THE LONG & SHORT OF HEAVY DUTY NITRILE GLOVES
Fine Touch Disposables has two heavy duty Nitrile gloves available. Our 5mil Black Nitrile gloves and 4.5mil Long Cuff Nitrile gloves provide a robust and durable alternative, when standard Nitrile gloves just aren’t up to the job.
Being thicker than standard gloves, these heavy duty Nitrile gloves are tougher and last longer. At the end of the day, this means fewer glove changes for the user.
While both options provide extra durability and superior puncture resistance, the Long Cuff Nitrile gloves provide greater forearm protection and therefore give a higher level of safety and protection for all glove wearers.
This makes them a popular all-round glove choice, specifically for clean room, forensics, chemical handling and trade-based users such a mechanics and plumbers.
Why choose Nitrile Gloves?
Nitrile, as a material, is strong. This means it can be used to produce a really robust glove without being thick, bulky and restrictive. Minimising bulk means that heavy duty glove users can still perform tasks with precision and maintain tactile sensitivity, all the while, having the reassurance of a strong and durable glove barrier.
As Nitrile is a synthetic alternative to Latex, it contains no Latex protein, making it a practical and safe option for users with Latex allergies or sensitivity.
Nitrile gloves also offer excellent chemical resistance, particularly to harsh solvents, as well as Ethanol, Isobutyl and Isopropal Alcohol. This makes our Black Nitrile and Long Cuff Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves a safe option for users working with chemicals.
An important attribute of Nitrile gloves is that they exhibit a quick ‘failure rate’. I.e. if a glove is put under extreme stress and is torn or punctured, the rip or tear will quickly travel along the glove. Heavy duty Nitrile glove users should know that this should not be mistaken for a poor glove that breaks unnecessarily. Rather, this quick failure gives the user an immediate signal that they must re-glove. This is a critical safety aspect for users of Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves that may be working with chemicals or bodily fluids. The immediate signal to re-glove ultimately limits their exposure to the chemical or fluid contaminant.
Affordability
When Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves were first manufactured some thirty years ago, they were more expensive to produce than latex and tended to be stiff and bulky. They lacked the same fit and flex as that of natural latex rubber.
Over the last ten years, Heavy Duty Nitrile glove manufacture has advanced significantly. Thicker Nitrile glove options, including Fine Touch Disposables Black Nitrile and Long Cuff Nitrile gloves, now offer greater chemical resistance, puncture resistance and durability than other materials.
Improvements in quality and reductions in manufacture costs, also means less glove wastage for the user. Not only is there a saving in terms of fewer gloves being used and wasted, but also further savings with less time spent re-gloving, which means greater productivity for the user.
What benefits does the Longer Cuff Provide?
Long Cuff Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves are either used in conjunction with other PPE such as Isolation gowns, for a total PPE barrier system, or on their own if the user just requires protection for the hand, wrist and forearm area. The increased cuff length of our Long Cuff Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves provides greater forearm protection and coverage than standard length gloves. This extra forearm protection is a safe and practical necessity for those working with chemicals, cleaning fluids or grime and waste in general. Long Cuff Nitrile gloves offer a successful solution for industrial and manufacturing users as well as technicians and anyone working with chemicals.
Glove sizing
Long Cuff Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves are available in a full range of sizes from Size Small right through to XXL, making it a great solution for a complete range of users and applications.
As with any glove selection, it is important that users wear the correct sized glove.
Gloves that are too tight or small, will only restrict the wearer from performing precision tasks with comfort and accuracy. Prolonged usage with compromised dexterity will lead to hand fatigue and strain.
Likewise if the glove selected is too big in size, it may leave the wearer exposed to both catching and transmitting bacteria and viruses. A loose-fitting glove will not offer a complete barrier of protection as fluids, chemicals or other contaminants may leak inside the glove.
Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves that do not fit correctly also pose a safety risk if working with tools and machinery. A loose-fitting glove may put the wearer at risk of injury if part of the loose glove gets caught in machinery,
FINAL THOUGHTS
Disposable glove choice is all about being fit for purpose. To decide if Heavy Duty Nitrile gloves are the best form of hand protection, factors such as strength, affordability, puncture resistance and whether an increased cuff length will provide a positive benefit for the wearer need to be considered.
Do you need a glove that has greater puncture resistance?
Do you need a glove that is strong and robust, meaning gloves last longer?
Do you need a glove that protects not just the hand and wrist, but also the greater forearm area too?
Heavy Duty Long Cuff Nitrile Gloves and Black Nitrile gloves might just be your best solution. Check out the product information sheets available for both of these Heavy Duty Nitrile glove options for further technical details.
