Written by Terry Smith

Our site is reader supported so when you click a link to Amazon we may earn an affiliate commission.

5 Best Gardening Gloves Reviewed (Summer 2021)

Its all too easy to hurt yourself while carrying out regular gardening tasks. We use a lot of sharp and pointy tools such as secateurs, shears, garden forks, and more. 
Then, on top of that, there are thorns, wood splinters, and all sorts of things that we can be scratched and cut by. Even if we are being careful, it’s only a matter of time before we are reaching for the first aid box.

While most of these little injures aren’t that serious, they can still be very painful, and even stop you gardening for a while. What’s more is that most of these injuries are easily avoided, simply by investing in a good pair of gardening gloves.

The best gardening gloves will leave your hands protected, while being nice and comfortable to wear. It doesn’t hurt if they are waterproof and look good too. 
Below you will find our reviews of the best gardening gloves in the UK, that are affordable to the masses, and easy to get your hands on (or is that in?).
Let’s take a look, shall we?

Comparison table: 5 Best Gardening Gloves Reviewed (Summer 2021)

ProductWhat We ThinkPrice

Women's HydraHyde Water-Resistant Work, Gardening Gloves

  • Water-resistant leather - moisture beads up on contact
  • Durability - heavy duty leather palm & reinforced leather fingertips increase wear...
  • Adjustable wrist - customized fit ensures dirt and debris never make it into your gloves...
  • Spandex - water-resistant Spandex back with lightly padded knuckles
  • Range of uses - The water-resistance and durability make this glove ideal for gardening...

OLSON DEEPAK Leather Working Gloves for Gardening

  • Durable :Cutting and sewing with high-quality cowhide,which is not only durable...
  • Adjustable:The wrist part is designed with an adjustable elastic buckle
  • Breathable:You will not feel oppressive when wearing this leather gloves
  • Multipurpose:This working glove is versatile and can protect your hands in many situations...
  • We provide you with quality assurance

Amazon Basics Rose Pruning Thorn Proof Gardening Gloves

  • Gardening gloves with forearm protection for pruning rose bushes and other thorny plants...
  • Durable nylon, polyester, and aramid construction that helps prevent puncturing
  • Flexible poly-spandex backing for ease of movement
  • Knuckle guards help protect from punctures and scrapes
  • Puncture-resistant palm padding and elbow-length gauntlet cuffs

Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection 370M1KEW Multi-Purpose Gardening Gloves

  • Breathable gardening gloves with distinctive grip
  • True-to-size fit ensures comfortable use
  • Ideal for general gardening tasks
  • Machine washable
  • Available in seven colours

Ladies/Mens Leather Gardening Gloves

  • Cheap price for built a relationship with new customers
  • INTRODUCTORY OFFER ONLY FOR THIS WEEK (RRP 15.99)
  • The WESTWOOD FOX gardening gloves features a more generous fit than other gloves...
  • An adjustable riptape strap for comfort
  • A great garden companion that's well designed

Gardening gloves also have the added benefit of keeping your hands warm and dry in those early spring months, or when you’re weeding in winter. In summer, they can offer your hands some UV protection.
There are lots of different gardening glove designs out there and some of them are made for specific jobs. A wide range of materials are used in the manufacturing of gardening gloves and these days it is common to see products made from a combination of materials to make up for the shortcomings of single material gloves.

First up are some cowhide leather gardening gloves from Olson Deepak. 
These wonderful gardening gloves are just so comfortable to wear, they really feel light on the hands and the softness of the leather makes them very unrestrictive. This all adds up to a hardy pair of gardening gloves that offer great protection, and still allow you to complete asks where dexterity is important.

Another nice feature is the adjustable elastic buckle on the wrist. It is easy to use on the go, and really helps to stop the gloves sliding off when you’re hard at work.

The double layer leather did a great job of stopping thorns getting through during our tests, even large blackberry thorns, which was impressive for gardening gloves that are so soft.

Breathability is always important for the best gardening gloves, as things can get a bit hot and humid mid-summer. Not to worry with these gloves though, they tick this box without even trying.

The only thing I will say against the Olsen Deepak gardening gloves, is that I found the sizes a little on the small side, so you might want to order a size larger than normal. Apart from that, they are top-drawer.

We all know that you ladies work just as hard in the garden as any of your male counterparts, so it is good to see companies designing and manufacturing gardening gloves for women that are a bit heavier duty.

Being made from a mix of leather and spandex, these HydraHyde gardening gloves offer a good balance between comfort and protection, and as you may have surmised from the name, they are also water resistant. This isn’t the same as waterproof, but they will keep your hands dry while pruning a bush just after a shower, or digging around in wet soil.

A Velcro strap on the wrist is there for you adjust the tightness, and comes in handy for not only keeping your hands in the gloves, but also things like dirt, out of them.

Soft and pliable, and lightweight at only 45 grams, these are very comfortable to wear but still protect the hands extremely well. Particularly in the fingertips and knuckles, which have been reinforced with leather and neoprene, respectively.

