When working with your hands on high voltage equipment, your life is literally on the line. But when you are also out working in freezing temperatures, the hazards keep doubling. That’s why as an electrician you want to go for something that eases your mind and lets you focus better on your job.
We scoured the market for the best gloves to help you keep these hazards at bay and make you comfortable. After trying out different gloves, these made the cut to the top of our list of best options.
Klein Tools 40082 Lineman Work Gloves hits the top for its great performance in keeping you sweat-free, warm and the glove itself showing good resilience.
1.) Klein Tools 40082 Lineman Work Gloves
- 4-Inch leather and neoprene cuffs with side vents
- Soft grain leather construction with reinforced leather palm and finger patches
- Double-row padded knuckles for durability
- Black Spandex back with Klein lineman logo patch
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Crafted from 5% nylon, 85% leather, 5% spandex and 5% neoprene, this glove allows you to effectively handle delicate and tough tasks alike. The ergonomic design and contours benefit your hand by limiting chafing and fatigue.
Lineman work Glove – Klein Tools 40082 is a brilliant mix of features. It can take a lot of abuse yet outlive many other gloves in the market. To keep off the excess sweat as you work, it has neoprene cuffs with side vents to keep your hands cool and comfortable.
Even though they’re somehow counterintuitive for the winter, these side vents proved to be priceless in fighting the cold because they eliminated sweat which makes freezing that much easier for your hands.
The glove has double-row padded knuckles and reinforced leather palm which adds to the durability. Although not designed for live circuits, this glove took our top spot for overall superior quality.
If the product is not available or you are comfortable with a bigger budget, you may consider our other options.
Check Price and Reviews on AmazonRunner up
Electrical Insulating Safety Gloves – Magid Glove M0011B7 A.R.C
The best gloves for precision
These gloves give you a good power grip even in moist and wet conditions. With the high sensitivity and dexterity they give, you can maneuver your hands with surgical prowess.
If you are working on delicate wire work that needs meticulous operations, the Electrical Insulating Safety Gloves – Magid Glove M0011B7 A.R.C. is perfect. Their ultra thinness allows you to work comfortably on the wires while their sturdiness ensures safety up to 500 volts AC.
They will give a warm cuddly feel and the rubber cuffs ensure they fit nicely. It is made from natural rubber latex which means great flexibility. This is one of the best compromises you can find in a glove between dexterity and capacity to deal with high voltage live circuits.
Also great
2. Carhartt Men’s Winter Dex II Gloves
- Ultra soft insulation FastDry technology lining wicks away sweat
- Storm Defender waterproof, windproof, breathable insert
- Softshell with neoprene and durable nylon trim
- Synthetic palm, fingers and thumb with padded foam reinforcements
- Cinched elastic wrist area with hook and loop cuff closure
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The best antiperspirant glove
This glove wicks away the sweat, offering one of the highest warmth ratings for any set of gloves.
The neoprene softshell and nylon trim also makes these gloves quite comfortable and durable.
The waterproof insulated design of these Carhartt Men’s Winter Dex II Gloves makes them the main attraction for working in freezing conditions.
They feature FastDry technology which is designed to rapidly rid sweat from the gloves linings. That helps to keep your hands from freezing.
We also liked the Storm Defender insert feature for its remarkable rain-proof and windproof protection.
This glove also gives you a great ease of movement and durability, all built into it through the Rugged Flex stretch technology. All these along with great insulation from its closure system of a loop cuff and hooks made it hard for us to pass up this glove.
Check Price and Reviews on AmazonAlso Great
3. Salisbury OTC 3991-12 Large Hybrid Electric Safety Gloves
- Hybrid electric safety gloves are the most important articles of personal protective equipment.
- They are the first line of defense for contact with any energized components.
- Small Glove with Leather outer protector set.
- Safety Gloves must be inspected prior to each use in accordance with ASTM Standard F1236.
- Rubber insulating gloves must be retested electrically at least once every six (6) months.
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When you are mainly thinking about safety, the Salisbury OTC 3991-12 Large Hybrid Electric Safety Gloves is a glove option that you don’t want to overlook. It lives up to its name by giving you protections for levels that reach up to 1,000 volts AC.
This comes from a leather external lining that covers its rubberized insulation.
Keep in mind that even for gloves as safe as this, it is recommended to take a fresh test for protective capacity every 6 months based on the most current editions of Standard F496 and ASTM.
These gloves aren’t the most breathable but the overwhelming safety feature makes up for that if you are concerned about safety. Combined with its cold protection and other features it earns its place as a worthy buy.
