A Guide to Choosing Proper Firefighters Extrication Gloves - 5 Tips

Every firefighter must wear boots, turnout gear, a helmet, gloves, and sometimes much more to stay safe on the job. We're all aware that the boots and helmet must fit properly, otherwise, you'll be uncomfortable and prone to accidents. When it comes to gloves, though, many novice firefighters make the mistake of settling for "good enough." Not any longer. Check out these suggestions for selecting the best firefighting gloves to get the perfect fit.

1. A Comfortable Fit

What good are gloves if you don't like wearing them? You never know what the day may bring as a firefighter. The day may be sluggish, and you may just have a few simple replies to make. On the other hand, you may have a busy day fighting a fire for hours on end. When the going gets tough, you'll want both comfortable and well-fitting gloves.

2. Superior Agility and Grip

You have to have the right fitting firefighting, or vehicle extrication gloves, if you hope to operate effectively. Some gloves are so bulky and thick that they'll slow your reaction time and make it tough for you to grip the hoses and tools you need. Even worse, some gloves feature no padding, which will leave you with NO protection, and tender sore hands especially after a long and exhausting vehicle extrication shift. The best gloves are designed to take up as little space as possible and offer more dexterity than you expect.

3. A Design That Will Hold Up

No matter what people say, firefighting gloves are a type of equipment that comes with a very limited warranty. In fact, you'll have a hard time finding a glove that will hold up for more than a few months. If you do find one that's guaranteed to last, it's likely to be very expensive. You'll want to invest in a design that you know will work, but one that won't break the bank. The best firefighting and RescueX gloves for firefighters come with a reasonable budget, but offer great durability, with great safety features.

4. Washable Materials

Your firefighting gloves will become soaked from the water, and your vehicle extrication gloves will come into contact with all kinds of debris and blood. Therefore, you need to get a design that can easy be wash at home or in station. Some of the best firefighting, and extrication gloves come with breathable materials that can be washed and dried quickly. Note: NEVER put washed or wet gloves in a Hot dryer. Air dry or tumble dry in a very low heat drying unit

5. Hand Protection

When you're battling a fire, or extricating around hot exhaust or engine parts there are plenty of tools, equipment, and debris that can cause damage to your hands and fingers. Therefore, it's important to have gloves with a protective design. The best gloves are designed to protect from, crush, high temperatures, and sharp and rough materials.

Updates in the NFPA Standard

In 2018, an update to the standard National Fire Protection Association or NFPA 1971 was announced, bringing much-needed revisions to give firefighters improved protection. The following are the significant changes:

Water barrier: The NFPA now requires a glove's moisture barrier to be resistant to liquid-borne or blood-borne diseases and not enable virus* passage for at least one hour.

Rear-of-hand protection: The performance criterion for the back of the glove has been enhanced to incorporate greater thermal protection for the times, places, and ways in which firefighters are commonly burned or crushed: the back of the hand, when clutching and operating rescue tools or hose-line, by radiant heat from a fire.

Glove sizing: A new method provides a more objective approach to glove sizing by: (1) offering instructions on how to measure a firefighter for a glove; and (2) providing a standard for glove sizing that standardizes manufacturers' glove labelling as NFPA 1971-compliant. See our sizing chart on the Schmitz Mittz website.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a pair of gloves that you can rely on, you don't have to look any further than a pair of the best Vehicle Extrication Rescue gloves for firefighters. Not only will you be able to stay safe, but you'll be able to feel safe, too. These gloves come with great dexterity, durability, and breathability. They also have a great fit. Put simply, they offer you a level of comfort and protection that you can't get with any other glove on the market.

Schmitz Mittz are PPE (Hard Hat for your Hands work gloves) designed by a Firefighter for First Responders and people who work in tough-on-your-hands industries like oil & gas, construction, Truck driving etc etc that require specific and superior hand protection. Browse through our collections today!