The 10 Best Welding Gloves to Keep Your Hands Safe in 2023
Welding means working with temperatures that are so high that you can basically melt steel, so it goes without saying that welding itself can be a very serious fire hazard.
Sure enough, you may be using a welding mask or a pair of welding goggles to protect your eyes from sparks and intense radiation, but if you want to keep your hands and arms safe from welding burns, you’ll need a serious pair of welding gloves.
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What Are Welding Gloves?
Welding gloves are a form of protective gear that covers the hands, wrists, and, to some extent, even the forearms, and they allow you to move your hands freely while you use the welding equipment.
Traditionally built from fire and electrical-resistant equipment, these gloves can also protect your hands from the effects of intense UV and IR light that is very common during welding jobs.
The materials used are usually thick enough to make these gloves puncture-resistant as well, and the palms have materials sewn into them that increase the grip and provide extra protection against abrasion.
Sure enough, gloves are a standard form of protective gear in more than just welding operations, and those of you that work with dangerous substances (e.g., corrosive chemicals) or even sharp objects would benefit from having a pair of protective gloves.
Where Can I Buy Welding Gloves?
There are many websites out there where both an everyday user or a professional can go ahead and buy safety equipment, but most of the time, you have to deal with products you never got the chance to see for yourself, and you end up having to return it (if that is even possible).
Because of that, we opted for a platform where the return policy is your last concern and where you have the chance to see what other users think about a particular product: Amazon.
Not only will you have the chance to see exactly what previous users thought about the product, but some will also even offer in-depth reviews about their experience using the item, along with tips, tricks, and even photos of the actual product.
Besides, even if you do decide on buying a particular pair of gloves and are not entirely satisfied with them, their return policy makes it so that you instantly return the product and get another one in return, or you can even ask for a full refund.
Which Are the Best Welding Gloves?
The safety gear market is quite vast, and it’s understandable if you get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices that are at your disposal, and that is why we took it upon ourselves to compile a list of the best gloves that a welder could use.We looked at multiple criteria and decided that a list of 10 items would be more than enough to cover a wide variety of user needs, price ranges, and more.
1. Caiman 1878-5 Welding Gloves
Topping off our list of best welding gloves are the Caiman 1878-5 Welding Gloves, a pair of deerskin safety gloves that are over 21-inches in length, providing protection not just to your hands but your wrists and forearms as well.These gloves were originally created with overhead welding, stick welding, and plasma cutting in mind, and their heavy-duty padding makes it so that all areas of your hands and arms are protected from the extreme heat, sparks, and splatter generated during welding.
Besides the deerskin, the gloves feature a boarhide leather heat shield patch, reinforced palm, cuff, and lean-on patch, all so that key areas of your hands and arms benefit from the most protection while still providing a decent amount of flexibility for movements.
All materials are then sewn together with extremely durable Kevlar thread, and the gloves’ unique 3D Kontour design is what makes these gloves extremely comfortable to wear since it allows the gloves to mold themselves naturally to the shape of your hands and arms and provide a perfect fit for your fingers as well.
Because of the perfect mold, there’s no space inside the glove, and therefore there’s no slipping either, meaning that not only will the gloves have a hard time falling off, but you’ll also have a better grip on anything you’ll be handling while wearing them.
These gloves could be yours at a special price if you visit the Caiman 1878-5 Welding Gloves Amazon page right now, so go ahead and perform a price check right now!
Specs:
- Color: Black and gold
- Material: Deer leather
- Length: 21 inches
- Weight: 1 pound
Pros:
- Comfortable
- Good heat resistance
- Perfect fit on the inside
- Enhanced padding in key-regions
- Protects hands, wrists, and forearms
Cons:
- Only one size is available
2. Rapicca 16-Inch Welding Gloves
The next pair of welding gloves on our list are from Rapicca, a world-renown manufacturer of high-quality safety equipment, and you can see why they have such a good reputation just by looking at the Rapicca 16-Inch Welding Gloves.
Made primarily from 1.5mm thick and soft shoulder split natural cow leather, these gloves are naturally resistant to heat, wear and tear, puncture, cuts, and even oils.
