A Great Alternative to Kevlar Glove Liners for those who use them

[DangerBoy]

If you're like me and end up with callouses being ripped off your palms after a few weeks of water-skiing and need to use glove liners to help prevent this, I have some information you might be interested in. Previously, I was using those yellow kevlar glove liners you can get for cheap from a safety equipment store or pay about $20 a pair to get them from a ski shop with some water-ski glove company's logo silk-screened on them. I found they got a bit baggy and wore out/tore fairly fast.

 

This is what I now use and they are terrific: Ansell Hyflex 11-318 cut resistant glove liners. ansell.com/en/Brands/Hyflex/Metal-Fabrication/hyflex-11-318 These are Dyneema, not Kevlar. They're very thin, fairly abrasion resistant and fit skin tight so they're easy to get into tight water-ski gloves. They're also fairly inexpensive.

 

This is my first season using them and so far I can report that they work really well and are holding up great. By the looks of it so far, I think I'm going to get a number of seasons out of one pair. I just wanted other skiers who need to use liners to be made aware these gloves are out there and work very well for that purpose. If you're using Kevlar liners, I recommend you pick up a pair of these and give 'em a try.

 

http://sc-cdn-prod.azureedge.net/-/media/PIM/Product-Assets/HyFlex/Hyflex-11-318/HyFlex-11-318_03B.jpg?modified=20180214084622&h=480&w=480&hash=DD63C313A270B1F90FF44F56F30FF12D309FC492

 

[DangerBoy]

Sorry this got posted a second time. There was some confusion when I first posted it and it looked like it hadn't gone through so I hit the submit button a second time. Now it's posted twice. Admins you can feel free to delete the duplicate posting if you want.

[DangerBoy]

I fixed the link in the original posting so now it takes you to the right page. Sorry for the goof up.

[igkya]

@DangerBoy There's no button to 'purchase' or 'Add to cart', how much are they are/pair and how to you but them? Need to call Ansell for purchase?

[DangerBoy]

@igkya Ansell is the manufacturer so you need to find a local safety equipment store that sells Ansell gloves (which is most of them). Ansell makes thousands of gloves so they may not stock that particular model but hopefully they'll bring some in for you if they don't. I got mine from Acklands-Grainger and I think they cost something in the order of $10 - $12 CAD (~$7 - $9 USD) per pair. Pretty cheap and good value. Let us know if you get a pair and what you think of them. I for one would be interested to know if you like them and prefer them to Kevlar liners like I do.

[DangerBoy]

Here's a handy link to an Ansell glove sizing chart: https://legionsafety.com/ansell-glove-sizing-information-and-chart.html

 

This page has a reseller locator you can use to find the nearest Ansell resellers in your area:

 

protective.ansell.com/en/Knowledge/Selection-Guides/Trellchem/Sizing-Guide/

[igkya]

Good old Grainger. At ~$15/pair, they're twice the cost of what I currently use, but as I go thru 3 pair/season, these are worth trying.

[DangerBoy]

@igkya If you are ordering them on-line, this place sells them for $11.46 a pair:

 

https://tenaquip.com/product/ansell-hyflex-11-318-cut-resistant-gloves-11318080-sfx070

 

As shipping a few pairs probably costs the same as shipping one, you might as well order a few pairs at a time. ;)

[JayG80]

$8.50 per pair and free ship over $50 for these Dynnema gloves at Zoro.com. The same place I buy Kevlar liner gloves.

 

Edit - Fixed the link. Link shortening had http twice. Thanks Than

 

Ansell Glove

[Than_Bogan]

@JayG80 Your URL is missing a colon after https.

[DangerBoy]

This link works for Zorro.com

 

https://zoro.com/ansell-cut-resistant-gloves-white-size-10-pr-11-318/i/G8496695/

 

It's interesting that Acklands - Grainger charges $14.25/pr in the US because when I ordered a set through the local AG, they only charged me ten or twelve bucks Canadian. Anyways, Zorro.com seems to be the best place to get 'em. I hope that people who buy 'em and try 'em will report back here with their opinions. It'd be nice to have more reviews on them instead of just mine.

 

Since I had to drive a bit of a distance to get to the local AG I figured I should order a number of pairs so I ordered 4 pair. The first pair I've used is showing such little wear so far I think I may have enough gloves to last me 8 - 10 years or more! The other thing I should report is that I had a lot less callousing on my palms after my 3 week stay at my cabin this summer than I had during the years I was using Kevlar glove liners. Without liners I was having callouses torn off after two weeks or so and skiing in pain for the rest of my vacation. With the Kevlar liners, I was getting through the 3 weeks with my callouses intact but had considerably more callousing than I had this year. I've used the same gloves all along so the only variable is the liners.

