8 Best Welding Gloves for Stick & MIG of 2024 – Top Picks & Reviews
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Your hands are one of the few parts of your body necessary for welding, and they are always the closest to the 10,000°F arc you weld with.
To help protect your hands from the intense heat of MIG and stick welding, we have written reviews of the top eight welding gloves available online. They come in a range of different materials, thicknesses, and sizes. Read on to find out what we like and don’t like about these gloves.
Click here to see our Favorite TIG Welding gloves.
Our Favorites of 2024 Compared
Image | Product | Details | ||
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Best Overall | Caiman 21-Inch MIG Gloves |
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RAPICCA Leather Stick & MIG Gloves |
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Best Value | US Forge 400 Gloves |
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KIM YUAN Heat & Fire Resistant Gloves |
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Lincoln Traditional MIG/Stick Gloves |
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The 8 Best Welding Gloves
1. Caiman 21-Inch MIG Welding Gloves – Best Overall
The Caiman 21-Inch Deerskin Welding Glove is the best welding glove for Stick & MIG on the market, due to its unique design in all respects. Caiman has chosen deerskin as the external lining. It works well to shield against welding heat while eliminating stiffness, so your hands can flex the gloves freely.
These gloves have thick, durable pig hide patches in places like your cuffs, wrists, and palms for extra protection where you need it to keep safe while extending the gloves’ life. They’re 21 inches with shaped openings that fit up to most people’s elbows for full protection while enabling flexibility.
They have Kevlar stitches to ensure they don’t break at the seams, and are incredibly comfortable with heat-resistant cotton inside. They do get quite hot if you’re welding for a while due to their length, but overall, we think that these are the best welding gloves of the year.
- Length: 21 inches
- External material: deerskin
- Internal lining: heat-resistant cotton
- Kevlar stitching
- Flexible
- Heavy-duty patches at wear points
- Hands sweat more in them
2. RAPICCA Leather Stick & MIG Welding Gloves
The RAPICCA Leather Forge Welding Gloves are made from cowhide. They’re not designed to the same standard as the Caiman gloves, but are good quality and are offered at an excellent price.
At 16 inches, they are significantly shorter but still produce sufficient coverage to protect your arms. There are Kevlar patches sewn onto the fingers, palms, and backs of the hands for extra shielding and more durability.
They are very comfortable inside with a heat-resistant cotton lining. They are much easier to get dirty because of their color, but most welders won’t mind. For the price and quality of these gloves, they’re well worth considering.
- Length: 16 inches
- External material: 3/64″ cowhide leather
- Internal lining: Heat-resistant cotton
- Maximum instant touch temperature: 932°F
- Kevlar stitching
- Kevlar patches
- Flexible
- Easy to dirty
3. US Forge 400 Welding Gloves – Best Value
The US Forge 400 Welding Gloves are an excellent choice. They are the best option available at a low price. The gloves are a little shorter than others at 14 inches, but they shield exceptionally well and are very comfortable.
The stitching is exceptional for what they cost. They are difficult to tear at the seams, which makes them durable. They’re also flexible while maintaining the thickness necessary for safe MIG and stick welding.
If you don’t mind a slightly shorter pair of gloves and want them good quality yet affordable, these are an ideal option.
- Heavy-duty stitching
- Comfortable
- Soft cotton internal lining
- Leather external lining
- Flexible
- Length: 14 inches
- Easy to dirty
4. KIM YUAN Heat & Fire Resistant Welding Gloves
We like Kim Yuan’s Extreme Heat & Fire Resistant Gloves. They’re generally good quality, and the company always offers a 90-day money-back guarantee because it trusts its product and cares about the satisfaction of its customers.
These are only rated to withstand 662°F. That may not seem like a lot for welding, but no welding glove is designed to withstand the highest temperatures found in a workshop, as they would have no flexibility and be useless for what welding gloves are designed for. These are very comfortable, have strong Kevlar heat-resistant stitching, and do an excellent job shielding your hands.
