Fresh air, vitamin D, bird song, and bees. Gardening can be a relaxing, rewarding pastime — as long as your green thumb isn't blistered, scraped, or injured. But you need the right gardening tools for the job.
A trusty pair of gardening gloves can help protect your hands from soil, debris, thorns, and chemicals. The best gardening gloves keep your hands cool and dry and let your fingers move freely so you can easily weed, plant, and take water breaks.
We consulted various gardening experts and researched dozens of products to help you find the best gardening gloves for digging in the dirt.
Gardening gloves from Mud, Pine Tree Tools, and Bionic are our top overall picks for their versatility, comfort, and affordability.
Our picks of the best gardening gloves
Best gardening gloves overall: Mud, Pine Tree Tools, Bionic
Best cheap gardening gloves: Showa, CoolJob
Best heavy-duty gardening gloves: Ozero, Garden Genie
Best long gardening gloves: Magid, Exemplary Gardens, HandLandy
Best kids gardening gloves: G&F, John Deere, G&F
Best gardening gloves overall
These gloves can be used for light- and medium-duty gardening tasks like mixing soil, planting flowers, raking, and pulling weeds. Nitrile, bamboo, and cotton are typical materials you'll see since they're lightweight, durable, comfortable, and affordable.
Recommended by the Hicks Nurseries team, Mud Gloves have a tough latex exterior coating, soft cotton lining, and closely fitting cuffs that keep out dirt and debris. They’re breathable and useful for a variety of tasks. They come in five sizes.
These comfortable gloves feel like a second skin, and best of all, they’re touchscreen-sensitive so you don’t have to keep putting on and taking off your gloves. Bamboo is naturally breathable and cooling, perfect for summer gardening. They come in five sizes and have a snug fit, so you may have to size up depending on your preferences.
Designed by an orthopedic hand surgeon, these gloves provide relief and comfort for arthritic hands. There’s a padded system that allows for a comfortable, secure grip, and extra support in the wristband. The fingertips are reinforced with silicone so they won’t wear down.
Best cheap gardening gloves
Try these value glove packs if you tend to go through many gardening gloves or just like having backups on hand. These gloves offer versatility and excellent grip support for a good price.
Touted by everyone from loggers to landscapers, the versatile gloves have an excellent grip, waterproof rubber construction, and ergonomic, flexible feel. They’re only $2-3 a pair, but many users say they’re the best gloves they’ve ever used.
These gloves have a knitted top and latex coating so your fingers can breathe but also grip tools and plants firmly.
Best heavy-duty gardening gloves
Heavy-duty gloves are usually made from leather and may contain extra features like finger reinforcements or safety cuffs to give you the backup you need for difficult tasks like planting trees or carrying heavy gardening tools and bags of soil. These durable gloves allow you to dig deep in the soil while protecting your fingers and hands.
Ozero’s well-made, thoughtfully designed gloves are thick, flexible, and suitable for all kinds of heavy-duty outdoor work, not only gardening. There’s even an option with a built-in magnet in the cuffs, letting you attach small metal tools like nails or plant stakes directly to your wrist for easy access.
Skip the extra tools and dig into soil directly with these fun and efficient gloves. The glove part is made from rubber and polyester, while the attached claws are plastic. The downside is that they only come in one size and may be uncomfortable or unwieldy for people with small hands.
Best long gardening gloves
Regular gardening gloves only protect you up to your wrists. Having a pair of rose pruning gloves that reach your elbows is essential for protecting your forearms from long prickly branches.
These long gloves are made from puncture-resistant material that guards against scratches and scrapes. They also have an added knuckle guard for extra protection. They come in four sizes and three colors.
Made from buttery soft goat leather, with long suede cuffs, these gloves make the tough chore of rose pruning much more enjoyable. However, they might be too thin for anything pricklier, like cacti. They come in five sizes and four colors — women should size down from their usual size for the best fit.
Made from breathable pigskin leather, these long gauntlet-style gloves are known for being comfortable and protective. The reinforced palm and fingertip areas offer additional protection from thorns and sharp debris.
Best kids gardening gloves
Before you get your young ones involved in the garden, make sure they have their own pair of gloves to keep their small hands clean and protected. Kids' gloves don't tend to be heavy-duty, so keep the green thumb in training out of the rose bushes.
The slightly stretchy cotton gloves have knit wrists, come in three colorful patterns, and are meant for kids ages 5-8. They’re not going to protect against thorns or last a long time, but they’re great for handling branches and flowers.
These lightweight jersey gloves have a dotted palm grip so your child’s hands won’t slip off a plant or shovel. They’re also machine-washable.
While they might be for kids, these gloves don’t skimp on quality. They’re 100% suede leather and feel soft, thick, and sturdy. They come in two sizes for kids ages 4-6 or ages 7-9.
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