At the beginning of this year Mechanix Wear enterprise has officially announced issuing of a new line of military-tactical gloves. The event took place at the annual trade exhibition SHOT Show 2014 where the gloves had been represented in a multi-terrain camouflage color pattern - MultiCam. Initially this line comprised the models of MultiCam FastFit, Original and M-Pact (MPT-78). The new line and the previous versions differed only in color while the style, materials and functionality remained unchanged.
MultiCam M-Pact model design is based on the completely black version of M-Pact Covert tactical gloves, which differs from the basic model by implementation of TrekDry - a damp-proof breathing synthetic material. At least eight types of synthetics make up the complete design of MultiCam M-Pact gloves thus providing the product general structure with sufficient ventilation and a drip-dry characteristic. The other advantages are an efficient durability and hand protection from mechanical injuries.
The glove reverse side externally is covered with a dense gauze material – TrekDry (94,5% of polyester, 5,5% of spandex). Additionally it is layered with a protection of elastic-type rubber TPR (Thermal Plastic Rubber).
The palm part is produced of synthetic leather (50% of polyurethane, 50% of nylon). The palm side, tips of the forefinger and thumb are reinforced with the Armotex lining – a shaggy synthetic material (74% of polyvinylchloride, 26% of polyester). Besides, the palm base is extra fortified with a layer of synthetic leather and flexible embeddings of Poron XRD foam.
Between the finger parts there is one more type of expansible synthetic material (97% of polyester, 3% of spandex) with a microgauze structure.
The gloves lining is made of a soft and thin knitted fabric, which is manufactured of polyester fiber only.
The cuffs of the sniper gloves are formed by a broad elastic ribbing with a tight rubber fastener. Regretfully this fastener, same as in the other models of Mechanix, is tightened circle-wise and fixed with a Velcro snap on the palm side, which sometimes unsnaps due to clinging. At the same time, in my estimation, this design possesses a stronger fastener, if compared with the so popular Original gloves.
Taking into consideration the manufacturing materials and their compositions, one may draw a conclusion that MultiCam M-Pact gloves, as well as M-Pact Covert model, are “afraid” of the open fire and sparking, and, in general, may get fused when exposed to high temperatures. The gloves comfortably and securely fit the hands, are really well ventilated and, thanks to the Armortex material setting, provide a solid hookup with smooth plastic and metal objects. The patches on the forefingers and thumbs considerably decrease sensitivity, but nevertheless it is distinctively convenient to retrieve the blade of the jack-knife and to operate the trigger.
As it has been already mentioned before, the palm external side is supplemented with a dense layer of elastic TPR rubber. Its purpose is to protect the knuckles from possible mechanical injuries. The rubber patch covers almost the whole area of the middle finger, annulary, little finger, their knuckles and it covers just a little bit the reverse side of the palm. There is another protective element, which is a rubber fastening cuff. Along with fastening it fixes and sets the gloves tight on the hands, protecting the wrist joints from external impacts.
Except for a minor embedding of EVA foam, the thumbs and forefingers remain without protection. It is not quite clear to me about the manufacturer’s aim when they limited the forefinger protection with one EVA inset, whereas this element does not even cover the knuckle at all. This should be taken into consideration as for punches when primarily the joints of the fore- and middle fingers are involved.
MPT-78 MultiCam M-Pact gloves are manufactured at the territory of Vietnam. The manufacturing quality is high. Almost all the elements are double-stitched, the seams are even. There are no visible ruptures, defects or other deficiencies. The TPR rubber layer is most likely fixed with glue. The fastening cuffs are trimmed with stitching in addition to glue fixing. The glove color pattern, if compared with MultiCam camouflage equipage made of NYCO and Cordura materials, looks greener.
To prepare the present review of Mechanix MPT-78 MultiCam M-Pact gloves had been specially purchased directly from Amazon. At the Tactical Gear web-site the overviewed model is available for the following sizes: S, M, L, XL and XXL. The approximate cost of the order processing, purchase and delivery made up 46 US dollars.
