Best Welding Jackets – Safest Options
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Best Welding Jackets
For welders, quality jackets are one of the most important pieces of protective equipment. They protect your arms and your entire torso from sparks, slag and spatter. The best welding jackets will need to be comfortable yet very protective.
Depending on which process you plan on doing, you may prefer a lighter or a heavier jacket. For lower amperage applications, we tend to prefer flame resistant cotton jackets. These are quite protective, but they aren’t as heavy as some of the leather offerings.
The middle of the road option is a hybrid type jacket which is made of both cotton and leather. These offer your arms extreme protection with leather construction, and provide your torso with a lightweight cotton protection. Your hands and arms are usually the closest to your welding arc, so this construction design makes a lot of sense.
For heavy duty welding involving higher amps and voltage, we recommend a fully leather jacket. These can be a hassle to wear in the warmer months, but they offer the best protection for those heavy duty applications.
In this guide, we will cover the top rated welding jackets in all of these categories; and we will outline which may be the best choice based on your type of welding interests.
Black Stallion – Flame Resistant Cotton Welding Jacket
This jacket is one of our favorites for light to medium duty welding in hotter climates. When the summer months roll around, we still want torso protection – but we also need our jackets to be lightweight and breathable.
This jacket is made of a 9 oz. cotton that is treated for flame resistance. This means that all the little sparks and bb’s that normally burn your clothes will now have a tougher time burning through. Sparks tend to roll right off this type of cotton due to it’s “FR” properties.
This jacket also features a full sized collar which will prevent any sparks from traveling down the jacket. It features 6 snap buttons which make it easier to button up than traditional styles. This allows for quick removal of the jacket on the job site.
This jacket also has a nicely sized pocket which will hold your marking utensils – grease pencils, paint markers, soap stone, etc.
If you are performing heavy duty stick or flux core MIG welds, you may want to consider a heavier duty jacket. However, we have found that this one holds up for most projects. You can generally get in about 25 machine washes before the flame resistant properties start to fade.
Lincoln Electric – Flame Resistant Cotton Welding Jacket
This is Lincoln’s lightweight offering that is pretty similar to the Black Stallion model. It features 9 oz. flame resistant cotton, as well as anti-mildew and anti-static coatings. This adds more longevity to the jacket and really helps if you tend to sweat a lot.
It has a well built flip up collar for added protection. This isn’t as heavy duty as the Black Stallion collar, but it holds up well over time.
The cuffs have chrome plated snaps which allow for adjustability based on wrist size. This jacket has a large internal pocket which protects your items from sparks and spatter.
One great benefit of this jacket is that it can be washed up to 50 times before it starts to lose its FR properties. This allows for frequent washings without sacrificing the protection this jacket offers.
Miller Electric – Lightweight Cotton Welding Jacket
This is Miller’s high quality offering in the lightweight jacket category. The cotton is extremely breathable and is blended with 12% nylon. The button snaps are very high grade and last for quite some time.
This jacket has a more relaxed fit than the previous two, and it really excels in the light duty welding category. We don’t recommend this for high amperage applications or heavy grinding, but rather for light TIG and light MIG welding.
Downside: We found that this jacket seemed unusually short compared to other models. The sizing is not very on point, or at least on the one we ordered – so be wary of that.
All in all, if you want to stay cool throughout the warmer months with a name brand welding garment, this jacket is a great choice.
Magid SparkGuard – Flame Resistant Cotton Welding Jacket
Check Price On AmazonThis is a great lightweight option from a lesser known brand. It has quickly become a best seller due to its well thought out, quality features.
In addition to its flame resistant cotton, it is also resistant to static, rot and mildew. This is similar to Lincoln’s model, and it is something that more cotton jackets should include in addition the FR rating.
The snap buttons are reinforced with a leather backing – this means they will last longer than other models and you won’t have to worry about them coming unstitched. It has a nice breast pocket on the left side, as well as a standard collar. You can pop the collar up if you need more neck protection, or simply leave it as is.