Check Price and Reviews on AmazonAlso great
4. Winter Work Glove, Thermal Insulated
- THERMAL PROTECTION
- WEATHER-RESISTANT
- DEXTERITY
- TOUCHSCREEN CAPABLE
- EASY ON/OFF
- SOFT THUMB AREA
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For a lightweight and bulk-free glove option
We found this glove to have extreme dexterity with their finger point reinforcements. Touchscreen capability is also superb as you can tap, type or swipe at your phones or tablets without removing the gloves. The gloves are also built to last with their patented rugged AX Suede palm.
Also Great
5. ESA SUPPLIES Insulated Rubber Electrical Protective Gloves
The ESA SUPPLIES Insulated Rubber Electrical Protective Gloves is another glove giving you a fair balance between aiding hand dexterity and protection against the cold.
It will only offer you protection for voltages under 1000 but we liked its highly durable rubber and lasting power. Though not a high performing glove, its lower price point will hold some appeal.
Also Great
6. CLC Custom Leathercraft 125M Handyman Flex Grip Work Gloves
- SHRINK RESISTANT: These work gloves are made with synthetic leather.
- COLD WEATHER INSULATION: Keep your hand and fingers warm.
- STAYS ON: Wing closing strap prevents work gloves from slipping off when they become wet from weather or sweat.
- FLEXIBLE: With stretchable spandex, and Lycra side panels for improved dexterity .
- SNAG PROOF: Concealed inner stitching prevents these heavy duty work gloves from snagging on wood or metal.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
The CLC Custom Leathercraft 125M Handyman Flex Grip Work Gloves appeals for their ability to resist shrinking and hardening when they get wet. That’s a feature that can come rarely with many gloves so you may want to consider this option.
Fitted with stretchable spandex and Lycra, they also give you improved dexterity that you will love. We also liked it for its touchscreen feature which is typically missing in many other gloves.
Even in wet and frigid conditions, you can touch and operate your smartphone with the gloves on because of their touch screen fingertips.
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The research
Why you should trust us
Decades of experience working with winter gear and clothing puts us in an excellent place to pick the best gloves.
Who this is for
You are working in conditions that combine handling energized equipment with exposure to extreme cold. That could mean working with electrical equipment in indoor spaces such as cold stores or freezers or outdoors when winter has set in. If that’s you, these gloves are for you.
Electricians get this more than most people as they understand the highly risky interaction between water and its direct contact with electricity.
Electricians need to avoid more than just burns, fires, shock, or explosions. They also want to avoid the occupational hazards that come from working in unprotected cold weather like hypothermia, trench foot, frostbite, gangrene, limb loss, and even death.
Even shivering can be an obstacle because it causes you to lose coordination thus affecting your productivity. Beyond the electrician, any other person including non-professionals or DIY enthusiasts will find these gloves essential when working out in the cold with electrical appliances.
When choosing the best glove for you, you need to weigh several factors apart from the cold weather such as the kind of work and the warmth and dexterity you need.
Light gloves may allow you more dexterity but unfortunately won’t protect you against the cold. Heavier or thicker gloves make you warmer but they get in the way of your dexterity.
What you need is a good tradeoff between dexterity and warmth. No single gloves can deliver the goods perfectly but we think the ones we have chosen cut pretty close.
See also: Best Work Pants for Electricians With Utility Pockets
How we picked
When considering the quality glove, we kept in mind essentials like cost, safety, and durability. Our selection safeguards against you being part of the grim statistics of 1,000 deaths that result from electrical injuries in the US each year.
So we chose gloves that are certifiable if working live. Alternatively, they should be made out of flammable material or be non-conductive.
The lightness of the gloves also meets our goal for ease to work even at very low temperatures. We looked at support against impedance for your hand dexterity and performance.
The bottom line is that you want your hands to stay warm in the glove while keeping you safe despite the sweat that tends to increase the risks when handling the wires. Based on these metrics, the Lineman work Glove easily makes the top of our list and we think you will agree.
How we tested
We subjected these gloves through a battery of tests to see whether they could hold up. That includes using ratchet wrenches, small and large pliers, a cordless drill and even swinging a hammer. We also used a Flir infrared camera to get pictures of the hand inside the glove.
Our pick:
We found that overall, Lineman Work Glove hits the points for most indicators. It protects well for most extreme cold temperature conditions. You also get to a good level of dexterity because the thinness of the gloves leaves room for hand movement.
They are also well-fitting – not too tight to cause you discomfort nor too loose to let out the warm air and inviting cold air to make you cold.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Lineman Work Gloves isn’t the most phenomenal product in all aspects, but it gives the most comprehensive set of benefits at a good price. We think that despite its drawbacks when compared with the other gloves these are minor and are offset by their reliability and solid performance.
