Well for the past year I have been a “silent” distributor for Ironclad gloves here in Western Australia. It all came about after I ordered a pair online through a third part supplier and then made contact with Ironclad to ask if there were distributors in Australia. Turned out that a company local to me were in the midst of signing a deal to be the sole Aus/NZ distributor. Ironclad were nice enough to actually pass on my email to them and they contacted me. I have been purchasing gloves from them ever since and that have very generously allowed me to on sell to the entertainment industry.
What I have learned from all of this is that gloves are like any other tool that you may own and no one glove will be perfectly suited to all jobs. For example, you wouldn’t use a hammer to loosen a
nut (would you?). In selling gloves to the major lighting company here, as well as to some others, here is the breakdown of what they buy and why:
Mach 5 – general use where finger tips are required or for those who do not like full fingered gloves. For me - these don't offer as much protection as the other gloves. Handles tend to rub on the middle
knuckle but I wear them mainly when on
pyro shows as I need the fingers free for wiring up and most lifting is of boxes and crates.
Framers / Griptech Strikers – where a more robust glove is required as the longer fingers on these (even the cut offs) offer more protection to the middle
knuckle. These tend to be the choice of those who are rigging, as the finger cut offs offer better control of nuts/bolts and carabineer clips
Griptech Advantages / General Utility – a general purpose full fingered glove that still offers good dexterity. Full finger protection for most work, including focussing. Some find the moulded fingers are fine for hanging lights, where as others do prefer the
Framers or Griptech Strikers – I own a pair of each. The General Utility gloves are what I use for the general
bump in/
bump out and for most jobs. The Griptech Advantages I use when I am using my chainsaw as they offer greater
grip and less muscle force.
Ranchworks – The only full leather washable glove that offers excellent wear and durability when handling ropes. However, they are not as flexible as the others and do not offer the same amount of dexterity. They are also yellow/tan in colour but I hear that a black variety will be coming out.
Some comments on the
Griptech gloves:
Reported to offer better
grip on aluminium
truss and with the adhesive sheets applied to tool, less effort is required to hold them and they don’t slip in your hands. However rope work will damage them and cause them to wear quicker.
Most of these guys are buying 2 or 3 different pairs of gloves and the most common are the Mach 5’s, the Griptech Strikers and the Ranchworks.
However, I know that they can be a little expensive if you are buying more that one pair (even one pair) but I guess you have to look at what you actually want them for. The rolled finger tips are certainly the best
fitting and easiest to work with of all the gloves that I have worn in the past (I have not tried the Setware gloves however). The other advantage is that they are lightweight and washable. After a few minutes, you actually do forget that you are wearing them and one guy that I sold them to actually woke up one morning after a show and still had his Mach 5 gloves on. True story.
Ask you friend if you can borrow his and see what you think.
As a basic starting out glove, I would recommend either the general utility which is good for any lifting and for focusing but you may find it a little more difficult when it comes to working with nuts/bolts and tools. Although, you do get use to them. The biggest thing for most people is whether or not to go for full fingers or cut offs and that is mainly a personal thing.
Hope this helps.