They are 16 inches long, so, just like with our previous entry, they also provide wrist and forearm protection, so you don’t need to spend extra money on welding sleeves either.
The inside of the gloves is made from Kevlar insulated cotton and air-insulated aluminum foil, and the double-reinforced Kevlar layer padding on the fingers, palms, wrists, and the back of the gloves offer even more protection to the most important parts of your hands.
As far as comfort is concerned, these gloves feature a 100% soft insulated cotton lining, and the flame retardant thread stitching provides advanced heat and cold resistance while also rendering the gloves sweat-absorbent, breathable, and allergy-free.
To check out what other users have to say about these gloves, visit the Rapicca 16-Inch Welding Gloves’ Amazon page today!
Specs:
- Color: Blue and gold
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 16 inches
- Weight: 1.15 pounds
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Very durable
- Comfortable to wear
- Kevlar layer padding in key-areas
Cons:
- Inner stitching could be more durable.
3.WZQH 16 Inches Welding Gloves
Whenever you’re out buying a product, be it protective gear, furniture, or socks, one of the things you’re probably thinking about is buying something that will last you throughout the years.
Well, if that’s your thought process, then look no further than the WZQH 16 Inches Welding Gloves.
The outermost layer is made from genuine cowhide split leather, the middle layer is made out of a composite mix made of air-insulated aluminum foil and flame-retardant cotton cloth, and the inner layer is made entirely of soft insulated cotton lining sewn together with flame-resistant stitching.
This 3-layer system makes the gloves not only resistant to heat, wear and tear, puncturing cuts, and oil spills, but they also make it so that they are very comfortable to wear over long periods, which is important considering they are long enough to cover a good chunk of your arm’s length.
Speaking of which, these gloves feature a 16-inch grill and an extra 7.5-inch sleeve, making them a great choice for those that don’t want to buy a set of welding sleeves as well.
All in all, both the materials used in constructing these gloves as well as their design make them ideal for all kinds of welding jobs, including Stick, MIG, Flux-Core, etc.
If we piqued your interest, you can go ahead and see what the users think about these gloves by visiting the WZQH 16 Inches Welding Gloves’s Amazon page and scrolling to the comments section.
Specs:
- Color: Black and grey
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 16 inches
- Weight: 14.8 ounces
Pros:
- Built using a 3-layer system
- Made from genuine cowhide split leather
- Great for most types of welding operations
- Provides good protection against all hazards
Cons:
- They may be too long for some users
4. Revco Black Stallion Welding Gloves
The Revco Black Stallion Welding Gloves are the first gloves on our list not to provide support beyond the wrists, but the protective features that it offers the hand are more than enough to make them deserving of a spot on our list.
These gloves are specially designed with MIG welding in mind, with cowhide being the main material for their construction, with additional reinforced patches in key areas where they are most needed, such as the palm of your hands, your thumb, and index finger.
The materials are not only durable, but they’re also made to last thanks to the fact that way the material is treated, since you have grain cowhide on palm and split cowhide leather on the back of the hand for extra flexibility.
These gloves are also very comfortable to wear and offer a good amount of flexibility thanks to the soft cotton lining and the seamless index finger.
Everything is held together thanks to high-quality Kevlar stitching that offers a good degree of resistance against heat, sparks, and slag.
All in all, this balanced mix between protective features and flexibility makes these gloves ideal for a lot of other jobs where protective gloves are required, although welding (especially MIG welding) is where they truly show what they are made of.
Visit the Revco Black Stallion Welding Gloves’ Amazon page if you want to get your very own pair or if you want to see whether people are pleased with the product or not.
Specs:
- Color: Tan
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 16 inches
- Weight: 0.86 ounces
Pros:
- Ideal for MIG welding
- Durable Kevlar stitching
- Made from durable cowhide
- Extra padding where it is needed
Cons:
- The size chart may be a bit off
5. Lincoln Electric Traditional Welding Gloves
We couldn’t make a list of safety equipment without including at least one item from Lincoln Electric since they’re just that good at what they do, and if you give the Lincoln Electric Traditional Welding Gloves a try, you’ll understand why.
