The 15 Best Work Gloves

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I know that wearing bulky work gloves can sometimes make you feel like Mickey Mouse. But isn’t looking like a cartoon mascot still better than cuts, chemical burns, and electric shocks? If your answer is yes (and I certainly hope it is), we’ve rounded up the 15 best work gloves out there. With these mitts, you won’t have to worry about constrained motion or looking like your hands are too big for your body. These work gloves are all highly functional and several are even pretty stylish.

Barebones Classic Work Glove

Barebones Classic Work Glove

The Barebones Classic Work Glove is just that—a classic design focused on core functionalities and no extra, often obstructing, bells and whistles. It’s made from tried-and-true cowhide leather, with an elastic pleating on the back to ensure the glove stays in place when you’re chopping wood or pulling out those pesky weeds.

  • Material: Cowhide leather
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Yardwork, agriculture
  • The Takeaway: A premium leather construction and basic design offers the kind of protection needed for outdoor work.
Duluth Trading Co. Mechanix Wear Durahog Work Gloves 

Duluth Trading Co. Mechanix Wear Durahog Work Gloves 

You can always count on Duluth Trading Co. to deliver a straight-A piece of gear. Their Mechanix Wear Durahog Work Gloves are subjected to 10,000-cycle lab tests for abrasion and durability, as well as field clinicals by their wear testers. We’re talking everything from lumber-hauling to shingle-ripping. Basically, this glove is the unkillable John McClane of work gloves.

  • Material: Synthetic leather
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Machinery, operations
  • The Takeaway: The form-fitting construction and touch-screen fingers combine dexterity with strength, perfect for operating large machinery, power tools, and other technology.
Danner Bison Work Gloves

Danner Glove Bison  

Like good Italian food, an effective work glove sometimes just boils down to high-quality materials. Danner knows this, which is why they serve up a simple and robust mitt in the form of this Unlined Roper Bison Glove. Bison leather isn’t stretched so it’s stronger, thicker, and lasts longer than most other leathers. Danner sources the leather for this glove exclusively from ranch-raised American bison. Plus, buffalo hides feature a distinct grain pattern that style-lovers will appreciate.

  • Material: Bison leather
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Lumber work, heavy-lifting
  • The Takeaway: With its extra thick leather, the build of these gloves lends itself to handling heavy or rudimentary items, like large wood or cumbersome sheet metal.
Filson Original Goatskin Gloves

Filson Original Goatskin Gloves

Who says you can’t be soft and strong at the same time? The Filson Original Gloves are made from goatskin, which is way tougher and much more tear resistant than cowhide. Yet, it’s also super delicate on your skin, perfect for those of us with dermal sensitivities. Filson uses American-sourced Grade A goatskin, meaning it boasts extra fine grains, is the strongest of the strong, and the softest of the soft.

  • Material: Goatskin leather
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Fieldwork, yardwork, housework
  • The Takeaway: Midweight with flexible thumbs, these gloves offer protection when grabbing items that are abrasive but non-piercing, like weeds or shingles.
Outdoor Research Merino Work Gloves

Outdoor Research Merino Work Gloves

If you’re an outdoor worker in North Dakota, or are just generally allergic to the cold, let me introduce you to the Outdoor Research Merino Work Gloves. It’s made from deer leather, which is the preferred hide for outdoor use thanks to its flexibility and durability. It’s also made from a polyester and nylon blend for even more strength and insulation, on top of the warming and moisture-wicking qualities of the wool lining and conductive goat leather.

  • Material: Deer leather, wool, polyester
  • Insulation: Merino lining
  • Best Use: Cold weather field work, motorcycling
  • The Takeaway: The merino wool lining protects from cold weather, but wicks away moisture from heavy activity.
Red Wing Shoes Lined Buckskin Leather Glove

Red Wing Shoes Lined Buckskin Leather Glove

The Lined Buckskin Leather gloves frome ever-reliable Red Wing Shoes are extra competent because of their combination of buckskin leather and a magic synthetic material called Thinsulate. Their choice leather is famously resilient but supple, beautifully granular, and can even last you decades regardless of how much you put it through. Buckskin isn’t known for its insulation qualities though, but that’s where Thinsulate comes in. It provides one and a half times the warmth of down and twice the warmth of high-loft insulation materials.

  • Material: Buckskin leather
  • Insulation: Synthetic Thinsulate
  • Best Use: Winter sports and recreation
  • The Takeaway: The pliable buckskin provides easy finger mobility, while the synthetic lining offers lightweight insulation, creating a balance of dexterity and cold-weather protection.
Marmot Basic Work Glove

Marmot Basic Work Glove

Be it basic, the Marmot Work Glove offers two critical features, moisture wicking and dexterity, and does so at an above-and-beyond level. If you’re doing heavy-duty outdoor work all day long, these two qualities are the most essential. Marmot’s DriClime mesh is made from two components, each with an extra fine knit for superb breathability and high-performance moisture dispersing. Meanwhile, their Falcon Grip technology offers sophisticated articulation for a full range of motion at your literal fingertips.

  • Material: Genuine leather
  • Insulation: Polyester and nylon lining
  • Best Use: Cold weather yardwork, housework
  • The Takeaway: In addition to insulation, the two components of the lining give breathability and moisture-wicking, perfect for heavy snow shoveling or all-day outdoor work.
Ironclad Ranchworx Work Gloves

Ironclad Ranchworx Work Gloves

The Ironclad Ranchworx Work Gloves are so well-engineered and function-forward, putting them on will make you feel like you have futuristic robot hands. They come with roll top fingertips that are seamless, strong, and give you almost gloveless mobility regardless of the double-layer protection. This super cool feature is fully patented. There’s also a thermoplastic cuff puller, which allows you to swiftly and accurately get your hand in the proper position for tool use or machine operation.

