Best Stick Welding Gloves – Welders Guide
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Best Stick Welding Gloves of 2020
Stick welding gloves are the most heavy duty, protective gloves in the welding industry. Stick welding can produce the hottest and most violent arcs out of all welding processes – the heavy duty leather in these gloves protects welders from extreme sparks and spatter.
This guide dives into our top picks for name brand stick gloves. These brands are trusted by professional shop welders and field welders worldwide. While Miller and Lincoln are the most popular, other brands still make some great models that are worth considering.
Since stick welding doesn’t require the hand dexterity of TIG welding, the gloves can be thicker and more robust. Less hand movement is ok, as long as you get a good grip on your stinger. For stick welding, hand protection is much more important than dexterity.
Stick welding gloves often travel further up the arm like an oven mitt. This allows for lower arm protection while performing your welds. Welders will often tuck their jacket into this portion to ensure that no sparks or slag can enter while welding. This prevents unwanted burns.
Due to the heavier construction of stick welding gloves, they tend to last much longer than other gloves. The thick leather is more resistant to burns and punctures.
Lincoln Electric Premium Stick Gloves
Specifically designed for high heat protection, these gloves are super solid. We love them for heavy Stick applications, and high voltage flux cored MIG.
Trusted by welders for over a decade – They have a nice mix of top grade split leather and grain leather, which helps with durability and maximum hand dexterity, despite their robust build.
One of our favorite features is Lincolns custom heat resistant liner. These liners are found on their heavy duty gloves, and provide internal heat protection below the leather construction. This three layer mix consists of additional premium leather, flame retardant foam, and soft flame retardant cotton below that.
All of this gloves seams are stitched with high end Nomex thread; which is even more durable than the heat resistant kevlar stitching found on most gloves. Nomex thread is the go-to choice when it comes to flame resistant stitching. This thread is often found on welding jackets as well as FR pants.
One of our favorite features on these gloves is the reinforced finger areas. The finger tips have additional pieces of grain leather for heat resistance where you need it most. Since your fingers are closest to the welding arc, it makes sense to have more robust material in that area.
Lincolns moisture absorbing cuff has internal twill cotton fabric to soak up sweat from your wrist and lower arm. This feature comes in handy on hotter days, as well as humid climates.
Steiner Industries ThermoCore Stick Gloves
Check Price On AmazonClassically styled, extremely durable; these Steiners are nice and thick with a heavy duty cuff traveling far up the arm. The most protective Stick welding gloves on the market always have a long protective cuff. This is in stark contrast to a TIG glove, as TIG gloves tend to have much smaller cuffs since there are no sparks involved.
These Steiners have very few seams on them, which makes an untimely tear much less likely. The select split cowhide dominates the construction of this glove. Split cowhide is a very tough material, and is regarded as one of the best flame resistant leathers.
These gloves have tough lock stitching throughout, with heat resistant kevlar thread seams. Kevlar is the industry standard for welding glove thread, and lock stitching (hidden thread) protects the thread from heat. Although kevlar isn’t as protective as Nomex thread, it is still much better than a traditional sewing thread.
Featured on the back of the glove is a lined “ThermoCore” foam insulator. This allows for additional protection when the heat from the welding arc starts to build up.
Paired with a full cotton lining throughout, this glove provides ultimate heat protection and comfort.
Tillman Elk Skin Stick Gloves
Check Price On AmazonTillmans always find their way into our top glove picks. One unique feature of these is the elk skin construction. This premium golden leather stays very supple even with exposure to extreme heat.
This high end elk has an amazing hand feel, but does bump up the price a bit. The elk skin is a more expensive material, and it’s regarded as much higher quality than any sort of cow leather.
The welted fingers protect the inset stitching. This means that sparks won’t find their way to the thread stitching as easily as other gloves. It is important that the stitching is hidden, so the thread won’t wear out prematurely.
These Tillmans feature an unlined palm. This feature is normally found in TIG gloves, which helps a lot with dexterity. However, the back of the gloves are lined with cotton and foam, for protection where you need it most.
Heat tends to build up more at the back of the glove since that is where the sparks hit. Your palms are always more protected since they are holding your stinger.
The middle of the road 14″ length is perfect for most stick applications, and the wider cuff allows for more comfort and arm movement. It also allows this glove to slide over your welding jacket. This will ensure that sparks won’t find their way in.
Revco FR Elk Skin Gloves
These are a very comparable glove to the Tillman Elks, but with a few extra features. Nomex material found its way into the backing of this glove, which is an extremely top of the line heat resistant compound. It is much more flame resistant than kevlar.
Nomex is usually only found on high end welding garments. It is one of the more expensive FR materials, and some brands choose not to use it.
