If you tried to break down bamboo with your bare hands… you couldn’t. That’s because it’s an exceptionally strong fiber – but strength isn’t typically the first feature you think of with bamboo. Bamboo is mostly known as a sustainable, multi-use, eco-crop with a huge environmental impact.
In our mission to become the industry’s leading sustainable PPE manufacturer, we started exploring what could happen if we took those strong, sustainable bamboo fibers and used it to create hand protection. After trial and error, we found three outstanding attributes that could make it the next best thing in PPE design.
Plus, we'll even show you how we’ve integrated bamboo into our sustainable glove lineup – complete with all-new technology.
Three reasons why bamboo excels in hand protection
1. Environmentally friendly
From seed to usable product, even the general existence of this crop doesn’t require the exhaustion of materials that many other common crops do, like cotton, for example. No fertilizers or harsh chemicals are needed for successful output, which allows the growing process to be as environmentally conscious as possible.
Bamboo is even known to be self-regenerating, reducing man hours and labor, meaning the time and energy used to create this crop drops significantly. Plus, bamboo purifies the air, reduces land erosion and forest fires, and cools the Earth, making this resource highly environmentally friendly.
2. Excellent durability
Bamboo is strong, and with a tensile strength of 28,000 psi, it’s one of the strongest building materials for structures like scaffolding, homes, bridges, and more. For perspective, mild steel measures 28,000 psi. This natural strength makes an incredible base fiber for products that require high wear-and-tear qualities.
3. Highly comfortable
Along with durability, bamboo is known as a soft, microfiber-like material that can effectively reduce instances of skin irritation and discomfort. Bamboo is also 20% more breathable and has an absorption rate six times higher than other knit materials, allowing the porous fibers to quickly wick away moisture.
This incredible strength and comfort are why bamboo is being transformed into durable fabrics and fibers utilized in a range of materials – including PPE.
The process of bamboo to glove
The process of breaking bamboo down and creating a fiber is like that of making paper. Large masses of the crop are harvested and dissolved down to a “mushy mass,” where the mass is then cooled, pressed, and spun into a usable yarn. This yarn can then be used on its own or mixed with other fibers to create knit gloves.
The visual below showcases how we at HexArmor® process bamboo in a sustainable way.
How we utilize bamboo in our PPE
We took it one step further. We paired raw bamboo yarn with different combinations of high-performance fibers to create a revolutionary breakthrough in knit glove technology.
Meet our bamboo-based technology
Called Bamboo TwinFlex®, our all-new, proprietary knit technology delivers comfort, sustainability, AND protection through a unique dual layering of knit fibers, pairing together a bamboo viscose/HPPE layer with either polyamide/steel or fiberglass/elastane layer.
These powerful knit combinations are arranged to give wearers the ultimate climate-controlled interior with the highest cut-resistant and durable exterior available in a sustainable glove – and many more features that are unparalleled in the market.
Gloves with Bamboo TwinFlex® technology
Introducing the Helix® 3054 and 3055 with Bamboo TwinFlex®, our all-new, eco-friendly gloves that utilize this proprietary bamboo technology. These gloves are distinguished by their sustainable design and extreme comfort, but here are a few more reasons why we consider them “unrivaled” when it comes to other sustainable knit gloves:
- Climate control– Hands are kept cool and sweat-free during long hours of wear due to a moisture absorption rate that’s six times higher than other knit materials, which results in superior comfort.
- Cut protection - The addition of fiberglass or steel fibers on the exterior knit increases cut protection for improved safety in a myriad of tasks.
- Adaptive fit - Exclusively designed with German adaptive fit technology that, in as little as five minutes, mimics the shape of the user’s hand to create that exact second skin feel.
- Highly durable - When combined with a proprietary water-based palm coating, gloves can last up to eight days longer than competitive knit-coated options – significantly extending the life of the glove and reducing waste.
- Skin-safe - The interior bamboo knit layer that comes in contact with a wearer’s skin is skin-safe and void of harsh chemicals, eliminating irritation.
Still want to see more on bamboo technology?
Check out the video below to see how bamboo is an integral part of the new Bamboo TwinFlex® 3054 and 3055 eco-friendly safety gloves.
HexArmor® is here to help
Sustainable, comfortable, durable, and protective. That’s the power of bamboo in hand protection. If you have questions or would like to request a glove trial, please get in touch and call 1.877.MY ARMOR or send us a message.
Browse Bamboo TwinFlex® gloves
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