Who Makes the Best Work Gloves?

JE in Chicago,

Over the years, I've used various types of gloves, from different vendors...

You should certainly be able to get gloves that last more than 30 hours!

I have been most satisfied with gloves obtained from:

• Magid Glove Company (http://www.magidglove.com/); and
• Best Gloves (http://www.bestglove.com)

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Just my $0.02...

As an employee of Magid Glove & Safety, I would like to thank JMan for the endorsement. :-) Actually, as someone else in the thread mentioned, choosing the best glove really comes down to matching up the job's requirements to a particular product's design and features. A glove for working with sheet metal in hot and oily conditions will be a lot different than one you might use for assembly or general material handling. The best thing to do is take a look at the various categories of products (e.g. machine knit, coated, leather, cut resistant, etc.) and understand which one might be best suited for your work. Once you've selected the most appropriate category, you can start looking at the various brands and features of particular products within a category. As both a manufacturer and a distributor, Magid carries our own products as well as nearly all of the glove brands mentioned above so we should have a glove that will make you happy. If you need any help along the way, give us a call!

I am a gloveaholic. I have gloves for every kind of work I do, and like you, I can't believe how they fall apart under pressure. Yet they are necessary.

A couple months ago I picked up a different pair of gloves to try.. and they are amazing. Comfortable, great grip, and so far they are not showing any sign of damage in general use for working with hand tools, and handling firewood indoors. I admit I haven't put them to most destructive tests. yet.

They are a black jersey glove with latex palm and fingers somehow welded on the outside: the inside is all jersey so no 'sweaty rubber glove' effects. The gloves are branded Toolway Industries, this seems to be them online, and the glove in question seems to be the one on the second page labeled "gloves latex knitted insulated black". But I didn't pay $45 for them. maybe $20.

I'm a nut about gloves myself.

My hands are all swollen up from the arthritis so much I had to cut my wedding ring off with some wire cutters and a hammer the other day, and have a lot of trouble getting gloves on at all these days.

Anyway if you can find surplus Pilot Gloves, "Nomex"? they are great.

Welder I worked with used to go to a Surplus Store in Siler City NC specifically to get them and gave me a couple of pairs.

Otherwise I just bought a pair of leather work gloves a week for 3 to 5 bucks, and that was the way it was.

Hi JE in Chicago,

Galeton Products says it all

http://www.galeton.com/browsedept.asp?DepartmentID=7

Duluth Trading Company (duluthtrading.com) sells some fairly serious gloves... though it's going to depend on how you're using them (I ruined a pair in about 15 minutes one day but I was hand braking a rope with a 150 lb load over a sheave at near free fall speeds for a roughly 20' drop over and over again... nut much will hold up to that, the gloves were still mostly fine, I just stripped all the texture off the palm and couldn't hold onto the rope any more because they got too slick.

I do unreservedly recommend their heavy duty fire hose canvas pants... they're close to $70 a pair but I've got a pair that has lasted me more than 3 years and $20 denim usually dies after 6-12 months of my abuse.

Good luck, I know the pain of finding good gloves.

So much depends on what kind of work you do. Brain surgery is different from bricklaying.

(although I know a few "Professionals" that seem to have the latter matter between their ears!) did i just write "latter matter"? must be getting late!

I really like the mechanic gloves - "mechanix" is one brand, but they don't seem to hold up too well.

I know of some millwrights that swear by a Kevlar glove, (Mil Spec) but not sure where to get 'em. if I find out, I'll hit you with a follow up.

In my line of work, my personal test for a good glove is being able to pick a dime off the floor, while still holding up for a week or two.

Tillman makes an awesome glove - the 1490 works great for me.

for heavier work, try the 1525

BUT MAKE SURE YOU BUY MORE THAN ONE PAIR! - as the RH gloves wander, and the LH gloves travel in packs.

over the years, I have discovered the right glove always escapes, usually when I need it the most. ..... and I always end up with a herd of extra left hand gloves which are uncomfortable to wear backwards on the right hand!

- thus the MORE THAN ONE PAIR comment above.

Now, lets talk about Steel-Toe Boots!

Johnny B

Johnny Bravo,

I am left handed and, by dammit, I have the same problem as you except that I have a huge mound of unmatched RIGHT hand gloves, the LEFTs having Left. If this could be explained by science, I would expect to find the strays all over my property, somewhere or other. NOT ONE has ever been found.

Maybe there aught to be a "glove swap" for lefties and righties to make pairs.

Hmm,

@artsmith :

re: :I am left handed and, by dammit, I have the same problem as you except that I have a huge mound of unmatched RIGHT hand gloves,"....

