Sizing & Care

The instructions for use above describe the first style in each group. Black reflector styles and styles without retroreflective tape carry no class rating. The rating for each style is on its product page.

Choosing the right hi vis

Hi vis is the layer that goes on last, over everything else. That single fact drives almost every sizing mistake we see. A vest that fits your chest in a t shirt will not close over a hoodie in November, and a jacket bought to fit like a jacket leaves no room for the layers underneath it.

What washing does to it

Retroreflective tape is the part that fails first, and it fails from heat and agitation rather than from age on the shelf. Wash cold, wash inside out, and tumble dry low or air dry. Tumble dry low is fine, and air drying is better for the reflective tape. Every hot cycle takes reflectivity off the tape, and once it is gone the garment does not come back. Fluorescent background fabric fades from UV instead, so a vest that lives on a dashboard ages faster than one that lives in a locker.

Retire a garment when the tape is cracked, lifting at the edges, or visibly dull next to a new one. Faded fluorescent fabric is the other retirement trigger. Neither is a repair.

Which class you need is a separate question and it is answered on the Safety Standards page, along with what Type O, Type R and Type P mean.

Choosing the right boot

Boots are the one piece of gear you cannot power through a bad fit on. A glove that rubs is annoying. A boot that rubs ends the shift. Three things decide it: the length, the sock, and the height.

Shaft height, and what each one covers

Height is measured from the top of the outsole to the top of the collar. Taller boots give more debris and splash protection and more ankle support, and cost you ankle flex and airflow. If you are on ladders all day the extra flex of a 5 or 6 inch is worth more than the coverage of a 7 inch.

Sizing, and the two things people get wrong

Women’s sizing runs about 1.5 sizes off men’s. A women’s 8.5 is roughly a men’s 7. Our size charts print both columns side by side for every style, so read across rather than converting in your head.

Width is standard D across the range. If you normally buy a wide, go up a half size rather than down. Boots built with the MorphFit™ Adjustable Width System are the exception worth knowing about. They ship with a removable bottom insert that converts the fit from standard (D) to extra wide (EE), so one pair covers both widths. Their size charts list both columns.

Break them in before the job, not on it. Two or three short wears indoors lets the leather take your foot. A new boot straight into a ten hour shift is how blisters happen.

Toe type, electrical hazard rating and waterproof versus water resistant are protection questions rather than fit questions, and they are answered on the Safety Standards page.

Choosing the right glove

A glove that does not fit is a glove that gets taken off. Too tight and your hand tires and cramps. Too loose and the fingertips fold, you lose your grip, and loose material near a blade or a moving part is its own hazard. Two measurements settle it, and you only need a tape or a piece of string.

Measure your hand

Measure your dominant hand. It is usually the larger of the two. No tape? Wrap a piece of string around your palm, mark it, then lay it flat against a ruler.

Find your size

Sizes follow EN ISO 21420, the international standard for glove sizing. The numeric size is the palm circumference in inches, rounded, which is why a size 9 glove fits a nine inch palm.

Two rules that matter

Between sizes, go up. If you measure 9.5, take the 10. A slightly large glove still works. A tight one does not, and it will wear out faster at the seams.

For cut resistant gloves, go up anyway. High cut liners use fibres like HPPE and steel that have very little stretch. A cut glove that measures correct on paper will feel a size small on your hand. Order one size larger than your measurement unless you already own that style.

Gauge, and why thin is not weak

Gauge is the number of knitting needles per inch in the liner. Higher gauge means finer yarn and a thinner, closer fitting glove. It does not mean less protection. A 21 gauge cut glove and a 13 gauge cut glove can carry the same cut rating, and the 21 gauge one will let you pick up a bolt.

If the job needs fingertip feel, buy the highest gauge that carries the cut level you need. If the job is rough handling and abrasion is the enemy, drop the gauge.

Coating, and what each one is actually for

Coating decides grip. The liner decides cut and heat. They are two separate choices and a glove is only right when both match the job.

Coverage

Palm dipped covers the palm and fingers and leaves the back of the hand bare knit, so the glove breathes. Three quarter dipped wraps the sides and the fingertips as well, for wet or dirty work. Fully dipped seals the whole hand and is for liquids, at the cost of all breathability.

Cut, abrasion and puncture ratings are explained on the Safety Standards page.