Gardening Gloves – A guide to protect your hands

Every gardener knows that a good pair of gloves is an essential gardening tool. However, with the many types of gloves available, it can be overwhelming to make a choice. Here’s a simple
guide by type to help you with your choice.
(see links in titles below)

Leather and Pruning Gloves

Leather gloves are the standard for strength and
durability. You chose from standard driver’s styles to models used for wire fencing. For pruning, purchase a pair of pruning gloves specifically designed for pruning with reinforced arm protection. If you are working in wet conditions look for pigskin gloves since they will dry soft if they get wet. Newer artificial leather gloves are fine and will last longer than natural leather.

Cotton and Jersey Gloves
Cotton and Jersey gloves are the most popular because they are inexpensive but they have
limitations. They are breathable and lightweight and will keep your hands clean and protect you
from blisters. However, they will absorb moisture and not protect you from chemicals or cuts and
abrasions. Also, they are not very durable or long-lasting. 

Disposable Gloves (Latex, Nitrile, Vinyl PVC)
I do not recommend using disposable gloves since they are not durable and do not offer proper
protection against most chemicals and pesticides. Plus, latex gloves will dissolve when exposed to
gasoline or motor oils used in lawnmowers.

Rubber Gloves
Although rubber gloves tend to be hot, they offer great protection against moisture and most
chemicals. If you only need moisture protection – natural rubber is fine. However, I suggest you
look for nitrile or vinyl gloves for use with chemicals and pesticides.

Bamboo Knit Gloves
These are becoming extremely popular since they are earth friendly, last long, fit and feel
great, and inexpensive. They also come with a coated palm for added protection and grip. My
personal biased choice is the GO Greens® Bamboo Gloves from GO Gloves.

Micro-Dot Gloves resolve parts handling problems

This is a recent case study which I wrote for Assembly Magazine. Its a long post but it seemed easier to post it as is rather than provide a link.

A prominent automotive parts manufacturer that powder coats parts for a hard, tougher finish needed better gloves that provided day-long comfort, good grip with high dexterity; eliminated deposit of body oils and lint on parts; and offer cost savings.

The manufacturer tried various gloves for this new production line but workers found these gloves uncomfortable to wear for long-shift work; increased hand fatigue and perspiration; or left lint on parts. Other less expensive gloves also wore out quickly since workers had to load 25,000 parts per day onto the production conveyor hangers.

The manufacturer turned to GO Gloves™ (Gloves-Online, Inc.) for a solution since they were experienced glove specialists and handled a broad range of gloves for industrial applications. Once GO Gloves identified the production requirements and problems together with worker’s concerns, they offered 3 coated glove options based on performance, comfort, and price.

After weeks of testing the finished parts and reviewing worker evaluations, the manufacturer selected the All-Day® Micro-Dot Gloves since this model addressed each production problem and increased worker acceptance.

The solutions that the Micro-Dot Gloves provided were thinness, close fit, dust and lint free, great tactile and grip properties, breathablity, and worker comfort. Besides being very cost effective, the manufacturer only had to stock 2 sizes; one universal stretch size and one extra small size for women with small hands since more sizes would have been required with conventional coated gloves.

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Coated Gloves – Determine function, fiber, and fit first

Coated gloves are my favorite industrial and work glove to talk about because they have become very comfortable, functional and versatile. In many cases they are replacing traditional leather work gloves. And, since it’s that time of year you might like to know that they also make great garden gloves, too.

Due to the introduction of new fibers and a vast selection of coating options many users became confused to find the right glove. So confused, that I found myself on the phone all day fielding their questions to lend a hand (pun intended) in selecting the correct glove for their situation.

That’s when I decided to write a primer on coated gloves which could be e-mailed to them as a reference and save some of their time and mine. That primer turned into an article which was published last year in Industrial Safety & Hygiene News. You can link to the primer here or go to the article by clicking on the title of this post.

As a matter of fact, coated gloves look good, too. I even used one model as the featured image on my Blog. Let me know if you found the primer or article helpful.

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