Gloves should protect your hands but should not hinder your work. If nothing else, that would be the sentence to remember when choosing the right pair of gloves. There is near infinite permutation of glove designs, materials and features.
For example the Al-Gard ALG-306KL (photo below) not only has the spark and abrasion resistance we have all come to expect from leather, it is also cut and contact heat resistant thanks to a kevlar liner. So how do you know if this is the right pair of gloves for you?
Let's go through the checklist.
A - Abrasion resistance (1 to 4)
B - Blade resistance (0 to 5)
C - Tear resistance (0 to 4)
D - Puncture resistance (0 to 4)
E - Straight cut resistance (A to F)
P - Impact protection (Pass/Fail)
*E & P may not always appear in the rating for gloves tested before 2016
A - Resistance to Flammability
B - Resistance to Contact Heat
C - Resistance to Convective Heat
D - Resistance to Radiant Heat
E - Resistance to Small Molten Metal Splashes
F - Resistance to Large Molten Metal Splashes
*All Ratings are represented from (X to 4)
(374-1) - Low Chemical Resistance
Gloves with this logo did not achieve a breakthrough time of >30 mins against >3 chemicals from the EN defined list.
(374-2) - Microorganisms
Gloves with this logo passes at least 3 level 2 microorganism penetration tests.
(374-3) - Chemical Resistance
The alphabets underneath the logo represents a specific chemical tested.
A - Resistance to Convective Cold
(0 to 4)
B - Resistance to Contact Cold
(0 to 4)
C - Permeability to Water
(0 to 1)*
*0 = Penetration after 30 mins
1 = No Penetration after 30 mins
EN 60903
(Class 00 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4)
Gloves with an EN 60903 rating is meant to protect from electrical shocks. The different classes correspond to different working voltages:
Class 00 - 500V
Class 0 - 1000V
Class 1 - 10,000V
Class 2 - 17,000V
Class 3 - 26,500V
Class 4 - 36,000V