Let ‘Em Loose For Some CRUDE Use
CrudeHands Smart Skin impact gloves powered by D3O are the result of extensive lab and University testing, all to ensure that we bring you the most technically sound product available! The lab however, can only tell you so much. The real test for our gloves is in the real world as they are put to work by real roughnecks, on actual hitches. These are some of the hardest working men and women in the world, and we want to make sure our gloves can keep up!
CrudeHands conducted an impact glove field study in the Permian market. We asked eleven questions to sixteen roughnecks on three different rigs to get an idea of how they use and take care of their CrudeHands gloves. The data we gathered is being carefully studied to learn how we can continue to bring you the highest quality protection AND save companies on their overall glove spend by providing the most durable and washable glove out there.
Prepping the Team
The first question was simply asking our participants to catalogue the number on the trial pair of gloves they were given in order to track the wear and tear of each specific pair used based on the job it was used for. Each pair of gloves was tested for a full two-week hitch on twelve-hour tours. Another added variable was the middle of winter testing timeframe, given that the trial gloves selected are intended for warm weather. If ever there was going to be the perfect time to test the full performance power of CrudeHands gloves, this was not it. However in order to be ready for the spring season, we had to be ready to push the “roughneck certified” button.
Next, we found out the specific rig role for each participant. 40% of our test subjects identified themselves as floorhands, further indication that our gloves were going to get put through their paces, as this is recognized as the roughest, toughest job on a rig. The rest of the sample included three derrickmen, four drillers, one motorman, and a single rig manager who proved to be an effective control subject as this position puts the least wear on gloves.
These respondents gave us the exact distribution of rig roles we needed to get an accurate picture of how CrudeHands gloves hold up under pressure. Now that our sample was set, it was time to get our Roughnecks seeing orange!
Time for the Abuse
The first thing we wanted to know regarding our field test was how long each pair of gloves lasted given each respondents specific roll on the rig. We were pleased to discover, that out of our 16 respondents, five reported their gloves lasting five days while 5 more reported their gloves lasting more than seven days. In total, 75 percent of gloves tested lasted five or more days. To put it in perspective, that’s more than twice as long as comparable TPR impact gloves! To be exact, CrudeHands gloves offered 280% more durability in this sample.
Out of all respondents, only one noted disliking the gloves, but he also noted that this was based on personal preference, not glove performance. We know that the most ideal situation would be to have a vending machine with gloves in a variety of sizes and styles on each rig. Unfortunately, that’s not very realistic, and rather cost prohibitive, but we do our best here at CrudeHands to appeal to every roughneck’s personal preferences without compromising hand impact protection.
Next, we wanted to know how satisfied each respondent was with the overall performance of the gloves they tested. Overall, 40% of our sample noted that they were “very satisfied” with their particular pair of CrudeHands gloves. One respondent did note that they were “not satisfied with performance in cold/wet conditions.” Because of the entirely new engineering process used to integrate D3O technology into CrudeHands gloves, the impact protection pads cannot simply be fitted to a warmer or more water resistant glove as readily as TPR technology… YET!. We have been working diligently on developing a winter glove, specifically suited for cold and/or wet working conditions and hope to have this option available to crews before Winter 2015`.
So how did the gloves hold up when compared to the rest of the impact protection market? Compared to other impact gloves that our roughneck sample had previously tried, we came out on top with 43.75% saying they were “very satisfied” with our gloves as compared to those of our competitors, with others being “Moderately Satisfied.”
One major part of ensuring our gloves perform properly is proper glove care. When we asked the respondents if they washed these specific gloves between uses, 62.5% said yes and 37.5% said no. We followed up with a question regarding why respondents had not been adhering to the recommended glove care instructions. When we asked, 83.3% of users insisted that the gloves didn’t need to be washed. CrudeHands highly recommends to drilling companies that they have a wash/wear procedure with users wearing one pair of gloves, while the other pair is washing and drying. We also strongly recommend powder detergent to work as an abrasive to the oil-based mud that is likely on the gloves.
In order to keep our glove care instructions up to date, we next wanted to learn about the kinds of drilling fluids/applications being used at the time of glove trial. 66.67% of respondents said they worked in water-based and brine-water drilling fluids while 33.3% said they used oil-based mud. We also offered air-based drilling, foam-based drilling, and aerated drilling as choices. Oil-based and water-based mud are the most common elements used in the field, so this provided an accurate sample for our research. This sample will help immensely as we continue to develop our gloves and the best ways to care for them.
Final Feedback
Our final question asked, “What specifically let you know that a pair of gloves was no longer able to be worn?” According to 53.85% of respondents, it was due to the gloves developing a “wet feeling.” CrudeHands wants to assure our customers that we are using this feedback to resolve this issue for the new gloves we are currently working on for Winter 2015. Even so, 30.77% of the gloves tested were reported as still suitable to be worn at the end of the hitch, and 15.38% of our respondents said their hitch ended before they were able to get a new pair. Overall, good news, when there are few to no construction flaws.
One respondent noted, “I have big hands and they feel too tight” so we’d also like to clarify that we only sent out XL’s for this particular trial, but we do offer up to size 4XL. Visit our site to find out what size you are, or click the thumbnail to download a printable PDF sizing chart:
The purpose of all of our research and development is to ensure our gloves go longer and harder than any other without compromising hand protection or a worker’s ability to get the job done. As it is ultimately the roughnecks who will be in these gloves day in and day out, we wanted to hear from our testers about what they thought would help extend the lifespan of our impact gloves and make the product better as a whole. Many said that they’d prefer a different material on the palms. For companies implementing an entire CrudeHands safety program, we are able to customize the gloves to allow for a different type of palm that may be more suitable for a specific work environment. Other comments concerned the gloves shrinking when placed in the dryer or hardening up after a wash. CrudeHands recommends that you follow our specific care instructions listed here on our site if you want to get the most use out of them, or click the following thumbnail to see a downloadable PDF:
Overall, our field-testing provided some extremely valuable insights about where our CrudeHands Impact gloves are strongest and about which areas need improvement. We are working diligently to provide the best possible impact glove in order to bring you safely home to your families the same way you left them.
