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Glove selection guide - how to choose your best gloves?

THREE MAIN QUESTIONS:

The working environment

·outdoor, indoor, dry, wet, oily, greasy, dirty, sterilized, etc…

Possible harms to hands

·abrasions, punctures, cuts, snags, chemicals, cold, heat, etc…

Features of the specific work

·construction, machining, utilities, precision assembly, food industry, petrochemicals, etc…

For your convenience, we have categorized our working gloves mainly based on their

materials, manufacture processes and specific functions, the three key points you might

consider when choosing your most suitable working gloves.

1. Materials:

Lining textiles

COTTON:

Offers comfort and breathability for general applications. Resistant to abrasion and temperatures up to

250°C.

POLYESTER:

Synthetic and durable fibre with low absorption of moisture, resists shrinkage when washed.

POLYAMIDE:

Stretchable and thin synthetic material, offers a good abrasion and tear resistance.

BAMBOO FIBRE:

Cellulose fibre extracted or fabricated from natural bamboo (and possibly other additives), UV protective

and antifungal.

It absorbs and evaporates sweat quickly, keeps more warmth in cold weather and is highly breathable in

hot weather. Also its anti-static feature makes the material not clinging to skin and wear more

comfortable.

SPANDEX/ ELASTANE:

Synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is usually mixed with cotton or polyester, and

accounts for a small percentage of the final fabric, which therefore retains most of the look and feel

of the other fibers.

LYCRA:

Lycra® is a type of stretch fiber, which is a registered trademark of Invista, formerly DuPont. It is the

most recognized and popular brand of spandex throughout the world.

PARA-ARAMID ( KEVLAR ): The para-aramid fibre offers superior resistance to cut, heat (carbonises

at around 450°C) and abrasion. The fibre maintains high dexterity and offers excellent comfort.

DYNEEMA:

High-strength polyethylene fibre offering excellent cut and abrasion resistance. Unaffected by a large

number of chemical products.

META-ARAMID ( NOMEX ):

Synthetic fibre, very good resistance to cut and heat. Optimal resistance to abrasion, very soft.

Leather/synthetic leather

Leather is a comfortable and breathable natural material and usually two parts are used in glove

making: the grain, the outer part of the leather and the split. The grain provides the glove with a good

abrasion and tear resistance.

Split leather gloves are used for heavy handling and offer a very good abrasion resistance. In both cases,

leather is really flexible and brings a high level of dexterity to its users.

Some special treatments can be made in order to bring the leather some additional qualities:

1) WATER- AND OIL-REPELLENT LEATHER

The leather is treated with minerals, synthetic oils or fluoroplastics to make it water/oil-resistant. This treatment improves the glove's flexibility and thus ensures improved comfort and excellent

dexterity.

Advantages: flexibility, increased shelf-life, comfort, precision in use, dexterity.

2) HEAT-RESISTANT LEATHER

The leather is treated to make it more resistant to heat and to decrease its tendency to shrink upon

contact with a flame. The treatment enables the leather to remain supple even after prolonged contact

with a heat source. It is generally applied to split leather.

Synthetic leather offers excellent touch, dexterity, abrasion-resistance and breathability like leather, with great resistance to shrinkage, stretching and hardening.

Washable and durable.

Chemical coating

NITRILE:

Nitrile is a synthetic rubber, which gives brilliant resistance to a broad variety of solvents and some

hazardous chemicals including acids, greases, oils, caustics & petroleum products and resists to

puncture, snag, cut, and abrasion.

NITRILE FOAM:

This coated material brings additional flexibility and breathability to the nitrile.

NEOPRENE:

Synthetic material, has a good resistance to cold and keeps its flexibility despite fluctuations in

temperature. It offers an excellent resistance to organic and aliphatic solvents, oils and caustics,

and inorganic acids.

LATEX:

Natural material, high level of comfort thanks to its high flexibility. Provides an excellent grip and a

good resistance to abrasion.

PVC:

Very good resistance to abrasion, protects from grease and oil, and resists very well to acids,

bases and alcohols.

POLYURETHANE:

In addition to a very good grip, this synthetic material provides a good a good abrasion resistance

and is very breathable.

Chemical features of common glove coating chemicals:

NITRILE/Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR)
Nitrile is one of the most widely used elastomers. The popularity of nitrile is due to its excellent resistance to petroleum products and its ability to be compounded for service over a temperature range of -30°C to 100°C. Nitrile is a copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile. Variation in proportions of these polymers is possible to accommodate specific requirements. An increase in acrylonitrile content increases resistance to heat plus petroleum base oils and fuels but decreases low temperature flexibility. Nitrile provides excellent tear and abrasion resistance. The major limiting properties of nitrile are its poor ozone and weather resistance and moderate heat resistance, but in many application these are not limiting factors.	Temperature Range (dry heat)
	low	High
	-22 °F -30 °C	212°F 100°C
	Application Advantages
	>> superior tear resistance >> abrasion resistance
Primary Uses	Application Disadvantage
>> Oil resistant applications >> Low temperature applications >> Fuel systems, automotive, marine, and aircraft >> General Industrial Use	>> poor weather resistance >> moderate heat resistance
LATEX/Natural rubber (NR)
Latex/ Natural rubber is a product coagulated from the latex of the rubber tree, hevea brasiliensis. Natural rubber features low compression set, high tensile strength, resilience, abrasion and tear resistance, good friction characteristics, excellent bonding capabilities to metal substrate, and good vibration dampening characteristics.properties of nitrile are its poor ozone and weather resistance and moderate heat resistance, but in many application these are not limiting factors.	Temperature Range (dry heat)
	low	High
	-22 °F -30 °C	212°F 100°C
	Application Advantages
	>> excellent compression set >> good resilience and abrasion >> good surface friction properties
Primary Uses	Application Disadvantage
>> Oil resistant applications >> Low temperature applications >> Fuel systems, automotive, marine, and aircraft >> General Industrial Use	>> poor resistance to attack by petroleum oils >> poor ozone, UV resistance
NEOPRENE
Neoprene homopolymer of chlorobutadiene is unusual in that it is moderately resistant to both petroleum oils and weather (ozone, UV, oxygen). This qualifies neoprene uniquely for certain where many other materials would not be satisfactory. Neoprene is classified as a general purpose elastomer which has relatively low compression set, good resilience and abrasion, and is flex cracking resistant. It is used extensively in refrigerator manufacturing industry due to its excellence resistance to Freon® and ammonia.	Temperature Range (dry heat)
	low	High
	-40°F -40 °C	250°F 121°C
	Application Advantages
	>> moderate resistance to petroleum oils >> good resistance to ozone, UV, oxygen >> excellence resistance to Freon and ammonia
	Application Disadvantage
	>> moderate water resistance >> not effective in solvents environments
POLYURETHANE (PU)
Millable polyurethane exhibits excellent abrasion resistance and tensile strength as compared to other elastomers providing superior performance in hydraulic applications with high pressures, abrasive contamination and shock loads. Fluid compatibility is similar to that of nitrile at temperatures up to approximately 175 °F. At higher temperatures, polyurethane has a tendency to soften and lose both strength and fluid resistance advantages over other elastomers.	Temperature Range (dry heat)
	low	High
	-60°F -51 °C	175°F 79 °C
	Application Advantages
	>>poor resistance to water >>poor high temperature capabilities