I think there’s a correlation between how quickly and how often you damage your hands while in the garden and how much care you spend on picking a pair of garden gloves. I’ll admit it, I was late to the party on this one. But once I’d bought my first pair of decent garden gloves I never looked back. It turns out you never forget how much it hurts to scrub and scrub to get the dirt out of nails and hands or how inconvenient it is being allergic to sticking plaster when thorns and blisters adorn your hands. It goes without saying that we use the right equipment for jobs in the veggie garden, and so I treat my hands the same way. The right pair of garden gloves for the right job and I’ve never looked back. Here’s everything that I’ve learned about picking the best gardening gloves for vegetable gardening jobs throughout the year.
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Best Garden Gloves at a Glance
Top PRODUCT PICK
The Best Overall Gardening Gloves
These general purpose gardening gloves are the best buy – they’re long lasting, useful and won’t wear out!
Best UK Gardening Gloves Reviews
Gloves for specific jobs in the garden are essential. They’ll protect your hands from scratches, stings, dirt. Longer gloves will also protect your wrists and lower arms. When it’s miserably wet and cold outside waterproof gloves will enable you to work on in some degree of comfort. When it’s hot breathable gloves will help to stop your hands from sweating, but still stay safe. I realise too that while some people (my husband fits into this category) think that one pair of gloves does for everything, so I’ve included the best all-around gardening glove too and to be fair, it’s a pretty darned good glove and has saved him from numerous shall we say incidents in the garden. Here are our reviews of the best garden gloves for all occasions.
| Gardening Gloves | Highlights | What It Looks Like | Read Reviews & Buy Now! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best All Round Gardening Gloves | • Cowhide • Yellow – makes them easy to find • Elastic wrist buckle to keep them tight • Extra padding on the palm • Breathable | Buy the best all round gardening gloves here | |
| Best gardening gloves for women | • Velcro strap • Comes in medium or large • Flexible and snug fitting • Lightweight and comfortable | Buy the best gardening gloves for women here | |
| Best gardening gloves for men | • Thornproof with double thread wear-resistant palm • Made of leather • Flexible fingers • Lightweight • Breathable lining for a comfortable wearing experience • Elastic wrist • Comes as a two-pack (same size) | Buy the best gardening gloves for men here | |
| Best waterproof gardening gloves | Waterproof and puncture resistant Universal size Use to plant AND Dig Breathable with nylon knitting on the back – protect yourself from dirt AND sweat. | Buy this two pack of waterproof gloves now | |
| Best long length garden gloves | • 100% goatskin • Extended cuff to protect lower arms • Pliable and flexible • Ergonomically designed thumbs to make it easier to use garden tools | Buy the best long length gardening gloves | |
| Best heat resistant gardening gloves | • Made of high-quality cow leather • Good heat resistance • Reinforced Kevlar stitching • Absorbent cotton liner • Reinforced palm with cushioned hands | Buy these best buy heat resistant gardening gloves now | |
| Best gardening gloves for kids | • Two-pack • Five different sizes to select from • Latex foam rubber coating gives high breathability • Seamless polyester liner for comfort | Buy the best gardening gloves for kids now |
Best all-round gardening gloves UK
If I could buy only one pair of gloves it would be these. They’re quality cowhide which is extremely durable and because they’re yellow I can find them easily. The elastic wrist buckle isn’t Velcro, but it’s still adjustable and keeps them on and stuff out of my gloves that I don’t want in them. They come in medium or large sizes (I wear a medium, the husband wears large). These are excellent good quality gardening gloves. There’s extra padding on the palm, which helps when digging the plot over. Buy these best all-round garden gloves now.
Key features of the best all-round garden gloves – also the best leather gardening gloves
- Cowhide
- Yellow – makes them easy to find
- Elastic wrist buckle to keep them tight
- Extra padding on the palm
- Thorn proof gardening gloves
- Breathable
Buy the best all-round gardening gloves now.
