Nitro-V vs nitrile exam gloves

Searches for nitro gloves can mean either glove, so first the names. Nitrile is a synthetic rubber. Nitro-V is our name for vinyl nitrile blend gloves: its page calls it a hybrid compound blend of nitrile and vinyl, with a low modulus formulation for comfort. Low modulus means it takes less force to stretch.

We scored both from 1 to 10 on six points. Nitrile averages 8.3 and Nitro-V 6.7. Most of that gap is missing evidence, not a measured weakness. Two published studies found nitrile exam gloves leaked far less than 100% vinyl gloves in simulated use. Nitro-V is a blend, not straight vinyl, so those numbers do not show how it performs, and we know of no independent study of a blend like it. Nitro-V wins on price, and its page claims freedom from accelerators, a claim none of our 100% nitrile pages make. Both are sold for patient care: the Nitro-V page names physicians, nurses, dentists and other healthcare professionals among its users.

This sheet sets our nitrile exam gloves beside Blue Nitro-V on six points in three groups. All of them are disposable exam gloves sold by the case. For what nitrile rubber is: acrylonitrile butadiene, a synthetic rubber that resists oil and fuel, which is why it also turns up in hoses and seals. Vinyl is polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. A check means strong, a dash means fair and a cross means weak. The scores are ours, built from the product pages and the studies linked below.

The strength rows lean on two studies. In a 2002 test of 5,510 gloves, nitrile failed the FDA water test 1.3% of the time and vinyl 8.2%. In a [1999 study]({R1999}), vinyl failed 12% to 61% of the time after simulated patient care, nitrile 1% to 3%. Both tested straight vinyl gloves, not a nitrile and vinyl blend, so neither result applies to Nitro-V. Thickness is hard to compare, too: our nitrile pages list mil, while Nitro-V lists only its weight, 5.5 grams. Price is the easy row. Per glove, Nitro-V costs about 5.9 cents, our 3 mil blue nitrile 6 cents, and our 4 mil black nitrile 7 cents.

Under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard, workers must wear gloves when they may touch blood, other potentially infectious materials, mucous membranes or non-intact skin. For that work we point clinics to nitrile, because its barrier record is published and Nitro-V's is not. Our medical field nitrile exam gloves run from a 3 mil blue glove at $59.95 to a 5.5 mil black heavy duty glove at $84.95. Our blue nitrile exam gloves come in 3, 3.5 and 5 mil, so staff can go thicker for messy work. OSHA also says single-use gloves must be replaced as soon as practical when contaminated, and as soon as feasible when torn or punctured, so a clinic goes through them fast.

The blue Nitro-V medical glove fits a shorter list: quick tasks with no blood contact, staff who find nitrile snug over a long shift, and buyers who want a glove its page describes as free from latex and accelerators. Here is the saving in numbers, as an example you can redo with your own count: a practice that uses 4 cases a month saves $4 to $12 a month by choosing Nitro-V over our 3 or 3.5 mil blue nitrile, and $104 a month over our 5.5 mil black heavy duty glove. Check sizes on the product page before you order. Either glove works for staff with a latex allergy, since the FDA names both nitrile and PVC among the synthetic materials to choose.

Hybrid gloves like Nitro-V blend two materials to change how a glove feels and what it costs. Our Nitro-V page claims enhanced strength, elasticity, and puncture and tear resistance. We have no independent test comparing it with our nitrile, so the cons below stick to what we can confirm. The trade, in short: against our lightest nitrile you save $1 to $3 a case, and you give up the published leak record, textured fingertips and a choice of weights.

Our black medical nitrile glove shows what nitrile adds for the money: 4 mil, textured fingertips and the words FDA Medical/Exam Grade on its page, at $69.95 a case. Our 5.5 mil Black Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves go further, at $84.95: that page states they meet U.S. FDA requirements for medical examination gloves. The Nitro-V page says medical grade, with no FDA line.