Black Lagoon’s Darkfin gloves came to our offices as a much anticipated product, being fueled by a hot debate as to the actual functionality versus the “appropriateness” of such a product. If you are not familiar with Darkfin gloves, you can get a primer in our NEW STUFF feature, or just continue reading to dive right in!

The STUFF: Darkfin gloves are a return to good ol’ American creativity, as envisioned by the folks at Black Lagoon Products. Aimed at watersports enthusiasts of all types, Darkfin gloves are produced for one specific purpose: better, stronger, and faster water propulsion! Darkfins are produced (pardon the pun) by hand through a special dipping process using custom ceramic moulds, and then cured to toughness in large ovens. The process by which the webbing is attached, without the use of glue, is a closely guarded family secret.

Most notably, the flagship product of Black Lagoon is 100% hand made in the United States, and produced all from natural latex rubber. For those watersports enthusiasts that are environmentally conscious, it is important to note that latex is biodegradable, unlike neoprene or silicone. As an example, if a surfer were to lose a glove in the surf, the ocean’s micro organisms and the sun’s UV light would do begin and end the bio-degradation process thing in approximately 8 to 10 weeks. The gloves would disintegrate, and eventually disappear.

According to Roy McKinney of Black Lagoon Products, ”That’s the beauty of Natural latex rubber. Silicon and Neoprene are forever man, nothing eats it. Darkfin gloves are very Ocean friendly.”

The SUN and UV RAYS: Darkfin gloves come to you complete with their very own UV bag, to protect it from excessive exposure when not in use. Granted, one could keep the gloves in a drawer away from direct sunlight as well, but the bag is nice and handy … and it extends the usable life of the gloves in the meantime! Remember that the gloves are eventually disintegrated partly by UV rays, so keeping them protected when not in use is an important point.

The TESTS: iJS staffers have had plenty of hands-on experience with webbed ’surf gloves’ in the past, and there is no great shortage of gloves out in the surf market - H2O’s webbed gloves, Aqua Sphere’s swim gloves, NRS’s propulsion gloves, IST surf gloves, and Frogger gloves to name a few! And while almost all range in the materials used to form the webbed hand wear, these gloves tend to concentrate around the lycra / neoprene mix. This is where Darkfins stand out: natural latex rubber. To give surfers a visual, think of rubber dish washing gloves (the kinds mom used to use!) hopped up on anabolic steroids, crossed genetically with Man from Atlantis webbing.

Secondly, iJS wanted to test Darkfins against the previous feature failures that resulted in past webbed gloves being forever shelved or tossed in the ‘reject’ bin. Past complaints from webbed glove users ranged from stiff and inflexible materials resulting in unnatural hand and finger postures, inability to demonstrate finger dexterity while wearing the webbed gloves, bulky materials and padding used to construct the gloves, and the most common complaint - just plain not cool looking enough to wear in the line up.

The DETAILS: The UV bag that contains the Darkfin gloves is sturdy and straight forward to use - a zip lock type zipper with a UV resistant amber tint to the plastic protects the gloves, while a small diagonal opening at the base prevents air from collecting in the bag … acting like a narrow release valve. The instruction sheet is just as straight forward, pointing out some tips for better use and storage. They’re gloves after all, people!

Darkfins feel very much like industrial strength dish washing gloves, and are just as easy to put on. (NOTE: The imprinted letters on the glove’s base almost immediately peel and crackle off as soon as you put the gloves on.) The immediate feeling that we noticed right away was the dexterity and mobility our digits had inside the gloves! Unlike other webbed gloves, and attributed primarily to the latex rubber material, we could tie our surf shorts and bikinis, grab small items such as short snaps and bathing suit hooks with ease, attach and adjust the surfboard leash, and pretty much function with dexterity. This type of dexterity and mobility during pre-surf moments easily translated into the next test.

