Everything You Need to Know About
Puncture-Resistant Gloves
Hand Puncture Injuries
Puncture-resistant gloves prevent workers’ hands from injuries caused by the force of pointed objects that penetrate the skin. But not all puncture injuries are the same!
- A puncture injury can be as thick as a ball-point pen, also known as standard or probe puncture. This includes injuries from objects such as nails, thick cables, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
- A puncture injury can be as fine as a hypodermic needle, also known as needlestick or hypodermic puncture. This includes injuries from objects such as needles, fine wood splinters, tiny pieces of glass, barbs on wires, thin gauge wire, construction staples, etc.
Due to the varying degrees of puncture injuries, it is important to note that safety gloves that offer standard puncture protection are not sufficient to prevent hypodermic puncture injuries. So, how do you choose the right puncture protection for your workers?
This article breaks down everything you need to know about standard puncture-resistant gloves and needlestick puncture-resistant gloves to help you make an informed decision.
Click below to learn more.
Hand Puncture Injuries
Puncture-resistant gloves prevent workers’ hands from injuries caused by the force of pointed objects that penetrate the skin. But not all puncture injuries are the same!
- A puncture injury can be as thick as a ball-point pen, also known as standard or probe puncture. This includes injuries from objects such as nails, thick cables, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
- A puncture injury can be as fine as a hypodermic needle, also known as needlestick or hypodermic puncture. This includes injuries from objects such as needles, fine wood splinters, tiny pieces of glass, barbs on wires, thin gauge wire, construction staples, etc.
Due to the varying degrees of puncture injuries, it is important to note that safety gloves that offer standard puncture protection are not sufficient to prevent hypodermic puncture injuries. So, how do you choose the right puncture protection for your workers?
This article breaks down everything you need to know about standard puncture-resistant gloves and needlestick puncture-resistant gloves to help you make an informed decision.
Standard Puncture Protection
Standard-puncture resistant gloves offer protection from injuries caused by thicker objects roughly the size of a ball-point pen such as nails, thick cables, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
You will learn
- The underlying forces that cause punctures
- How engineered materials prevent and reduce puncture injuries
- Materials used for standard puncture-resistant gloves
- Standards and tests used to verify standard puncture resistance level of gloves
- Limitations of, and misconceptions about, puncture-resistant gloves
Forces at work in puncture-resistant gloves
To understand standard puncture resistance, we first need to understand the underlying force that leads to punctures.
Push (downward force) – This force is generated by an object pushing down on a material. For a puncture to occur in gloves, it is the force required to drive the object by either breaking or forcing the fibers apart to penetrate through the material. What this essentially means is that for some materials, like leather and coated gloves, the object breaks through the surface of that material to penetrate the gloves. For knitted materials, the object pushes the fibers apart and finds its way through the gaps of the fiber to cause puncture injuries. During this process, some fibers may also break.
Counterforces that minimize the effect of push
Counteracting the downward force of an object depends on the glove material’s tensile strength (the resistance of a material to break when enough force is applied) and how resistant the fibers are to breaking or being forced apart. This is achieved through material strength and hardness.
To counteract downward force, glove manufacturers engineer materials that have enhanced strength and hardness. When the strength of a material’s fiber is significant enough, it resists stretching and snapping. When a fiber’s hardness is great enough, it resists being separated.
Industry standards also apply these same forces to test and measure the effectiveness of puncture-resistant gloves and assign them protection levels.
Materials used for standard puncture-resistant gloves
To review, a standard puncture is caused by the downward force of an object that is roughly the size of a ball-point pen by breaking or forcing the fibers apart to penetrate through the material. This can include objects such as nails, thicker cables, wood splinters, and wires, among others.
Primary materials used for standard puncture-resistant gloves.
Leather and Mechanics
On their own, leather gloves can offer up to ANSI level 3 puncture resistance. To achieve higher level of puncture resistance, puncture-resistant liners made with densely knit high-strength fibers like HPPE or para-aramids are sewn to increase puncture resistance to ANSI Level 4 or 5.
Mechanics gloves are different layers of materials (natural or synthetic) sewn together to manufacture gloves. And as with leather gloves, a puncture-resistant liner is sewn into the mechanics gloves to achieve higher levels of puncture protection.