These welding gloves are made using flame and heat-resistant split cowhide, making them ideal for most types of heavy-duty jobs, including welding, metal cutting, handling of chemicals, furnace works, and more.
Their level of protection is only matched by their overall durability since the exterior leather build is of the highest quality, and it is held together by Kevlar stitching, and even the seams themselves are reinforced with extra leather to avoid the effects of wear and tear.
Comfort is another area where these gloves shine, thanks to the soft cotton hand liner and straight thumb design that make wearing them for extended periods seem like nothing while still allowing your fingers to move freely and with enough dexterity to get the job done right.
Thanks to the materials and their design, these gloves are an ideal choice for any professional that has to deal with Stick, MIG, and Flux-Core welding, as well as any other job where you deal with extremely high temperatures.
If you too want to see why Lincoln Electric is so renowned for its products, visit the Lincoln Electric Traditional Welding Gloves’ Amazon page and see what other customers have to say.
Specs:
- Color: Black and red
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 13 inches
- Weight: 12.2 ounces
Pros:
- Good durability
- Superior comfort
- Heat and flame Resistant
- Great for most welding applications
Cons:
- Only one size is available
6. KIM YUAN Welding Gloves
Kim Yuan is a professional welding gloves manufacturer, and with every single model they release, they make sure that somewhere around the world, someone’s hands are safe from burns, cuts, and bruises., and the KIM YUAN Welding Gloves are not an exception.
They are built using full slit cow leather with a thickness of over 1.2 mm, which means that these gloves are inherently fireproof and provide good heat insulation while also granting your hands good piercing and cutting resistance, and the way the leather was chemically treated made them oil-resistant as well.
All leather pieces are sewn with Kevlar thread which is also heat-resistant, making these gloves ideal not only for welding but any other application where you’ll be handling extremely hot objects, like welding, furnace work, and grilling.
Besides, the palms are reinforced for even more resistance against physical hazards, and the inside is made using soft cotton so that any sweat and excess moisture will be absorbed easily.
One neat feature that we really liked was the gloves’ hook design that lets you hand them wherever you want once work is done, so keeping your crafting room tidy will be much easier.
If you work in an otherwise hazardous environment, a pair of safety gloves like the KIM YUAN Welding Gloves will really come in handy.
Specs:
- Color: Multiple color choices
- Material: Cow leather
- Length:16 inches
- Weight: 11.5 ounces
Pros:
- Made from durable cow leather
- Reinforced palm padding
- Multiple color choices
- Unique hook design
Cons:
- Not very flexible
7. John Tillman and Co Welding Gloves
Welding gloves may seem like they are all the same, with the only true notable difference being the color and the brand, and the truth is that certain features are standard, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
For example, the John Tillman and Co Welding Gloves have everything you could expect out of a pair of good welding gloves, providing a good mix of durability, safety, and comfort.
They are made using high-quality treated cowhide, and the palm, fingers, and thumb are reinforced with extra padding for added temperature, piercing, and cutting protection. However, the padding is only on key areas so that the glove does not lose and its flexibility.
The inner fleece lining is great at absorbing excess moisture, but if it bothers you, you should know that it is removable, so if you’re looking for a better fit, you can go ahead and take it out and place it back in when working with colder objects.
Safety equipment shops around the world are familiar with the brand, and because they are so good, you’ll find them with price tags that are 3 times higher than what you would on Amazon.
If you don’t believe us, go to the John Tillman and Co Welding Gloves’ Amazon page and see for yourself, and then compare the price with what you would see at your local store.
Specs:
- Color: White and tan
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 14 inches
- Weight: 7.2 ounces
Pros:
- Removable inner lining
- Great quality cow leather
- Extra padding in key-areas
- Great price/performance ratio
Cons:
- They may seem tight until you break them in
8. Steiner 21923-L Welding Gloves
You may have noticed so far that our article is filled with products from renowned safety equipment manufacturers, and the truth is that after we tried them out, we realized that they deserved the hype.
