Two quotes for a "4 gram nitrile exam glove" can be two different gloves, and the spec sheets will not tell you which. Gram weight describes one whole glove in size M. Thickness describes one point on it. A supplier can hold the gram weight and move material from the finger to the cuff, and the glove that arrives tears where your staff actually use it. The quote is built on gram weight; acceptance is argued in mil. That gap is the single most common source of a disputed shipment in this category.
So the useful RFQ line is not "4 g" on its own. It is gram weight, plus measured thickness at the cuff, palm and finger, plus the standard the glove is tested to.
Grams and mil: converting between the two
One mil is one thousandth of an inch, exactly 0.0254 mm. That conversion is the only part of this subject that is fixed. Gram weight to thickness is not a conversion at all — it depends on the former shape, the size, and where the material sits. A size XL glove at the same gram weight is thinner everywhere than the size M it was quoted on, which is why XL is the size that generates complaints first.
| Glove weight (size M) | Cuff | Palm | Finger | Palm in mil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 g | 0.045 mm | 0.055 mm | 0.09 mm | about 2.2 mil |
| 4.0 g | 0.06 mm | 0.07 mm | 0.11 mm | about 2.8 mil |
| 5.0 g | 0.075 mm | 0.09 mm | 0.135 mm | about 3.5 mil |
| 6.0 g (black) | 0.085 mm | 0.10 mm | 0.155 mm | about 3.9 mil |
Single-wall figures from the MXGUARD spec sheets, measured at size M. Three readings matter more than the headline number:
- The finger is always the thickest point, by roughly half as much again as the palm across this range. A supplier quoting one thickness figure without saying where it was measured is quoting the finger and letting you assume the palm.
- The cuff is the thinnest point, and it is where a glove fails on donning.
- Tolerance is part of the specification. Ask for the tolerance band at each point, not just the nominal, and put the band in the purchase order rather than the nominal alone. We share the measured figures at all three points per weight, and we can send a sample of the weight you are pricing so your own gauge settles the argument before a container does.
Is there a thickness rating? No — and that is the point
There is no grade scale for disposable glove thickness. What exists is a set of performance floors, and they differ by material in a way that catches buyers out when they compare a nitrile offer against a vinyl one:
- ASTM D6319 covers nitrile examination gloves, with minimum tensile strength of 14.0 MPa and elongation of 500 per cent before ageing and 400 per cent after. Published secondary sources differ on the current edition's dimensional table — 230 mm is the length floor most often cited, while 240 mm is a product claim above it — so require the test report to name the edition it was tested against.
- EN 455-2 sets median force at break by material: about 6.0 N for examination gloves other than thermoplastic, and about 3.6 N for thermoplastic examination gloves such as vinyl. The separate allowance for nitrile was deleted in the 2013 revision, so a nitrile exam glove sits at the 6.0 N line, not below it. Quoting 6 N at a vinyl supplier, or accepting 3.6 N on a nitrile offer, both mean the same thing: nobody read the table.
- ASTM D6978 is the chemotherapy drug permeation test. In our range only the 6.0 g black glove is tested to it. A heavier glove is not automatically a chemo-rated glove, and this is the one substitution we see buyers make on their own when a 5 g glove is cheaper and sitting in stock.
Thickness is not a safety claim on its own either. Permeation and barrier are tested separately, and a thicker glove that has never been permeation tested against your chemical tells you nothing about breakthrough time.
Which weight fits each job
| Weight | Typical use | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| 3.0–3.5 g | Food prep, high-turn tasks, short glove changes | Cost per piece and donning speed; gloves are changed many times per shift so tear resistance matters less than throughput |
| 4.0 g | The everyday exam glove across clinical, dental and care settings | Tactile sensitivity against durability; this is the weight most tender specifications default to |
| 5.0 g | Janitorial, automotive, heavier handling with oils and sharp edges | Puncture and abrasion exposure, plus textured fingertips for wet grip |
| 6.0 g black | Work needing the chemo permeation route, and tasks where soiling must not show | ASTM D6978 testing, and the colour decision — black hides soiling, which is an operational choice, not a performance one |
Two buying notes that do not appear on a spec sheet. Food service: in the US, the material compliance line to ask for is 21 CFR 177.2600 for rubber articles intended for repeated food contact — ask for the statement tied to the specific compound, not a general claim about the range. And across every weight, a textured fingertip changes grip far more than half a gram of extra material does, so compare texture before you pay for weight.
The acceptance question: AQL by destination market
This is where a thickness argument usually ends up, because thickness disputes surface at inspection. The acceptance number for pinholes is set by law, and it is not the same on both sides of the Atlantic: for the US market the applicable figure for patient examination gloves is AQL 2.5 under 21 CFR 800.20, while the EU applies AQL 1.5 under EN 455-1. Sampling in both cases runs under ISO 2859-1, general inspection level II, using the water leak method — a glove filled with 1000 ml of water and held for the defined period, per ASTM D5151 and the equivalent European method.
Tell us the destination market and we quote against the right figure. A supplier who answers "AQL 1.5, industry standard" without asking whether the goods are going to the US or the EU has told you they do not handle both markets.
Dimensional acceptance needs its own line in the purchase order, separate from pinholes: measurement points, the tolerance band at each, the number of gloves measured per lot, and which size is measured. Specify size M and your highest-volume size, because the thin-XL problem is invisible in an M-only sample.
