I’ve been looking into getting a pair of gloves for work. I work in corrections so I’d like something with a decent cut/slash resistance, but more importantly pathogen resistant. We are supplied with the cheap disposable plastic/vinyl gloves but getting them on quickly is difficult. Almost impossible with sweaty hands. Due to the type of facility, I respond to far more medical emergancies than anything. Finding improvised weapons is very rare, but occasionally we find razor blades tucked in bunks and lockers. Obviously I am careful where I put my hand, but I’d like that extra peace of mind with cut resistance. We do have several confirmed HIV, Hep, and other infected inmates.
Unfortunately, I’ve only found a couple uniform supply places nearby and the selection is not great. The pairs I have tried are either bulky or the liners bunched up in the finger tips. So my question is, does anyone have experience with some suitable gloves and have a recommendation on brand, materials and where to shop? I know Galls has a ton, but I’d really prefer to try something on first.
edit: forgot to specify, we rarely wear weapons so I’m not looking for a shooting glove. At most I occasionally carry a Taser or Mk9 OC can.
Ironclad makes a good variety of cut resistant gloves.
It doesn’t look like Ironclad makes pathogen resistant gloves. I would put that as a priority over the cut resistance.
I have worn a five year old pair of slash resistant 5.11 gloves made of a fairly thin and supple deerskin or similar leather. The woven interior lining has the slash resistance. I do not believe these are per se pathogen protective, but how often do you wear leather gloves so long that they would get soaked though by body fluids? If you need that, adding some silicone spray may add moisture resistance.
If the concern is acquiring an infectious disease, it may be more effective to throw away gloves than to attempt to clean a porous surface such as leather. I say this coming from a fire-EMS background where secondary infection is the reason we use disposable gloves. I may be misunderstanding your particular need.
On 5.11 gloves, there seems to be little consistency from lot to lot and varies by style. I have never found the same gloves again. My point is if you find something you like, buy as many as you can afford.
I get your point. The concerns I have with the supplied vinyl gloves are the ability to pull off a glove and quickly put on another pair with sweaty hands. That and they tear relatively easily. I understand the issue of cleaning the leather, which is why I haven’t bought anything yet.
We have no policy prohibiting supplying our own gloves, so I might be better off buying boxes of nitrile gloves that are more sturdy than the cheap vinyl ones we are supplied. This isn’t much of an issue, just not sure the cost effectiveness in the long run.
How about a pair of military fuel handlers gloves? They are dexterous and made of Kevlar and Gore-tex. The Kevlar should help with the cut protection and the Gore-tex with the pathogens. I mean, if it’s waterproof, it shouldn’t let bodily fluids hrough either, right? They are gauntlet style but, if they are too long for you, it shouldn’t be much trouble to find someone to cut them off and hem them for you.
http://store.glennsarmysurplus.com/masley-pol-fuel-handler-glove-gore-tex-p758.aspx
