EN 388 Specified

How to Choose the Perfect Gloves?

Did you know we test our EN 388 Safety Gloves according to several testing procedures? This way we can thoroughly specify what these gloves are capable of. Wearing the right gloves means you can prevent worksite accidents and lost time injuries (LTI's). After testing, we publish the test results on our website and datasheets. Our certified safety gloves must provide protection against mechanical hazards and impact, and are also resistant to abrasions, cuts, punctures and tears.

To really know to which of these worksite hazards your gloves can protect you, you can look at the 6-character code displayed next to the safety pictogram on the gloves.

For example, this is a summary of the resistance tests done on an EN 388 glove, the ScanBlizzard with the result (4X43FP):

1. Abrasion: glove subjected to scuffing by sandpaper; protection levels increase from 1 to 4 based on the number of turns required.
2. Cut: a blade is passed over the glove until it cuts through; protection levels increase from 1 to 5; if test material dulls the blade, testing will follow the ISO 13997 (TDM test) standard instead (see #5).
3. Tear: measures the force required to tear the glove; protection levels increase from 1 to 4.
4. Puncture: score based on the amount of force required to puncture the glove; protection levels increase from 1 to 4.
5. TDM test: cut resistance increases from A to F. 'ISO 13997:1999 – Determination of resistance to cutting by sharp objects' is a recommended alternative to the TDM test with levels of protection given in Newton, indicating the force required to make a 20mm cut.
6. Impact protection: indicated by the letter 'P' in glove's alphanumeric code (where P stands for Pass, which means that this glove has impact protection).

Download our Quick Guide to see complete details about the EN 388 norm, to use as a resource when evaluating your gloves!

Visit our Norms and Standards page for more information!