Ask a buyer why a glove failed and the answer is rarely the liner. It is the coating: too slippery on wet steel, swollen by oil, too stiff for small parts, or worn through in a week by abrasive concrete.
The palm coating decides grip, chemical resistance, dexterity and price. This guide compares the three main families — latex, nitrile and PU — by the properties that actually decide an order, then maps each to the jobs it wins.
The one-line version
- Latex (crinkle or foam): best wet grip and the best value for general construction and site work. Poor oil resistance.
- Nitrile (sandy, foam or full dip): the oil glove. Good abrasion, good chemical splash resistance, slightly less grip in heavy water than latex.
- PU: the precision glove. Thinnest, cleanest, best for small parts and dry assembly. Not for water or oil in volume.
Latex: grip and value
Latex (natural rubber) is the default coating for construction, agriculture and warehousing — anywhere the glove meets damp, dusty, irregular surfaces.
Crinkle latex has a rough, puckered surface. The texture bites into wet and muddy surfaces and holds grip as the glove loads with dust. It is the coating for block, brick, timber and general site handling. Trade-offs: it is the thickest of the three, it swells and degrades in oils and solvents, and it is not suitable for anyone with latex allergies.
Foam latex carries tiny open cells that channel water away from the contact surface. On wet slick surfaces — glazed tile, wet pipe, wet timber — foam latex usually outgrips crinkle. The foam structure also breathes better, which matters on long shifts. Trade-offs: the open cells load up with fine sticky mud, and oil resistance is just as poor as crinkle.
Where latex wins: construction, agriculture, refuse and recycling, masonry, wet-weather general handling. Our latex-coated range covers crinkle, foam and winter liners on this coating.
Winter note: for cold stores and outdoor winter work, latex is applied over acrylic or terry liners — the coating keeps its grip at low temperature better than nitrile does.
Nitrile: oil and abrasion
Nitrile (synthetic rubber) is the glove of automotive plants, machine shops and anywhere oil is on the parts.
Sandy nitrile has an embossed, sandpaper-like texture that disperses oil films and keeps grip on oily parts. It resists abrasion better than latex of the same weight and shrugs off greases, mineral oils and many water-based chemicals. Trade-offs: in standing water, sandy nitrile gives up grip to latex, and the texture can mark delicate surfaces.
Foam nitrile uses open cells like foam latex, tuned for oil-soaked environments: machine shops, stamping, gear assembly. It keeps grip where oil is present but not pooled, and runs thinner than sandy.
Full nitrile dip coats the whole hand and cuff. It is the choice for chemical splash work, degreasing and food-adjacent washdown (where the model allows), because there is no uncoated fabric to absorb liquid. Trade-offs: least breathable, stiffest, and dexterity is noticeably lower than a palm-coated 13-gauge glove.
Where nitrile wins: automotive and machine assembly, metal fabrication, oil-handling maintenance, chemical splash work. See the nitrile-coated range for sandy, foam and full-dip builds.
PU: dexterity and cleanliness
Polyurethane is applied as a thin film, usually on a 13-gauge nylon or HPPE liner. The result is the thinnest, lightest coating available.
PU keeps nearly all of the liner’s dexterity, sheds almost no lint or residue, and is the standard for electronics, small-parts assembly, quality inspection and clean logistics. It also rides comfortably under a second glove and inside long shifts without the hand overheating.
Trade-offs: PU is poor in water (the film wets out and becomes slippery), useless in oil, and the thin film abrades quickly on rough concrete or brick. Do not specify PU because it is cheap per pair — specify it because the task needs fingers.
Where PU wins: warehousing and logistics, electronics and small-parts assembly, automotive final assembly, inspection. The PU-coated range comes in white, black and grey.
PVC and the chemical exception
PVC is not a competitor inside the “grip coating” conversation — it is a different question. A heavy PVC dip (often over a jersey or interlock liner, sometimes double-dipped) resists acids, alkalis and a defined list of chemicals, and is the standard for chemical handling, oil rig work and wet fishing industry tasks. It is thick, stiff and cold in winter, and dexterity is poor by design.
If the enquiry mentions chemicals, the correct question is not “which coating grips best” but “which permeation data applies” — see why EN 374 is a different specification. Chemical protection needs its own test evidence per chemical and per breakthrough time.
Quick decision table
| Condition | Coating to start from |
|---|---|
| Wet + dusty, general site work | Crinkle latex |
| Wet + slick surfaces (tile, pipe, glass) | Foam latex |
| Oil on parts, machine work | Sandy or foam nitrile |
| Oil + maximum durability | Full nitrile dip |
| Small parts, dry, precision | PU |
| Chemicals, acids, degreasing | PVC / chemical-rated (EN 374 evidence) |
| Cold store, outdoor winter | Latex over winter liner |
What to send with the enquiry
Two lines are usually enough to narrow a coating choice: what the glove touches (dry cartons, wet stone, oily parts, chemicals) and what the current glove fails at (slips, wears out, hands sweat, coating splits). A photo of the current glove’s marking helps even more — it fixes the liner and coating weight without a sampling round.
Send those two lines through the contact page and we will come back with two or three constructions to sample rather than a catalogue.
Frequently asked
Is latex or nitrile better for wet grip? In heavy standing water, crinkle and foam latex generally outgrip nitrile. In oil, latex is the wrong choice — nitrile is designed for it.
Why is PU not used on construction sites? The thin film that makes PU dexterous also makes it abrade quickly on abrasive surfaces like block and screed. Latex or nitrile is the appropriate coating there.
Can coatings be matched to a brand color? Yes — coating and liner colors are set at sampling, subject to pigment availability at the gauge being ordered. Private label color matching is part of our OEM program.
Coating behavior varies with coating weight, liner gauge and finish. Sample and field-test before committing a program.