Work Gloves 2021 Test: Which Brand Wins?
In our 2021 test we compared 10 work gloves options head to head. Milwaukee came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $35
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Endura
Price shown in test: $51
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“So, which brand is the best? The Milwaukee came in first or second in every category with an average finish of 1.5.”
Best in 3 of 5 measurements, including Impact protection, Cut resistance and Grip.
Best in 1 of 5 measurements, including Impact protection.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Impact protection (palm/front dent)
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves0.75 mm
- 2Amazon Basics0.64 mm
- 3VGO0.43 mm
- 4West Chester0.55 mm
- 5Mechanix Impact0.7 mm
- 6Wells Lamont0.48 mm
- 7Ironclad0.58 mm
- 8Carhartt Ballistic0.66 mm
- 9Milwaukee0.26 mm
(best of all 10 brands)
- 10Endura0.54 mm
Impact protection (back of hand dent)
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves1.29 mm
- 2Amazon Basics1.02 mm
- 3VGO0.38 mm
- 4West Chester0.98 mm
- 5Mechanix Impact1.07 mm
- 6Wells Lamont0.26 mm
- 7Ironclad0.55 mm
- 8Carhartt Ballistic0.23 mm
- 9Milwaukee0.22 mm
(individual segment states 0.22 mm; the later category recap states 0.21 mm for Milwaukee, a minor transcript numeric inconsistency)
- 10Endura0.14 mm
(best of all 10 brands)
Puncture resistance
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves28 g
to puncture the glove; 210 g to puncture a PVC dot itself
- 2Amazon Basics1,039 g
to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 508 g for the single-layer finger section
- 3VGO989 g
to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 889 g for the single-layer finger section
- 4West Chester909 g
to puncture the double-layer fingertip; 535 g for the single-layer finger section
- 5Mechanix Impact1,510 g
single layer of material (best of all 10 brands)
- 6Wells Lamont1,220 g
to puncture the fingertip; 588 g for the single-layer finger section
- 7Ironclad1,018 g2nd
single layer of material (2nd best)
- 8Carhartt Ballistic339 g
single layer of material
- 9Milwaukee1,468 g2nd
single layer of material (2nd best, close behind Mechanix)
- 10Endura1,438 g3rd
single layer of material (3rd best)
Abrasion resistance
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves
some dots worn off after 1 pass; sandpaper worn through the glove after 2 passes
- 2Amazon Basics
worn through after a total of 3 passes
- 3VGO
worn through after 23 passes (tied for 4th with Carhartt)
- 4West Chester
worn through after 18 passes
- 5Mechanix Impact
worn through after 13 passes
- 6Wells Lamont
worn through after 12 passes (weakest wear result of all brands)
- 7Ironclad
worn through after 55 passes (best of all 10 brands, more than twice the nearest non-Milwaukee/Endura competitor)
- 8Carhartt Ballistic
worn through after 23 passes (tied for 4th with VGO)
- 9Milwaukee
outer layer worn through at 36 passes, both layers (incl. inner lining) at 53 passes (2nd best)
- 10Endura
outer layer worn through at 34 passes, both layers (incl. Kevlar lining) at 45 passes (3rd best)
Cut resistance
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves3 passes
to cut through
- 2Amazon Basics4 passes
to cut through
- 3VGO4 passes
to cut through
- 4West Chester3 passes
to cut through (tied last with PVC dotted gloves)
- 5Mechanix Impact6 passes
to cut through (led at that point in testing)
- 6Wells Lamont2 passes
to cut through (weakest cut result of all brands)
- 7Ironclad5 passes
to cut through (2nd behind Mechanix)
- 8Carhartt Ballistic4 passes
to cut through
- 9Milwaukee
outer layer gave way at 5 passes, but the cut-resistant inner lining held until 97 passes total (best of all 10 brands by a wide margin)
- 10Endura
outer layer gave way at 8 passes, Kevlar lining held until 16 passes total (2nd best behind Milwaukee)
Grip
- 1PVC Dotted Gloves4.2 lb
before slipping
- 2Amazon Basics1.6 lb
before slipping (worst of all brands tested)
- 3VGO2.6 lb
before slipping
- 4West Chester3 lb
before slipping
- 5Mechanix Impact1.8 lb
before slipping
- 6Wells Lamont2.6 lb
before slipping
- 7Ironclad4.4 lb3rd
before slipping (3rd best)
- 8Carhartt Ballistic2.2 lb
before slipping
- 9Milwaukee6 lb
before slipping (best of all 10 brands)
- 10Endura5.6 lb2nd
before slipping (2nd best behind Milwaukee)
How it was tested
- impact protection (dowel dent depth, palm and back of hand)
- puncture resistance (grams of force to puncture fingertip fabric with a seam ripper)
- abrasion/wear resistance (180-grit sandpaper passes until worn through)
- cut resistance (razor blade passes under 10 lb tension until cut through)
- grip (pounds of force before the glove slides off a PVC pipe)
“So, which brand is the best? The Milwaukee came in first or second in every category with an average finish of 1.5.”