[Chef23]

@DangerBoy when the callouses build up get a pumice stone and sand them down that will prevent them from tearing.

[DangerBoy]

@Chef23 Good to know.

[skibug]

i use a corn blade to shave my callouses down...it works great. Also, I can get the kevlar gloves for about $2.50 a pair so the Ansell Hyflex would have to last 3-4 times as long.

[DangerBoy]

or work better...

 

The whole point of my post was just to make people aware this other option was available. I used Kevlar glove liners for a lot of years but now have found this product and much prefer it. Now the community has been made aware of these gloves and people can try them and decide for themselves which they think is better. I don't think anyone cares about the price under a certain point so the question comes down to fit, performance and durability. I don't care which glove liners people ultimately choose, I just wanted to tell people about the alternative gloves I've found so they can give them a try and decide for themselves. A lot of people have looked at this post so I think I've accomplished what I set out to.

[greghayes]

@DangerBoy - mission accomplished. This kind of knowledge sharing and "best practices" is exactly why I participate in this forum. Thanks for the tip!

[DangerBoy]

Anybody get these and try them out besides me? I'm eager to hear what others think of these liners.

[escmanaze]

I assume everybody goes up a size in glove if they go from using nothing to using something like this?

[DangerBoy]

@escmanaze They're really thin and fit like a second skin. It took me a long time just to get my fingers into my new K-Palms not wearing liners when I first got them (the fingers were so narrow I thought I received the wrong size glove). The K-Palms have stretched a little since so now they're a bit easier to get on but they're still very tight and I can still get into them with these liners on no problem.

 

I would try getting into your existing gloves with these liners on before I'd go out and buy a larger size glove. I think most people will be able to stay with the same size glove even if they weren't using liners before.

[Than_Bogan]

How would I determine my glove size to order?

[DangerBoy]

@Than_Bogan From an earlier post in this thread, here's a handy sizing chart

 

https://legionsafety.com/ansell-glove-sizing-information-and-chart.html

[Than_Bogan]

Ordered a pair of 9s. I'm playing with various glove possibilities right now, and this is an interesting (and fairly inexpensive) experiment. This isn't first in my queue, though, so it might be a while before I actually try them and report.

[Than_Bogan]

Arrived yesterday. I haven't tested them in live action yet, and not sure when I will, but they sure are interesting! They have at least three interesting properties right out of the box:

 

1) Much thinner than kevlar liners

2) Interwoven with spandex and thus much tighter than kevlar liners

3) Lower surface friction than skin

 

Combining all those properties, it seems to be the case that it's actually easier to get into a very tight glove with these on than without them.

 

The fact that they sorta vaguely resemble chainmail is just a bonus...

 

A few additional stats: They are an 18 gauge vs. kevlar liners seem to be 7, so less than 40% of the thickness. The kevlar ones have 1 "grade" higher cut resistance and abrasion resistance, according to ANSI measurements.

 

Naturally, I will continue to report.

[Ed_Johnson]

I've been using Kevlar liners for years, for two reasons. 1) Reduces callouses almost completely.

2) Keeps the glove from feeling like it is sliding around in the palm area.

A couple years a go tried a nylon set of liners that were form fitting. They made the glove feel like it was sliding around on your hand. The Kevlar ones feel firm.

Let us know what the interaction between the liners and the glove feels like. THX

 

 

[DangerBoy]

The gloves I have are really tight and fit me perfectly but it takes a little while to get my fingers all the way in them with or without the liners and they have to be wet. No way I can get into them dry. I can still get into the gloves with the Ansell liners on and I don't notice any movement of the glove in the palm area when in use. My gloves are really tight in the palm area though. They might not work as well in a pair of gloves that have been stretched by wearing Kevlar liners underneath but they shouldn't give you any sliding problems when used inside a new pair of tight-fitting gloves.

 

My impression is also that they will outlast Kevlar liners by a fair bit. How much they'll outlast them I don't know because I haven't worn out the first pair yet but after many uses, they aren't showing any wear to speak of and are holding their shape and size very well. I have used Kevlar liners for many years in the past so I do have a pretty good idea of how long they last.

[Ed_Johnson]

@DangerBoy ... OK, Thanks. Best way to find out is to try them. Just ordered a pair from Zoro.