String knit gloves
Primary materials used to manufacture puncture-resistant gloves include high HPPE and Para-aramids. Glove gauge and palm coatings also significantly impact puncture protection.
Glove gauge: Higher-gauge (thinner) gloves offer better puncture protection as the yarn is knit tighter together with smaller gaps for pointy objects to penetrate through. Lower-gauge (thicker) gloves are unable to suitably protect from puncture hazards as pointy objects can easily find their way into the larger gaps between the fibers and penetrate the gloves.
Palm coating: In string knit gloves, a very thin layer of palm coating is applied. This coating acts as an additional layer of protection that holds the yarn together to prevent the fibers from moving apart and adds puncture resistance to areas where there are gaps between the yarn.
To learn more about the differences between glove gauges, as it relates to glove performance and comfort, check out our Glove 101 guide that discusses the topic in detail.
Chemical gloves
Chemical gloves offer only mid-range puncture resistance (ANSI Level 2 – 3) and are usually accompanied by other liners and inserts to achieve higher protection levels (Note: due to manufacturing constraints, adding liners to chemical gloves is quite uncommon).
Latex and silicone offer the best puncture resistance as these materials have a slight stretch to them. When it comes to the rest, there is no one strong performer than the other.
For more information on the features and limitations of each type of glove coating material and the work conditions they’re best suited for, check out our Glove 101 section on palm coating.
Puncture-resistant metal mesh gloves
An emerging technology is densely knit, puncture-resistant metal mesh gloves. Metal mesh gloves a quite ergonomic as they can move independently and bend easily. However, the challenge with these gloves is that unless they are of a higher gauge (21-gauge), pointy objects can easily find their way through the gaps in the mesh to cause puncture injuries.
Standard puncture resistance safety standards
Industry standards were established that refer to specific test methods to assign protection levels for safety gloves, including standard puncture testing (classified as blunt puncture testing in the industry testing standard guide). These standards were introduced to create a common language for safety managers, distributors, and manufacturers to define protection levels and be held accountable for their claims.
EN388:2016 and ANSI/ISEA 105 Blunt/Standard Puncture Testing
The EN388 standard testing method for puncture resistance is the only testing procedure that is used and recognized by both EN388 and ANSI/ISEA 105 standards. The test measures the amount of force required for a blunt object to break through the glove material.
Note: The industry testing standards require only the palm side to be tested for puncture resistance.
Testing Method: The testing material is held firmly between two plates and a blunt object (roughly the size of a ballpoint pen, ~ 4.5mm in diameter) is pressed into the material. The object penetrates the test fabric at a 90° angle at 100mm/min. Increasing weights are then added to determine the puncture level of the glove material. For ANSI/ISEA testing, this test is usually performed a total of 12 times on the material, and the average is recorded to determine the final rating.
- The ANSI standard identifies puncture levels on a scale of 0-5 (where 0 is the lowest and 5 is the highest level of puncture resistance)
The EN388:2016 standard identifies puncture levels on a scale of 0-4 (where 1 is the lowest and 4 is the highest level of puncture resistance)
| EN388 and ANSI/ISEA 105 Standard Puncture Testing Ratings | ||||||
| LOW | HIGH | |||||
| Level | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| ANSI/ISEA (Newtons) | 0-9 | 10-19 N | 20-59 N | 60-99 N | 100-149 N | 150+ N |
| EN (Newtons) | 0-20 N | 20-59 N | 60-99 N | 100-149 N | 150+ N | |
When looking for the protection level on gloves, the ANSI puncture level for standard puncture protection is displayed inside a badge resembling a shield.
And the EN388 puncture level is displayed under the EN388 shield.
Note: There are no differences in the testing methods and ranking levels for the EU and the UK Standards. However, PPE (and other goods) sold in the UK are now mandated to have UKCA marking (UK Conformity Assessed) instead of CE marking (Conformitè Europëenne-European Conformity) which are used for PPE (and other goods) sold in EU countries.
Limitations and misconceptions
about puncture-resistant gloves
Now that you have a basic understanding of how standard puncture-resistant gloves work, let’s review some common misconceptions.
Misconception 1:
Puncture-resistant glove are puncture proof
There is no such thing as 100% puncture-proof gloves—as it is true of all safety gloves that offer any mechanical protection. This is why safety gloves are called “resistant” and not “proof.”
