Gloves - I carry a few pairs of plain leather work gloves, but I'm looking into gloves made from Kevlar. They're billed as having "outstanding cut resistance combined with intermittent heat resistance", just what ya want for 'emergencies'. Anyone try them yet? What do ya think of them?
Disclaimer, I'm no expert!
Personally, I actually have moved to kevlar gloves in my EDC kit, but I think you need to think it through.
First thing, many Kevlar gloves are knit gloves. While they are cut resistant, they do not have a close enough knit to be as protective as you probably will want. Stuff can poke through the knit.
Second thing is many "Kevlar" gloves for police work and such only have specific parts that are Kevlar (or otherwise armored) and have vulnerable spots.
Personally, I use a layered approach in my kit. I carry the following
Kevlar knit gloves and then a pair of
Turtleskin Full Coverage Gloves (Warwick Mills).
The Turtleskin gloves are also a Aramid glove, but they are very thin and woven VERY tightly so they are puncture resistaint. However, as they are very thin, they don't have a padding effect.
Thus, I use the knit gloves as a liner to the Turtleskin gloves. If I won't need as much protection I can just wear the Turtleskins.
The Turtleskin full coverage gloves are just that. The whole glove is made out of the Turtleskin material. Pay close attention to the coverage area of these gloves. Despite their thiness, they are fairly stiff because the material is woven so tightly.
Also, sizing is a bit tricky with them. While the sizing chart shows I should take a large pair, it is roomy enough to wear a liner under it. I actually purchased a medium pair and have both in my kit. The large to wear with a liner, and the medium to wear without the liner. Wearing the large w/o a liner decreases dexterity because the material is a bit loose and stiff.
Oh, and as with other knit gloves, I've found that it is best to purchase knit gloves a size small for a tigher fit. For example, I use medium knit gloves instead of large.
The knit gloves do seem to provide decent insulative properties. So, I figure they 1) double as environmental protection, and 2) I think the combo of Turtleskin + knit gloves would provide good hot material handling protection.
Note that the knit gloves do have some elastic threads to maintain a close fit. I assume these would melt in a hot condition, but I don't think it would be significaint (just a guess).
-john