You can order them in titanium too!

I could self-don both tri-gloves easily, with no hassle and it didn't take 25 minutes of concentrated hard work (and swearing) either. The glove sealed easily onto my dry suit cuff (Britannic Otterskin suit, latex cuffs), though I have to admit that when I first looked at the seal on the glove I wondered if it would work ok. It did, a treat.

Additionally, real life could continue with the gloves on. It was refreshing to be able to do up clips and buckles and perform tasks without everything becoming mission impossible. In the past with other dry gloves, fingers would suddenly resemble an uncoordinated bundle of large orange coloured pork sausages, with about as much use!
Ok, so far so good, but how did these gloves perform in the water? I have been diving the tri-glove system since the middle of March, and their performance has been great.

The tri-glove doesn't noticeably keep your hands warm - i.e. there was not that 'roasting' feeling - however they did not get cold. The hand had normal movement and was comfortable and worked fine. During the dives I experienced a slight squeeze in them past 30 metres, but nothing uncomfortable or disabling. None of the dives were conducted below 50 metres, so I cannot comment on their performance in this range.

For all you gear freaks out there (most of the diving population) the chain mail looked really cool. However I found it difficult to turn off tank valves and ended up diving only once with chain mail on. At £200 a pair, I got paranoid at losing them!
All in all, C-Bear has definitely produced by far and away the easiest, warmest dry glove system that I have dived.

Thinsulate gloves £26.50 in sizes small, medium, large and extra large Latex gloves £11.00 in sizes medium, large and extra large Chain mail gloves £200 made to order Distributed by Prinsport Telephone: 01827 - 287 274 Email: peter@prinsport.softnet.co.uk C-Bear website: http://www.web-direct.co.uk/c-bear

Review by Rosemary Lunn