They’re made of 3/64-inch cowhide leather and have a heatproof cotton lining that’s soft and comfortable. For their price, quality, and appealing color, we confidently recommend these gloves for welding.
- Length: 16 inches
- External material: 3/64” cowhide leather
- Internal lining: cotton wrapped in aluminum
- Kevlar stitching
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- Flexible
- Maximum instant touch temperature: 662°F
5. Lincoln Traditional MIG/Stick Welding Gloves
Lincoln Electric has a range of different gloves. The Traditional MIG/Stick Welding Gloves are at the lower end of the price scale, but we like the way they perform on the job. They are a touch short, but most of Lincoln’s gloves don’t exceed 14 inches, and these are well worth the price they cost.
Like Kim Yuan’s sixteen-inch gloves, they aren’t designed to withstand the most extreme heat in a workshop, but they work well shielding your hands while giving the flexibility to use tools with them on.
The Kevlar stitching provides strength at the seams and ensures the heat doesn’t find a way to your hands through the material joins.
- External material: split leather
- Internal lining: heat-resistant cotton
- Kevlar stitching
- Flexible
- Not high-temperature gloves
- Length: 14 inches
6. KIM YUAN Leather Welder’s Gloves
Kim Yuan has impressed us again with the 14-inch Extreme Heat & Fire Resistant Gloves. They have a smoother leather finish around the fingers and palms, which is useful for gripping onto items well, and they’re less stiff than other available pairs.
These gloves are a slightly higher price than Kim Yuan’s other range, but they’re durable and marginally better quality. The yellow leather finish, however, is easy to get dirty when you’re handling steel or electrodes for a while. Overall, these aren’t our favorite gloves, but they do a good job nonetheless.
- External material: split leather
- Internal lining: heat-resistant cotton
- Kevlar stitching
- Flexible
- Length: 14 inches
- Maximum instant touch temperature: 662°F
- Easy to dirty
7. ThxToms Kevlar Welding Work Gloves
The ThxToms 932°F Heat Resistant gloves are by far the most heat-resistant gloves on our list, and some of the safest gloves to use in extremely hot scenarios. They’re externally lined with Kevlar and have a middle layer of adiabatic aramid fiber, both of which are excellent heat resisters. The internal heat-resistant cotton material is comfortable and excels at keeping your hands safe.
They are slightly shorter than we’d like for gloves with such armor-like properties; however, what they protect, they protect well. The downside is that they have so much heat-resistant material in them that they aren’t comfortable for welding in.
They work well when you only need the gloves to act like stiff mittens, but if you want to use any tools and need to grip onto anything, they give you minimal movement. They’re also bulky and awkward to have on your hands in general and get filthy quickly. However, if you need the highest level of heat protection possible, these are the gloves you should choose.
- External material: Kevlar
- Middle layer: adiabatic aramid fiber
- Internal lining: heat-resistant cotton
- Maximum instant touch temperature: 932°F
- Maximum continuous hold temperature: 800°F
- Cut-resistant
- Length: 15 inches
- Stiff and bulky
- Easy to dirty
- Hands sweat more in them
- Uncomfortable
8. Hersent Long Sleeves Welder’s Gloves
Last on our list of reviews are Hersent’s 23.6″ Inch Long Sleeves Welding Safety Gloves. They don’t have the same heat-shielding capabilities as the ThxToms gloves, but they are similar in that they’re useful for one kind of shielding, and not very useful overall as welding gloves.
If you need to protect your entire arm, these gloves will do that, but they don’t give much flexibility to move your arms. They travel past your elbows, which restricts movement.
They’re also hot to wear, as very little air can get in because of the long length. However, if the full length of your arms is what you need to cover, we recommend these gloves. If you need long-reaching gloves but still want the complete movement in your arms, we recommend the Caiman deerskin gloves.
- Maximum instant touch temperature: 932°F
- External material: split leather
- Internal lining: heat-resistant cotton
- Easy to dirty
- Length: 23.6 inches
- Stiffens elbow joint
- Hands sweat more in them
Buyer’s Guide
MIG and stick welding gloves don’t come in as large a range as other welding products, but there are some key differences between them, which can change your welding experience. Here are six of the necessary aspects to consider.
