What is the difference between puncture resistance and needle or needlestick resistance?
Needles are sharp, beveled cutting instruments designed to pierce the skin. To stop them you need to stop the cutting action by putting something hard in front of them, such as the protective guard plates found in SuperFabric® brand materials. ASTM/EN388 test probes are rounded and tear fabric instead of cutting as it penetrates. This rounded ASTM/EN388 tip functions more to test bust strength whereas the .25G medical needle tests true needle resistance. One well known notified body, SATRA has realized the deficiency and designed a new test M18 which is a similar testing procedure used at HexArmor. Various testing bodies throughout the world have acknowledged this deficiency and are adapting standards to meet this. Two examples are the Canadian research organization IRRST and the ASTM F23 Standards committee, who are working together to design a standard that uses the same test procedures as tested herein.