Puncture-resistant gloves are designed to reduce the likelihood of getting puncture injuries, though injuries can still occur even when wearing gloves if enough force is applied. In such cases, the severity of the injury can be drastically reduced by wearing these gloves.
Misconception 2:
Puncture-resistant glove offer 360° puncture coverage
Most puncture-resistant gloves only offer protection on the palm side of the gloves, and industry standards dictate that only the palms need to be tested for puncture resistance. This is because the palms are the most commonly injured part of the hand by puncture wounds. However, many assume that if the palms are protected, so is the back of the hand. While at Superior Glove we do offer gloves with full 360° hand coverage for cut resistance that can offer a degree of puncture protection, it does not automatically mean the gloves are rated at the same level for puncture resistance. However, zoned protection for puncture resistance in other parts of the gloves can also be added and should be made clear by the manufacturer.
Misconception 3:
Cut- and puncture-resistant gloves are interchangeable
Most puncture-resistant gloves incorporate cut-resistant material but cut-resistant material in gloves may not guarantee sufficient protection from puncture hazards. Always determine the type of puncture protection your workers need (standard or hypodermic) and then review the hazard protection ratings for the gloves you are considering.
Look for these rating icons when your workers need protection from standard punctures like nails, thick cable, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
Look for these rating icons when your workers need protection from standard punctures like nails, thick cable, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
Look for these rating icons when your workers need protection from hypodermic puncture like needles, fine wood splinters, tiny pieces of glass, barbs on wires, thin gauge wire, construction staples, etc.
Hypodermic Puncture Protection
Hypodermic-puncture resistant gloves offer protection from injuries caused by fine objects such as needles, fine wood splinters, tiny pieces of glass, barbs on wires, thin gauge wire, construction staples, etc.
You will learn
- The underlying forces that cause punctures
- How engineered materials prevent and reduce puncture injuries
- Materials used for standard puncture-resistant gloves
- Standards and tests used to verify standard puncture resistance level of gloves
- Limitations of, and misconceptions about, puncture-resistant gloves
Forces at work in puncture-resistant gloves
To understand standard puncture resistance, we first need to understand the underlying force that leads to punctures.
Push (downward force) – This force is generated by an object pushing down on a material. For a puncture to occur in gloves, it is the force required to drive the object by either breaking or forcing the fibers apart to penetrate through the material. What this essentially means is that for some materials, like leather and coated gloves, the object breaks through the surface of that material to penetrate the gloves. For knitted materials, the object pushes the fibers apart and finds its way through the gaps of the fiber to cause puncture injuries. During this process, some fibers may also break.
Counterforces that minimize the effect of push
Counteracting the downward force of an object depends on the glove material’s tensile strength (the resistance of a material to break when enough force is applied) and how resistant the fibers are to breaking or being forced apart. This is achieved through material strength and hardness.
To counteract downward force, glove manufacturers engineer materials that have enhanced strength and hardness. When the strength of a material’s fiber is significant enough, it resists stretching and snapping. When a fiber’s hardness is great enough, it resists being separated.
Industry standards also apply these same forces to test and measure the effectiveness of puncture-resistant gloves and assign them protection levels.
Materials used for hypodermic puncture-resistant gloves
To review, hypodermic punctures are caused by needle-sized objects that penetrate through the skin. While the hazard is apparent to workers who work around hypodermic syringes and equipment with thin, sharp, needle-like objects, it is even more exaggerated and dangerous in workplaces where it is less obvious, such as recycling, sorting, and site cleanups.
Considering hypodermic needles are thin enough to effortlessly pierce skin, they can easily push their way in between the gaps of the yarn without having to overcome the strength of the fibers. For this reason, glove manufacturers have engineered specialty materials where they layer tightly knit para-aramid fibers that resist needle-like objects from penetrating through. This layer is inserted into puncture-resistant safety gloves.
As lead innovators of safety gloves, Superior Glove has pioneered its own woven fabric, known as Punkban™, that uses leading edge textile technology to combine spinning and weaving of para-aramids that are lighter and more supple when compared to industry norms. Punkban™ offers protection to workers exposed to hypodermic needles, cables/wires, barb wires, wood, metal, recycling, and glass hazards, among others.