With their tan and blue colour scheme, and modern design, the gloves look really nice, and as we have already explained; they are extremely comfortable. Well worth a closer look, in my opinion., even if you have to pay a few quid more for them some of the other gloves featured here.

These low-cost unisex gardening gloves can be yours for just over ten pounds (at the time of writing), and to me, that’s a very good deal indeed.
 Like the HydraHyde gloves we just reviewed, these are made from a combination of leather and spandex and offer the same lightweight and flexible comfort.

The leather cover the entire underside of the glove, and not just the palm area like with a lot of lower cost gardening gloves. Not only that, these is leather on the sides and between the fingers too, giving great overall protection from the usual culprits such as thorns and sharp twigs.

Available in five different sizes, you can even get really small pairs for your kids to wear, and with the cool, blue and white colour scheme, you shouldn’t get too many complaints about the way they look.
 The spandex upper sections make these gardening gloves nice and breathable, and a Velcro wrist strap helps to keep them in place well.

If you’re doing heavy duty gardening work, I would look somewhere else, but if you want a decent pair of gardening gloves for pruning and similar tasks, that are very comfortable and look great, these could be a good choice.

Even when wearing a good pair of gardening gloves, you can still get your forearms pretty scratched up when pruning rose bushes and other heavily throned plants. 
If you’re having problems with this, then why not spend a few quid on these Amazon basics gardening gloves that have been designed for just those tasks

.
Obviously, the standout feature of these gloves are the fact that they have protection that goes all the way up the forearm and doesn’t just stop at the wrist like any other gloves. However, there is more to them than just that. For one, they are actually quite comfortable to wear, despite their size, and the nylon, polyester, and aramid materials used in their construction, combine well to protect your hands and arms from nature’s prickly defences.

On the palm, there is an extra layer of padding, again to help with preventing puncturing, but this doesn’t seem to affect the breathability of the gloves, nor the flexibility.

At the current price of 11.99, they offer very good value for money and should be serious contender for your money if you have rose bushes to prune, or things like nettles to get rid of.

5. Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection 370M1KEW Multi-Purpose Gardening Gloves


The best thing about Spear & Jackson’s Kew Gardens’ collection gardening gloves, is snugness of the fit, and this makes them absolutely ideal for more delicate gardening work where you need to be able to ‘feel’ what’s going on. 
To add to this dexterity, they also have a really nice grip on the palm area, and this comes in really handy when handling wet tools and such.

T
he downside to this ‘second skin’ fit, is that they don’t offer the same level of protection as some of the more heavy duty gardening gloves out there, but that is not really their purpose from what I can gather.
 That’s not to say they don’t protect your hands, they do an admirable job of stopping you getting scratched and poked while in general use, I just wouldn’t purposely try to grab a handful of thorny branches with them, that’s all.

Extremely comfortable (just make sure you get the right size, as they are indeed snug), very breathable, and just perfect for fine gardening jobs, Spear & Jackson have delivered a great product here once again.

Best gardening Gloves Buyer’s Guide

As you can see, there are so many great product out there at the moment all vying for your attention and money, so which should you go for? 
if you’re still unsure, have a quick read of this garden gloves buyer’s guide and hopefully it’ll help you to come to the right decision.

What gardening tasks will you be carrying out?

This is probably the most important decision to ask yourself as it will definitely affect the type of gardening gloves that are the best fit for you. Grab a piece of paper and spend five minutes writing down all the jobs you intend to do in the garden, and this will give you an idea about what you should be buying. Here are some examples…

Planting and weeding

if you’re going to be doing a lot of planting, weeding, or other tasks that need a finer touch, you’re going to need a pair of gloves that don’t mess with your dexterity too much. For things like this, I wouldn’t suggest thick leather gloves, but instead some combination of spandex and soft leather, or similar.

Pruning and getting rid of nettles

Jobs like this require that u have a good layer of protection, not just for the hands, but the forearms too, and that is why we suggest that you buy a pair if gloves like the Amazon basics pair we reviewed. These are longer than conventional gloves and provide cover all the way up to the elbow.

Heavy duty tasks

If you’re doing some work with power tools, digging a lot, or perhaps looking at laying down some paving, a good strong pair of gardening gloves is a must. Cowhide leather or some similarly robust and durable material is best for this kind of work, as they will take a beating and keep on doing their job for a long time to come.


About Terry Smith

I’m Terry Smith from gardentoolbox.co.uk, a professional landscape designer, hobbyist gardener, and barbecue fanatic with 20 years experience building and restoring. So as you go through my site you'll watch me document some of the professional garden installs I make as well as the major projects I take on at home. While sharing those experiences and guiding you, I'll be recommending some great tools I use to enable this along the way so you can really buy in confidence. Always feel free to pop me a message: info@gardentoolbox.co.uk

View all posts by Terry Smith

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *