Akona All ArmorTex Dive Gloves

Great gloves for lobster, uni, & spearfishing. They are a good tough glove and were comfortable enough to wear without another pair under them. They don't provide warmth which many people noted, so I tried a pair of light weight diving gloves under them and that worked well, though I didn't need it because water temps were warm enough. You can still get punctured through them (I was handling black spined sea urchin and one did get through when I mis-handled), but they worked great for everything else I handled. They are the most dexterous gloves I have used that provide cut protection and I had no problem wearing them on prolonged dives. As long as you are paying attention, they will keep you safe and make it great for collecting food from the sea.

I've used these gloves for years - going through several pair. I dive a lot, over 1900 dives to date. I started using them while spearfishing around the gas and oil platforms (covered with barnacles and stingy things) off the Texas Coast. They're also great for use around wrecks or hand over hand down a mooring line covered with goose neck barnacles. They are really resistant to cuts and as good as any in ordinary use for puncture protection. It's a Kevlar like material that is really resistant to cuts and slashes. They offer very little thermal protection. Do note that when you first use them they will feel stiff and perhaps a bit uncomfortable in that respect but with a little use they will become soft and very comfortable while retaining their cut resistance. They do tend to run a bit to the small side. I do have pretty big hands and an XXL works fine for me.

First and foremost, I returned this product because it didn't fit. It would however had suit my needs perfectly. I dive aquarium exhibits to perform public feedings and tank maintenance. The latter means lots of grabbing, digging, and manipulation of your hands through rough sand, walls, fake rocks etc. These gloves would have been perfect except for one minor detail. They run BIG. They're marketed as possible over-gloves, meaning you can put them over another glove to provide protection OR you can wear them as normal gloves. If you wear then as a normal glove, you WILL have to go a size down.However, if you wear size XS normally, you cannot wear these XS size gloves as a normal pair of gloves. The fingers run much longer, the palm area is much more spacious, and the wrist closure wider. This would definitely fit over a 2mm glove of the same size. You may be able to cram a 3mm glove after you go past 60ft (neoprene compression), but it wouldn't be comfy on the surface.For my purposes, I can dive a thin tropical pair of gloves in 50F waters, so if the size had fit, I would have taken these with open arms.This glove is entirely Kevlar (branded Armor Tex); minus the wrist closure. Very durable and rough on the outside, smooth but hard on the inside. Not as much flex as neoprene, but the material is thin enough to provide good dexterity. Think rubber gardening gloves, but thinner and more durable.Because of this, there's no chance of thermal insulation at all. It's purely an abrasion protection glove. NOT a puncture protector, but a scrape protector. No fabric glove can truly protect you from puncture wounds. You may get a tiny bit of insulation if you get a great fit and prevent water from flushing in and out of the glove, but the fabric provides none what so ever.The wrist closure comes down a bit farther than your usual tropical gloves; just a tiny bit more than say your Deep See or XS Scuba tropical gloves. So if you have a problem with your wrist normally becoming exposed between your wetsuit and glove, this would make that less likely. If you really have a problem with that issue, I would recommend H20 Odyssey Tropical or Mares Amara Gloves.The seams are sewn on the inner side of the glove. So already it's weak point is protected. Often times with kevlar gloves in my experience, the kevlar survives the rough treatment, but the stitching does not. So I would imagine these gloves lasting longer on the seams if you're very handsy while diving.So other than size, great glove for my purpose. Should however be marketed purely as an Over-Glove so you can understand these have a size difference that's not standard to normal sizes.If you intend to wear these as normal gloves, go a size down. If you're size XS normally, look into a different glove.

The fit is right on. While spearfishing, you can grab the fish to string it and not get stabbed by the fins. They're perfect for lobstering too.They seem stiff when you put them on dry, but once you get in the water, you won't even notice. No one contacted me to ask for a good review. I'm leaving it because these are actually great gloves!

Update: as of 08/01/16 These gloves are still doing the business! And what's more, I was recently involved in a scuffle with a small reef shark for which I earned a mere three stitches thanks to these gloves. I have attached a photo. Now I'm not saying that these gloves are shark proof, but I am absolutely positive that if I did not have them on at the time my injuries would have been much more severe! I'll never fish without these gloves! If I could give them 10 stars I would! Thank you Akona, for helping me keep my thumb!I use these gloves while spearfishing and never fear for my hands. Whether I'm grabbing a wreck, a rock, a fish or a spiny lobster these gloves have done me well. I like having all over protection, I've killed the backs my hands reaching into rocks to retrieve a fish in the past but these things are tough as nails and have so far protected me from all manner of pokes and abrasions. They've also held up well and seem basically new to this day. They are a bit stiff when you first get them but they soften up once in the water for a while. These are NOT cold water gloves so if you're looking for something to keep your hands warm then look on but if you want protection and don't need insulation then these are the gloves for you.

In the past I was going through a pair of $40-50 gloves in a year. Spiny lobsters have sharp points on them that just tear up regular dive gloves and fingers. I even used a bunch of Home Depot work gloves because they were cheaper. Tired of constantly getting cuts on my hands and fingers, I bought a pair of these three years ago. To date, they don't have a single tear in them. I can grab a lobster with no fear of getting poked at all. I thought I lost my original pair so I recently purchased another pair. Of course, after the new pair arrived, I found my old pair. Rather than return the new gloves, I gave them to a friend and he loves them too. These are not needle proof gloves. A lionfish spine can easily go through these (ouch!). So beware if you are killing those invasive bastages!