- Been there with the bamboo/latex gloves—
sums it up. Mine turned into cardboard after a couple washes.“smell and weird stiffness kicked in”
- For goggles, I just leave a couple pairs in the truck and swap out when they fog up. Not perfect, but better than wiping sweat off every five minutes.
- Mail-in recycling just feels like greenwashing to me. Local landfill’s probably less of a footprint, honestly.
- Still haven’t found anything that lasts through a full summer without falling apart or stinking up my toolbox.
“Mine turned into cardboard after a couple washes.”
That’s been my experience too. Those bamboo/latex gloves just don’t hold up to sweat and grime—by July they’re stiff as a board or start to smell like old gym socks. I’ve switched to the nitrile-coated fabric ones for most jobs. They’re not perfect, but at least they survive more than a week.
On goggles, swapping pairs is about all you can do in the heat. Anti-fog sprays help a bit, but nothing’s foolproof once you’re up on a black roof in August.
Mail-in recycling...I’m with you there. Feels more like a marketing thing than an actual solution. Local disposal seems more honest, even if it’s not ideal.
Still searching for gloves that last through a full season without turning gross. If anyone cracks that code, I’m all ears.
I’ve had the same problem with bamboo gloves—they sound eco-friendly, but after a couple weeks in the summer, they’re basically unusable. I get wanting to avoid synthetics, but if you’re tossing gloves every week, that’s not really sustainable either. I’ve actually had better luck with the heavier-duty nitrile ones, even though they’re not perfect for breathability. At least they don’t turn into a science experiment after a few days in the sun. As for goggles, I wish someone would invent a pair that doesn’t fog up the second you start sweating... seems like we’re all just rotating through pairs and hoping for the best.
I hear you on the bamboo gloves—tried them last summer and they just couldn’t handle the sweat and grime. I wanted to like them, but after a couple of washes they shrank and got stiff, then started to smell... not great. The nitrile ones aren’t perfect either, but at least they hold up for a while. I’ve started rinsing mine out and hanging them up in the shade between uses, which seems to help with the “science experiment” problem.
On goggles: fogging is such a pain. I’ve had slightly better luck with the ones that have vents along the top and bottom, though they’re not foolproof. Someone told me to try rubbing a tiny bit of dish soap on the inside and wiping it off—sounds weird, but it actually helps cut down on fog for a bit. Not a permanent fix, but better than nothing when you’re sweating buckets.
Honestly, sometimes it feels like there’s no perfect solution—just picking what annoys you least!
Funny thing about the bamboo gloves—I actually had the opposite issue. Mine never shrank, but they got weirdly baggy and slippery after a few weeks, especially when I was clearing debris after that big hailstorm last spring. Maybe it’s just the brand or how I washed them? As for nitrile, I get what you mean about durability, but I’ve had a couple split right at the seams when hauling wet branches. Not sure there’s a glove out there that can handle both sweat and rough work without some tradeoff.
On goggles: I’ve tried the dish soap trick too, but once I’m really sweating, nothing seems to help for long. The only thing that’s worked for me is switching to those face shields—less fog, but they’re bulkier and kind of awkward in tight spaces. It’s always a compromise...
