Six reasons why I keep a pair of Move To Contact gloves from Vertx in my EDC Backpack or Get Home Bag

by Caleb Causey of Lone Star Medics

I love me some wool clothing and clothing accessories; especially when it comes to socks and gloves. Wool is a natural insulator, repels water, keeps you warm even when wet, dries quick, and doesn’t stink after you’ve sweat all day in it which means it has natural antibacterial properties too. I sure do love me some wool. (In case you didn’t read the entire feature list on the website… theses bad boys are 50% wool.)
When I come up on a car wreck scene as a bystander before Fire/EMS arrives; my hands will be protected from all that sharp metal and glass as I render aid. Just in case things get real messy at that car wreck scene, due to the slim design of these gloves I can easily don a pair of XL Nitrile medical exam gloves over them. Now my gloves are protected from blood borne pathogens and I don’t have to worry about contaminating my washing machine at home with some stranger’s cooties. Speaking of sharp pieces of metal… who said car wrecks where the only thing that produced shards of dangerous debris? Foreign and domestic terrorists have been firing off IED’s here in the states for some time now. Dealing with the immediate aftermath or evacuation might produce hot, sharp material that is blocking your exit.
When the temperature drops unexpectedly as it does occasionally during my travels while teaching; my hands will stay warm. Warm enough that I can maintain a fair amount of dexterity during skills demonstrations or unforeseen self-defense events on the way back to the hotel after class. I can still operate my defensive tools safely without worrying about having numb, cold hands making a bad situation worse.
On more than one occasion I’ve had to play auto mechanic on a hot engine while on the side of the road. Waiting for the engine to cool down hasn’t always been a good option and I needed to get out of there sooner than later. While I really don’t want to use my nice tactical gloves for auto repairs, they’ll do in a pinch.
I can’t tell you how many family recovery missions I’ve conducted over the years following a tornado, winter storm, or violent mob attack. All of which required me to use my hands in less than perfect environments. During a cold and rainy night after a family dinner at our house, a family member hit a curb on their way home in a rough part of town due to poor visibility and some road construction. This impressively sized curb managed to rip apart the undercarriage, but not entirely rip it off the vehicle. Just enough to keep said family member from driving all the way back home, some 45 minutes away. Due to the time of night, location of the vehicle, and an unusually high call volume for tow trucks that evening; it was up to me to solve the problem and get everyone home safe. Having gloves that protected my hands while literally hacking away at the plastic undercarriage with a hatchet in the cold, wet rain sure was nice. One of the many great features of the Move To Contact gloves is the Oiltac goatskin leather palms actually increases your grip strength when they get wet. Other thin leather gloves I’ve used over the years simply fall apart if any moisture is present.
If you’ve spent any amount of time on a shooting range, you know how valuable a good pair of gloves can be. There are always steel targets to move around and they tend to warm up after cooking under that Texas sun all day. Pepper Poppers that need to be reset on the jungle walk; and who knows what critters have been living under the one you’re about to pick up. At the end of the day when it’s time to collect the cardboard targets you always find that one rogue staple sticking out. If you’re new to running a can on the end of your blaster; you learn real freaking quick how hot a suppressor gets after only a few rounds through it. Having a bit of hand protection is a necessity on a range, not a luxury.

Take care of your hands, they are the second most important anatomical tool our bodies have.

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- Caleb Causey, Lone Star Medics

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