Best waterproof gardening gloves UK
These ace waterproof garden gloves come in packs of two and have 4 built-in plastic claws on each hand. They’re a universal size and are made of puncture-resistant rubber latex material which will keep your hands dry and also protect them from cuts & blisters. The claws help you easily dig and deal with rocks. Buy these best waterproof gardening gloves now.
Key features of the best waterproof garden gloves –
- Waterproof and puncture resistant garden gloves
- Universal size
- Use to plant AND dig
- Warm, waterproof gardening gloves
- Breathable with nylon knitting on the back – protect yourself from dirt AND sweat.
Buy the best waterproof gardening gloves now.
Best gardening gloves for women
Right now here’s where it starts to really work for me. Apart from the colour, but to be honest, once they’re dirty they’re dirty, so you just live with it, I don’t suppose it matters what colour gloves are they’re going to get dirty! The gloves are a generous fit and come in multiple colours (pink, blue and purple). They have a velcro strap, so they’re going to stay on and they’re for me, a snug fit (I have big hands for a female and wear a medium) and I find them extremely comfortable and don’t feel the need to tear them off all the time! Check other reviews and buy them now
Key features of the best garden gloves for women
- Velcro strap
- Comes in medium or large
- Flexible and snug fitting
- Lightweight and comfortable.
Buy these best fit for women gardening gloves now.
Best gardening gloves for men
If we were to buy just one pair of gloves that would do most things well for a men’s fit it would be theses. These are the gloves that will cover you for most gardening tasks. They are made of leather, they’re thorn proof and they come in medium, large and extra-large sizes. Check other reviews and buy now.
Key features of the best garden gloves for men
- Thornproof with double thread wear-resistant palm
- Made of leather
- Flexible fingers
- Lightweight
- Breathable lining for a comfortable wearing experience
- Elastic wrist
- Comes as a two-pack (same size)
Buy these best buy gardening gloves for men now.
Best thornproof gardening gloves UK
These gardening gloves for thorns will keep your hands safe and the thorns out. You’ll see more details on them as our best all-round garden gloves above, but we love that the wrist strap keeps them on and the tough on thorns cowhide keeps the thorns away from your hands. Available in both medium and large, they also have extra padding on the palm. Buy these best gardening gloves for thorns now.
Key features of the garden gloves for thorns
- Cowhide – and thick enough to keep the worst thorns at bay
- Elastic wrist buckle to keep them tight
- Extra padding on the palm
Buy the best gardening gloves for thorns now.
Best long length garden gloves
These goatskin long length gardening gloves are fabulous for keeping your hands and arms safe from scratches and puncture wounds. They’re pliable and flexible and will also keep your hands soft. The thumbs are designed ergonomically to make it much easier to use tools with them. Check out other reviews and buy now.
Key features of the best long length gardening gloves
- 100% goatskin
- Extended cuff to protect lower arms
- Pliable and flexible
- Ergonomically designed thumbs to make it easier to use garden tools
Buy these long length gardening gloves now.
Best heat resistant gardening gloves
These cow leather gloves are extremely resistant to heat. Measuring 35 centimetres they have a thickness of more than 1.2mm and good heat insulation. There’s an absorbent cotton inner and they also provide good puncture protection. Check other reviews and buy now.
Key features of these best buy heat resistant gloves
- Made of high-quality cow leather
- Good heat resistance
- Reinforced Kevlar stitching
- Absorbent cotton liner
- Reinforced palm with cushioned hands
Buy these best buy heat resistant gardening gloves now.
Best gardening gloves for kids
What you need when it comes to kids gardening gloves is easy to wear, easy to use and easy to clean. These gloves, which come in packs of two (wear one while the other is washing), are great to get kids out in the garden and helping out. They have a latex foam rubber coating which means that they’re breathable and keep hands cool and dry when it’s hot and warm and dry when it’s cold. There’s a seamless polyester lining to help against blisters. A knitted wrist will give a secure fit and keep dirt and other things out of the glove. Check other reviews and buy now.
