Considerations Before Selecting Survival Gloves
Most people fail to make proper considerations before selecting survival gloves. This is particularly surprising, given that gloves are a vital part of our survival kit that play important roles after disaster strikes. But what makes gloves that important?
Our hands are the primary units of functioning and interaction. Without your hands, you’d find it very difficult to navigate, hold, carry, and use tools. Sometimes, even communication is impossible without hands. And even as things are, hand injuries are common. I’m not sure you have a count of how many cuts your palm has suffered in the last six months.
Despite the frequency of occurrence, however, it’s rare, perhaps impossible, to be hospitalized or non-functional due to a hand injury. That could be the reason for the supposed negligence towards a pair of gloves. I mean, there’s hardly anyone who wants to go around in gloves when a minor injury can be immediately treated in a drive-in clinic.
Why Should I Make Considerations Before Selecting Survival Gloves
Hello, we have a dilemma! This is post-apocalypse—the tendency to suffer a hand-cut or puncture surge when SHTF. I mean, how do you suppose the aftermath of a hurricane would look? Safe, charming, and innocent? Of course not. A slice, burn or bruise to your hand is always lurking. All it takes is a little slip when trying to hold onto that slippery piece of iron or perhaps some hard luck while making a fire.
Do you know what makes it worse: there’s no medical staff to get on it right away or anything. The most you can get is a pair of amateurish hands with a first-aid box. But when that’s not even available, you’ll realize that a wound to your palm or fingers can affect your efficiency as much as a punch to the neck. So, before it comes to all this, why don’t you prepare ahead?
Top 4 Considerations Before Selecting Survival Gloves
Now, having realized why you have to add a pair of gloves to your survival kit, it’s necessary to ensure what you get will be useful to you. So what should you consider before ordering or shopping for that pair of gloves? You are not just walking into a store to grab whatever you can find. If it was an emergency, you might have no choice— but right now, you do. So, here are the four most important considerations before selecting survival gloves.
Purpose of Gloves
Know what we think about building shelters for the disaster that’s likely to strike? Like constructing an underground storm shelter for hurricanes and erecting an above ground structure for areas prone to flooding? It’s the same with gloves.
A pair of effective gloves must serve your specific purpose of purchase as well as protect you from environmental or weather conditions. So, it comes down to what you’re handling.
There are several types of survival gloves. There are technical gloves, tactical gloves, cold weather gloves, flame or heat resistant gloves, work gloves, and chemical resistant gloves, so what’s it going to be? You can’t accurately predict what disaster you’ll be up against, but there’s always a hint of what’s to happen.
Say, if you would be dealing with abrasive or sharp materials, you’d need work gloves. Protection against fluid is a determinant as well, and I assume you know which type to choose if that’s your purpose of buying. But what if you might have to operate little buttons, like a trigger, when these gloves are on? A pair of tactical or technical gloves should do. The emphasis here remains on buying gloves that are suited for what you’re expected to face.
Budget
It’s a common suggestion to always buy the finest gear for your survival kit because “after all, survival is key.” While I agree with the notion that safety comes first, I must point out that what we have to spare is also crucial. Most of us can’t buy the very best kits because they are always so expensive. Understandable.
Some can hardly buy high-quality gloves and still cater to their personal and family needs. So, I’d suggest that you buy a pair of gloves that won’t hurt feeding and other top priority needs. However, when doing so, ensure you’re getting the highest value for your money.
Defensive Requirements
Many preppers think this is not important, but shouldn’t it be? Think about it. There’s always a high probability that you’ll need to use a defensive weapon when wearing gloves.
“We are talking about the post-apocalyptic world, baby—welcome to the wilderness!”
There’s no escaping it: wearing gloves affects your tactile skills as well as make it more challenging to use tools, especially when you have to pull triggers and mini levers.
When considering this, you can settle for a technical or shooting-specific pair of gloves that allows optimum dexterity and ergonomic control. Alternatively, a loose pair of gloves that you can quickly take off when necessary can work too, but I’m not keen on this option.
Portability
This addresses how smartly the gloves can be packed. There’s a popular saying among preppers on gloves: “if a pair is worth packing, then two pairs are worth packing.” That means, if you can conveniently carry a pair of gloves, you should consider two pairs.
Asides that you’ll be fully covered in the event of loss or damage, you have an extra pair to give to friends or partners when necessary. Also, an extra pair compliments your main pair.
As an example, I always pack a pair of technical gloves, which I use for almost everything. Similarly, I also pack a pair of work gloves specifically to protect against the toughest or nastiest materials.
Concluding Your Considerations Before Selecting Survival Gloves
Making the ideal choice depends on the thoroughness of your considerations before selecting survival gloves. Take your time to consider these factors to get the maximum value for your money. Also, you don’t want to be packing an ineffectual pair of gloves when SHTF— you won’t find a store to buy then.