Best Construction Work Gloves

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Having the right gloves on a job site can really make all of the difference. Protecting your fingers and hands is important to us in the industry. I cannot count the times I have pinched my hand or fingers on the job site and was lucky to have some kind of protection on my hands. I cannot count the times that I have pinched my hand or fingers on the job site and was unlucky to have not thought about putting anything on my hands which causes a great deal of pain, stress, discomfort, and slows down the rest of my day.

When you are working with rough materials, it can quickly wear out cheap gloves and those costs will add up. Purchasing the wrong glove may cost you in the long run if it cannot handle the wear and tear on a job site. That is why you want to purchase the right glove for the application. Sometimes you need a glove the protects your hand from rough materials, sometimes you need a glove that is going to protect your hand from getting wet in the rain, sometimes you need a glove that is going to keep your hands warm in colder temperatures, and sometimes you need this all in one.

There are some great gloves available on the market, from the inexpensive ones that still provide much-needed protection and are good for those employees that just started on your crew to the gloves that are going to provide you with the proper comfort and protection that you deserve on a construction site.

Construction Work Gloves

It may seem like something that does not take a lot of consideration, but I have found having the right gloves can make a huge difference on a job site. It is not always about finding the cheapest pair that will get you through the day, but about finding the right pair that will make you want to have them on every day. Because in our experience, having a pair of gloves that are not high quality will make us want to skip putting them on which will lead to a lot of pain and discomfort when something happens. Especially for your crew, gloves should be mandatory on the job site to protect them and yourself as well.

Why You Should Have Safety Work Gloves

• Protection

This is the obvious and most important reason to have a pair of safety work gloves for everyone on your crew and it should be mandatory to wear them on the job site. Work gloves are going to provide an extra layer of protection to your hands, keep you from getting them scraped and cut up from materials that are being handled, and they will protect you from some pinches or heavier blows. Just not from being crushed from heavier loads, so it should not have to be said that common sense on a job site is important and safety work gloves are not going to make you and your hands invincible.

• Comfort

Do you work outside in the winter time? Imagine having heated work gloves on your hands. Do you work outside in the rain or snow? Imagine having work gloves that are waterproof. Do you work with rough materials? Having a layer of protection on your hands is just going to make each day a little bit better. Providing comfort to the main tool on your body, besides your brain, is important to their longevity.

• Morale

If you and your crew’s comfort and protection is taken care of, morale will take care of itself. Everybody wants to work for a company that takes care of their employees and having work gloves on hand for them to use day in and day out is important to sustaining this sense of care in your business. If you care for your employees, they will return the favor with the work that they accomplish for you.

• Efficiency

If morale is taken care of in your business, then your employees will want to work for you rather than being unwilling to push forward. This of course will improve efficiency, but, even more so than this, if one of your employees pinches or injures themselves on a job site because they were not wearing safety work gloves that could have helped them avoid it, it is not fun for you as the business owner. This could mean health and safety paperwork, headaches, and lost time. This is the main killer for not having the right work gloves available on the job site for yourself and your crew.

When it comes to construction work gloves, there are so many options available on the market and if you purchase from a reputable manufacturer you are likely going to end up with a quality pair of gloves. However, there is a difference between a good quality pair of gloves and a poor quality pair of gloves in different categories of work gloves. Here is what you should be looking for when purchasing a pair or pairs of work gloves for you and your crew:

What to Look For in a Pair of Gloves

1. Price

Ultimately with anything that you purchase, you want it to be cost effective as well as high in quality. Price is an important thing when it comes to purchasing a product that is likely going to wear out with use on a construction site. This is the case with gloves because we are in a very hands-on industry with materials that can be very harsh. The question on price comes down to purchasing something inexpensive that will wear down quite easily or purchasing something that is more expensive that will hold up to wear and tear longer than that of the inexpensive gloves. If an inexpensive glove costs $5 and an expensive glove costs $50, then you want to ensure that the $50 glove will last you ten times longer than the $5 glove.

How do you know that this is going to be the case?

2. Durability

You can read the reviews online and take them for what they are, but ultimately you should test them for yourself in the field to see if it is worthwhile. We use our gloves for handling different materials, and if you are a hardscaper then we should expect our gloves to wear out quite fast compared to handling less harsh materials or being an equipment operator.

3. Protection

How much protection do you need for your hands on a job site? There are gloves for all sorts of applications. However, for a hardscaper you are likely looking for a glove that will protect the palm of your hands when handling retaining wall, pavers, and tools. There are gloves that will provide protection on the back of you hands as well that can be useful. In addition, you can invest in a pair that is waterproof to keep you hands dry even in a downpour or snow. This can prove extremely useful. Of course, the more you want for protection, the more the gloves will cost you.

4. Comfortable

You want your gloves to be a good fit. Nice and tight against your hands to provide you with the best control as possible is the best outcome when purchasing a pair of gloves. You want it to be breathable to avoid causing your hands to become a soaking mess in your own sweat. Ultimately, you want the glove to provide the most amount of protection while also feeling the most like you do not even have a glove on.

 

Best Work Gloves for Construction

• Inexpensive Work Gloves

When it comes to good work gloves that are inexpensive so that you can purchase them in bulk, you should be looking for a glove that is nylon knitted and nitrile coated on the palm. The nylon knit provides a nice tight fit for your hands while the nitrile palm provides the strongest puncture-proof material for a disposable glove. For us, the most important thing about an inexpensive glove is that it is going to fit tightly to my hand. There is nothing worse than having a glove that does not form to your hand properly and I am trying to finesse something on the job site. That is why I am totally fine purchasing a bulk quantity of inexpensive gloves, as long as I know they are going to form to my hand the way I want them to. These gloves are also nice and thin work gloves to provide me with the right amount of safety while giving me the feel I need to work with my hands.