Key features of the best kids gardening gloves
- Two-pack
- Five different sizes to select from
- Latex foam rubber coating gives high breathability
- Seamless polyester liner for comfort
Buy these best for kids gardening gloves now.
Best Garden Gloves Buying Guide
When you get to spend a lot of time in the garden having the right pair of gloves is essential. You don’t want to know how many layers of skin I’ve scraped off my hands trying to get ingrained dirt out of them before I bought gardening gloves. Or how many pairs I went through, having decided to “just pick up a cheap pair” because they’ll do. I suppose the good thing about cheap almost disposable gardening gloves is that they increase how much hand cream I buy. And plasters. So when it comes to buying a good pair of gardening gloves there are a few things to consider. I suspect, like me, there may be more than one pair of gardening gloves in your life and that’s why gardening gloves are one of our essential garden tools.
Here’s what I look at when buying gardening gloves
- The job that I’m going to be doing – planting, pruning, digging
- The fit around my fingers – it didn’t take me long to realise that just wearing my husband’s gloves wasn’t much help. And his hands don’t fit into my gloves.
- The fit around my wrist – I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve lost gloves off or got compost and thorns inside the glove because they don’t fit properly.
- The material that they’re made of
- Do I want durability or flexibility?
- How far up my arms they need to come – to be fair lengthy gloves are only, for me a requirement if I’m doing lots of thorny pruning, so I tend to manage without
- Do they need to be heat resistant? Useful if you’re burning garden waste (we don’t) or manning the barbecue
What to consider when choosing a good pair of gardening gloves
The right gloves for the job
The gloves that I wear in winter when it’s cold and wet outside are different to the ones that I wear in the summer when all I want to do is throw the gloves off because it’s so hot and go barehanded. I learned relatively early on as that’s not a great idea for me, as I’m a magnet for thorns, scratches and scrapes. Pruning? I need the heaviest gloves ever. We love blackberries – but even the cultivated ones in the allotment have the nastiest thorns. Sowing and planting? Flexibility is key.
The right fit of glove
The times that I’ve just thrown the first pair of gloves that come to hand (usually not mine) and then lost them mid-job doesn’t bear thinking about. It’s frustrating to the point of loud swearing. And while I don’t have feminine hands (I blame it on genes from my grandfather the stonemason), gloves designed specifically for women do fit better than men’s ones.
Gloves that fit around the wrist
While I don’t have feminine hands, I do have skinny wrists. So if I buy gloves that don’t close properly around the wrists I end up with soil, compost, thorns, insects and all sorts inside my gloves, which somewhat defeats the object. Velcro is my friend. Elastic not so much.
The material that the glove is made of
There’s a whole section further on about the best materials for gardening gloves – but usually, the material you select relates to the jobs that you’re doing and the type of protection that you want. Gardening glove materials include:
- Leather
- Cotton
- Lycra
- Spandex
- Neoprene
- Bamboo
Most manufacturers also add a coating to provide extra protection.
Flexibility versus durability of garden gloves
The strongest longest-lasting gardening gloves tend to be less flexible. When selecting your gardening gloves you should look at the job that you’re going to be doing. Digging and pruning require more protection than planting. When I’m sowing or transplanting seedlings, I need to have maximum flexibility, so go for the lightest protection possible.
Do you need arm protection with your gardening gloves?
Most gloves stop at the wrist. Sometimes, however, you’ll need more protection. It depends on how many times you need longer protection as to whether you need a pair of specifically longer gloves. If you spend a lot of time pruning especially thorny plants – like blackberries or roses then you’ll likely invest in some of these longer gardening gloves. The alternative, of course, is to tuck the sleeves of a jacket into your gloves and hope you don’t rip it. (I admit, that tends to be what I do).
Do you need waterproof gloves?
Most gardening gloves provide some level of water resistance. Whether you need fully waterproofed gloves depends on the climate and the jobs that you do. As my husband will attest, my hands can be freezing cold in the heat of summer, so anything that I can do to stop them from getting cold is worth it.
Do you need heat-resistant gloves?