  • Material: Patented Bullwhip leather
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Versatile, including ranching, HVAC, construction, wire handling, machinery
  • The Takeaway: Featuring several patents, this glove is function-forward and exceedingly versatile for indoor work or temperate-weather outdoor work.
Biltwell Work Gloves  

Biltwell Work Gloves  

Don’t let the handsome fit and look fool you, the Biltwell Gloves are genuinely rugged work gloves that can hold their own in any tire-changing, log grabbing situation. It’s made specifically for bikers though, which is why it’s so excellently fitted, with superior dexterity. It sports a fully leather construction with a fleece half liner for interior softness, and a classic style. This includes a rich brown hue, and attractive knuckle folds on the long and pointer fingers.

  • Material: Cowhide leather
  • Insulation: Fleece half-liner
  • Best Use: Machine operation, motorcycling
  • The Takeaway: The fleece half-liner and articulated fingers provide a combination of shock isolation, insulation, and easy grip.
Carhartt Men’s WB Suede Work

Carhartt Men’s WB Suede Work

With its long, strong, and stable wrist elastic, the Carhartt WB Work Glove stays perfectly in place regardless of how much intense grabbing, pulling, and bopping your job requires of you. It’ll also keep dirt and debris where it belongs—not in your gloves. These Carhartts are made of cotton duck, which is tank-level sturdy and waterproof, with a suede palm and patch for comfort and grip.

  • Material: Cotton duck, cowhide suede
  • Insulation: Synthetic Thinsulate
  • Best Use: Construction, welding, cold weather
  • The Takeaway: The elastic collar and the extremely tight weaving of the cotton duck add a layer of protection from outside elements.
Outdoor Research Aksel Work Gloves

Outdoor Research Aksel Work Gloves

The Outdoor Research Aksel Work Gloves are made for snowy weather, from glamorous ski chalet moments, to tougher times like wood chopping in a blizzard because you went for the rugged charm of an old-world cabin (instead of listening to your wife and going for the modern cabin with central heating). This glove is made of 100 percent cow belly shell, which is firm and brawny, but is also light and soft, since that part of the cow is spongier and offers more stretch. The lining is made of warm wool and acrylic, which also wicks moisture.

  • Material: Cow belly shell
  • Insulation: Wool, acrylic
  • Best Use: Snowy conditions, lumberwork
  • The Takeaway: Firm but light, the cow belly construction protects you from cold on the outside, but the lining keeps you from sweating on the inside.
Duluth Trading Men’s Alaskan Hardgear Lightweight Work Gloves

Duluth Trading Men’s Alaskan Hardgear Lightweight Work Gloves

Engineered for your summer projects, Duluth Trading’s Alaskan Hardgear Work Gloves are as lightweight as they are enduring. They come with suede palms which are highly resistant to abrasions and offer reliable grip on wood and metal. The cuff is flexible which keeps your hands lithe and agile even on the longest, hottest days. You’ll probably need a pair to keep in your garage and in your truck.

  • Material: Polyester suede, nylon, spandex, neoprene
  • Insulation: None
  • Best Use: Mechanics, woodwork, welding
  • The Takeaway: The suede palms are especially abrasion-resistant, allowing superior grip on tools, as well as protection from coarse materials.
Flylow Tough Guy Glove  

Flylow Tough Guy Glove  

Like an old school football, the Flylow Tough Guy Gloves are made of beat-em-up pigskin. Pigskin leather is thinner than cowhide, is extra pliable, and doesn’t stiffen after getting wet like most leathers do. Changing a tire in the rain? Go for the Flylow gloves. Its polyester insulation is effective on cold days, and the long knitted wrist keeps debris and weather out, while easily slipping underneath your jacket sleeve.

  • Material: Pigskin leather
  • Insulation: Polyester
  • Best Use: Outdoor work in rain and snow
  • The Takeaway: Because of its thin but flexible build and durable polyester lining, this glove is especially weather resistant.
Mountain Hardwear Route Setter Alpine Work Gloves

Mountain Hardwear Route Setter Alpine Work Gloves

If you’re sick of those one-and-done cold weather gloves, the Mountain Hardwear Route Setter Alpines are for you. Their four-way stretch quality provides recovery even in frigid conditions, while the PrimaLoft Gold insulation regulates temperature even after repeated exposure to compression. Get to that mountain summit without freezing to death.

  • Material: Goat leather
  • Insulation: Synthetic Primaloft
  • Best Use: Winter sports, rock climbing
  • The Takeaway: The pre-curved design of this stretchy but strong glove allows your hands to maintain nuanced grip and positions.
Mechanix Wear Durahide M-Pact Insulated Driver F9-360

Mechanix Wear Durahide M-Pact Insulated Driver F9-360

The Mechanix Wear Durahide M-Pact F9-360 is built for you oil and gas men, riggers, and miners. It’s an insulated driver glove that traps warm air, controlling your hand’s temperature in freezing conditions. The proprietary Durahide leather is resistant to cracking and splitting, gets softer (but not weaker) over time, while the internal liner is professionally cut-resistant.

  • Material: Synthetic leather
  • Insulation: High-tensile fibers
  • Best Use: Oil and gas, mining, rigging
  • The Takeaway: In addition to material and construction, the thermoplastic rubber guards on the knuckles and industry-standard impact resistance provide genuinely professional protection.

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