For example, Steiner has been a prime example of high-quality safety equipment manufacturing for quite some time now, and the Steiner 21923-L Welding Gloves are not an exception.
They are made using high-quality and chemically treated cowhide, making these gloves durable, resistant, abrasive, and comfortable, but providing your hands with more than enough freedom of movement and dexterity.
Reinforced padding is also included in the most important areas of the glove: the palm and the fingers, and the stitching that holds everything sewn together is made out of high-quality Kevlar that’s so durable it may actually outlast the leather itself.
There’s also the ThermoCore foam-insulated back that is worth mentioning, and the complete inner cotton lining provides comfort and heat protection regardless of what job you’re undertaking, from welding and forge work to simpler tasks such as grilling a Sunday barbecue.
The price is also good when considering just how good the gloves are since they have the same construction quality that you’d expect from much more expensive models and brands.
Speaking of price, if you’re interested in performing a price check on these amazing gloves, visit the Steiner 21923-L Welding Gloves’ Amazon page.
Specs:
- Color: Brown
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 23 inches
- Weight: 1.15 pounds
Pros:
- Affordable considering the quality
- ThermoCore foam-insulated back
- Both durable and comfortable
- Great for all kinds of activities
Cons:
- They may be too long for some users
9. NKTM Leather Welding Gloves
If you’re passionate about heavy-duty DIY projects around the house, or if you’re a professional welder or construction worker, you may want to opt for a single pair of gloves that are versatile enough to be used in most work scenarios.
Well, look no further than the NKTM Leather Welding Glovessince these are the ideal gloves for keeping your hands safe in a variety of scenarios.
Constructed using full cow split leather, these gloves will provide good protection against sharp, pointy, or hot objects, as well as flames, sparks, and splatter.
However, keep in mind that these gloves are fire-resistant and not fire-proof, so it’s not recommended that you touch hot objects while wearing them for extended periods since heat can still transfer through them, and you can still get burned.
These welding gloves have additional shielding on the back of the hands, and double-layered leather on the palms and fingers, so all the most important areas of your hands are protected.
On the inside, the gloves feature a sweat-absorbent and very soft cotton lining along with durable canvas cuffs for even more comfort and protection from heat.
If you’re into metallurgy, carpentry, gardening, or other activities that involve using hand protection, go ahead and get yourself a pair of NKTM Leather Welding Gloves.
Specs:
- Color: Blue and tan
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 16 inches
- Weight: 1.15 pounds
Pros:
- Good fire resistance
- Comfortable interior design
- Extra padding in important areas
- Great against bunds, cuts, and bruises
Cons:
- Don’t react well if machine-washed
10. Drake Off Road Welding Gloves
Despite being the last items on our list, the Drake Off Road Welding Gloves are still a solid choice for anyone that wants to pick up welding as either a hobby or as a profession, although admittedly, they have the simplest design of all of our entries.
They are made from soft and supple top-grain leather for added comfort, maneuverability, and, of course, protection from a wide variety of hazards, including sparks, splatter, molten metal, radiation, all of which are common when welding.
In fact, these gloves are great for any heat-intensive activity, so if you’re, for example a blacksmith, these gloves will provide you with shielding from contact with hot metal, the extreme heat of the forge, the sharp edges of the metal you’re working with, and more.
They are also long enough to not only cover your hands but also your, although if you do want full arm protection, you’ll need to get yourself a pair of welding sleeves as well.
This particular model comes in a one-size-fits-all design, being ideal for users with both very small and very big hands. Sure enough, they do stretch out with use, but not so much that they become too loose.
If you’re looking for a pair of simple safety gloves that will keep your hands insulated from extreme heat and smoldering debris, get yourself a pair of Drake Off Road Welding Gloves.
Specs:
- Color: Blue
- Material: Cow leather
- Length: 11 inches
- Weight: 11.2 ounces
Pros:
- Made from soft and supple leather
- Provides good heat resistance
- One-size-fits-all design
- The material stretches
Cons:
- They become hard and brittle over time
Why Do I Need Welding Gloves?
