2022 test16 productsWorkwear & Safety Gear
Which Work Gloves Brand Wins?
We compared 16 work gloves options head to head. Venom Steel came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Venom Steel
Price shown in test: $25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each
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Runner-up
Raven
Price shown in test: $25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each
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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 | Weight | Abrasion resistance (sandpaper passes to hole) | Puncture resistance (grams via 16-penny nail) | Tear/rip strength (lb to pull the index finger off) | Grip (lb before losing grip) | Cuff tear strength | Post-gasoline-exposure tensile strength | Thickness | Chemical resistance, acetone | Chemical resistance, gasoline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile$25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each | 7.46 g | 40 passes, best of all gloves tested, described as dominating the showdown | 1,599 g, best of all gloves tested | 32 lb | 10.5 lb, tied with RX Pro and Phantom | 53.5 lb | 9.8 lb, best of the nitrile/latex gloves | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Raven nitrile$25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each | 7.89 g, heaviest at introduction | 19 passes, 2nd best of all gloves tested | 1,128 g | 26.5 lb | 13 lb | 52 lb | 8.8 lb, 2nd best | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil$32 for 100 gloves | 9.64 g, heaviest at introduction | 16 passes | 1,341 g | 24.4 lb | 11 lb, better than average | 52 lb | 9.5 lb, 2nd best | 8 mil, thickest glove in the lineup | not tested | not tested |
| 4Grease Monkey nitrile$19 for 100 gloves, 19 cents each | 5.39 g | 12 passes, best at that point in the video, described as 4 passes better than the next best glove up to then | 1,491 g, very impressive for a thin glove | 30.3 lb | 6 lb, among the weakest grip results despite the brand name | 49 lb | 7.9 lb, took the lead over the Hardy 5 mil at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil$15 for 40 gloves, 38 cents each | 6.95 g | 6 passes, gave up a little early | 1,058 g | 28.9 lb | 13.5 lb, tied for best of all gloves with the 7 mil Hardy | 42.5 lb | 9 lb, 3rd best until the SafeSkin's 9.4 lb result took that spot | 6 mil | not tested | not tested |
| 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips$13 for 50 gloves, 26 cents each | 9.04 g, heaviest at introduction | 7 passes | 1,538 g, 2nd best of all gloves tested, behind Venom Steel | 30.8 lb, close to the average for all brands | 13.5 lb, tied for best of all gloves with HDX | 41 lb, 1.5 lb better than the 5 mil Hardy | 5.3 lb | 7 mil | not tested | not tested |
| 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile$16 for 40 gloves, 40 cents each, most expensive per-glove price of all brands tested | 7.17 g | 11 passes | 1,128 g, better than average | 22.7 lb, gave up early | 11 lb, better than average | 49 lb | 9.4 lb, took 3rd place from HDX | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Comfy Package nitrile$15 for 150 gloves, 15 cents each | 5.5 g | 7 passes, best at that point in the video | 840 g, best at that point in the video | 35.9 lb, about the same as the 5 mil Hardy | 9.5 lb, about the same as the Basic vinyl glove | 56 lb | 4.9 lb, 35% less strength than the 5 mil Hardy after exposure | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil$19 for 100 gloves, 19 cents each | 5.47 g | 8 passes, most durable at that point in the video | 760 g, performed well for a very thin glove | 38.2 lb, took the lead at that point in the video | 10.5 lb | 55 lb | 3.7 lb, less than half the strength of the 5 mil Hardy after exposure | 4 mil | not tested | not tested |
| 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil$15 for a 100-pack, 15 cents each | 4.55 g | 6 passes | 720 g, 3rd best at that point in the video, behind the Hardy 5 mil | 28.8 lb | 11.5 lb, 2nd best at that point in the video | 47.5 lb, glove disintegrated | 4.9 lb, same as the Comfy Package | 4.5 mil | not tested | not tested |
| 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight$10 for 100 gloves, 10 cents each | 4.57 g | 2 passes, tied with the Basic vinyl glove | 763 g, about 1.7 lb, 30% better than the Basic vinyl glove | 35.2 lb, 28% better than the Basic vinyl glove | 12.5 lb, took the lead from the Basic vinyl glove at that point | 39.5 lb | went from 35 lb before gasoline exposure down to 7.6 lb after, a significant breakdown | 5 mil | not tested | not tested |
| 12Silverback nitrile, powder free$25 for 100 gloves | 4.96 g | 4 passes | 1,211 g, about 2.5 lb, 2nd best at that point in the video | 19.2 lb, near-last place | 8 lb | 5 lb, catastrophic failure | 4.3 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Phantom latex$25 for 100 gloves | 7 g, heaviest at that point in the video | 1 pass, tore on the first pass | 619 g, gave up early despite being 7 mil thick | 50.5 lb, best of all gloves tested, described as lifting the entire stack of plates | 10.5 lb | 38 lb | 1.2 lb, worst of all gloves tested, fingers described as very bloated | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Adenna latex$12 for 100 gloves, 12 cents each | 6.89 g | 1 pass | 462 g | 37.5 lb, took the lead at that point in the video | 7 lb | 57 lb | 2 lb, in very bad shape after exposure | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free$20 for 100 gloves | 3.71 g, lightest of all gloves tested | 2 passes | 1,016 g, about 2 lb, 2nd best at that point in the video | 18.3 lb, worst of all gloves tested | 9 lb | 40 lb, 18 lb lower than the leader at that point | 6.5 lb, about average | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Basic vinyl$9 for 100 gloves, 9 cents each, least expensive of all gloves tested | 5.34 g | 2 passes | 540 g, about 1.2 lb | 25.1 lb | 9.5 lb | 58 lb | 21.1 lb, highest post-gasoline figure of all gloves, but the narrator notes the finger was by then far too stiff and inflexible to actually use | not tested | totally disintegrated | gasoline made the material very hard and stiff, but the paper towel inside stayed dry |
How it was tested
- abrasion resistance: glove pulled across 800-grit sandpaper under about 4 lb of simulated finger pressure until a hole forms, measured in passes
- puncture resistance: force in grams for a 16-penny nail to puncture the glove with a 2 lb weight inside providing stretch
- tear/rip strength: force in pounds to pull the index finger off the glove
- grip test: force in pounds a padded two-finger tester can apply before the glove loses grip
- cuff tear strength: force in pounds to tear the glove's cuff, pulled over a taped pipe edge
- chemical resistance: a food-colored, paper-towel-lined index finger soaked for one hour each in acetone and then gasoline, checked for leakage and material degradation
- post-gasoline-exposure tensile strength: force in pounds to pull the index finger off after the one-hour gasoline soak, indicating retained strength
- subjective comfort rating on a 1 (best) scale, given only for a subset of the gloves
“The Venom Steel easily won this showdown with an average finish of 3.6.”