I have more sets of gloves through the years that could fill up the trunk of my car. The reason behind it is because there simply isn’t one single glove that can do everything you want them to do. I’ve had all of the top brands over the years and some fit better than others, some are more durable than others.
I was asked by the Safariland Group to be a brand ambassador for them and I agreed in a heartbeat because it is a brand that I’m very familiar with and I use their products everyday to do my job as safely as I can. Right away, they sent me a box full of their products to test and evaluate. This included five sets of their new Hatch Gloves.
Hatch is a company that specializes in Law Enforcement gloves and duty gear, they are a part of the Safariland Group.
I’ve had several Hatch Gloves in the past for frisking and duty tasks. I can say from my personal experience with the old and the new, that they’re improved in many ways with fit, function and dexterity. I’ve been wearing them ever since and used them in each of their specific tasks in order to run them through their paces and see how well they perform.
Before I get into each specific glove, I will describe features that most of them share. They are all well thought out and designed. I got all sets of gloves in Small to fit my hands and they are all very close and fit very nicely for me. Each of the tactical gloves has a patented trigger finger cut ring that allows the user to choose whether or not they want to cut off the shooting finger tip off if it interferes with their shooting without having the rest of the glove unraveling. One of my favorite features: if the gloves aren’t touch screen compatible, then there’s a little patch of touch screen compatible fabric on the middle finger knuckle. If you’ve ever had to work with gloved hands, you’ll know how difficult it is to use your smart phone with gloves on. Chances are that it is a futile exercise, with you having to remove one of your gloves. This touch screen compatible knuckle allows you to manipulate your phone in a basic way; you could answer a phone call and do simple tasks with your gloves on. All sets of the gloves I was sent are part of Hatch’s Task Specific Series. I will describe each set in an order from light to heavy duty tasks with a set of mechanical gloves at the end.
Task Light Leather (TSK323)
This set is great for most of your duty needs, it was designed for weapons handling allowing for fine motor and tactical work. The palms and fingers are made up of thin goat skin leather that will keep your hands protected from minor scratches and cuts, while on the back of the hands, there is breathable stretchy fabric that helps keep your hands cool. These fit my hands like a glove, pun intended. The fingertips are thin enough that I don’t believe that they would interfere with shooting my duty pistol. If it did, I could cut the fingertip off without worrying about the rest the glove coming apart. I didn’t get to shoot my pistol with these on yet but I will definitely do that at the next range session. I wore this and all of the other tactical sets in this series at work everyday, whenever I handled my Patrol Remington 870 Shotgun.
I have to check out a shotgun everyday, make it patrol ready and lock it up. At the end of my shift, I have to download it and put it away before going home. If you’re familiar with shotguns, you know how painful it could be when you are unloading it-the correct way: by squeezing the detent holding shells in the magazine tube. Sometimes your finger will get smashed or bit. All of these gloves are finger savers when it comes to weapons manipulation! The TSK323 will cover you for most of your patrol duty needs.
Task Medium Kevlar (TSK325)
This set of gloves focuses on the task of searching and frisking, utilizing DuPont Kevlar to line the palms. I’ve had a set of Hatch Frisking gloves in the past and they were good with the slash resistance but they were too thick and made dexterity very poor. Not the case with new set. The Kevlar lining is so surprisingly thin that it doesn’t sacrifice dexterity. Dexterity is very important because with the older set, I was stuck in frisking mode; if I had to face a lethal threat and draw my weapon, I would be hard pressed to make an accurate shot and manipulate it. The TSK325 is thin enough in the fingers, that it wouldn’t hinder weapons manipulation if needed. The fingertips are touch screen compatible. On the back of the hand, it has breathable mesh like fabric that helps with keeping your hands ventilated, the older set was solid all the way and that made your hands hot and sweaty everytime you wore them. The main important feature and task for the TSK325 is the Kevlar palm lining to protects you from sharp objects. To test this, I took my pocket knife and ran the blade with medium pressure across my gloved palm and I didn’t have a bloody palm afterwards. The area that was slashed hardly even showed any damage, in fact they still looked brand new! The TSK325 would be great set for those on patrol because it protects you against sharp objects while giving you the ability to manipulate any weapon system.
Task Heavy Knuckle (TSK326)
This set is probably my favorite of them all. It’s task specific for tactical patrol and rugged environment shooting. This set has many different layers, thin where it needs to be (in the finger tips), grippy and padded where it needs to be (in the palms). The trigger fingers are touch screen compatible on this set, with the palms lined with “diamond grip” material. On the back of the hand, you have the stretchy breathable fabric along with some unique rubberized knuckle padding that looks like bat wings (something Batman himself would approve of).
Some people think the design looks weird or even ugly, I myself think it looks good and more importantly, it’s practical and functional. Also on the back, near the thumb, there’s a small area for wiping sweat. The TSK326 is the most ergonomic, giving younger most dexterity when it comes to weapons handling, while at the same time offering you protection from the elements if you’re outdoors.
Task Heavy Soghk (TSK329)
I saved the last set of tactical gloves for last! By the appearance of these alone, you could tell they were meant for some heavy duty use. The most prominent feature are the hard knuckles that protect against shock by absorbing it. The palm is lined with goat skin leather with the back lined with nomex, making them fire resistant. Since this is an all covered set, there are finger vents to help keep it cool. In the palm, there is an extra layer of leather and foam to add shock absorption.
The TSK329 is the solution to cover those officers/deputies assigned to tactical teams, it protects against hard impacts and flames that are present in their environment i.e. breaching and exposure to explosives.
Mechanic’s Glove (HM6100)
Last but not least, the Mechanic’s Glove. It is a heavily padded glove in order to protect your hands from getting banged up while working around machinery. I’m no mechanic, so I used them while I was chopping down some trees with my powers at home. They have thick foam padding in the palms to absorb shock and I was impressed when the job was completed. My hands and arms didn’t feel numb or sore from the vibrations that normally are present when I perform the task without the gloves. These would be good to have in the trunk of you vehicle if you ever need to change your tire or do anything that requires your hands to be protected from getting banged up.
Gloves are important in protecting your hands and at the same time, assist you with the task at hand. Hatch did an awesome job with the design and manufacturing the Task Specific Series. They are all well-made and thought out. They fit my hands well, I would suggest that if possible, go and try any set of gloves in a store before you buy them to ensure you get the right fit.
To find more info/to purchase, click here:
http://www.safariland.com/our-brands/more…/hatch/?gclid=CPf244vbr80CFUVsfgodW-kLqg