Been rather busy lately. Not too busy to have erred somewhat in my recent purchase of gloves. While in our local Ace Hardware store, I spied some gloves called Mad Grip. It was some form of latex glove with mesh so the hands can breathe. The fit was good. The cost was $12 plus change which seemed a bit high. On the card that held the gloves it boasted " 10 times more durable than latex dipped gloves ". I was sold. Below are two photos. The top photo is of the left hand Mad Grip glove after 2 hours of work ( more on that later ). The second photo is of my normal use latex dipped Atlas Extra glove after a week of work. Before I post the photos I will tell you what I told the folks at Mad Grip. I work in a plywood mill and sometimes handle panels and occasionally band units of plywood ( using 5/8th plastic banding ). Here are the two gloves.
I sent a rather angry comment to the Mad grip folks calling BS on their claims that their gloves were 10 times better than regular latex gloves. Let's see. $12 for their gloves and less than $6 for the Atlas gloves. I did get a response back. Below is part of that response.
Our claims are based on abrasion testing done in a certified laboratory in order to obtain a CE certification. We have data on it, but of course every application presents different challenges on wear and tear.
Later, I emailed photos ( the same as you see ) and told the representative of my work. This was their response.
This is interesting and very unusual feedback. I am wondering if it may be because of the grip itself. Maybe the gloves are grabbing onto the panels so much so that the panels are literally taking pieces of the rubber off with the friction. Any thoughts on this? I am very sorry you have had a bad experience with our product.
I think that their glove ( or any glove ) would last longer if they were used once a week for gardening or if used by a singer that danced and only grabbed his junk. The last email was the terminus of our communication. If I had at least kept the receipt from Ace Hardware I could have taken them back and had my money returned. What am I left with? An expensive set of shredded gloves that may bode well to just cut the fingers off and make an expensive finger-less glove.
After all this, am I advising you against the Mad Grip glove? Not at all. If you find them on clearance...buy them. If you find them for less than $6, buy them. If they are given to you, keep them. Just saying don't use them too much, or at the very least, for two hours in a plywood mill or you will be disappointed.
Trevor M Dodge
