The Value of Training with Gloves

Gloves are an important piece of equipment that is often overlooked. I think that everybody should spend at least some of their time shooting, or performing any task, with gloves. Learning how to manage the loss of dexterity that they can create, and still perform at a high level is important; especially if you are preparing for a serious duty application.

Why should you wear them?

For those who have spent any time performing hard work with their hands, it is no secret that hands get injured easily. Hands might be one of the most fragile parts of our body, but they are vitally important to the work that we do. Manipulating weapons or tools, preparing a shelter, or repairing a vehicle all require the use of our hands. Any of these applications put your hands in harms way.

Even minor scrapes or cuts to the hands can be extremely annoying and painful at best, and at worst can lead to infection. Larger cuts can lead to the complete loss of the hand while you wait for it to heal. Wearing gloves can save you from painful inconvenience, or even partial immobilization.

How often should I train with gloves?

This will depend on your application. As somebody who spends most of their training time on shooting, and I train for both daily CCW and military duties, I wear gloves a little more than half of the time I am training. Since I probably won’t be wearing glove during a situation where I need to use my EDC gear, I like to practice without them. For everything else I like to wear gloves.

If you are training solely for military applications, certain LEO applications, or a prepper scenario I would recommend that you always wear your gloves. The reason being that if you gain a higher level of comfort operating in your gloves, you will be less likely to remove them.

You should practice performing all tasks you might encounter in your gloves. Changing tires, shooting, reloading magazines, writing notes, performing first aid, etc. You might be surprised at how awkward some mundane tasks feel when wearing gloves for the first time. However, after months in an operational environment, I found that I was just as good at nearly all tasks requiring the use of my hands with gloves and it saved time and my hands by keeping my gloves on at all times. I found times when my wrists would be completely torn up from wire or thorns, but my hands felt great.

What gloves should I wear?

There are tons of gloves available, and some are certainly better than others. Many people wear gloves that have feature that seam great, but in my experience are over-rated, and others sometimes wear gloves that are not up to the task.

Any type of gardening glove that has a palm made of fabric should be immediately dismissed. There will not hold up to rigorous work, and the fabric tends to get caught in moving parts. I only use gloves with a leather palm.

I’ve worn gloves with the hardened knuckles before. While I see the potential utility, I never found a situation where I was glad I had them. If you feel the need to spend the money on something like that, be my guest but I think that they are gimmicky.

A flexible back is important for me. I want the gloves to feel snug at all times, and a flexible back allows that.

Fire resistant is a feature that I’m sure I should feel more strongly about, but I just don’t. If you demand that your gloves are fire retardant, I get it. I’ve worn nomex before, and I think it is a great material, but I just don’t think that the amount of heat I’m exposed to requires fire retardant material. If I’m ever in a situation where my gloves catch fire, I assume that will be a somewhere in the middle of the list of priorities at that point.

Any specific recommendations?

I have a lot of friends and colleagues who swear by Mechanix brand, and they are OK. I’ve worn a couple different styles from them in the past and they get the job done but I find them to wear out a little quicker than I would like. I am hard on my gear, so I tend to wear everything out quicker than I should though. Because Mechanix gloves are relatively inexpensive, I give them a pass on durability but they still aren’t my first choice. Most of these are not fire resistant.

If you can get issues nomex gloves or find them at a surplus store, they are a great. I find that they are usually overpriced and they just do not last through hard use. They are always handy for me because of my military affiliation, but they are my back up option if nothing better is available. These are fire resistant.

The Camelbak Tactical Combat Gloves are my first choice, and have been for the past 10 years. I was issued these once, and I keep going back to them. They are comfortable, have a short wrist area, they look good, and they have reinforcing and extra flexible spots in all the right areas. They are reasonably priced, and they are pretty durable. I hope that Camelbak keeps making these because they are easily my favorite. They are not fire retardant, but I’ve never had a problem with them near heat.

Conclusion

Whether you plan on attending a shooting course, are prepping for doomsday, or are heading off on your next deployment, you need to make sure you are training with gloves. You can choose any of the ones I’ve linked above, or find your own to suit your needs, but I implore you to find a pair you like. Train with them, use them, and save your hands. Your romantic partner will likely thank you for wearing them as well.

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