DarkFin Webbed Power Swimming Gloves (1 Pair) for Men, Women, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Spearfishing, Surfing in Cold Water, Ultra Thin Hand Fins, Pool Swim Paddles for Water Aerobics, Black

I bought a pair of XXL about 42 months ago. Until recently, I didn't use them much. I now foil surf. We have glassy unbroken, long period waves that are hard to catch, but can be ridden on foil if you can catch one. I've decided DarkFins are the best way to go compared to hand paddles. I tried Sunova hand paddles. They work great for knee paddling, but not well for chest paddling. Hand paddles make my hands useless for doing other things, and are a pain to stow. I also tried a pair of H2Odyssey 2mm webbed gloves. They seem poorly designed to me. Their hand shape seems non-human. The DarkFins give me more thrust. I think DarkFins have a perfect human hand shape. My hand measures 7 1/2 x 4 1/4". My fingers are a little too short for the XXL. I am happy with fit. Lots of surface area -- lots of thrust. I'm quite happy that at 3.5 years age my DarkFins are like new, with no cracks. I'm going to buy a spare pair of DarkFins to have in my quiver.

For SE Florida shore dives this is exactly what I wanted. These were a replacement for a neoprene pair. On/off is easy when sized correctly, best put on in the water after fins if the fins are snug (I got them on but the gloves made it a little difficult), but otherwise they work just like bare handed.The gloves enhanced my lobster snare and a pole spear grips. With all that plus a game bag slung from my float I was worried the gloves would complicate things changing tools but they were fine.The web helped me fight a current I was only able to barely maintain with fins alone. That game bag becomes a sea-anchor when unraveled. The gloves made all the difference. I needed minimal effort with them to make good progress into the current.Back at shore-break I left everything on the float to remove the gloves inside-out first, which were easy to pop back into shape using the water.If I had caught anything I believe they would have worked fine. Lobster spines do not appear to be a danger, and as long as a grouper or hog was dead I wouldn't expect it to slip away. I was hoping for a lionfish and worried the whole time about THOSE spines, though.I'll never do a shore dive without these, so will get my money's worth. I don't usually hunt, so just a flag, mask, snorkel, and fins feel like freedom. Adding these gloves feels like having wings, too.

First thing’s first: The BEST customer experience one can have. After receiving my order for a women’s M (based on the chart), I realized the fit was probably not as tight as it should be. I was in a time crunch before leaving on a flight days later after a holiday weekend, and decided to call the number on the website. Fancy my luck these guys work a few states away. I spoke with the owner directly, explained the fit issue and my time dilemma and inquired about the booties they make.We got on to quite the chat, and after learning I was a photographer and would be in Indonesia surfing and taking photos in the surf, not only did he sort out my personal order, but he set me up and upgraded my shipping to make sure I got everything I needed in time.Second order of business: Quality. Usually when you learn of a product being biodegradable you tend to get flimsy quality products. Not these. These are well-made, well-sealed, durable, sturdy, and from my experience easy to take on and off without any hang-ups. They even make a spray for those who struggle to get the hang of it. I’m moving almost all of my purchasing power into the realm of conscious consumerism. This means choosing small businesses who create in small batches, have minimal waste and a minimal footprint, use renewable or recycleable materials, pay living wages, give back to the community in some way, and generally speaking present themselves as good humans. Darkfin fits the bill over and over. You can choose at checkout to enter a code and a NICE percentage of your purchase went directly to the building of a well in Africa. I am sure when that mission is complete, it will be another humanitarian or environmental cause.The only issue I have right now is the vacuuum packing of the gloves in plastic. Unless this is a plant-plastic (Which it could be), it seems rather ironic to have a biodegradable product in a non-biodegradable package.Third: Performance. Now at this stage, I have used these out in the ocean several times and LOVE LOVE LOVE them with all my heart. Admittedly, I love the fit of the booties better and never ever want to NOT have these on in the reef zones. Turns out, My hands that measured a Womens M needed a Youth L! I’m excited to take these out for some photos along the way, but at this stage they havent made it out into critical conditions or during photographic useage. I WILL update this review throughout my time here as well as navigating others to do the same. Photos on the way in a few months time as my work comes into play...And I’m super stoked to test them both out as a surfer and see what kind of paddle power I pick up!So if you even have to ask yourself, “should I buy these now or put them in my cart for later?” (Which is what I did years ago)....trust me. DONT. Buy them now, and thank yourself immediately after. And then thank these guys for helping you look more like a seal in the line-up, or a lagoon creature on your next adventure....SO much love guys! -Dee

The item itself is great, in that it definitely give much thrust to your strokes, faster stronger swimming yes!BUT, not satisfied with the lasting quality; The outer skin is already stripping after first use, which shouldn't be happening for the price.Please send me another pair to make up for this!

Love how it fits, nice and snug, comfortable to wear, provides lots of dexterity despite your fingers being somewhat attached to one another thanks to the webbing. It's a neat thing to have and I bought a pair a little while ago last year. But I have had such a big issue with one of my gloves having such severe peeling of the cotton flocking layer, that as I attempted to peel away the loose bits, the glove began to split altogether...The webbing between the thumb and index has completely split, and there are various small holes all over. It's additionally weird that one glove had so much of the cover flaking off because the other glove barely has any coming off, I like these gloves and would/ will likely pick up a new pair, but a replacement to these would be nice, especially since I have only had these a few months with barely any use at all...Only way this glove could really be improved is either having a version without the cotton flocking, or using a thicker latex layer, even if it's a few millimeters thicker.. this failure/ blow out could be avoided easily I'm sure...