Work Gloves 2022 Test: Which Brand Wins?
In our 2022 test we compared 16 work gloves options head to head. Venom Steel came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Venom Steel
Price shown in test: $25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Raven
Price shown in test: $25 for 100 gloves, 25 cents each
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“The Venom Steel easily won this showdown with an average finish of 3.6.”
Best in 3 of 7 measurements, including Abrasion resistance, Puncture resistance and Post-gasoline-exposure tensile strength.
Placed top three in 2 of 7 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile7.46 g
- 2Raven nitrile7.89 g
heaviest at introduction
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil9.64 g
heaviest at introduction
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile5.39 g
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil6.95 g
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips9.04 g
heaviest at introduction
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile7.17 g
- 8Comfy Package nitrile5.5 g
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil5.47 g
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil4.55 g
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight4.57 g
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free4.96 g
- 13Phantom latex7 g
heaviest at that point in the video
- 14Adenna latex6.89 g
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free3.71 g
lightest of all gloves tested
- 16Basic vinyl5.34 g
Abrasion resistance (sandpaper passes to hole)
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile40 passes
best of all gloves tested, described as dominating the showdown
- 2Raven nitrile19 passes2nd
2nd best of all gloves tested
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil16 passes
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile12 passes
best at that point in the video, described as 4 passes better than the next best glove up to then
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil6 passes
gave up a little early
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips7 passes
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile11 passes
- 8Comfy Package nitrile7 passes
best at that point in the video
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil8 passes
most durable at that point in the video
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil6 passes
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight2 passes
tied with the Basic vinyl glove
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free4 passes
- 13Phantom latex1 pass
tore on the first pass
- 14Adenna latex1 pass
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free2 passes
- 16Basic vinyl2 passes
Puncture resistance (grams via 16-penny nail)
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile1,599 g
best of all gloves tested
- 2Raven nitrile1,128 g
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil1,341 g
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile1,491 g
very impressive for a thin glove
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil1,058 g
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips1,538 g2nd
2nd best of all gloves tested, behind Venom Steel
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile1,128 g
better than average
- 8Comfy Package nitrile840 g
best at that point in the video
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil760 g
performed well for a very thin glove
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil720 g3rd
3rd best at that point in the video, behind the Hardy 5 mil
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight763 g
about 1.7 lb, 30% better than the Basic vinyl glove
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free1,211 g2nd
about 2.5 lb, 2nd best at that point in the video
- 13Phantom latex619 g
gave up early despite being 7 mil thick
- 14Adenna latex462 g
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free1,016 g2nd
about 2 lb, 2nd best at that point in the video
- 16Basic vinyl540 g
about 1.2 lb
Tear/rip strength (lb to pull the index finger off)
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile32 lb
- 2Raven nitrile26.5 lb
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil24.4 lb
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile30.3 lb
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil28.9 lb
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips30.8 lb
close to the average for all brands
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile22.7 lb
gave up early
- 8Comfy Package nitrile35.9 lb
about the same as the 5 mil Hardy
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil38.2 lb
took the lead at that point in the video
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil28.8 lb
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight35.2 lb
28% better than the Basic vinyl glove
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free19.2 lb
near-last place
- 13Phantom latex50.5 lb
best of all gloves tested, described as lifting the entire stack of plates
- 14Adenna latex37.5 lb
took the lead at that point in the video
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free18.3 lb
worst of all gloves tested
- 16Basic vinyl25.1 lb
Grip (lb before losing grip)
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile10.5 lb
tied with RX Pro and Phantom
- 2Raven nitrile13 lb
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil11 lb
better than average
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile6 lb
among the weakest grip results despite the brand name
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil13.5 lb
tied for best of all gloves with the 7 mil Hardy
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips13.5 lb
tied for best of all gloves with HDX
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile11 lb
better than average
- 8Comfy Package nitrile9.5 lb
about the same as the Basic vinyl glove
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil10.5 lb
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil11.5 lb2nd
2nd best at that point in the video
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight12.5 lb
