All of the gloves in my shop are harbor freight specials, either the ones that have the padded palm and fingers or the disposable nitrile ones. The Nitrile ones rip/tear was too easily (like just putting them on) and the larger ones I find myself losing way too much dexterity so I end up taking them off.
As I sit here after spending the day on Sunday literally licking my wounds I wonder what are folks using that durable enough to provide some protection while minimizing lost dexterity.
I am a big fan of the MECHANIX WEAR Black Nitrile Dipped Nitrile Gloves that I have. They are a good in-between of a work glove and a nitrile one. If you check the clearance section in Lowes sometimes they have them marked down and thats when I usually stock up.
Baseball batting gloves, look for the ones sewn carefully at the end of index finger.
They have the extra thick nitrile gloves that work well. If that's not enough Gorilla grip at Home Depot are the dipped style that still have good dexterity and are pretty thick.
Might look at maxiflex gloves. I've used the ultimate ones and like them. Looking at their product line again now, the elite version with a lighter and more breathable fabric might be even better.
ClearWaterMS said:All of the gloves in my shop are harbor freight specials.... The Nitrile ones rip/tear was too easily...and the larger ones I find myself losing way too much dexterity...
By "larger ones," are you referring to the blue 7-mil version? If not, maybe give them a try. I don't use them for surgery, but they work fine for me for wrenching, and they're pretty durable.
IMO, don't bother with anything less than 9mil (maybe 7mil) for intentionally-disposable nitrile gloves.
The ultra-cheap "dipped" gloves are sorta like fiber-reinforced nitrile gloves. I like them a lot more than I would have thought. At less than $2/pair I can do the "area saturation theory" of leaving them all over, and I don't feel too bad about throwing 'em out when necessary.
Random factoid: the better quality "cut resistant" dipped-style gloves have official testing standards and ratings, but you need a decoder ring. In my limited experience, gloves with the same ratings don't always seem to perform the same in the "real world". Therefore, don't get too caught up with the numbers and more expensive gloves are not always better.
procainestart said:ClearWaterMS said:All of the gloves in my shop are harbor freight specials.... The Nitrile ones rip/tear was too easily...and the larger ones I find myself losing way too much dexterity...
By "larger ones," are you referring to the blue 7-mil version? If not, maybe give them a try. I don't use them for surgery, but they work fine for me for wrenching, and they're pretty durable.
by larger i meant gloves like these with the thicker palm pad:
too much dexterity lost, when trying to do things like thread AN fittings in a tight spot or remove plastic clips, etc.
The hf 7mil (dark blue) eem to be a decent compromise between dexterity and breaking. If they tear going on, go a size up.
I love the thicker (maybe 7mil?) nitrile gloves for this. I used to strictly buy from uline because theres were higher quality and lasted longer before tearing. But recently I tried the Harbor Freight 9mil gloves and they were pretty dang good too.
I started using these DexFit gloves awhile ago. Still pretty thin so you don't lose too much dexterity, and they breathe alot better than the full nitrile gloves. Also reusable to a point.
I had some "machinist" gloves from an old employer that I loved. Can't remember the brand but good dexterity and very snug fit. Machine washable and smelled terrible after you inevitably sweat in them.
These Milwaukee cut level 1 gloves are my go-to.
I don't like nitrile gloves, they tear too easily and I don't find them comfortable. I use latex. It's got a little more give than nitrile and you can even use them multiple times if you're good at taking them off. I've been using them for 23 years, since I started at FM. I'm five years into a 1000-pack and I think I'm about halfway through.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IBU07O
General mechanic's gloves are great when I'm dealing with hot stuff like working on a car in the pits, but generally I find they hurt my dexterity too much.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've had the opposite experience where latex gloves tear easily and aren't oil or gas resistant. Many automotive fluids cause them to fall apart. I'm not denying your experience I'm just very surprised by it. I've never had a pair of latex gloves last even one wrenching session while a pair of quality nitriles will hold up sometimes for multiple sessions. Note chemical resistances here they vary by glove material and while there are certainly some that latex holds up to while nitrile doesn't most automotive fluids are "not recommended" with latex:
https://glovesbyweb.com/pages/gloves-chemical-resistance-chart
In reply to dculberson :
They do swell if you get some fluids on them. Oil seems to be okay but brake fluid gets them upset IIRC. Not enough to be a problem while doing a flush, but bench bleeding a master might get a little sloppy. Same with fuel but it's been a while.
My usual complaint with nitriles is that if I catch them on something they tear, while the latex ones stretch. The lack of stretchiness is also why I don't find them as comfortable. Mostly I'm wearing this type of gloves to keep my hands clean while working on things - I used to go back and forth from the shop to the office so it saved a lot of hand washing. It's rare that I've got my hands covered in gas.
I have been pretty happy with Raven brand 7 mil nitrile gloves from the river store, good dexterity and good protection. They also hold up well to auto fluids, and you can even clean them a few times wtih non-chlorinated brake cleaner. I use the 5 mil HF ones as well for lighter tasks, but they fall apart pretty quickly. The 7 mil HF gloves are really stiff and I can't even get the XXLs on my hands without a lot of work.
As noted above, for dry/hot stuff, the Mechanix FastFit series is my go to. I won't use nitrile gloves around any power tools beyond an impact driver, so I keep a bunch of these around.
I picked up a bundle of 10 pairs of "Worktuff" dipped gloves off a discount rack for $6 or $8. I figured they had to last better than the typical brown cotton gloves I had been buying. I've been using the first pair since last summer and the other 9 pairs are still in the drawer. I looked to see where they might be available and Google sends me to two or three Canadian sites.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Funny, thinking about it, it seems likely I'm comparing good quality thick nitrile gloves to cheap thin latex gloves. Maybe I should give some quality latex gloves a shot.
One fun thing I ran into: poison ivy absolutely dissolves latex gloves. Not a fun discovery.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:I picked up a bundle of 10 pairs of "Worktuff" dipped gloves off a discount rack for $6 or $8. I figured they had to last better than the typical brown cotton gloves I had been buying. I've been using the first pair since last summer and the other 9 pairs are still in the drawer. I looked to see where they might be available and Google sends me to two or three Canadian sites.
Count me in this camp.
I use similar for general workshop wear, with the heavy duty nitrile from harbor freight for messy work. I can't do the nitrile for day to day because my hands become a sweat bath. Also, these just plain last longer for cheaper than other options. I even wind up washing them a few times before they wear out.
Actual mechanix gloves... They get too messy and wear out too quickly from there to be worth the expense.
dculberson said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
One fun thing I ran into: poison ivy absolutely dissolves latex gloves. Not a fun discovery.
You would definitely want to know that ahead of time!
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