We can’t stress enough the importance of safety equipment in general, especially when you’re doing a job that poses so many potential health hazards, like welding, and you don’t even need to Google too hard to find just what kind of accidents can happen because of improper or even the lack of safety equipment.
As a welder, you don’t just face the risk of getting burned, you also risk having your hands crushed, smashed, cut, or even completely cut off, and when you realize just how gruesome that is, wearing safety gloves suddenly sounds like a logical thing to do.
In fact, many work safety regulations state that protective gloves, along with other forms of protective gear like helmets, goggles, and boots, are compulsory, and failing to meet these standards will result in hefty fines for both workers and employers, as well as a ban from the workspace until they wear the proper protection.
However, just because you now know that you have to wear safety gloves doesn’t mean that you can just make do with any type of safety gloves that you find, since there are specific criteria that these need to meet in order to be considered effective, especially when talking about a task as dangerous as welding.
What Do I Need to Look For in a Pair of Welding Gloves?
There are many types of safety gloves on the market today, but in order for a pair of gloves to be deemed as qualified for welding, they need to have certain features, including:
- Comfortable inside
- Enough material flexibility
- Durable and long-lasting build
- Electrical resistance or insulation
- High heat resistance or insulation
- Moisture resistance and absorption
- Cutting, piercing, and tearing resistance
Of course, while all traits are important, there are certain traits that you may want to focus on, especially if you plan on using them for welding.
Heat resistance and insulation
You see, the process of arc welding involves a lot of heat dispersing in the close environment, along with a lot of molten metal splatter and hot sparks flying around, and the closest things to the weld at any given moment are your hands, and that is why welding gloves become a must.
In fact, one needs to realize that in order to cut durable materials like steel, you may even be working with temperatures as high as 8000 degrees which is more than enough to burn through your hands.
That being the case, it’s not only important to have welding gloves, it’s also important to have the right welding gloves.
Thankfully enough, choosing gloves of the right thickness and made from the right type of leather can help prevent any of these accidents, so you don’t have to worry at all about getting burned.
Cutting, piercing, and tearing resistance
Keep in mind that accidents can happen before and after the welding is done as well, one very frequent one is usually cutting, scratching, and impalement while handling pieces of sharp pieces of metal.
The problem with these cuts is that no matter how deep they are, they can still pose a health threat:
- Light cuts can still get infected
- Deep cuts can cause massive blood loss
- Extreme cuts can even lead to loss of digits.
Besides, any injuries to the hands can mean that you won’t be able to do your job anymore or even perform everyday activities throughout your house, so wearing gloves is yet again the obvious solution.
What Are Welding Gloves Made Of?
One thing all quality protective gloves have is the fact that they are usually made from some sort of leather that was chemically treated for added protection against various environmental hazards that could appear at a workplace.
Leather in itself can withstand high temperatures of up to 430°F when untreated, and with the right chemical treatment, such as chrome tanning, this resistance can go up to 600°F.
Sure enough, leather is the most popular material used among glove manufacturers, but there are many types of leather widely used because each has its own unique properties:
Cow leather
This is the most commonly used leather in all welding gloves mainly because it has all the properties that make them ideal in such a job, like high levels of abrasion, a good comfortable feel and general material durability, and high heat resistance.
These properties make cow leather good for making MIG and stick welding gloves.
Buffalo leather
This type of leather is generally softer than cowhide, more durable, and is far more elastic, making it ideal for gloves that need to be a bit stretchy. Unfortunately, buffalo leather is quite expensive, so a pair of buffalo leather welding gloves will cost quite a lot as well.
Goat leather
Goat leather offers great tensile strength and good abrasion while still maintaining a soft feel, and because of this, they are ideal for welding where you need to have some extra dexterity in your fingers, such as in TIG welding.
Pig leather
Pig leather is the most durable type of leather used at an industrial scale due to the porous texture of the hide. This texture also makes them ideal in wet or oily applications.
Because of the versatility of the material, it is used in many types of welding operations, including TIG, MIG, Stick welding.
Horse leather
Horse leather is a durable type of leather yet still maintains a certain degree of comfort to make it usable in the fabrication of various types of work gloves. The problem is that people aren’t exactly keen on killing horses, so this material isn’t very popular around the world.
