Welding-glove RFQ checklist: what to specify before asking for prices

MIG and stick welding throw spatter and sustained radiant heat, so they call for a heavier split-leather gauntlet where protection outranks feel. TIG runs cooler and lives on wire control, so it calls for a thinner grain-leather glove with real finger dexterity. A quote for one is not a quote for the other.

State the process (MIG, TIG, stick or mixed), roughly how long the glove is in contact with hot work, the spatter level, and what else the same glove must survive — grinding, slag chipping, moving plate. If crews wear one pair all shift, say so: it pushes the spec toward abrasion resistance, not just heat.

Put in the RFQ: process, arc time per shift, spatter level, secondary tasks, indoor or outdoor work.

Most welding-glove price gaps hide here. Split cowhide is the economical, heat-tolerant workhorse for MIG and stick. Grain goatskin is the standard TIG choice — thin, soft and precise. Between those poles sit leather weight, full or palm lining, and the details that decide service life: heat-resistant para-aramid stitching, welted seams that shield the thread from spatter, and reinforcement at the palm and thumb crotch.

Name the construction you want quoted rather than asking for a 'welding glove'. A usable reference line reads: 16-inch split cowhide MIG gauntlet, fleece lined, para-aramid stitched, welted seams, reinforced palm. If you are unsure, describe the failure you see today — burnt-through seams, stiff palms, torn thumb crotches — and ask the supplier to propose against it.

Put in the RFQ: leather type (split or grain), overall length, lining, stitching thread, seam construction, reinforcements.

Welding gloves are bought in size runs, not single sizes. Gulf and heavy-industry buyers typically skew large — a run weighted toward L and XL with a smaller XXL share is common — but your own issue records beat any rule of thumb.

Give the size mix as percentages against the total, and say whether this is a one-off purchase or the start of a repeat pattern. Repeat interest legitimately changes how a supplier prices the first order. At True Port Global, orders start at 100 units, which is deliberately low for a first, risk-controlled order.

Put in the RFQ: total quantity, size run with mix percentages, expected reorder rhythm if any.

The reference standard for welding gloves in EN markets is EN 12477 — Type A for heavier work such as MIG and stick, Type B where dexterity matters, as in TIG — with performance tested against EN 388 (mechanical) and EN 407 (heat). North American buyers work against ANSI/ISEA 105. Naming the standard is the easy half; the half that protects you is asking what evidence actually exists for the specific product being quoted.

Ask every supplier — True Port Global included — for the product-specific evidence behind any claim: test reports, declarations of conformity, markings, and which lab and date they trace to. Where evidence does not exist for a product, agree before ordering whether testing is part of the deal, or whether the requirement can be met another way. An unverifiable certificate claim is a bigger commercial risk than an honest gap.

Put in the RFQ: the standard and type your market requires, the documents you need with the shipment, and for which destination.

Packing is part of the product spec, not an afterthought — it moves the unit price and decides whether cartons survive the trip and pass your warehouse rules. A typical export pack runs pair-banded gloves in inner bundles, then export cartons kept to a liftable weight, but the right spec is whatever your channel needs.

Specify pair banding or polybags, units per inner bundle, carton quantity and maximum weight, carton markings and any barcode requirement. If you sell under your own brand, say at RFQ stage that you need private-label packing and whether artwork is ready — it changes the quote and the timeline honestly, once, instead of late.

Put in the RFQ: inner packing, units per carton, weight limit, markings, barcodes, branding needs and artwork status.

A sample round is the cheapest quality control you will ever buy. Our stated preference is paid samples — it keeps both sides serious — with exact terms agreed per buyer. Whatever the supplier, sort out the sample mechanics inside the RFQ instead of discovering them after the quote.

Ask what a sample costs, who pays the courier, how sample cost is treated against a subsequent order, and how long a sample realistically takes. Request the sample in your dominant size, and evaluate it the way the glove is used: seams after heat, stitching under strain, fit across a shift.

Put in the RFQ: sample sizes needed, courier account details if you have one, and your sample evaluation deadline.

A price without an Incoterm and a named place is not comparable to anything. Pakistani glove exports are commonly quoted EXW Sialkot or FOB Karachi; Saudi-bound buyers often ask for CFR or CIF to Dammam or Jeddah. Each term moves cost and risk — pin one so quotes line up.

State the Incoterm with the named port or place, the destination country, any target delivery date, and whether partial shipment is acceptable. Treat any lead time in a quote as indicative until confirmed against the actual order and season — and ask the supplier to state the assumption behind the number, which honest suppliers will do without friction.

Put in the RFQ: Incoterm and named place, destination, target date, partial-shipment tolerance, payment terms you propose.

The quote is your first sample of the supplier. A serious reply restates your specification line by line — leather, length, lining, stitching, packing — flags every deviation from what you asked, prices against the stated Incoterm, and carries a validity period and a named contact.

Be wary of a quote that is silent where your RFQ was specific: silence is where substitutions live. Comparing three quotes only works when all three answer the same specification — which is what this checklist exists to guarantee.

Check in the quote: restated spec, flagged deviations, Incoterm-based price, validity, sample route, named contact.