April 24, 2010:  While lots of soldiers get wounded by bullets and fragments, far more are injured by hitting elbows, hands or knees on hard surfaces. This has made kneepads and "tactical gloves" (with hard caps covering the knuckles) so popular in the combat zone. Kneepads and tactical gloves have been around for decades, but the large number of American troops engaged in combat during the last decade has spurred an enormous amount of effort to develop better protection for the elbows, knees and knuckles. Some of the most innovative developments have been with the tactical gloves.

The latest models of the tactical gloves are fire resistant, have improved knuckle protection and, perhaps most importantly, provide enough sensitivity to the fingers so that you can keep them on while doing tasks that require finger sensitivity (writing, typing or manipulating other items of equipment). These gloves cost from $20 to over a hundred dollars a pair. Troops headed for combat tend to buy the best, which are usually the most expensive.