Evaluating Suitability of a Military Duty Glove for Use in a Multi-Layered Chemical-Biological Protective Glove System

The Max Grip NT glove (Test Glove) has been approved for use as a duty glove for U.S. Army Combat Vehicle Crew and Aviation communities and is intended to either supplement or replace the current issue duty glove (Baseline) worn by these communities. The Baseline duty glove serves, however, as both a duty glove and as the outer glove component of a layered protective chemical biological (CB) glove system. In considering whether the Test Glove can fully replace the Baseline, it was necessary for the U.S. Army Program Manager Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM CIE) to determine whether the Test Glove could serve effectively in this second function as the outer layer of the CB glove system. The Ergonomics Team at U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center was asked to conduct an evaluation to determine, from a human factors perspective, the suitability of the Test Glove to be worn in conjunction with the currently fielded CB protective inner glove layers, known as 7 mil and 14 mil butyls. The evaluation addressed, among other issues, these three questions: (1) Does the Test Glove duty size (i.e., worn over bare hands) fit effectively over the 7 mil and 14 mil butyl glove layers without upsizing? (2) If it is necessary to upsize, can the upsized Test Glove be effectively worn as a duty glove (i.e., over bare hands) to serve dual purpose? and, (3) When wearing the Test Glove as part of the CB protective glove system can the wearer perform manual dexterity tasks at least as well as in the Baseline CB protective glove system? Results showed that it was often necessary to upsize the Test Glove by one size to accommodate the CB inner layer but wearing this larger glove over the bare hands, as a duty glove, did not adversely impact manual dexterity, suggesting potential for a single-size dual purpose glove. In a comparison of manual dexterity performance between the Test Glove and Baseline CB glove configurations, minor differences, only, were observed. Practical implications including path forward for the Test Glove are discussed.