![]() ![]() By using the Darkfin Gloves as fulcrums when carving the waves, we were able to easily pivot and turn quickly. The gloves are comfortable to wear and provide exposure protection from the sun, the sand, and stinging sea creatures. The 70% larger surface area gives the user much greater “paddle out” ability. Living only a few miles from the beach, we grabbed our boogie board and headed out to see how the gloves performed in the surf. The Darkfin Gloves website suggests that some of the uses the Darkfin Gloves can be used for include: surfing, diving, swimming, or kayaking. The 2.5 second drop in time to complete a full lap (30 meters) can therefore be attributed to the Darkfin Gloves. Our mass is a constant and our positioning is consistent, so the variable is in the amount of water moved rearward by the swimmer’s stroke. Fast times in swimming come from three components… amount of water moved by the stroke of the arms and cupped hand…the hydrodynamics of the swimmer’s body (mass:resistance)…and positioning in the water. These are much more sturdy than other webbed-finger, swim-training gloves we had worn in the past, and we were soon carving out laps with abandon. The Darkfin Gloves quickly showed their swimming advantage. We next tried a Front (or Freestyle) Crawl stroke. With the Darkfin Gloves on, we did the same distance in 10.89 seconds. ![]() From a standing start and no push-off, we took 13 seconds to swim wall to wall without the gloves. So, we timed our best performance over 15 meters with and without the gloves. This would be with and without the Darkfin Gloves. Performance: We decided to swim laps first with a Pull-down breaststroke underwater. Looks: The Darkfin Glove had already done well on appearance, with the anatomically-molded, hand-shaped glove, the slightly pebbly texture and sturdy-looking webbing between the extended digits…full Gill-man appearance. Our Experience of the Darkfin Power Gloves We wanted to test for appearance, performance, dexterity, construction and value versus cost. So, after getting past the initial burst of excitement, we started our evaluation. Both styles of glove come with a “Cotton Flock Finish”, a layer of cotton fiber-infused latex, which adds a significant amount of texture to the glove. 9 mil latex layer from the wrist up, and an extended gauntlet design, designed to tuck under a wetsuit cuff. We had received the shorter-cuffed Darkfin Power Gloves, which was perfectly fine for evaluation purposes. The Darkfin Gloves slipped on easily, and once in place, felt like pretty much any other dive glove. Splash! In the pool, webbed hands extended…we could almost hear the screams of imaginary swimmers fleeing before our mighty talons…in short, we were immediately transported back to those Saturday Matinees watching the Creature surging across the silver screen. Baby powder or talcum powder are recommended if putting them on in the dry. We used our open-celled wetsuit lubricant spray (1 part cheap hair conditioner to 3 parts water), but the Darkfin Gloves will slip on quite readily with just water or a little liquid dish-washing soap (we tried all three methods). Important for users who are not used to donning latex-constructed garments, there are also instructions on how to put on the Darkfin Gloves both wet or dry. The black, latex gloves came packaged with an instruction sheet and return/exchange instructions, which included a warning announcement regarding the latex construction some people can experience an allergic reaction to latex. ![]() ![]() Many of us had childhood icons we admired from the movies…the Gill-man was this reviewer’s movie-poster hero. Thirty seconds after receiving the Darkfin Gloves from the mail carrier, we were in the pool trying them on. Black Lagoon Products, LLC is a “small, family-owned group of adventurers, engineers, designers, and outdoor enthusiasts from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.” Their name pays homage to that popular 1950’s movie classic and their Darkfin Gloves seem to have been inspired by the Gill-man’s iconic, webbed extremities. This popular character went on to delight and scare audiences in two more films before quietly sinking beneath the waves forever. The creature’s webbed hands were the most iconic feature of the costume, allowing the creature to propel himself rapidly, make sharp turns and look awesome. In 1954, underwater stuntman Ricou Browning terrified movie-goers with his underwater portrayal of the Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon. ![]()
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