Most gardening experts I’ve spoken with (and I’ve spoken with quite a few) agree that the best gardening gloves are no gloves at all. One of the best parts of gardening is plunging your arms into fresh soil in communion with nature. But, understandably, not everyone is down for mucking around in the yard without any protection for their hands, and depending on the environment, not everybody should either. A lovely afternoon in the vegetable garden can easily become a messy, unpleasant, and potentially painful endeavor if you have to contend with thorny stems, splinters, or skin-irritating weeds that can lead to phytophotodermatitis.
A good pair of garden gloves is a worthwhile investment to keep your hands clean, dry, and comfortable for hours of toiling away in the dirt. For our inaugural test of the best gardening gloves, we tried 12 pairs, made from a range of materials. Scroll down for our winners and our testing methodology.
Table of contents The best overall gardening gloves The best gloves for heavy duty gardeners The best gauntlet gloves How to care for leather gardening gloves How we tested What we looked for Other gloves we tested The takeaway
These Barebones work gloves are carefully constructed using cowhide leather, and they provide ample protection in the garden. On a cold and muddy spring day, I used them to protect my hands while hauling wood, scooping up detritus, and grabbing thorny stems; they handled the work gracefully. The gloves took next to no time to break in. They fit tightly but comfortably and quickly formed to my hands. With them on I still had enough dexterity to open trash bags, and they kept my hands nice and warm, and, most importantly, protected for hours. They were one of the most water-resistant pairs I tested—little to no moisture crept through the seams when I used them to handle damp plants and dirt. Wanting to thoroughly test their moisture resistance, I dunked them fully in water. Water did eventually penetrate the gloves, but they never got completely wet on the inside. What’s more, the gloves were still comfortable to wear when they were damp, a very rare feature for lighter cloth-based garden gloves.
At $20 these gloves are affordable and if properly cared for should last several gardening seasons.
If you want high-quality gloves that are durable, thoughtfully designed, and built to last, go for a pair from Vermont Glove. These gloves are made of buttery-soft goat skin leather, which is more resilient than cowhide. They’re constructed using unique stitching details: The seams are positioned behind the fingers and placed on the outside of the glove, which makes the gloves more comfortable and improves your dexterity while you’re wearing them.The gloves are also reinforced in areas prone to wear, so they can withstand repeated heavy use.
The quality stitching really shined in our soak test. After several seconds submerged in water, these were the only gloves we tested that let absolutely no moisture inside. We would expect the water resistance to improve even more with proper oiling and waxing. These gloves were also exceptionally puncture resistant, withstanding intrusions from thorny plants and cactus needles.
They are bulkier than other gloves, which is why it’s important that you purchase them in the proper size. Leather gardening gloves should have a snug fit the first time you use them and mold to your hands like a second skin with repeated wear. We recommend using Vermont Glove’s sizing guide to get a proper fit. Even with proper fit, you probably won’t be untying any knots in these. While we had no trouble navigating gardening tasks like picking up seed packets or opening trash bags, these gloves aren’t for tasks that require your fingers to be as nimble as they would be naked.
While $100 is certainly a high price for garden gloves, these are an heirloom that will last a long time, especially if they are properly conditioned.
Gauntlet gloves are characterized by their long cuffs, typically offering mid-forearm to elbow-length protection. They’re meant to protect your arms when you’re reaching deep into a sprawling rose bush, or for any heavy-duty landscaping tasks that require extra protection. Of the gauntlet gloves we tested, the Duluth gardening gloves offered the best puncture and water resistance thanks to their all-leather construction. Our tester noted how comfortable they were to work in, specifically pointing out how quickly they formed to her hands.
While leather gloves are sturdy and reliable, they do require a bit of care. When you’re finished using a pair of gloves, wipe off dirt with a cloth or soft bristle brush. If they are particularly wet or dirty, wash them in cold water with a mild soap, pat them dry, and add a little leather conditioner or neatsfoot oil to keep the leather from cracking. Always store gloves inside or in a weatherproof storage area in your yard. No matter the material, leaving a pair of gardening gloves outside at the mercy of the elements will ensure that they will wear out much faster and prevent them from providing your hands with adequate protection.
We put the gloves to the test by wearing them through a busy day of spring yardwork. We cleared leaves and detritus, dug holes, cut back old growth, all on a wet and muddy March afternoon. In addition to observing how these gloves felt, we also did some tests to accelerate wear. We tested their water resistance by submerging our gloved hands in the water until we could feel moisture seeping through (or not). We tested their puncture resistance by vigorously rubbing the gloves against cut logs in a splintery firewood pile, and by grasping thorny stems.
The primary function of a garden glove is to protect your hands from cuts and scrapes. Gardening can be a literally thorny business, and if a glove can’t provide protection in this regard, what’s the point of wearing it? Some puncture resistant gloves are only puncture resistant around the palms, and any person who has plunged their hands into a raspberry bush knows that punctures can come from all angles.
Wetness is one of the biggest sources of discomfort with gardening gloves—and some hold on to moisture like a sponge. We wanted gloves that would allow us to plunge our hands into wet soil without immediately soaking them. As with puncture protection, lots of gloves are only water resistant around the palm and not the back of the hand.
If you spend hours working in the garden, the last thing you want is to be fussing with uncomfortable gloves. Some gloves eschew comfort for sturdier protection, and we were interested in gloves that could strike a balance between these two factors.
Some gloves are designed to withstand several seasons of heavy use, while others are made of less robust materials. We would rather buy one pair that lasts a long time than several cheap pairs destined for the trash after a couple of uses.
Some reviewers prioritize dexterity in evaluating gardening gloves. We felt that having a reasonable amount of dexterity for tasks like handling garden tools, sorting through seed packets, or opening trash bags, was enough. We found that nitrile palm gloves offered the most dexterity since they have thin fabric backs. However, this also means that they soak easily and snag on thorns. Nitrile gloves are better suited for more delicate garden work like planting seeds, but in those cases we would opt to use our bare hands.
While regularly on the top of other lists, we do not recommend nitrile gardening gloves like these from The Sill , Duluth, or Showa, which won Wirecutter’s test. While nitrile coatings offer quality protection and general resistance without sacrificing dexterity, these stretchy gloves only afford that protection for the palm and not the back of the hand. They are comfortable until they get a little wet, then they become an unpleasant soaked mess.
Digz cotton gloves are sturdy and breathable, but they’re not water-resistant in any way. These would be a good pick for someone looking for a machine washable pair of gloves who isn’t too concerned with moisture.
We tested two similar sets of gloves from Garrett Wade and West Country Terrain; both had reinforced fingertips and padded palms. They were exceptionally puncture-resistant and moderately water-resistant, but they were not very comfortable, and therefore we found them difficult to wear for longer periods of time.
We also don’t recommend Stonebreaker gloves, Wirecutter’s upgrade pick, as they only afford protection with a goatskin leather palm and have a flimsy fabric back.
We did not care for Ozero leather work gloves; they use split cowhide on the back of the hands, which is not as puncture-resistant and soaks easily.
If you want the best gloves for all of your gardening needs, we think that Barebones Work Gloves offer an excellent balance of quality and affordability. For the highest quality option available, Vermont gloves are a worthwhile investment for years to come. Lastly, if you are specifically looking for a pair of rose-pruning gloves that protect your arms, go for the Duluth gardening gloves.
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