However, when it is used, it is generally for making TIG welding gloves because of the comfort and dexterity that the material provides.
Deer leather
One thing that makes deer leather extremely popular is the fact that it is supple and soft to the touch, offering the highest levels of hand dexterity and comfort among all types of leather.
Because of this trait, the material is almost exclusively used for making TIG welding gloves.
Elk leather
Somewhat related to deer leather, elk leather is one of the softest and most durable types of leather, and it does not harden as fast as cowhide when it comes into contact with extreme heat, so your hands won’t have to force their way to move around inside a leathery gauntlet.
This sought-after trait makes elk leather ideal for use in welding over very long periods, especially in MIG or Stick welding gloves because of its high-temperature tolerance.
The Right Gloves for The Right Welding Process
Now that you know what particular traits a pair of welding gloves need to have as a whole, you need to understand that not all welding operations are the same, and most glove manufacturers create gloves for a specific type of welding.
For example, the 3 main types of welding that you’ll usually encounter are MIG, TIG, and stick welding.
MIG welding
Gloves that are used for MIG welding are usually made from high-quality goat leather on the outside with a heat-resistant lining on the inside. The reason goat leather is chosen is that the gloves need to withstand the incredible heat and spatter that takes place during MIG welding.
Because of the extreme heat, gloves made for MIG welding will be made from many layers of material so that the gloves are as thick as they need to be.
However, thicker material means lower mobility, and that is why it’s usually recommended that MIG gloves are made from goat leather or deer leather since these are so soft and flexible that even several layers sewn together will still provide enough freedom for your hands and fingers to move.
TIG welding
Gloves that are used for TIG welding are also made with goat leather, although the overall build of the gloves is usually more pliable and thinner than with MIG welding, so not as many layers of material are involved.
TIG welding involves less material spatter and fewer sparks, so gloves made exclusively for TIG welding can forgo some of the protective features in favor of more hand freedom.
This means that TIG gloves provide a greater range of movement and offer welders the highest amount of dexterity for their hands, allowing for finer and more intricate welding jobs, such as TIG welding.
However, if you plan on getting a pair of leather gloves to use in both MIG and TIG welding, one ideal combination would be to buy a pair of TIG gloves with some extra padding over the palm and even the back of the hand as well, allowing your fingers to move freely, but protecting your fingertips from the extreme heat.
Stick welding
Gloves that are used for MIG welding are usually made from thicker strips of leather, and elk, pig, or goat leather are some of the most commonly used materials.
Because of the nature of stick welding and the fact that it gives off the most amount of heat out of all types of welding, you need almost no flexibility, so you can go ahead and buy yourself the thickest and sturdiest-looking pair of welding gloves that you can find.
Safety Concerns of Welding Gloves
One thing you should remember is that no matter what material they’re made from, welding gloves will still heat up over extended periods of time, and one key feature you need to look for in TIG welding gloves is the ability to remove them as fast as possible when they become too hot.
Despite this, we recommend that you avoid any safety gloves that come with velcro strapssince these can get signed or even melt, making the gloves impossible to remove. As such, a safer alternative would be to opt for gloves that have wool foam or Kevlar padding for more heat protection.
Best Welding Gloves: Closing Thoughts
Our article has come to an end, and besides showcasing which are (in our opinion) the best welding gloves on the market, we hope that we managed to make you understand the importance of using protective gloves while welding in the first place.
After all, performing hazard-prone tasks such as welding would be madness without safety equipment since the list of things that can possibly go wrong is longer than this very article.
However, suffice it to say that many of the accidents that can happen during welding without protective gear can have long-term effects on your life, and some can even lead to irreparable damage, and as an employer, you must also know that failing to provide your workers with protective gloves can lead to hefty fines and even a suspension of your license.
All in all, it doesn’t matter if you plan on welding, working with dangerous substances, or handling hot materials, the bottom line is that you need to wear protective gloves, and even if you decide not to go with any of the products that we suggested, we hope that we managed to teach you a valuable lesson about how to stay safe at the workplace.