UNDERSTANDING THE GAUGE OF A GLOVE LINER

7/04/2021

UNDERSTANDING GAUGE

A guide to help you understand the gauge of a glove liner, and how it impacts on functionality and comfort.

WHAT IS THE GAUGE OF A GLOVE LINING?

The gauge designates the number of stitches per inch in each glove. As the number of stitches per inch increases, the amount of yarn actually decreases, resulting in thinner gloves. The gauge, in short, highlights the weight of the glove.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE LEVELS OF GAUGE?

Glove linings often range from 7-gauge to 21-gauge. It is common to think that 7-gauge is the lightest and 21-gauge is the heaviest, but it is in fact the opposite. Therefore, the higher the gauge, the thinner the glove and the lower the gauge, the thicker and less dexterous the glove is.

WHAT A LOWER GLOVE GAUGE FEELS LIKE?

The lower gauge gloves are thicker and coarser with less dexterity, making tasks like picking up small objects more difficult.

WHAT A HIGHER GLOVE GAUGE FEELS LIKE?

The higher the gauge usually means a softer glove with better dexterity, resulting in something more comfortable to wear. An added benefit of a higher-gauge glove is that it provides a high level of tactility and therefore, it will be easier to do certain jobs that require fine-tuning skills.

DOES GLOVE GAUGE IMPACT CUT RESISTANCE?

Traditionally wearing a thinner glove may feel like your hands are less protected however, with the latest innovations and technologies you can indeed have a higher gauge glove liner which doesn’t impact the cut protection. This results in a glove that has the feel of a cut level 1, but the protection of a cut level E, for example.