How many of us have to stop and think about this? I know that I had to. I've been getting gearedup for 27 years and Ireally don't have to think about getting my gear on. The last thing Iput on is my gloves. I know guts that put there regulator in place right before going in. I put my gloves on last because they always seem to be in the way of my getting my regulator locked in place. I guess it goes back to using the elephant trunk style face pieces that had to be screwedinto the regulators. Stop and think what's the last thing you put on.
I have a pair of Kangaroo gloves that are rated for structural fire fighting and are NFPA approved. I think they cost around 125 per pair but well worth the money paid. you have more dexterity and grip than standard structural gloves and offer the same heat resistance.
We have the MSA Firehawk regulators that sit on a track over the mask nose cup. They can be snapped into place while wearing fire gloves (oven mitts). That saves a couple of breaths of air. I don't have a problem with going on air then donning the gloves. Generally speaking, having the gear on correctly is more important than a couple of breaths of air.