If the water is cold, then I will use neoprene, or dry gloves appropriate to the degree of coldness. Manual dexterity is important, and cold hands are not conducive to getting the job done.

However, I do a lot of warm water diving these days and I am a glove guy, regardless of how cold the water is, unless the wearing of gloves is prohibited by the Law. IMHO gloves are necessary protection for wreck divers and hunters, but some reef watchers do not use, or need gloves,

Regular old neoprene gloves, for warm water diving, do not protect me very well, they don’t hold up very well, and they are expensive. For me, that is not such a good combination? What usually happens to me, is that the neoprene wears through at the fingertips, and that means you have hand protection, except where you need it. Nice. For this reason, they do not last long, and they don’t offer much protection against cuts or punctures.

The latest thing in dive glove tech is gloves made from dyneema. Dyneema is a fabric similar to kevlar, but at least for diving, it is better. It is light weight, puncture resistant, and cut resistant. Dyneema has several uses for spearos, but dyneema gloves rock!! They work extremely well for wreck divers, for all the reasons they work for spearos. They protect your hands, but they are very tactile.

There are a bunch of manufacturers, like Hammerhead, Hatch, and Omer, that you can find at your dive shop, but there are also generic “cut resistant” gloves at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I am not sure which brand is “best”, but trust me, dyneema gloves will protect your hands like nothing else out there, and they last!!