Inexpensive generally means lower quality, but when you are working with such harsh materials throughout the day you may not want to invest in something of higher quality that will wear away really quick. Sometimes a product like these will provide you with the safety you need and the short-term durability required. These are the gloves we purchase for our employees because gloves get misplaced or lost often. At least if it happens with these gloves, which it definitely will, they are low cost. And of course we still want to provide our employees with sufficient safety gear to keep them going throughout the day.




These gloves specifically are great for their inexpensive price. If you are handling material that is rough and will wear out any glove quickly, an inexpensive glove that fits well and has good grip is likely your best bet. Especially for those employees that do not care for the materials in your business that you invest in. The best part about these gloves is their grip. The coating is textured to allow for excellent grip on any object, whereas other inexpensive gloves do not have this textured grip. Instead they are smooth which does not provide the same grip.

• Best Heavy Duty Work Gloves

The step up from these gloves that you can purchase if you are an equipment operator or handling material that is less harsh on the material would be some heavy duty work gloves that provide much more comfort, as well as safety. These gloves would not be the ones we would be purchasing for our employees as they have a tendency to lose their belongings on a job site or just from the day-to-day process. This would really add up if we were purchasing these gloves for them. These gloves are meant for personal use. Whether you purchase them for yourself, your long-term employees that you know take care of things, or to recommend your crew purchase if they want some extra comfort and protection in their gloves.

These gloves will be longer lasting for you, but do not expect them not to wear out depending on the material you are handling and the frequency in which you are handling that material. You obviously want longer lasting work gloves when you are investing a little more money into them. You want the toughest work gloves and the most durable work gloves that your money can buy at this price point. However, in terms of the best gloves for concrete work we have not found a pair that really makes it extremely worthwhile purchasing. When you are handling pavers and retaining wall products throughout a day, there is not many materials that can handle that wear and tear on a daily basis. But if you are lucky enough to have equipment and tools handling the majority of the heavy lifting for you, these gloves are the perfect investment for you to remain comfortable and to provide you with the most safety.




Ironclad gloves come well recommended by others in the industry. This specific glove is a popular choice if you are looking to spend a little bit more on a glove that is comfortable. Still, if you are handling a lot of harsh materials day in and day out, any heavy duty pair of gloves are going to experience their wear and tear. They provide a secure fit with the hook and loop closure, fabric on the back of the thumb to wipe the sweat dripping from your eyebrow, and machine washable so if you leave it out in the rain they wont smell for the rest of their use (air dry to ensure the size remains consistent).





Our final heavy duty construction gloves that come recommended are are by Custom Leathercraft gloves. They are made of synthetic leather, among other materials, to ensure a comfortable fit that resists shrinking, stretching, and hardening. Stretch spandex and lycra is used for dexterity and a comfortable fit. Terry cloth to help remove sweat. The knuckles on these gloves are padded for added security. They too feature a wrist strap to secure the gloves to your hand.





Ergodyne is another glove in the industry that comes highly recommended. The thing that sets these gloves apart is their ability to use touchscreen technology while they are on. There is nothing worse than getting a call or important message while on the job site and having to respond while taking your gloves off, putting them back on, and continuing this action over and over again. With these gloves, the thumb and index finger are touch screen capable. Their fit is incredible featuring a hex-stretch knit that flexes with your hand, and they too have a hook and loop closure to provide a secure fit. They also have reinforced finger tips, thumbs, and palms to ensure that they last on the job site without wearing out. The gloves are also machine washable and should be air dried.

With any heavy duty construction work glove, our recommendation is to purchase one pair and compare how many days of use you get out of them. Compare that to the number of days you get out of an inexpensive pair and see which of these are more economical for yourself. In our business, we do not purchase these gloves in bulk for our employees. They would get lost and cost us a fortune. Instead, we opt to purchase the inexpensive pairs in bulk for our employees. For ourselves, we will invest in a better pair like these.

• Best Waterproof Work Gloves

If you work outside in the elements and want that added protection against water penetrating through your glove and onto your skin, there are some good waterproof working gloves options on the market to choose from. However, typically you would be sacrificing the fit of the glove to add this protection. Added layers make the glove bulkier which means those fine detail tasks are a little bit more difficult to complete. The right waterproof gloves will provide the protection that you are looking for to be able to complete the tasks you want to use them for.

Typically what you want from a good waterproof work glove is that it is thermal insulated and has a liner in it that prevents water from penetrating through it. There is nothing worse than wearing something that is wet all day long. Gloves worst of all. Especially when you are on site and using your hands often. There are good waterproof insulated work gloves available to you to choose from. However, finding that right fit is important when choosing the best insulated waterproof work gloves.







Ergodyne makes a return with their highly recommended thermal waterproof work gloves. The outside of these gloves feature a weather-resistant shell with a waterproof membrane insert that blocks moisture and wind, providing you with a glove that is both waterproof and windproof. Insulation provides you with a glove that is also thermal insulated to provide your hand with some warmth to battle those elements. The glove is also finished with water-repellent. The glove itself is made of a durable suede palm and fingertip reinforcements for a great grip and resistance to tearing. The glove itself is flexible, lightweight, and has the ability for the wearer to use touchscreen technology while wearing them.

Available in both the regular black / grey or high visibility. There is no doubt that these provide the best protection from the elements, while also protecting your hands from the material that you are handling.

Conclusion

Choosing the right glove can take some time and experimentation, but once you find the one that suits you, it can make all of the difference on a job site. The best choice for you could be the least expensive if it feels great. It could also mean spending a little bit more on yourself in order to have more protection and a higher quality product that you can feel great wearing.

Let us know what your favorite construction work glove is in the comment section below!