I have a growing pile of decent left-hand leather work gloves. size XL and L (depending on the mfg'er)... I keep working through the right ones- Firewood and concrete work seem to eat gloves. - But you're right, there oughtta be a GLOVE exchange somewhere, sorted by type, size.

-tuning in a little late, maybe.

But I recall Thurlow deerskin driving gloves (sold as abrasion-resistant for falling motorcyclists) as being a bit fancy, but comfortable and "durable".. But for some glove-killer jobs, I put electrical tape on the 3 main wear-points. (3 wraps, twist the middle wrap for grip)..

I really like the Sears option mentioned above.. If it weren't for their mediocre "no-replacement-but-we'll-sell-you-a policy" power tool collection and know-nothing staff, I might shop there.

I would happily wear odd gloves, if I could just get a few lefts.

How about if I can gather 10 lefties, I'll mail them to a PO box or something?

There must be some internationally acceptable way of sending safe items from US to CA.

lok at butcher's gloves

Now, lets talk about Steel-Toe Boots!

R E D W I N G

I suppose it depends what you're using them for, but: have you considered going to the other end of the market:-

http://www.hivis.net/c68/Hand-Protection?gclid=CK-0gfqxi5kCFUM-3godJnaynA

and, just regarding them as disposable. In fact these:-

http://www.hivis.net/371/Personal-Protection-Equipment/Kevlar-Gloves/Rock-Kevlar-Glove/

don't look too bad at about $10.

There must be similar sites in the US just search for "rigger gloves".

As mentioned before, so much depends on your application. We get through hundreds of pairs of latex gloves but they are considered disposable. For general handling the leather riggers gloves are good & are cheap enough to be throwaway. For high temp handling you might need nomex or kevlar or silicone. For general mechanical work I use a pair of Mac Tools gloves which have lasted a couple of years so far.

Ironclad. Hands down.

I've always had good luck with Wells Lamont White Mule Gloves but these are Farm gloves and you may be too prissy to use em...

i started a "temp job" a year ago that required gloves and bought a pair of Craftsman Dexterity gloves, after a few weeks a seam split on one of the fingers and i took them back for exchange.

a few weeks later the same seam split and i took them back for exchange, only this time they were on sale so i got two pair.

a few weeks later, same split, exchanged . . .

a few weeks later another split, only this time they're on sale again, two for one.

i am partial to the Sears Craftsman Dexterity series, the seem to last forever . . .

Haaahahaha..that's the best glove anti-recommendation-recommendation that I've seen yet!

I have personally been very happy with both my "general" duty and "heavy-duty" gloves from Ironclad. I found them on sale at Menard's, great deal. They wear better (last longer) than similar ones I've had, are well designed and stitched, and the leather-padded ones I've had for a year now and going great.

Then again, I'm doing general construction and workshop use, not metal-handling and welding.

I found the whole selection at the top of Google here: http://www.palmflex.com/ironclad.htm?
so you can see the pictures...;)

Like any other tool, gloves have to be considered in two classes: "forever" or "Kleenex".

Kleins, wrenches, 'drivers - all "forever" quality.

Cordless drill motors (they grow legs) - Kleenex

Work gloves - Kleenex

I just had a pair of Snap On Goat Skin Gloves last three weeks of work and still going.

I do a lot of rope and dunnage work, forklifts etc., run electronics and write.

The gloves are thin enough to push small electronic keys and separate copies with but strong enough when I fab up 20 - 100 new ropes and tie, cinch and knot 40 to 200 my hands don't get tore up. For every rope there is a 50lb wooden rack and then there is plastic film and rolls of strapping tape fed out as fast as you can walk.

So so far I'm pleased with the 20 bucks invested. My only improvement I could see is I work where it is cold and the gloves are not insulated but then they would not be so nimble.

Brad

For working in the cold (like putting on tire chains), I bought a couple pair of ladies cotton gloves which I wear underneath leather. It sure helps. I am quite happy with leather gloves which I get at Costco (3 pair to the package) BUT I do not wear them 8 or so hours a day, so I can't really rate them.

Bill

One thing that will help make your gloves more durable is if you spray them with hairspray. It stiffens them up a little and dries the frays or "scuffs" and patches them up a little bit. After spraying a good amount of hairspray, bend the gloves some so they don't get to stiff.

Long chose what working gloves to buy, many options I tried, and the best for me from the company Roman Jobs https://www.amazon.com/BEST Used in the work with wood and metal.

I want to leave a comment about Keron gloves. Their leather is thin but not strong. When working with boards quickly rubbed. For such work is not suitable. Guys advise something. I found information, but I don’t know yet.

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