What is AD-APT® technology in safety gloves, and how does it make for a more comfortable wear? Clive Grinnell explains…
AD-APT® is a fabric technology developed by safety glove manufacturer ATG to prevent hard-working hands from sweating too much in safety gloves.
The innovative technology helps keep hands cool and dry, increasing comfort for the wearer and keeping gloves fresh for longer.
Sweat – or perspiration to give it its proper title – is used by the body to regulate its temperature. Tiny sweat glands in the skin release perspiration to cool us down when we get too hot.
Although these glands are found all over the body, our hands are among the most prone to sweating, as they have a higher concentration of sweat glands per square cm of skin.
Did you know? On average, our skin contains around 155 sweat glands per square cm, but the backs of our hands contain around 200 per square cm, and the palms 370!
Sweating is a natural and necessary process, but excessive moisture underneath close-fitting fabrics – such as when wearing safety gloves at work – can be uncomfortable and unpleasant.
Safety gloves infused with AD-APT® technology release a natural cooling agent that helps prevent excessive sweating by lowering the temperature of the skin. The result is that hands stay cooler and remain dryer for longer.
Formulated from essential oils, and accredited skin safe by dermatologists from the Skin Health Alliance, this cooling agent is contained in thousands of tiny microcapsules within the interior fabric of the glove that look like miniature golf balls. Each dimple on the golf-ball-like microcapsules is made from a heat-sensitive membrane. Activated by the movement of the hands and as the temperature within the glove rises, these membranes release the cooling agent onto the hands, helping to regulate hand temperature.
At the same time, other technologies within the ATG glove provide ventilation and circulation that removes built-up heat, increasing the cooling effect.
Independent tests have found that safety gloves containing AD-APT® technology keep hands more than 30% cooler than standard safety gloves.
Cooler, drier hands are more comfortable, and comfortable hands are safer and more productive.
AD-APT® technology is able to cool hard-working hands to a comfortable temperature, without impacting on the body’s natural ability to regulate its temperature.
The subtle fragrance of the cooling agent, infused with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E, also helps keep gloves smelling fresh for longer, reducing waste by lowering the likelihood of gloves being thrown away when there is still life left in them.
Find our range of AD-APT® technology safety gloves here
Find out more: Read our blog on the best tried-and-tested safety gloves for warehouse work.