The sleeves also feature snap closures which will protect your wrists from sparks and slag. Additionally, the jacket comes in way more sizes than other competing models.
In terms of bang for your buck, this is a great contender.
Miller Electric – Cotton/Leather Welding Jacket
This is the best cotton/leather combo jacket we have tried. The high quality leather hide will protect your arms and chest from high amperage welding scenarios. The lower portion of the jacket is constructed from top notch cotton indura fabric – this is one of the best flame resistant cottons available.
All seams are sewn entirely with kevlar thread. If you’ve read our welding gloves articles, you’ll know that this is the industry standard for flame resistant thread.
This is a great “middle of the road” jacket if you plan on both heavy duty welding and light duty welding. It will keep you safe in basically any scenario. It weighs 3 lbs, so it isn’t as light as the full cotton models; but it makes up for that with its protective features.
Magid SparkGuard – Cotton/Leather Welding Jacket
This is another great option in the hybrid jacket category. The cloth portion on the torso is resistant to static, rot and mildew. The high quality leather sleeves will keep you protected from high amperage welding operations.
This jacket features snap closures on the torso, wrists and sleeves. This provides a secure fit that won’t come undone accidentally.
This model features a breast pocket and a classic, lay down collar. The jacket will also maintain its flame resistance for up to 50 washings.
Downside: The sleeves tend to get dirty relatively fast, and we think a darker color leather would be more practical for future models.
This is a great option to consider if Miller’s model seems a bit pricey. It is a long lasting, quality jacket from a lesser known brand.
Lincoln Electric – Heavy Duty Leather Welding Jacket
Sometimes you just need to go full leather. For heavy industrial scenarios and cold weather days, leather can be extremely beneficial. Your chance of getting burned is slim to none, and no sparks or slag are going to eat through this material.
This Lincoln Electric offering is widely popular among structural welders and pipeliners. These folks need to be out working full days, despite what the forecast may be. This jacket can withstand any welding arc, amperage or voltage. It will blacken over time, but rarely wears through like cotton jackets.
This high grade leather is treated for flame resistance, and has triple needle stitching on all of the seams. Its high quality button snaps allow for easily getting this jacket on or off.
The collar travels far up the neck and will protect you from sparks trying to fly in.
If you live in a colder climate and perform heavy duty jobs, this jacket from Lincoln is worth looking into.
Black Stallion – Color Block Leather Welding Jacket
This is another fully leather jacket that we really enjoy using. Black Stallion is very trusted when it comes to welding clothing and PPE in general, and they make some of the most reliable gloves and jackets on the market.
It features high grade flame resistant leather – similar to Lincoln’s model. It also has satin lined shoulders which means it is really easy to take on and off. You won’t be fighting the grip of the leather when you need to remove this jacket.
The underarms are gusseted which allows for more movement than other jackets. Leather jackets tend to restrict some movements, and Black Stallion found a great way to combat this.
It has a small pocket for marking utensils on the left sleeve, as well as an internal pocket for other small tools or a phone.
The collar features a high quality snap button which will ensure that no sparks enter from the top.
This is a nicely styled leather jacket that always stands the test of time. We recommend it just as strongly as Lincoln’s offering; and we always keep one in the truck (especially in winter).
Wrap Up
Picking a quality welding jacket largely depends on which projects you plan on doing. For me personally – I don’t do well with welding in the heat/summer months. So no matter which process i’m doing, I tend to opt for the cotton FR jacket models. This isn’t the safest, but I find it’s more comfortable than wearing a leather jacket.
Some welders prefer the look and feel of leather jackets and wear them all the time. They are very protective, but also quite hot and unbreathable. Many structural welders will wear leather all the time just for safety protocols. Structural welders and pipe welders often run very high amperages, and a cotton jacket just won’t provide enough protection.
Just like picking your clothes, welding jackets are largely personal preference. The brands listed above are very trusted and offer top notch welding clothing products.
Luckily, you shouldn’t have to choose fashion over function. Most jackets nowadays look cool and are very protective as well.
Featured image credit : Pixabay.com
