Protecting the Primary Point of Contact – the Palm
Whether a glove’s purpose is high-risk (such as for emergency services or oil and gas professions) or lower-risk (such as biking or yard work), the palm is the area of the glove that comes into the most contact with, well, everything.
Glove manufacturers need to consider the factors that come into play during use in any environment:
- Repetitive use or motion
- Contact with sharp or jagged edges
- Contact with heat or cold
- Increased moisture during wear
- Reliable and secure grip
In this post, we explain why glove performance depends heavily on the palm and the role that specific materials play in providing the right level of protection, durability, and comfort.
Grip Engineering That Sticks
Glove grip isn’t just about texture. It’s about material that’s engineered for staying power, so the grip performs in and outlasts any condition.
Grip quality is essential for workers, riders, tactical professionals, and more, and is expected to perform consistently across:
- Wet environments
- Oily or greasy surfaces
- Repetitive motions or tool handling
- High-vibration environments
- Tools or equipment requiring steady hand control
Poor material selection can result in slipping, stiffness, or premature wear, causing injury or user fatigue.
A glove palm should grip for the job at hand, not just for the wearer’s strength or activity level.
The Durability to Withstand Abrasion, Wear, and Tear
The palm happens to take on the highest abrasion load of any part of a glove, absorbing repeated motion, friction, and mechanical stress from machinery to motorbikes.
These factors take a quick toll on poorly-selected materials, putting a glove wearer’s safety at risk.
High-performance gloves feature abrasion-resistant palm material that can withstand:
- Surface wear
- Thinning or smoothing out
- Failure at the seams
- Tearing or punctures
Whatever the risk a wearer’s environment carries, durability of the glove palm makes the difference between an injury and total hand protection, especially where performance counts.
Palm Protection From All Other Risk Factors
The high contact between a glove palm and potential risk factors demands dependable protection. Every job and activity carries risk, and a well-engineered palm material should provide resistance against a broad scope of safety hazards.
Glove brands need to balance hand protection with hand flexibility, allowing dexterity without compromising the durability of the palm and entire glove.
With the right engineering, glove palm materials can provide protection against risk and safety factors, while allowing the wearer the flexibility to do what they need.
How AX Does Palm Protection
The palm can’t be treated as a commodity component of a glove, or considered on par with the back of the hand or other design areas. It requires specially-engineered materials to ensure safety, durability, and comfort.
Our advanced material solutions are specifically engineered for high-performance glove applications, helping turn your glove palm into a competitive edge.
Many of our materials feature key performance features for essential palm protection:
- Reliable grip in wet or dry conditions
- Surface stability even under heavy loads
- Resistance to repeated mechanical vibration or stress
- Long-term surface integrity
As a result, the wearer enjoys reduced hand fatigue, a longer-lasting glove, and the confidence to execute without hand safety concerns.
Some of our top-line materials for palm protection include:
- GripPlus RPET: Delivers rugged abrasion resistance, exceptional grip, and lightweight comfort that lasts through every season and every environment.
- G-Series: Meets the demand for a durable palm material with a grip that excels in wet, oily, and dry environments.
- Rivolta: Rivolta encompasses long-lasting durability, uncompromised comfort, and a superior ‘nubuck’ grip.
- Cutora™: Combines a palm suede and cut fabric into one streamlined solution, creating a soft, comfortable protection directly against the hand without requiring a comfort lining.
- Medora™: The first and only synthetic grain material to reach high levels of fire resistance and all global chemical compliance requirements.
- 10W: The toughest 0.80mm palm suede, reaching the highest scores possible for abrasion resistance. Offered as 10W-90 DuraGrip with PVC dots for increased grip and durability.
Designing From the Outside-In
Instead of prioritizing aesthetics for glove design, begin with a performance-driven model that focuses on essential hand protection first.
Designing for real-world risks and stresses gives you the competitive advantage to tell a strong technical performance story that increases customer satisfaction and reduces the frequency of product returns.
Reach out to our team to learn more about how we help manufacturers build gloves from the outside in, improving palm performance and overall glove safety.