Heat resistance
Welding gloves need to have sufficient heat resistance to keep you from being burned, but most aren’t designed to withstand high temperatures completely. Gloves that can withstand intense heat for long periods are too thick and bulky, or made out of material that doesn’t suit the other purposes gloves are used for.
You want gloves to withstand between 600 to 1000 degrees for a short time, but don’t expect them to resist holding onto a glowing red piece of metal for minutes. The more heat resistance, the better, but remember that usability is important too.
Leather gloves provide good heat resistance, but Kevlar offers the most protection. Most welding gloves have a balance of both Kevlar and leather, or have Kevlar stitching at the very least to ensure the seams are well-protected.
Glove flexibility
Flexibility is an essential aspect of welding gloves. It allows you to grip things like your welding torch, tools, and pieces of metal you need to weld. MIG and stick welding gloves are never as flexible as TIG welding gloves, as you don’t require as much control with them as you do when TIG welding, but you need more protection. Stiff welding gloves are very little use for any welder.
Find a balance between a thick heat-resistant pair of gloves and a set that allows finger and wrist movement. Leaning towards either end of the spectrum depending on what your specific requirements are is recommended, but either extreme is usually unsuitable for welding purposes.
Glove length
Longer gloves, within elbow length, are generally better. Gloves that are too long, like the Hersent 23.6-inch gloves, can restrict elbow movement, but you want gloves long enough to protect your arms as much as possible.
Although longer gloves protect more, some people like a shorter pair as they’re easy to get on and off frequently. Others choose shorter gloves as they tend to be slightly lower-priced. Whatever your preference is, for protection, the longer they are, the less possibility there is for injury.
Glove feel
The feel of your gloves makes a difference because you want them comfortable on your hands. Gloves that are too tight are uncomfortable, but loose gloves don’t feel nice either and make working more difficult. You want a soft but heat-resistant material internally, like cotton or something that won’t melt or be unpleasant on your skin.
The external feeling of your gloves makes a difference too. The type of material on the outside of the gloves and their shape changes your experience with them depending on what you need.
Durability
Durability is one of the most critical factors for choosing gloves. A pair can meet all your requirements, but if they don’t last long, they’ll be of no benefit to you. More durability generally means a higher price, but most gloves are affordable and there isn’t too large a gap between them.
Factors that determine durability include the quality of the linings and seams, and the overall standards of manufacturing. If Kevlar stitching is used, the seams will generally last longer. Seams that have double stitching and have been manufactured with quality in mind, like the Caiman Deerskin Welding Gloves, and even the low-priced US Forge 400 gloves, will last longer.
Gloves with extra Kevlar or leather patches to protect parts that receive the most use or touch the hottest metal are much more durable than gloves without patches. If you don’t do much welding, this may not be as necessary, but a cheap quality glove is never a good option when dealing with the dangers of welding.
Look
The look of a glove is always a consideration too. This won’t affect the gloves’ performance, but it may give you more satisfaction or confidence in wearing them. The look can come down to the glove shape, the patterns on them, or the color. There usually isn’t much price difference between better- or worse-looking gloves, but it’s a satisfying feeling finding some quality gloves you like the look of.
Here’s some other gear you’ll need as a welder:
Conclusion
With scores of different gloves to choose from online and lots to consider between them, our favorite by a long shot is the Caiman 1878-5 21-Inch One Size Fits All Genuine American Deerskin Welding Glove with Boarhide Leather Heat Shield and Cuff. It has a well-designed length and shape made with durability and comfort in mind.
The best gloves for your money are the US Forge 400 Welding Gloves Lined Leather, Blue – 14″. They’re incredibly affordable but are a comfortable choice that provides good protection for your hands. They have also been stitched well with durability in mind, making them last a long time.
We hope these reviews have been helpful for you. Please feel free to let us know your experience with any of these gloves in our comment section. Good luck with finding the best welding gloves for your needs!