Hello all,

I have gone through three pairs of gloves already this season. My problem is that though I have trowels, etc., I still dig with my hands and that results in holes in the tips of my gloves. I would really like a recommendation for a pair that can survive my work habits and last for years to come.

Thank you all in advance,
Benny

I bought a good pair of roping gloves (deerskin) in the 'horse' store. They are good for dry work; not so good for anything wet.
For wetter work I've been using the breathable nylon with the nitrile coating (which I hate but they are washable so I get over it).

Hi there Greene,

Thank you kindly for your thoughts. A lot of the work I do is wet work and the gloves I have already gone through this year are the ones with the nitrile coating.

Thank you so much again for your help.

All the best
Benny

I use the Nitrile/mesh ones most of the time too, because my hands are always wet or sweating here in FL. In fact I've been known to hose the mesh off just to cool off my hands. A pair lasts me a year or two if I keep my fingernails short. Our soil is sandy, no rocks or anything to tear them up though. (yep, I like to dig with my hands, too.)

For wet work and digging with your hands, probably something with synthetic suede would be the best thing. I had a pair like these for a long time before one of them got lost in a move.
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/m...

The other place to look would be at West Marine for sailing gloves. They're designed to stand up to wear and tear while wet. I like the Ronstan or Harken ones. Choose carefully if you buy those, though. A lot of them have the fingers lopped off so you can untie lines on the boat . . . that wouldn't be much good for gardening.

Mechanix Wear sells some very durable gloves. My gloved fingers do the pulling here, and they're always wet and scraping in the dirt. A set of gloves used to last only a month or so, but my Ethel gloves are now into their second year; with no holes yet. They also did extra duty in moving and stacking the wood of several very large trees.

http://garden.org/blogs/entry/...

I buy a big bag of the surgical gloves and they are throw away I can dig pick up dirt wet or dry. I have a problem keeping up with my gloves so I figured it was just as easy to throw away plastic. I put a couple in my pocket before I go outside everyday. If I am deadheading I do not get discoloring on my hands. Only thing I have trouble is if I am around the roses and the thorns.

Than you all again so very kindly for all your help with this. I am getting some great ideas. I am leaning toward buying a pair of Mechanix and a pair of the eco-smart gloves just so I have a back up. Regarding this, the Ethel gloves (great blog entry buy the way) are for women. Could you help me with a men's equivalent? Here is a page of Mechanix gloves:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UT...

I am guessing any one of these would do but I LOVE how you demonstrated that you have such flexibility with yours that you can hold pretty small seeds.

I love the eco-smart gloves but sadly, the page shows not available. I need to find another site that has them.

Thank you fellow gardeners for your advice and assistance!

Oh! I DO use disposable gloves but for balling up my suet for the feeders. I have found that if you do this with bare hands, you end up with suet hands for most of the day. You DO get soft skin though!

Ethel is made by the same company as Mechanix.

Hi there Greene,

Thank you very much. :)

I found these and they certainly do look promising.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019IA18S/

It seems those eco gloves are not available anywhere.

Not speaking from experience here but gloves for rose gardening, aren't they specifically engineered with strong finger tips so that you won't get poked by thorns?

Hi there ShadyGreenThumb,

VERY good point! If I travel down that particular path, I shouldn't go too wrong. :)

You all are so kind and helpful. I appreciate it.

Benny, the eco-gloves were made by West County and they have a good selection of other types available on Amazon. I was looking to replace the ones I had before, and found these that look pretty similar and even are made with "recycled polyester" so it's possible they just had to change the name for some reason. But I think I might try a pair of the Mechanix gloves, too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026FCFPK/

Hi there Elaine and everyone,

Thank you once again for all your advice and input as it is all appreciated. In the end, I chose this glove:

https://www.duluthtrading.com/...

I do wish they were made in the USA though but the thing that swayed me was their 100% guarantee.

Saying that, I am going to get a second pair but not sure if I will choose Mechanix or West County. One thing I do know is that I am glad I made this post as it has helped me find some gloves that can keep up with the work I do.

Blessings to you all,
Benny

I like the looks of those West County gloves, might have to try a pair of them! I've gone through three pair of Atlas Nitrile gloves already this season and I'm down to only one pair. I love the gloves but it seems that I quickly poke a hole in the right index finger of every pair. I had a few pairs of leather Smith and Hawken Gloves that each lasted for two to three years but apparently that company went out of business.

>> I quickly poke a hole in the right index finger of every pair.

The easiest time to patch something is before it wears through. Would wrapping a strip of duct tape over or around that finger leave it flexible enough for you to use?

"Gorilla Tape" is a specific brand that is even tougher and stickier than other duct tapes.

Thanks Rick, I've thought about duct taping the fingertip of the glove but just never could bring myself to do it. I'm surprised my husband hasn't found my holey fingered gloves and taped them ... I call him the duct tape king.

That's actually not a bad idea.

Someone should invent gloves bonded together with duct tape ... they'd sure hold up for a very long time.

I wish righties could buy a supply of extra rightie gloves. I'm sure lefties wish they could get more lefties. We each probably have a huge supply of gloves for our non-dominant hand!

An exchange would be grand but the lefties would probably hold the power cards!