took the lead from the Basic vinyl glove at that point
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free8 lb
- 13Phantom latex10.5 lb
- 14Adenna latex7 lb
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free9 lb
- 16Basic vinyl9.5 lb
Cuff tear strength
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile53.5 lb
- 2Raven nitrile52 lb
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil52 lb
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile49 lb
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil42.5 lb
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips41 lb
1.5 lb better than the 5 mil Hardy
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile49 lb
- 8Comfy Package nitrile56 lb
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil55 lb
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil47.5 lb
glove disintegrated
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight39.5 lb
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free5 lb
catastrophic failure
- 13Phantom latex38 lb
- 14Adenna latex57 lb
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free40 lb
18 lb lower than the leader at that point
- 16Basic vinyl58 lb
Post-gasoline-exposure tensile strength
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrile9.8 lb
best of the nitrile/latex gloves
- 2Raven nitrile8.8 lb2nd
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil9.5 lb2nd
- 4Grease Monkey nitrile7.9 lb
took the lead over the Hardy 5 mil at that point
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil9 lb3rd
3rd best until the SafeSkin's 9.4 lb result took that spot
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips5.3 lb
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrile9.4 lb3rd
took 3rd place from HDX
- 8Comfy Package nitrile4.9 lb
35% less strength than the 5 mil Hardy after exposure
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil3.7 lb
less than half the strength of the 5 mil Hardy after exposure
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil4.9 lb
same as the Comfy Package
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight
went from 35 lb before gasoline exposure down to 7.6 lb after, a significant breakdown
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder free4.3 lb
- 13Phantom latex1.2 lb
worst of all gloves tested, fingers described as very bloated
- 14Adenna latex2 lb
in very bad shape after exposure
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein free6.5 lb
about average
- 16Basic vinyl21.1 lb
highest post-gasoline figure of all gloves, but the narrator notes the finger was by then far too stiff and inflexible to actually use
Thickness
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 mil8 mil
thickest glove in the lineup
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 mil6 mil
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertips7 mil
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 mil4 mil
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 mil4.5 mil
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freight5 mil
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrilenot tested
- 2Raven nitrilenot tested
- 4Grease Monkey nitrilenot tested
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrilenot tested
- 8Comfy Package nitrilenot tested
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder freenot tested
- 13Phantom latexnot tested
- 14Adenna latexnot tested
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein freenot tested
- 16Basic vinylnot tested
All measurements (2 more)+
Chemical resistance, acetone
- 16Basic vinyl
totally disintegrated
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrilenot tested
- 2Raven nitrilenot tested
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 milnot tested
- 4Grease Monkey nitrilenot tested
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 milnot tested
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertipsnot tested
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrilenot tested
- 8Comfy Package nitrilenot tested
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 milnot tested
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 milnot tested
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freightnot tested
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder freenot tested
- 13Phantom latexnot tested
- 14Adenna latexnot tested
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein freenot tested
Chemical resistance, gasoline
- 16Basic vinyl
gasoline made the material very hard and stiff, but the paper towel inside stayed dry
- 1Venom Steel heavy-duty two-layer nitrilenot tested
- 2Raven nitrilenot tested
- 3Gloveworks Gloveworks HD, 8 milnot tested
- 4Grease Monkey nitrilenot tested
- 5HDX heavy-duty dual-layer nitrile, 6 milnot tested
- 6Hardy 7 mil, Harbor Freight, textured fingertipsnot tested
- 7SafeSkin automotive-use nitrilenot tested
- 8Comfy Package nitrilenot tested
- 9GMG nitrile, 4 milnot tested
- 10RX Pro nitrile, 4.5 milnot tested
- 11Hardy 5 mil, Harbor Freightnot tested
- 12Silverback nitrile, powder freenot tested
- 13Phantom latexnot tested
- 14Adenna latexnot tested
- 15GripProtect 100% synthetic, protein freenot tested
How it was tested
- abrasion resistance: glove pulled across 800-grit sandpaper under about 4 lb of simulated finger pressure until a hole forms, measured in passes
- puncture resistance: force in grams for a 16-penny nail to puncture the glove with a 2 lb weight inside providing stretch
- tear/rip strength: force in pounds to pull the index finger off the glove
- grip test: force in pounds a padded two-finger tester can apply before the glove loses grip
- cuff tear strength: force in pounds to tear the glove's cuff, pulled over a taped pipe edge
- chemical resistance: a food-colored, paper-towel-lined index finger soaked for one hour each in acetone and then gasoline, checked for leakage and material degradation
- post-gasoline-exposure tensile strength: force in pounds to pull the index finger off after the one-hour gasoline soak, indicating retained strength
- subjective comfort rating on a 1 (best) scale, given only for a subset of the gloves
“The Venom Steel easily won this showdown with an average finish of 3.6.”
