Are high Mils thickness gloves always quite as thick as buyers are led to believe?

Nitrile Glove Quality/Variation

Synthetic gloves can vary considerably in quality, it is possible to lower the cost of gloves by using fillers or chemical treatments to enhance the performance yet lowering the cost.

Without detailed analysis it is often difficult for buyers to be sure that they are getting quality every time. Higher quality gloves use more nitrile and are conditioned in ways that are more expensive from a base cost perspective. These will reach higher levels of consistency in output, leading to better AQL performance against the medical standards.

Tell tale signs of potentially inconsistent gloves;

- Gloves of multiple countries of origin (often meaning bidding wars are setup to lower costs and question quality)

- Gloves without chemical certification (meaning gloves are made to unknown standards - buyer beware)

- Gloves without medical certification (ASTM D6319/510k registered or EN455 Parts 1-4)

Industrial gloves are often thicker to simply increase the potential chemical protection. However, buyers need to evaluate carefully as many thicker gloves are not consistently the thickness throughout the design or part of the glove. Gloves which are graded medical ensure a consistent quality and compliance at thicknesses far thinner than industrial gloves. This leads to users preference for higher quality more consistent gloves.

Thickness

Gloves are manufactured through dipping, inserting formers on a carousel into vats of liquid substrate. They are dipped fingers first on formers that have a determined finish. The majority of Medical Examination gloves are finger tip textured with smooth palms. However, industrial gloves for heavier duty applications tend to have a texture or pattern.

Gloves are then measured under ASTM D6319 with a fingertip and palm thickness together with width and length. EN455 measured at the palm. Commonly references to thickness are not cited to a part of the glove as ASTM D6319 is the medical standard in the USA. To further confuse buyers, the design of the finish on the palm or fingertip is not consistent to measure against, thus resulting in claims of thickness where the tip of the texture to the smooth underside of the glove is referenced, not the thinnest part of the shape.

Any glove with texture or a pattern will measure thicker than a smooth glove. In the US industrial market patterned gloves are common at the thicker end of the spectrum on offer. Clients perceive these to be more protection, but the thicker the glove the stiffer the glove, leading to lower levels of tactility and sensitivity.

Patterns don't give thickness

Due to the dipping process the peaks and troughs in the finish are on the underside of the glove when made and reversed as the gloves are removed from the formers. Thickness gauges tend to be no smaller than 5mm in width so when the gloves are measured the patterned finish is the point of measure rather than the lowest point in the glove. This is where Strax would advise buyers to be cautious to just use the technical measurements at face values.