Protecting an asset as valuable as our hands is important in a field like ours. We work with our hands daily. We are a hands-on profession. If we have injured digits, it can cost us, not just money but our ability to work. Protecting our hands is a simple as putting on a pair of gloves.
Sure, you can pick up a cheap pair at any hardware store, but you get what you pay for. I have gone through countless pairs of simple leather gloves working focus and pushing my fair share of cases. They never seem to hold up past one season.A new arrival to the industry is Dirty Rigger, a specialist division of the Le Mark Group. With a name like that, you can’t help but giggle a bit. But the name is appropriate for the company’s product line — gloves and accessories geared towards the entertainment professional. The logo puts a smile on my face every time I see it!
Dirty Rigger has an entire lineup of gloves aimed towards pleasing any number of professions in the industry, from general work gloves to fingerless models to the Phoenix series of gloves for the lighting professional.
Leather, Nomex and Kevlar
I recently had a chance to put the Phoenix glove to the test. The Phoenix is a heat-resistant glove made of leather and Nomex, a heat- and flame-resistant material. To add strength and heat resistance, all of the pieces are put together and double-stitched with Kevlar — the same material found in bulletproof vests.
While not designed to stop a bullet, the gloves are made to keep hands from getting burnt by hot lamps and fixtures. The key areas of the gloves that see the most wear and tear are double-layered with leather to keep the palms safe. The palm area has extra padding as well. If you have ever tried to wrench down on something, your palm begins to feel it; this extra padding helps relieve some of that pain.
Oversized Cuff
The leather continues up the oversized cuff on the palm side of the gloves with a Velcro strap to tighten the glove to your wrist. This helps protect your wrist when your hands are in tight spaces and have the chance of accidentally touching a hot surface.
The backsides of the gloves are made of the Nomex material with strips of leather covering only the second row of knuckles and the fingertips.
Wearing the Phoenix gloves seems a bit awkward at first. The glove is not entirely made of leather, just the key parts are. This gives you the pliable feeling of cotton gloves instead of a more serious feel and rigidity of an all-leather glove. You’ll quickly get over that impression of a more lighter-duty feel when you handle your first hot fixture, however — it will seem like you are handling a fixture that hasn’t been turned on yet.
Toasty Warm
I found it a pleasure to wear the gloves. They had a snug fit and protected my hands from extreme temperatures. One thing I did notice was that the gloves kept my hands warm — maybe a bit too warm at times. I didn’t find it a problem; I just kept removing the gloves from time to time when I didn’t need to have them on, attaching them to my belt with a carabiner. (The gloves each have an oversized loop inside the cuff.)
Dirty Rigger’s Phoenix line of gloves are well made, and they’re designed for us, working lighting professionals. Le Mark, based in the U.K., is only starting to distribute its products in the U.S., however, so they’re probably not yet available at your local neighborhood store. For size options, a sizing guide and distributors in the U.S., visit their website at www.dirtyrigger.com.
Dirty Rigger Phoenix
Heat-Resistant Gloves
Pros: Extra padding and leather in key areas, oversized cuff
Cons: Keeps hands a bit warmer than they need to be
Sizes Available: XXS, XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL
How Much: $55
