In our work, it’s important to protect our hands. And although there isn’t a pair of gloves that will keep you from every possible injury, you can certainly reduce your risks with the proper choice. The key to pick the gloves based what injury you are shielding your hands from, due to the environment and task you’re involved with. Here’s a quick guide to selecting the right pair of gloves, with the specific conditions in mind:
Temperature
If you’re grinding, welding, or cutting metal, temperature makes a significant impact on your hands. Temperature will also affect you when you’re working in snow or midday heat. Wind and rain can also exasperate the situation outdoors. Many heat-resistant gloves can resist flying embers or sparks from igniting, as well. Black Stallion Premium Grade Pigskin are a good flame-resistant option. Cold-resistant gloves will help keep the heat in with insulation and fit that keeps the cold out. Ironclad Cold Condition Waterproof gloves are a great choice and the CLC 125M Handyman Flex Grip gloves have more stretch, so are great if you need improved dexterity in the cold.
Cuts
You’re more likely to cut or puncture your hands when you’re doing metal work, landscaping, or traditional carpentry. The thicker the glove material, the more cut resistant they will be. This does, however, make it more difficult to do detailed work, so you’ll need to pick them based on how fluid your fingers need to be. Ironclad Framer gloves are great for overall carpentry, as they protect most of the hand but leave a few fingers with the ability to hold a screw or nail. If you need some deeper protection from metal cuts, KONG Cut Resistant work gloves are ideal.
Electricity
If you’re doing anything that involves electricity, you’ll want some gloves that are made to protect you with material that isn’t conductive. And, if you’re an electrician, you need to have the finger flexibility to maneuver and twist together wires in tight spaces. Keep in mind too, that some of the gloves that give you the ability to use touchscreen on your phone or smart pad can still give you electric shock, even if they’re heavy-duty! The CLC 125M Handyman Flex Grip gloves are great again here, because the stretch allows you the dexterity you need in a synthetic leather that isn’t going to conduct electricity.
Heavy Impact
If you’re doing heavy construction work where bruising or crushing is a risk, a pair of impact-resistant gloves are your friend. Look for gloves that have extra padding, especially in crucial zones such as knuckles and back of the hand. Gloves with gel pads are good for vibration from heavy tools too, and will absorb some of that vibration. DeWalt High Performance Mechanics gloves give crush resistant armoring along the fingers and back of hand. They also have silicone grip fingertips that let you hold onto smaller items, even if they get wet – which is great for HVAC work. KONG Cut Resistant work gloves are an alternative that helps with vibration resistance too.
Water or Chemical
To protect your hands from contact with liquid or chemicals, you want a pair of gloves that aren’t porous. You can find thinner gloves that give you more movement, that are usually a mix of fabric and latex. For maximum water resistance, look for gloves that are completely covered in rubber or other waterproof material on the outside. Gloves like this allow no liquid to soak through, but, because they’re not breathable, they’ll often get moist with sweat on the inside. The Frogwear 8490 Insulated and Waterproof gloves are a great pick because they’re triple-dipped in PVC coating, and have terry cloth lining inside to absorb your sweat.
If you’re looking for a job to use those gloves at, call us at Madden. We can give you a hand-up in finding a position that fits your talents and skills.