The grain leather palm provides a very soft feel against the hand, and a high strength thumb strap provides extra insurance against tears in the most likely area. Since the thumb portion has a ton of movement, the extra reinforcement really helps with longevity.
Kevlar stitching found in the rest of the gloves construction provides the industry standard for heat resistant seams.
If you are looking for a long lasting stick glove from a highly trusted brand, these are worth checking out.
Miller Heavy Duty Stick Gloves
These high end Millers are a top pick for professional Stick welders. They feature premium grade pigskin leather. This leather is known for its toughness and durability. Since cow leather is most common for stick welding gloves, Miller decided to provide maximum toughness by using pigskin.
The palm area and backing area are double insulated for ultimate protection. These gloves also have large protective patches on the palm area and back area for an extended glove life.
The cuff is a medium size, but still protects your lower arm and wrist quite well. These gloves are also a great choice for MIG welding – since the cuff is a bit smaller than other models.
Miller generally makes some of the best gloves on the welding market. They aren’t as budget friendly as other models, but they last for considerably longer periods.
If you’re a professional welder who stick welds all the time, Millers glove line is worth a look. Their gloves offer robust construction that is very appealing to full time welders.
US Forge 400 Gloves
Old school and heavy duty; these are very simple yet quite durable, which is great for high amperage Stick welding.
They feature a minimum amount of seams, but the seams they do have are locked stitched for solid thread protection. Also, the thumb strap reinforcement is one of the best we’ve seen on recent stick gloves.
They have a moderately weighted cotton liner for full comfort, but this will still keep your hands cool in hotter climates.
In terms of construction, these are quite a simple glove. They get the job done without having a bunch of bells and whistles. For high amperage stick welding, having a simple, heavy duty glove can be really beneficial.
These are also a great model for the budget conscious welder who doesn’t want to spend a ton on their first pair of stick welding gloves. They allow you to get the job done without breaking the bank.
Lincoln Electric Heavy Duty Stick Gloves
Check Price On AmazonThese heavy duty Lincolns have a multi layer “FlameSoft” liner for maximum heat deflection. This liner also includes FR foam and light fleece, which is great for high temperature welding applications.
They feature heavy kevlar threading, which is 5x as reinforced as a regular glove. They also have tear resistant reinforced stress points. The heavy thumb strap is also seen on the large majority of high end stick welding gloves.
The leather comes a bit stiff out of the box, but breaks in very quickly for a full comfort fit.
Also, these gloves have one of the highest amperage ratings out of Lincolns glove lineup – at 450 amps. This allows them to be used in any stick welding scenario.
From light duty stick welding to heavy ironwork, these gloves offer maximum protection in all applications.
If you’re looking for a glove that can handle any project, these Lincolns are worth checking out. They offer more protection than other models.
WZQH Stick Welding/All Purpose Glove
These gloves are a newer addition to the high end stick glove market. They have quickly become a top seller on Amazon. They feature premium cowhide split leather, which is known for its heat resistance when placed on the exterior portion of gloves.
The interior features a soft cotton lining, and FR thread stitching throughout. Although they are marketed for multiple scenarios, we have found them to be a great pick for stick welding applications.
These gloves measure in quite long at 16″, which offers maximum arm and wrist protection for welders.
They also offer a lifetime guarantee if you register the gloves right away. This is an extremely rare deal in the market of welding gloves! Most companies won’t provide any sort of glove warranty, so this is a huge plus in our opinion.
If you’re looking to try out a less conventional brand that offers a great warranty, these are worth a look.
Wrap Up
We have tested all 8 of these gloves in our welding shop for longer periods. We didn’t have issues with any of them, and they all held up very well to our high amperage stick projects.
The higher end gloves tended to last for a bit longer when running larger electrodes and higher amperages. However, some of the lower end models still did quite well.
The team at Welders Manual is confident that if they work for professional welders, they will be more than adequate for hobbyists and newbies alike.
As you weld more and more, you’ll develop preferences for certain brands. Some welders will swear by their Miller gloves, while others love their Lincoln gloves.
Since the sizing varies for each company, you may find that certain brands fit your hands better. It is important to check the sizing charts and measure your hands before making a decision. This generally means measuring around the palm and then looking at the size chart to match the inch measurement.
For welders like me with large hands, finding XL gloves can be tricky. A lot of models may only be offered in small, medium and large. So, if you have really big hands, you may be limited in your options.
The gloves should fit comfortably without being too loose. Some glove models only come in certain sizes, so make sure to be aware of your sizing when choosing your first gloves. If they’re too tight, this can cause hand cramps throughout the course of a work day. Proper finger length is essential for a comfortable fit.