If you burn your garden rubbish (we don’t, we use a compost bin) or have a barbecue or a fire pit then you’ll find heat-resistant gloves a real help. They’re not going to fully stop you from getting burned, but they will help the situation and provide some degree of protection.
Best Material for Gardening Gloves
The material used for gardening gloves will define how long they last and how usable the gloves are for certain jobs. And there’s no lack of choice here. Be in mind that many manufacturers also apply coatings to gloves to give you extra protection. Here are the main materials used to make garden gloves.
Top PRODUCT PICK
The Best Overall Gardening Gloves
These general purpose gardening gloves are the best buy – they’re long lasting, useful and won’t wear out!
Cotton Garden Gloves
You’ll find these have the most choice. Cotton gardening gloves are usually lightweight. Garden gloves made of cotton are breathable and flexible. They’re easily washable. Cotton garden gloves are not waterproof unless they have an additional coating added. Coton garden gloves will protect you from the dirt (mostly), but they offer little protection.
Leather Garden Gloves
Gardening gloves made from leather are made from a variety of animal skin. Goat hide provides for some of the most flexible and sharp object resistant gloves. They cost a little more usually, but provide great, flexible protection. Gardening gloves made from cowhide are very tough and will protect you from the worst that the garden can throw at you. They’re not as flexible as goat hide gloves but tend to be that the longer gloves that protect lower arms are made of.
Bamboo Garden Gloves
Gardening gloves made from bamboo are lightweight and flexible. The natural de-odorising qualities of bamboo help to eliminate odours and keep the airflow around your hands. Bamboo gardening gloves tend to have a coating of latex applied to them to help with protection and some water resistance.
Neoprene Garden Gloves
Neoprene is a synthetic rubber used to make lighter-weight gardening gloves. They provide a high degree of water resistance and good flexibility. Neoprene – also used in wetsuits – provides a good degree of insulation too.
Lycra and Spandex Garden Gloves
Lycra is a brand name for a highly elastic synthetic fabric called elastane. Spandex is another brand name. Lycra, spandex and elastane are all the same material. They are a good lightweight and flexibly material for gardening gloves that provide some element of protection and insulation.
How to Clean Gardening Gloves
How you clean your gardening gloves depends on what they’re made from. All of them will include care instructions. Here’s how to clean gardening gloves made of the most common materials.
How to clean cotton gardening gloves
Gardening gloves made from cotton can be cleaned with soap and water. Most cotton gardening gloves can be put in the washing machine. If they’re stained, then use stain removal before putting them in. Be sure to dry your cotton garden gloves flat to keep their shape. Try not to over dry, otherwise, they’ll be stiff and might cause blisters. Never put away damp, otherwise, you’ll end up with mould and mildew on them.
How to clean rubber gardening gloves
Rubber and latex gardening gloves are usually water-resistant. Wipe them clean or wash them with soap and water. Check the care instructions to see if they can be machine washed. Usually, a good soak in warm soapy water does the trip. Be sure to rinse them and dry them carefully – damp gloves will end up with mould or mildew on them.
How to clean leather garden gloves
Gardening gloves made from leather should be brushed clean of loose dirt first. Then you’ll want to use saddle soap to clean the gloves. Don’t use water on leather gloves. The saddle soap will help to keep them supple. Rub the saddle soap in with circular motions, then remove with a clean damp (not wet) cloth.
Let’s Grow Cook Recommends..
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- Garden Growing Accessories – The latest offers from Suttons
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Final Words on the Best Gardening Gloves UK Availability
It might have taken me several years and many layers of skin needing to be removed from my hands along with thorns, scratches and angst, but I’m a gardening gloves convert. Perhaps it’s because in the early years of vegetable gardening I couldn’t find – or didn’t look for – good gardening gloves. Nowadays is a big relief not to have to soak my hands in warm soapy water for ages, and to take the nail brush to my nails. I hope that you find the right pair of gardening gloves for your hands and the jobs you need to do in the garden and that this guide to the best garden gloves helps!
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