Packing, cases and the tariff lines
| Commercial term | What to fix in the purchase order |
|---|---|
| Count hierarchy | Pieces per box, boxes per case, cases per pallet — all three stated per weight and per size |
| Count reconciliation | Reconcile by piece, not by box. Heavier weights and larger sizes are routinely boxed at a lower count than 100, so the same case count is not the same number of gloves. This is the classic invoice dispute in gloves |
| Pallet and container planning | Gloves are a cube commodity: as planning figures, a 20ft box takes roughly 26–28 m³ of export cases, a 40ft 55–58 m³ and a 40HQ 65–68 m³ — typical ranges, not a loading guarantee. Take case counts from the loading plan rather than an estimate |
| Incoterm and port of loading | State both. An EXW number, a FOB Shenzhen number and a DDP number are three different prices; compare only like with like, and check the duty line for your market before you set a landed figure against a DDP quote |
| HS lines | Medical gloves of vulcanised rubber sit at 4015.12; vinyl and other plastics gloves sit elsewhere, commonly around 3926.20. A mixed case pack of nitrile and vinyl is two lines on one invoice. Confirm both against your own tariff |
| Price basis | Indicative USD per case against the current NBR index, with a stated validity window rather than an open-ended price. An open-ended price in gloves usually means there is room in the gram weight |
| Documents | Invoice and packing list split by HS line and weight, test reports naming the standard and its edition, the food-contact statement where the SKU needs one, and the inspection report where agreed |
Price, minimum order quantity and lead time carry no number in an article: all three are confirmed with each quotation, against your weight, size split and destination market. A per-case price quoted without a size split behind it is a placeholder, whoever hands it to you — the split is what sets the real cost, because the heavy sizes carry more material at the same price per case.
Who you write to when something goes wrong
Three fields belong in your supplier file before the first order, whichever weight you buy: the legal entity named on the box, the EU authorised representative or responsible person where you ship into Europe, and the US agent of record. A buyer who cannot name all three has no route of recourse that does not go through the person who sold them the gloves. Ask every supplier on your list in writing; we confirm ours for your destination market with the quotation rather than printing it on a web page.
Ask also for a written change notification policy. The change that catches buyers out on gloves is never the first order — it is the third, when the compound, the colour pigment or the texture changes inside the same item number and the gram weight stays exactly where it was. We notify specification changes in writing so your incoming inspection knows what moved.
How to specify on the RFQ
In order of how much each line moves the number:
- Destination market, so the AQL figure and the labelling route are fixed from the start.
- Gram weight and measured thickness at cuff, palm and finger, each with a tolerance band.
- Size split across XS to XL, stated as a percentage of the order.
- Standard set the gloves must be tested to, with the edition named: ASTM D6319, EN 455 parts, ASTM D6978 where chemo handling applies.
- Texture, colour and cuff finish.
- Food-contact statement where the SKU needs one, tied to the compound.
- Count per box and per case, and whether the heavy sizes drop count.
- Inspection stage and who pays, plus the dimensional sampling plan as a separate line from pinholes.
When a heavier glove is the wrong call
Heavier is not better, it is slower and more expensive. On a high-turn food or care task where gloves are changed every few minutes, moving from 3.0 g to 5.0 g raises cost per shift without reducing a single failure, because the gloves were not failing. Spend the difference on a textured fingertip and the right size split instead. The exception is a documented chemical or chemo exposure, where the test report rather than the gram weight decides, and no amount of extra material substitutes for it. In practice the buyers who learn this the hard way are the ones who upgraded the whole range after one tear complaint, then found the complaint came from a size, not a weight.
What to send us
Send your destination market, the weights you are comparing, the size split as a percentage, and whether any task on your list needs the chemo permeation route. You get back the thickness table with tolerance bands, the test report set for each weight, and case and pallet figures for your cube maths. Our glove category desk replies within one working day.
Start from the nitrile gloves supplier range, or go straight to the weight you are pricing: nitrile exam gloves for the everyday 4 g line, medical nitrile gloves 3.5 g for high-turn clinical use, heavy duty nitrile gloves 5 g for janitorial and automotive work, and black nitrile chemo gloves where ASTM D6978 applies. Side-by-side figures for every weight sit on the glove comparison page, and the material decision behind the weight is covered in our guide to nitrile, latex and vinyl gloves.
Frequently asked questions
+How thick are nitrile gloves?
Across the weights in this chart, palm thickness runs from about 0.055 mm, roughly 2.2 mil, on the 3.0 g glove to about 0.10 mm, roughly 3.9 mil, on the 6.0 g black glove, with the fingertip always thicker than the palm and the cuff always thinner.
+What thickness do mechanics need?
Automotive work means oil, grease and sharp edges, so 5 g and above with a textured fingertip is the usual choice — about 0.09 mm at the palm and 0.135 mm at the finger. Check chemical compatibility separately for the solvents in use; thickness is not a permeation claim.
+How is the minimum first order set — by case, by weight or by size?
By item, where each weight, colour and size is its own line, which is why a wide size split raises the minimum more than a larger total does. The figures come with the quotation for your split.
+Which documents come with the shipment?
Invoice and packing list split by HS line and weight, the test reports naming each standard and its edition, the food-contact statement for the SKUs that need it, and the inspection report where agreed.