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Ed_Johnson That interaction is also one of the things I am most curious about. Handle feel in the course can be extremely important! I will definitely report on that. Please do the same!

[Ed_Johnson]

@Than_Bogan ... I actually cut all the fingers off my Kevlar liners to get a better feel in the course. I hate a bulky feeling and the gloves by themselves feel like the palm slides around a little. The Kevlar stops that. It doesn't take much to distract me !!!

 

[igkya]

Just got a pair on the Ansell gloves, both Kevlar and Dyneema. Plan to try both tomorrow.

[Than_Bogan]

Darn. These do not work for me. Because the material has such low friction, the gloves move around relative to your hand, and the feeling is very insecure. It's especially problematic when re-grabbing the handle. As the tension rises, it briefly feels like the glove is going to slide right off, and then suddenly it grabs.

 

Although I cannot point to an actual loss of grip, as the rope got shorter my confidence in the grip continued to decline, and I did not feel comfortable to attempt -38 at all.

 

It was even more obvious when I went without liners for the second set and I felt like my grip was totally amazing. :)

 

It's possible that after a break-in phase the slipperiness might lessen, but actually I doubt it because ironically Dyneema is reported to be very tough and abrasion resistant!

[DangerBoy]

@Than_Bogan I did not notice this happening at all with the gloves I've been using. It may be that the insides of my gloves creates more friction with the Dyneema liners than whatever gloves you are using. It could also be that my gloves are so tight and fit me so well there's just no way for them to move around relative to my hand. Despite Dyneema's abrasion resistance, I did note that my liners roughened up a bit after a few uses. Very fine pilling was visible. It was a minor amount but it might be just enough to alleviate the movement you experienced the first time out with them. Why don't you try to roughen the liners up with a fine sandpaper or something and try them again?

[Ed_Johnson]

Even with new Kevlar Liners, I go down to my beach, grab a couple handfuls of sand, and rub them together vigorously. Wash them out with a hose, then go over and pull on a handle attached to a tree. This breaks them in and they never feel slippery after that. May have to do that with these new gloves also.

 

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Ed_Johnson That could work. And there's a lot to like about these, so some further experiments could be warranted. But fwiw I've never done any special break-in with Kevlar liners and they've never felt nearly as sketchy as these Dyneema ones did.

[The_MS]

@Ed_Johnson just save a old handle and put your Kevlars on and rub handle. They turn a bit black but works great

[Ed_Johnson]

@MS ... That's why I take them to the handle I have tied to a tree, and your right, they turn a bit black, but that washes off. That handle trick works not only for liners, but for new gloves also. Plus, Chet Raley taught me to go pull on the handle in my stacked position before every set over 15 years a go. Stretch, pull on the handle, and go ski !!!

 

[DangerBoy]

I hope you guys can figure out a good way to break them in to meet your standards because as @Than_Bogan rightly states, there is a lot to like about the Dyneema liners. FWIW, I'm using them inside Masterline K-Palm Curves (https://h2oproshop.com/products/masterline-k-palm-curves) and they work great for me. The K-palms were so tight when I got them (especially the fingers) I thought they had either sent me ladies gloves or that the gloves were defective. The finger channels were so narrow I didn't think there was any way I would ever get my fingers into them but I did and now the gloves fit absolutely perfect and the Dyneema liners are thin enough to get into those tight, tight gloves.

[igkya]

After 1st set of the Dyneema liners, I have to agree with @Than_Bogan. Deepwater starts and re-grabbing the handle, my gloves felt like they were slipping off. Will try roughing them up and try them a few more times. FYI - Sizing seems to be a bit large. Size 10 gloves usually fit me, but these are a bit bigger.

[DangerBoy]

@igkya Did you go off the sizing chart at https://legionsafety.com/ansell-glove-sizing-information-and-chart.html or did you just order your usual size? The liners I got fit me perfectly but I took the measurement shown and ordered according to the size chart. I don't know what my usual glove size is other than Men's Small so I can't say if the Ansell size I ordered was smaller, larger or the same as my normal/usual size.

[igkya]

@DangerBoy I used the measuring chart.

[DangerBoy]

Interesting. Maybe their size 10 is a bit bigger than normal. I think I ordered a size 8 and the fit was absolutely perfect everywhere, palm girth, finger length and diameter, etc. Again, I don't know what my normal/usual glove size is other than Men's Small so I can't say with any confidence whether the size I got from using their chart fit true to size. What I can say is that my hand must fit the proportions they modeled my size after.