I use the Nitrile/mesh ones most of the time too, because my hands are always wet or sweating here in FL. In fact I've been known to hose the mesh off just to cool off my hands. A pair lasts me a year or two if I keep my fingernails short. Our soil is sandy, no rocks or anything to tear them up though. (yep, I like to dig with my hands, too.)
For wet work and digging with your hands, probably something with synthetic suede would be the best thing. I had a pair like these for a long time before one of them got lost in a move.
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/m...
The other place to look would be at West Marine for sailing gloves. They're designed to stand up to wear and tear while wet. I like the Ronstan or Harken ones. Choose carefully if you buy those, though. A lot of them have the fingers lopped off so you can untie lines on the boat . . . that wouldn't be much good for gardening.