The level of hypodermic puncture protection offered from inserts such as Punkban™ also depend on the number of layers used.
- A single-layer Punkban™ or equivalent can offer up to ANSI level 2 puncture resistance
- A double layer Punkban™ can offer anywhere between ANSI level 4 and 5 puncture protection
Here, it is important to note that other factors like palm coating and the glove material work in tandem with these inserts to determine the final level of hypodermic puncture protection. For example, puncture-resistant gloves with double layer Punkban™ may offer up to ANSI level 4 puncture protection, but by adding a palm coating, it can increase that protection to maximum ANSI level 5 puncture resistance.
Hypodermic puncture protection and dexterity
No matter how light and supple, hypodermic puncture-resistant inserts reduce glove dexterity. This is experienced differently for each type of material. In sting knit gloves, this reduced dexterity is felt more than in leather or mechanics style gloves. This is mostly due to the relative expectation the wearer has from string knit gloves in terms of better dexterity.
Hypodermic puncture resistance safety standards
Industry standards were established that refer to specific test methods to assign protection levels for safety gloves, including hypodermic puncture testing (classified as needlestick puncture testing in the industry testing standard guide). These standards were introduced to create a common language for safety managers, distributors, and manufacturers to define protection levels and be held accountable for their claims.
Note: The industry testing standards require only the palm side to be tested for puncture resistance.
EN388:2016 and ANSI/ISEA 105 Blunt/Standard Puncture Testing
The ASTM F2878 needle puncture testing modifies the standard puncture test by swapping out the blunt object to a 25-gauge hypodermic needle and the speed at which it travels. During testing, the needle penetrates the test fabric at a velocity of 500mm/min, five times faster than in the standard testing method, and is usually performed a total of 12 times on the material to determine the final rating. The ANSI standard identifies needlestick puncture resistance on a scale of 0-5, based on the newtons of force required to fully penetrate the material.
| EN388 and ANSI/ISEA 105 Standard Puncture Testing Ratings | ||||||
| LOW | HIGH | |||||
| Level | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Force (N) needed to puncture specimen at 500mm/min | < 2 N | ≥ 2 N | ≥ 4 N | ≥ 6 N | ≥ 8 N | ≥ 10 N |
When looking for the hypodermic protection level on gloves, the ANSI level is displayed inside a badge resembling a shield.
Limitations and misconceptions about puncture-resistant gloves
Now that you have a basic understanding of how standard puncture-resistant gloves work, let’s review some common misconceptions.
Misconception 1:
Puncture-resistant glove are puncture proof
There is no such thing as 100% puncture-proof gloves—as it is true of all safety gloves that offer any mechanical protection. This is why safety gloves are called “resistant” and not “proof.”
Puncture-resistant gloves are designed to reduce the likelihood of getting puncture injuries, though injuries can still occur even when wearing gloves if enough force is applied. In such cases, the severity of the injury can be drastically reduced by wearing these gloves.
Misconception 2:
Puncture-resistant glove offer 360° puncture coverage
Most puncture-resistant gloves only offer protection on the palm side of the gloves, and industry standards dictate that only the palms need to be tested for puncture resistance. This is because the palms are the most commonly injured part of the hand by puncture wounds. However, many assume that if the palms are protected, so is the back of the hand. While at Superior Glove we do offer gloves with full 360° hand coverage for cut resistance that can offer a degree of puncture protection, it does not automatically mean the gloves are rated at the same level for puncture resistance. However, zoned protection for puncture resistance in other parts of the gloves can also be added and should be made clear by the manufacturer.
Misconception 3:
Cut- and puncture-resistant gloves are interchangeable
Most puncture-resistant gloves incorporate cut-resistant material but cut-resistant material in gloves may not guarantee sufficient protection from puncture hazards. Always determine the type of puncture protection your workers need (standard or hypodermic) and then review the hazard protection ratings for the gloves you are considering.
Look for these rating icons when your workers need protection from standard punctures like nails, thick cable, wood splinters, and wires, etc.
Look for these rating icons when your workers need protection from hypodermic puncture like needles, fine wood splinters, tiny pieces of glass, barbs on wires, thin gauge wire, construction staples, etc.