THE SURF TEST: iJS staffers have had plenty of good and bad experiences with surf gloves in the past, and Darkfins were primarily met with much skepticism. After the first two days of testing, however, the staffers were impressed at the quality and usability of the Darkfin gloves, with major marks being awarded for finger and hand dexterity as well as natural hand movements. In the water, our testers noted two critical differences between Darkfins and other webbed surf gloves: (1) The Darkfins’ lack of a need for a strap or velcro system makes the glove completely comfortable and flexible, and (2) despite the lack of a fastening system, the gloves were never in danger of slipping off the hands.

The webbing attached to the back of the glove, rather than in-between the fingers or through the entire glove like some other webbed gloves, makes the Darkfins quite effective in providing water propulsion as well as unsurpassed digit dexterity. The soft natural rubber material allowed our testers to maneuver easily, place their hands in their regular positions on the surfboards without feeling hindered, and did not lose the ability to grab the surfboard’s rail or edges during critical movements or during unfortunate wipe outs.

GLOVE DEXTERITY: In simple terms, will it feel like a glove or shackles when we are wearing the Darkfins? Most webbed gloves are quite stiff and cumbersome as a result of the way they are made and the materials used. Unlike other gloves however, Darkfins are superior when it comes to mobility, dexterity, and overall ease of movement. Darkfin gloves are simply excellent when it comes to digit dexterity, the main PLUS being provided the ability to easily open and close your fingers, activating the webbing when needed and being able to paddle normally as usual. Additionally, the cotton flocked surface on the gloves’ palm area provides excellent grip both in and out of the water, allowing surfers to confidently grab waxed and unwaxed areas of their surfboard without fear of slipping.

ALTERNATING THE WEB USE: The tendency for most first time users is to use the Darkfins in full extended mode all the time - with the fingers stretched open to maximize water propulsion. Although a novel idea at first, most beginners will find that this maximum amount of resistance may cause you to tire too quickly! A good method is to paddle as normal - with your fingers cupped together - and then utilize the webbed gloves during paddles where you need maximum propulsion (like when trying to drop in on a mondo wave) or when you need to burst through larger waves when paddling back out to the line up. Our testers found that the Darkfins were so effective in maximizing water resistance to provide propulsion, that usual sessions were more tiring than before.

AFTER USE: Once the gloves have been used, rinsed, and dried, it is actually much easier to put the gloves on when wet rather than trying to pull them on while dry. Unlike the much maligned dish washing gloves, Darkfins are quite easy to slide on once in the ocean! A good tip is to rinse them out well, let them dry in a cool place, and then loosen the rubber by blowing them up slightly (yes, just like surgical glove balloons!) to let the rubber relax and prevent it from sticking to itself.

THE VERDICT: Hands down, and fingers out, the Darkfin is one of the best webbed gloves that iJS has tested … surpassing our expectations in the categories of flexibility, dexterity, durability, comfort, and overall ease of use and effectiveness. The natural rubber makes the glove feel like a second skin when used in the ocean, a definite separation from other webbed gloves we field tested in past reviews.

The soft nature of the gloves allowed some of our testers to take the gloves off during surf sessions, roll them up, and comfortably stow them inside their surfshort pockets for later use. Although this may not be a must have feature for webbed gloves, it does highlight the ease by which surfers can use or not use the gloves at any given point and time during an active surf session.

iJS recommends Darkfin gloves for any and all surfers looking to increase their paddling training (increased strength training provided by the webbing’s water resistance), for beginners looking to improve their paddling skills and increase their arm and shoulder strength, or for recreational surfers simply looking to catch more waves during sessions. IMPORTANT NOTE: When purchasing your gloves, make sure that you follow the sizing instructions on the Darkfin website in order to have the best usage experience.

The only portion of the Darkfin gloves we did not test was the biodegradability of the natural latex rubber, as our testers were entirely against watching the gloves dissolve opting for extensive surf use instead.

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Related posts:

1. NEW STUFF: DarkFin Surf Gloves
2. REVIEW: Yoga Paws Mini Mats
3. REVIEW: Xcel Lycra Rash Guard (for Wahines like me!)
4. Updated Review: DPop (DennoPop™)
5. REVIEW: Matunas Eco Surf Wax

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REVIEW: Darkfin (Water Propulsion) Gloves