Rebeccca,

Years ago I worked in a manufacturing plant and part of my job was to evaluate gloves, we had many different types of gloves because no glove will be the best for all jobs.

I seldom use gloves and my hands show it, but I do keep many different gloves on hand, from light surgical to heavy welding gloves. I buy most of my gloves from Harbor freight of Ace Hardware (because that is where I am most).

I would suggest you stock more than one type of glove, and buy the proper size. My wife like the jersey, the kids like the anti slip palmed gloves, I wear welding gloves when I am welding, most other times I find gloves too restricting. (I wear leather repairing fence)

If you wait until the gloves are on sale you will be surprised how cheap they are.

Larry

Rebecca,

Like Larry, I have different types of gloves for different jobs. I don't especially like wearing gloves either, but it is a lot better for my hands if I do!

Folks who do a lot of heavy pruning, particularly for roses and other thorny plants, need heavier/thicker gloves and for jobs like that, I prefer long, gauntlet gloves that protect not only you hands and wrists but also your forearm.

For really tough jobs, when cutting down trees or pruning back greenbrier, I wear the toughest, thickest sturdiest leather gloves I can find fairly cheaply at a hardware store. The greenbrier tends to tear them up pretty quickly so I don't spend a lot because they won't last long. (Even the higher quality gloves are no match for large stands of mature greenbrier.) If they made stainless steel gloves, I'd wear them when working with greenbrier!

For other heavy-duty tasks when hands need protection, I like to wear goatskin gloves. They are very supple yet sturdy and I like them. I've had mine quite a while now.

When working in cold, wet soil, I like to wear gloves like Mudd gloves or Bog gloves that have been dipped in nitrile or something similar like latex to repel moisture. There are many brands available and you can find them in local stores for $3 or $4.

For general, non-muddy garden work, I wear cotton jersey gloves. You can find then everywhere, often in cute colors or patterns.

I'd recommend any color of glove but green or brown because if you drop a green glove in the lawn or a brown glove in the soil, they can blend right in and be hard to find later when you go back looking for them.

I have so many gloves in the potting shed it is ridiculous, and a lot of them are singles who've lost their mate somewhere along the way. Usually I buy my gloves locally and at different places, everywhere from Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Home Depot to local nurseries or even big box warehouse stores like CostCo or Sam's (both of which usually have a variety pack of 4 or 5-pairs of different kinds of gloves in Spring.

Sometimes, I order leather driver's gloves for our firefighters from U-line in bulk, several dozen at a time, and when I do that, I sometimes order myself a dozen pair, especially if I find a good deal on them. (The best deals are in the winter when we're not working outside!)

Even though I buy locally, I'm going to link a website for you that features great gloves. Looking at the gloves they offer might give you some ideas about what you want to look for in the stores.

Two more ideas that may sound off-the-wall, but really aren't.

Medical gloves: I wear the cheap, disposable surgical-type gloves more than I wear any other kind of glove. I always wear them when handling bagged products like bagged potting soil, manure, etc. They protect your skin and you from the various fungi and bacteria often found in these products. I use them when potting up plants, when planting seeds (they are a tighter fit than regular garden gloves), etc. I keep a box in my potting shed, a box in my garage and a box in my kitchen for processing peppers.

Firefighter Extrication Gloves: If I was designing a glove for someone who pruned a lot or who worked constantly with pruning saws, axes, etc., I'd use extrication gloves as a prototype. Because they are designed to protect firefighters as they are using heavy-duty hydraulic cutting tools to cut through metal and other material in wrecked vehicles, they are very tough and very sturdy and resist being cut, yet fairly flexible and manueverable. (You do sacrifice some manueverablility because they have to be sturdy to protect you from cutting yourself.) I bought some for my son and husband and they have held up and lasted for years. However, they are pricey. They're available from online fire equipment companies like The Fire Store or Gall's. They're probably the best glove in the world for people who are engaged in dangerous cutting jobs, and I never knew they existed until our son became a professional firefighter and went through the firefighting academy.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Womenswork Gloves

I have always tough time planting seeds or tiny seedling with wearing gloves. But as Dawn mentioned, latex cloves working better for such fine jobs and leather gloves for the other garden work. -Chandra

I have around 150 rose bushes, and always wear gloves. I teach Spanish in a high school, and often need to point to a student's paper to indicate where the letters or words are reversed.

I keep a pair of gloves at each door, and put them on -- always. I take them with me even if I am putting out labels or taking pictures. If I don't, then I get stuck or get a splinter.

I prefer the Bionic Gardening Gloves that cost a fortune. I can choose the pressure at my wrist, the palms are of a material that will allow me to handle thorns, the fit is perfect, and I can switch from task to task, and they work.

I have been purchasing them at: www.therosegardener.com However, if you google bionic gloves you can find them in many places. You must measure according to their directions, or you will get the wrong size.

Also, I have very few mean thorned roses. If I grew those, I would use the gauntlet gloves that go up the arm.

Sammy

Gosh, I hadn't put that much thought into it. My hands are definitely taking a beating w/o.

I looked into the bionic gloves and this is what I think . . . love those things. I think I'll see if I can actually keep up with gloves b/f I invest, tho.

Now that you mention it, I can see why the gloves I was using never really worked for me. For one, I need ones that fit me, not my husband AND I need to get gloves that are more job specific.

I'm going out shopping later today and will keep your comments at the *front* of my mind while I do it!

I appreciate all your help!!!

I wear a work glove for pruning and hauling away wood, etc. the ones with the blue and/or blue and white strip cuff. I bought a pair of gloves for weeding from a Garden Club sale. They are really great and i hope to find them at Atwoods. They fit tight so feel like your own hands and are a very thin latex type material. Great gloves. The work gloves are just too bulky for weeding, and the cloth ones don't last.

another pretty good general purpose glove is the Mechanic glove. A little sturdier then the jersey, not as bulky as the split leather glove.

your probably going to need a few different styles of gloves depending on the task your doing. There just isnt a one style fits all.