2021 test10 productsWorkwear & Safety Gear
Which Work Gloves Brand Wins?
We compared 10 work gloves options head to head. Milwaukee came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $35
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Runner-up
Endura
Price shown in test: $51
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Impact protection (palm/front dent) | Impact protection (back of hand dent) | Puncture resistance | Abrasion resistance | Cut resistance | Grip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1PVC Dotted Glovesa dollar and 20 cents | 0.75 mm | 1.29 mm | 28 g to puncture the glove; 210 g to puncture a PVC dot itself | some dots worn off after 1 pass; sandpaper worn through the glove after 2 passes | 3 passes to cut through | 4.2 lb before slipping |
| 2Amazon Basics$13 | 0.64 mm | 1.02 mm | 1,039 g to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 508 g for the single-layer finger section | worn through after a total of 3 passes | 4 passes to cut through | 1.6 lb before slipping (worst of all brands tested) |
| 3VGO$14 | 0.43 mm | 0.38 mm | 989 g to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 889 g for the single-layer finger section | worn through after 23 passes (tied for 4th with Carhartt) | 4 passes to cut through | 2.6 lb before slipping |
| 4West Chester$19 | 0.55 mm | 0.98 mm | 909 g to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 535 g for the single-layer finger section | worn through after 18 passes | 3 passes to cut through (tied last with PVC dotted gloves) | 3 lb before slipping |
| 5Mechanix Impact$20 | 0.7 mm | 1.07 mm | 1,510 g, single layer of material (best of all 10 brands) | worn through after 13 passes | 6 passes to cut through (led at that point in testing) | 1.8 lb before slipping |
| 6Wells Lamont$25 | 0.48 mm | 0.26 mm | 1,220 g to puncture the fingertip; 588 g for the single-layer finger section | worn through after 12 passes (weakest wear result of all brands) | 2 passes to cut through (weakest cut result of all brands) | 2.6 lb before slipping |
| 7Ironclad$26 | 0.58 mm | 0.55 mm | 1,018 g, single layer of material (2nd best) | worn through after 55 passes (best of all 10 brands, more than twice the nearest non-Milwaukee/Endura competitor) | 5 passes to cut through (2nd behind Mechanix) | 4.4 lb before slipping (3rd best) |
| 8Carhartt Ballistic$32 | 0.66 mm | 0.23 mm | 339 g, single layer of material | worn through after 23 passes (tied for 4th with VGO) | 4 passes to cut through | 2.2 lb before slipping |
| 9Milwaukee$35 | 0.26 mm (best of all 10 brands) | 0.22 mm (individual segment states 0.22 mm; the later category recap states 0.21 mm for Milwaukee, a minor transcript numeric inconsistency) | 1,468 g, single layer of material (2nd best, close behind Mechanix) | outer layer worn through at 36 passes, both layers (incl. inner lining) at 53 passes (2nd best) | outer layer gave way at 5 passes, but the cut-resistant inner lining held until 97 passes total (best of all 10 brands by a wide margin) | 6 lb before slipping (best of all 10 brands) |
| 10Endura$51 | 0.54 mm | 0.14 mm (best of all 10 brands) | 1,438 g, single layer of material (3rd best) | outer layer worn through at 34 passes, both layers (incl. Kevlar lining) at 45 passes (3rd best) | outer layer gave way at 8 passes, Kevlar lining held until 16 passes total (2nd best behind Milwaukee) | 5.6 lb before slipping (2nd best behind Milwaukee) |
How it was tested
- impact protection (dowel dent depth, palm and back of hand)
- puncture resistance (grams of force to puncture fingertip fabric with a seam ripper)
- abrasion/wear resistance (180-grit sandpaper passes until worn through)
- cut resistance (razor blade passes under 10 lb tension until cut through)
- grip (pounds of force before the glove slides off a PVC pipe)
“So, which brand is the best? The Milwaukee came in first or second in every category with an average finish of 1.5.”